Change Default Messaging App
Texts land in one app while replies keep opening in another, or a new SMS app you downloaded from the Play Store never becomes the one that actually launches. This happens because MIUI keeps a fixed default assignment for messaging that does not update automatically when you install a new app. Until that assignment is changed manually, notifications and quick replies keep routing to the wrong app.
Adjust Audio Balance
If music or calls sound louder in one earbud than the other, the audio balance on your Xiaomi phone might be shifted to one side. This mostly happens after a system update or when the Hearing accessibility settings were changed by accident. A simple slider lets you shift the volume back to center or fine-tune it for hearing differences between your ears.
Show Battery Percentage in Status Bar
If your Xiaomi phone only shows a battery icon in the status bar, you have to guess whether you are at 40 percent or 25 percent charge. That icon shrinks as the battery drains, so the difference between a quarter and a third full is barely visible at a glance. Switching to a numeric readout removes the guesswork and helps you plan charging before a call or navigation session runs out of power.
Set Start of Week in Calendar
If your calendar always opens on a Sunday even though you expect Monday to be the first column, the app is just following the region setting on your phone. This mismatch makes weekly planning confusing, especially when you compare dates with colleagues or family using a different week layout. A quick setting inside the Calendar app fixes the view for good.
Auto-answer for Incoming Calls
If calls on your Xiaomi phone connect themselves before you even touch the screen, Auto-answer is likely switched on in the background. This MIUI feature can pick up every call after a set delay, or only when a Bluetooth headset is connected. Missing that toggle means you lose the chance to reject a call while it is still ringing.
Change Keyboard Height
If the on-screen keyboard on your Xiaomi phone feels cramped for typing or covers too much of the screen, the Keyboard height setting is usually the cause. MIUI offers seven size presets from extra short to extra tall, and picking the wrong one makes typos more likely or blocks content you need to see while typing.
Set Up Face Unlock
Xiaomi phones store a 2D scan of your face and use the front camera to unlock the screen without a fingerprint or PIN. Before you turn it on, MIUI itself warns that a photo of your face or someone who looks similar could sometimes trigger the same unlock. That trade-off between convenience and security is worth understanding before you register your face.
Game Turbo Settings
Game Turbo hides a long list of toggles that most Xiaomi owners never open, covering things like Game Speed Booster, ingame shortcuts and how added apps get removed from the list. If a game still throttles mid-match, notifications keep breaking through, or an external screen behaves oddly while gaming, one of these switches is usually the cause. The settings panel controls all of this from a single screen, but the options are easy to miss.
Empty the Gallery Trash Bin
Deleted photos and videos in Xiaomi's Gallery app sit in the trash bin for up to 30 days before MIUI deletes them automatically. Until that happens, they still count against your storage, even though you already deleted them. If you want that space back right away, you can clear the trash bin manually instead of waiting.
Reset Mi Browser Settings
If Mi Browser keeps loading a search engine you never picked, autofill won't clear, or saved passwords and history pile up without an obvious way to clean them individually, restoring the browser to its defaults fixes all of that in one step. This wipes personal settings and locally stored browsing data together, so it helps most when smaller fixes like clearing cache alone did not solve the problem.
Import Contacts from VCF, SIM or Account
If your contacts are stuck on a SIM card, an old VCF backup, or a different account, your Xiaomi phone won't just pick them up automatically. Contacts app import options are easy to miss inside Settings, so people end up re-typing numbers by hand instead of pulling them in from an existing file or account.
Set the Default Media Volume Level
Videos, music, and games on your Xiaomi phone start way too loud or too quiet, and pressing the Volume buttons only helps once something is already playing. That happens because Media volume runs on its own channel, separate from ringtone and notification levels in MIUI.
Route a Contact Straight to Voicemail
When a specific contact keeps calling at bad times, you do not have to reject the call manually every time. MIUI lets you route calls from a single contact straight to voicemail while everyone else still gets through as normal.
Desktop View in Mi Browser
Mobile sites on your Xiaomi phone often hide buttons, filters, or entire menus that only show up in the desktop layout. Mi Browser squeezes every page into a phone-friendly view by default, which helps scrolling but can block tools like advanced editors or full navigation bars. Switching to the desktop version brings those missing elements back without needing a computer.
Assign a Photo to a Contact
When a contact shows only initials or a plain avatar during calls and messages, no photo has been linked to that contact yet. MIUI lets you attach an existing picture from your gallery instead of only allowing a new snapshot. Without that link, incoming calls and chat threads stay visually anonymous even if the contact already has a name and number saved.
Adjust Screen Timeout Duration
If your Xiaomi display turns off after a few seconds or stays lit far longer than you expect, the sleep timer is set to the wrong value. This setting decides how long the screen stays active before it locks, and it has a direct effect on battery drain and how often you have to unlock the phone.
Manage App Permissions
If you tapped Deny when an app first asked for camera or contacts access, that app stays locked out until you change the setting yourself. MIUI does not repeat the prompt later, so features like document scanning or contact sync can quietly stop working. The permission is not deleted, it just needs to be switched back on in the app settings.
Set the Monthly Data Usage Reset Date
If the data usage counter on your Xiaomi phone resets on a different day than your carrier billing cycle starts, the numbers you see never match your actual plan. This happens because the reset date in Data usage is set independently from your SIM contract and has to be adjusted manually. Without matching it, data warnings and remaining allowance calculations stay inaccurate all month.
Forget Saved Wi-Fi Networks
If your phone keeps reconnecting to a slow or wrong Wi-Fi network instead of your home connection, an outdated saved entry is usually the cause. This often happens after a router password change or when two networks share the same name. Removing the old entry forces your Xiaomi phone to ask for the current password the next time it connects.
Block Calls from Unknown Numbers
When a caller shows up as Unknown or Private, your Xiaomi phone has no caller ID to check against a blocklist entry. Instead of rejecting these calls by hand every single time, you can have the Phone app reject them automatically before they ring through.
Start the Screen Recorder
Besides taking screenshots, you can record your Xiaomi screen as a video, but the recorder icon can be tricky to spot among the other Quick Settings tiles. Once recording starts, the small floating control panel fades after about two seconds and shrinks to a barely visible dot, which makes it easy to lose track of how to pause or stop the recording.
Scan QR Codes Automatically with the Camera App
If your Xiaomi camera does not react to a QR code on a package or shipping label, the Scan QR codes function is likely switched off. Without it, the camera behaves like a normal photo app and shows no scan prompt at all, forcing you to search for a separate scanner app.
Turn Screenshot Sound On or Off
Every time you capture a screenshot on a Xiaomi phone, a short chime plays to confirm the capture went through. If that sound feels too loud in meetings or you simply want an audible confirmation back, the setting sits separately from your general ringtone volume and needs its own toggle.
Turn VoLTE On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone keeps dropping calls to a shaky 2G or 3G signal even though you have full LTE bars, VoLTE is probably switched off. Without it, voice calls ignore your 4G connection and fall back to older, slower networks, which means longer connect times, choppier audio and extra battery use. Turning Use VoLTE on or off is a single switch inside your SIM settings.