Set a Custom Timer Ringtone
If the timer on your Xiaomi phone keeps playing the same generic tone, you probably want something you actually notice - or one you can tune down for lighter naps. MIUI lets you swap the timer sound for a pre-installed ringtone or your own .mp3 file, but the option sits several taps deep inside the Clock app and is easy to miss. Picking the wrong file type can also mean silence instead of a sound.
Turn On/Off Dial Pad Tones
Every digit you tap on the Xiaomi phone app's dial pad triggers a short beep, and that tone lives in a settings menu that has nothing to do with the calling app itself. In quiet places or shared rooms, that repeated clicking sound gets annoying fast, especially if you dial full numbers manually. Other users want the opposite problem solved: the tone stopped playing and they miss the tactile feedback while typing a number.
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.
Adjust TalkBack Advanced Settings
Once TalkBack is active on a Xiaomi phone, the whole touchscreen behaves differently and simple taps stop opening apps directly. Many users get stuck because the default gestures feel slow or accidentally trigger the wrong action. Xiaomi phones offer several TalkBack options like Single-tap activation, touch gestures, keyboard shortcuts and custom labels to fix this.
Forward an SMS Message
Need to pass on an address, code, or phone number from a text without retyping it? On Xiaomi phones you can forward the original SMS straight from the Messages app instead of copying the content by hand. This saves time and avoids typos in important details.
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.
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.
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.
Adjust Contrast, Saturation and Sharpness in Camera
Photos that look flat, oversaturated, or too soft often trace back to the Contrast, Saturation and Sharpness sliders hidden inside the camera settings, which default to a middle level that does not always match your device or lighting. Each slider offers seven steps for Contrast and Saturation and three steps for Sharpness, but most people never open that menu. Once one slider sits far from the middle, every photo taken afterward inherits the same look until you change it back.
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 Next-Word Suggestions
If the keyboard stops predicting the next word while you type a message or email, MIUI's text correction settings are usually behind it. Next-word suggestions guess the word that fits your sentence based on context, not just the letters you already typed. Switching the feature on or off changes how fast you can write and how often the keyboard guesses wrong.
Open Split Screen via Recent Apps
Switching back and forth between two apps constantly slows you down, especially when you need to compare content or copy information between them. On Xiaomi phones the Recent apps overview hides the option to run two apps side by side unless you tap and hold the right spot on the app card. Not every app supports this mode, and the shortcut disappears if you tap the wrong area.
Manage Bookmarks in Mi Browser
If your saved pages in Mi Browser have turned into one long unsorted list, the bookmark manager on your Xiaomi phone can fix that. You can rename, move or delete individual entries and sort them into groups instead of scrolling through everything at once. This becomes especially useful once you have dozens of bookmarks from work, shopping or research mixed together.
Turn On/Off Data Usage Reduction (Mi Browser)
If videos in Mi Browser suddenly stop autoplaying and only start after you tap them, Data usage reduction is likely active on your Xiaomi phone. This setting throttles how much content loads automatically while you browse, which lowers mobile data consumption but changes how pages behave. The effect varies by website, so some pages still autoplay while others stay silent until you interact with them.
Set Date Manually
If the date on your Xiaomi phone keeps resetting no matter how often you change it, automatic network time sync is usually the reason. As long as this feature stays on, MIUI pulls the date from your carrier and overwrites any manual edit in Settings within seconds.
Turn Focus Mode On or Off
If notifications from social or gaming apps keep interrupting your home office setup on a Xiaomi phone, Focus mode is the built-in tool meant to block that noise for selected apps. Many users only discover the toggle by accident, and the automatic scheduling option often stays unused, leaving the phone unrestricted outside of manual activation.
Optimize Battery Usage
If your Xiaomi phone drains faster than usual, background apps and forgotten settings are often the cause. MIUI has a built-in scan that checks running processes and configuration and lists exactly what is costing you charge. You decide which of those suggestions actually get applied.
Enable Early Updates in MIUI Settings
If your Xiaomi phone always seems to be the last one on your block to get a new firmware push, a hidden switch called Receive updates early might be worth checking. Turning it on moves your device into a faster distribution group, but that also means you receive builds that have gone through less real-world testing. Many people flip this toggle without realizing that a quicker rollout can come with more bugs than the regular update channel.
Send Photos and Videos via Bluetooth
Sending a photo or video from your Xiaomi phone to a paired device sometimes stalls right after you tap Share, or the target device never shows up in the list. This usually comes down to picking the wrong sharing option or Bluetooth pairing not being active. The steps below use MIUI's file sharing menu, which works the same for pictures, videos and most other file types.
Share Contacts as File, Text or QR Code
Trying to send a saved contact to someone but not sure which sharing format actually works on their phone? Xiaomi lets you send a contact as a file, as plain text, or as a scannable QR code, and each option behaves differently depending on the app you pick. Picking the wrong format is the usual reason a recipient cannot open or save the contact properly.
Allow Repeated Calls in Do Not Disturb
When Do Not Disturb is active on your Xiaomi phone, every incoming call gets silenced, even urgent ones. MIUI has a separate setting that lets a second call from the same number within a short window ring through instead of staying muted.
Turn Off Suggestions in Recent Apps Menu
If your recent apps screen on a Xiaomi phone keeps showing extra tiles for Cleaner, Security scan, Deep cleaning or Manage Apps, a system suggestion feature is adding them automatically. This can make the app switcher feel cluttered and slower to scan through, especially if you only want to see your open apps.
Switch Between Old and New Control Center Style
If your Xiaomi phone still shows the older two-panel layout after an update, or you miss that classic view after switching to the newer simplified overview, the display style does not change on its own. It sits behind a separate setting that many people never open. Notifications and quick toggles stay mixed together until you pick the layout you actually want.
Turn Off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Scanning for Location
Even with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched off, your Xiaomi phone can still scan nearby networks and devices to sharpen its location fix. Apps with location permission trigger this background scanning automatically, keeping your radios active more often than expected. If you want tighter control over when your phone searches for networks, the scanning setting needs to be adjusted separately from the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth toggles.