Delete a Folder from the Home Screen
A folder that still holds one or two apps refuses to disappear no matter how often you tap on it. MIUI does not offer a direct delete button inside the folder itself, which confuses a lot of users. The trick lies in how you grab and move the folder icon, not in emptying it app by app.
Enable or Disable Simple View for Contact List
If your contact list on your Xiaomi phone feels cluttered with profile pictures and extra info, a simple list view can clean things up. This setting in the Contacts app controls whether photos and details show up next to each name, or whether you just get plain text entries. Switching it off makes scrolling through a large contact list faster and less distracting.
Turn On/Off Screen Magnification
If icons, text or app menus stay too small even after adjusting the display size, the built-in screen magnifier can help. On Xiaomi phones this feature works as a temporary zoom you trigger with a gesture or a shortcut button, not as a permanent font size change. Many users enable it but then struggle to find the toggle again or accidentally leave it running in the background.
Show or Hide Notification Icons in the Status Bar
When your status bar stays empty even though an app has new messages, the notification icon display in MIUI might be switched off. This setting decides whether small app icons show up next to the clock so you can spot new activity without unlocking your phone. If it is disabled, you will only notice new notifications once you pull down the shade.
Add a Bookmark to the Home Screen
If you keep opening Mi Browser just to reach one saved website, that link only lives in your bookmarks list, not on the home screen. Xiaomi phones do not turn a saved bookmark into a shortcut automatically, so you have to add that icon yourself. Without it, every visit means opening the browser, tapping Bookmark, and scrolling to find the right entry.
Delete an APN Entry
A wrong or duplicate access point can block mobile data or MMS on your Xiaomi phone, even after you switch carriers or SIM cards. If an old APN profile stays behind, the device sometimes keeps trying to use it instead of the correct one. Removing the unused entry clears up the confusion without touching your other network settings.
Turn On/Off Color Correction (Accessibility)
If someone using your Xiaomi phone has trouble distinguishing colors in charts, status icons, or notification dots, the screen's color rendering may need adjusting for a vision deficiency like red-green color blindness. MIUI ships with a color correction filter built into the Vision accessibility tools, but it stays disabled by default and is easy to miss. Without it turned on, the display keeps showing standard colors that are hard to tell apart for certain types of color vision anomalies.
Delete a Contact Group
If a contact group in the Xiaomi Contacts app is cluttering your groups list, you can remove it without losing the people inside it. Many users hesitate because they assume deleting a group also deletes the assigned contacts. In reality, only the group label itself gets removed, while every contact stays saved on the device.
Turn On Automatic Backup for Storage and Data
If you only remember to back up your Xiaomi phone after something breaks or gets lost, relying on manual backups is the real problem. MIUI can schedule backups on its own, but the default days, time, and data selection may not match how you actually use your phone. Getting the schedule wrong means backups either pile up unnecessarily or miss the files you actually care about.
Resize a Home Screen Widget
When a widget takes up too much space or looks squeezed on your Xiaomi home screen, the easiest fix is adjusting its size instead of removing it. Not every widget supports resizing, and some only offer fixed size steps rather than free dragging. Knowing which widgets react to resize handles saves you from rearranging your whole layout.
Make a Phone Call
When two SIM cards are active on your Xiaomi phone, tapping the call button can leave you unsure which line actually dials. The Phone app splits the green call button into two halves, one per SIM, and tapping the wrong side sends the call out on the wrong number or tariff. This mix-up gets worse if the SIM slots have not been renamed, since both halves look nearly identical.
Pin a Conversation
If an important chat keeps sliding down your conversation list on a Xiaomi phone, new messages from other contacts push it out of view. The Messaging app sorts threads by recent activity, so a conversation without fresh replies eventually disappears from the top. Pinning keeps that specific chat visible regardless of how much new activity happens elsewhere.
Disable Wi-Fi Direct
On many Xiaomi phones the Wi-Fi Direct toggle looks greyed out or simply refuses to switch off. That happens because the feature stays active as long as at least one device remains paired to it. Disconnecting every paired device is the only way to actually shut Wi-Fi Direct down.
Limit Connected Hotspot Devices
By default, your Xiaomi phone lets an unlimited number of devices join your mobile hotspot at once. That can slow down your connection and makes it hard to track who is actually using your data. Setting a maximum device count gives you back control over who connects.
Show Memory Status in Recent Apps
When you swipe up to check recent apps on a Xiaomi phone, the memory bar at the top sometimes just isn't there, leaving you without a quick read on free RAM. This indicator only reports live usage and does not close or manage background apps on its own. Without it turned on, you lose a fast way to judge whether your phone is actually running low on memory.
Data Usage Warning: Enable or Disable
If your Xiaomi phone keeps popping up mobile data warnings even though you barely use your plan, or it stays silent right before you hit your limit, the Data usage monitor in the Security app is behind that behavior. This setting decides whether you get proactive alerts or none at all, independent of what your carrier app shows.
View Device Certification Info
If you need your Xiaomi phone's FCC ID, model number, or other certification details for a return, insurance claim, or customs check, they are not printed on the box or shown in a quick settings toggle. This information sits inside a dedicated certification screen that most users never open on their own.
Taking a Photo with the Camera App
Snapping a basic photo on a Xiaomi phone rarely causes trouble, but once you enable a color filter, lock focus manually, or switch away from the default Photo mode, the shutter button can seem to do nothing. Knowing which mode and settings are active before you tap the shutter prevents blurry or oddly filtered shots.
Connect to a Wi-Fi Network
If your Xiaomi phone shows no internet access or keeps prompting for a network password, the device usually just is not linked to any Wi-Fi yet. Mobile data alone will not give you access to a home or office network, and an inactive Wi-Fi radio hides every nearby network from the list. Once Wi-Fi is switched on, both private networks with a password and open public hotspots become selectable.
Unpair a Bluetooth Device
If a Bluetooth device keeps reconnecting even though you stopped using it, or a headset refuses to pair again after a failed connection, the old saved link is usually the cause. Turning Bluetooth off does not remove that link, only the paired list in the Bluetooth settings does. Once removed, the device drops out of the paired list and needs a fresh pairing before it can connect to your Xiaomi phone again.
Turn Auto-Rotation On or Off
If your Xiaomi screen stays locked in portrait mode when you turn the phone sideways, auto-rotation is likely disabled in Display settings. Some apps also ignore rotation entirely if the quick toggle in the notification shade is set to lock orientation. Both controls work independently and can override each other depending on which one you touched last.
Clear App Data
When an app on your Xiaomi phone starts crashing, freezing, or throwing login errors, clearing the cache alone often does not fix it. Corrupted app data, broken login sessions or leftover settings can keep triggering the same error even after a cache clear. Wiping the app data resets it completely, though you will need to sign in again and reconfigure the app afterward.
Back Up Your Phone to Xiaomi Cloud
If your Xiaomi phone breaks or gets lost, photos, contacts and app data are gone unless a cloud backup exists. Many users assume MIUI backs up automatically, but Xiaomi Cloud sync stays off until you sign in with a Mi account and switch it on. Without that step, only local backups on the device itself exist, and those disappear along with the phone.
Change the Region Setting
Your Xiaomi phone picks the region automatically, usually based on your SIM card or network. If you are traveling or using a local SIM abroad, that automatic pick can be wrong for app stores, currency formats, or regional content. You can override it and set the region yourself.