Switch Between Front and Rear Camera
Selfies on a Xiaomi phone often need extra light, and the display flashes white to fake a camera flash for the front lens. If you are not sure where the switch control sits or why the screen behaves this way, jumping between front and rear camera during a quick shot or video call gets slower than it should. This affects both the Camera app and any third-party app that uses the same camera controls.
Turn Off TalkBack on Xiaomi
If your Xiaomi phone reads out everything you tap and single taps only select items instead of opening them, TalkBack is active. This screen reader changes how touch works across the whole system, which makes normal navigation confusing if you never meant to turn it on.
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If the built-in Xiaomi keyboard keeps suggesting outdated or wrong words, the learned word database is usually the cause.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.
Answer an Incoming Call on the Lock Screen
If tapping the green phone icon does not pick up the call on your Xiaomi phone, you are likely missing the swipe gesture MIUI expects. The lock screen call button reacts to a drag motion, not a simple tap, so a short or sideways swipe leaves the phone ringing until it drops to voicemail. This mainly trips up people switching from a brand that uses tap-to-answer instead of swipe-to-answer.
Set the Action for When Your Data Plan Runs Out
If your mobile data suddenly stops working before the month is over, MIUI may already be cutting it off automatically once you hit your set limit. Some people only want a heads-up instead of losing their connection outright, but that only works if the right action is selected in the data usage settings. Without checking this setting, you can end up with dead mobile data at the worst possible moment.
Unmount SD Card Safely
Pulling the SD card out of your Xiaomi phone while it is still mounted can corrupt photos, app data, or the file system on the card. MIUI keeps read and write connections open in the background even when the screen looks idle. Ejecting the card properly closes those connections before you remove it.
App Lock: Lock or Unlock Apps
Anyone who picks up your Xiaomi phone can open sensitive apps like banking, messaging or gallery without extra protection beyond the screen lock. App Lock adds a second barrier for individual apps, separate from your device PIN or pattern. Without it enabled, apps stay accessible the moment the phone itself is unlocked.
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.
Clear App Cache
If an app on your Xiaomi phone keeps crashing, freezing, or throwing error messages, leftover cache files are often the reason. Over time these temporary files pile up and can overlap or corrupt each other, causing an app to behave oddly even though nothing else changed. Clearing the cache removes that clutter without touching your saved data or settings.
Set Wi-Fi Hotspot Data Limit
If your mobile data plan drains fast whenever you share your Xiaomi phone's Wi-Fi hotspot with a laptop or tablet, an unlimited hotspot session is usually the cause. MIUI lets you cap the exact amount of data the hotspot can share and pick what happens once that cap is reached.
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.
Fingerprint Unlock for App Lock
If a locked app on your Xiaomi phone keeps asking for the app lock password even though your fingerprint sensor works everywhere else, fingerprint unlock for App lock is probably switched off. This setting lets you skip the PIN or pattern entry for individual apps and confirm access with your finger instead. Without it enabled, MIUI falls back to the password every time you open a protected app.
Camera Delay-Timer
If your Xiaomi camera fires the shutter the instant you tap the button, group photos or selfies often turn out blurry or catch you mid-pose. MIUI has a built-in delay-timer for exactly this situation, but it sits hidden inside the camera menu instead of the main shooting screen. Without it, you only get a split second to get into position before the shot is taken.
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 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.
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.
Change Select to Speak Voice Output
If Select to Speak reads text too slowly or sounds flat, the text-to-speech engine behind it is still running on its default speed and pitch. MIUI lets you fine-tune the speaking rate, voice pitch and language instead of leaving Select to Speak untouched. A wrong accent or a voice that talks too fast points to the same settings screen.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.