Turn Anti Banding On or Off
If photos or videos of screens, TVs or fluorescent lights show dark stripes or a flickering pattern, the camera sensor is reacting to the local power frequency. Xiaomi phones include an Anti banding option that compensates for this, but the wrong setting can make the flicker worse instead of better.
Add a Printer via IP Address or Wi-Fi Direct
If your printer does not show up automatically even though your phone and printer share the same Wi-Fi network, MIUI still lets you add it manually. This usually happens with older printers, devices on a different subnet, or printers that only support Wi-Fi Direct instead of standard network discovery. In that case you need to enter the printer's IP address yourself or switch on Wi-Fi Direct printing directly from the printing menu.
Disable Automatic Video and Image Downloads in Mi Browser
If your mobile data disappears fast while browsing on your Xiaomi phone, Mi Browser might be pre-loading videos and images before you even tap them. This automatic download feature speeds up page loading but quietly eats into your data plan. Turning it off puts you back in control of what actually gets downloaded.
Send an SMS Text Message
On a Xiaomi phone there is no separate SMS app or SMS folder, so every text lands in the same Messages inbox as MMS content. Attach a photo or video to a text and MIUI silently switches the format to MMS without asking you first. That makes it hard to tell which messages actually went out as plain SMS and which ones used mobile data as MMS.
Create a Folder on the Home Screen
If your home screen is cluttered with dozens of app icons, grouping them into folders keeps things organized. On MIUI, folders are created by dragging one app icon onto another, the same drag-and-drop gesture you might know from a PC desktop or other Android phones. You need at least two apps ready to combine before a folder actually appears.
Delete Learned Words and Data
If the built-in Xiaomi keyboard keeps suggesting outdated or wrong words, the learned word database is usually the cause. This data builds up over time from everything you type and can make autocorrect feel stuck on old habits. Clearing it resets suggestions without touching your other settings.
Turn Off Wi-Fi Hotspot Automatically
Leaving the personal hotspot active after every connected device disconnects quietly drains battery on Xiaomi phones. MIUI includes a setting that shuts the hotspot down on its own once nothing is using it, but most owners never notice it exists.
Add a Home Screen Page
Running out of room for app icons on your Xiaomi home screen is a common problem once you install more than a handful of apps. Instead of stacking icons into folders, you can create a completely new home screen page and spread your apps across it. This works with a simple drag gesture and does not require any extra settings menu.
Set Up Unlock with Bluetooth Device
If your Xiaomi phone stays locked even though your paired Bluetooth accessory is nearby, the Unlock with Bluetooth device feature is probably still off. Once active, the phone unlocks automatically near that device and stays unlocked as long as the connection holds. This only works with Xiaomi's own Bluetooth accessories, not with third-party headphones or wearables.
Turn Glide Typing On or Off
If typing feels slow because you tap every single letter, Glide typing lets you swipe across the keys instead of lifting your finger. On some Xiaomi phones this swipe input stays off by default, or it keeps running even though you prefer classic tapping. Auto-correction and word suggestions are separate settings and keep working either way.
Enable Dark Mode in Mi Browser
If Mi Browser still shows bright white pages after the sun goes down, the built-in night option is probably switched off. This setting dims both the browser interface and many web pages, which cuts glare and makes late-evening browsing easier on your eyes. It sits separately from the general system theme, so changing one does not automatically change the other.
Keyboard Usage Statistics Sharing Toggle
If your Xiaomi phone keeps sending keyboard usage data to Google in the background, that's the 'Share usage statistics' option buried in the keyboard settings. This toggle controls whether typing patterns get reported for diagnostics, and it's on by default on most devices. Many users only discover it exists when checking their privacy settings after noticing unfamiliar data usage.
Turn Flashlight On or Off
Need to switch on the LED flash on the back of your Xiaomi phone without opening the camera app? The flashlight toggle sits in the quick settings panel, but if you rarely use it the icon is easy to overlook. An unresponsive toggle usually points to a Control center layout change, not a broken LED.
Turn On/Off Device Watermark on Photos
Every photo you take with your Xiaomi phone gets a small watermark in the bottom left corner, showing which device captured the shot. If you want cleaner images for sharing or printing, that watermark can get in the way fast.
Pair a Bluetooth Device
If your headset, earbuds, or speaker will not connect to your Xiaomi phone, the accessory usually needs to be paired first before Bluetooth can use it. Until pairing finishes, the phone will not list it as an active connection, so audio and calls stay on the built-in speaker.
Change Calendar View
If your Google Calendar app on Xiaomi always opens in Month view, finding today's appointments takes extra scrolling. The default layout does not match how you actually plan your day. Switching between Schedule, Day, 3-Day, Week and Month views fixes this without touching any system settings.
Turn Select to Speak On or Off
If Select to Speak stays greyed out or its icon never shows up in your navigation bar, the accessibility shortcut on your Xiaomi phone is probably still switched off. Once enabled, tapping the icon lets you select any text or image on screen and have it read aloud instantly. Turning it off again removes the icon without touching other accessibility settings.
Set Always-on Display Duration
If your Always-on display only flashes for a few seconds after you tap the screen, it is set to the short timer instead of staying on permanently. On MIUI you can choose between a brief 10-second preview and a version that stays active the whole time your phone is locked or in standby.
One-Handed Keyboard Mode
Typing with one thumb on a large Xiaomi screen often means missing keys on the far side of the keyboard. The stock layout stretches across the full display width, so you end up stretching your thumb or shifting your grip with every message. Xiaomi's keyboard settings can shrink and pin the whole layout to the left or right edge instead.
Delete an Event in the Calendar App
If your calendar is cluttered with old appointments you no longer need, deleting individual events keeps things readable. Once removed, an event is gone for good and cannot be restored. On some Xiaomi phones the built-in Calendar app is replaced by Google Calendar, which uses a slightly different menu.
Show Only Local Albums in Gallery
If your MIUI Cloud stores thousands of photos, the Gallery app can end up cluttered with albums that only exist online and were never saved to your phone. Turning on Only show local albums hides those cloud-only entries so you see just what is actually stored on the device. This helps when storage is tight or the Gallery feels slow to load.
Check for System Updates
If you swiped away the update notification on your Xiaomi phone or never saw it pop up, the update itself is not lost. MIUI still tracks it in the background, you just need to trigger the check yourself. This matters when a security patch or bugfix has been sitting unnoticed for weeks.
Add a Widget to the Home Screen
Opening an app just to check a stock quote, the weather, or your next calendar entry gets tedious fast. On Xiaomi phones running MIUI, widgets show that information directly on the home screen without unlocking the app first. Many users only find wallpaper and icon-organizing options here, since the widget menu is easy to miss.
Turn On/Off USB Debugging
If MyPhoneExplorer refuses to sync contacts or a rooting tool cannot detect your Xiaomi phone over cable, USB debugging is usually still switched off. The option only appears once Developer options are unlocked, and many users cannot find the toggle afterward. Leaving it enabled permanently also carries a small security risk you should know about.