Set Up Speed Dial for Calls
Dialing the same contact from a long list every time you need them wastes time when you only want to reach a favorite number fast. Speed dial on Xiaomi phones lets you call an assigned number with a single long press on the keypad, but it only works once a contact is linked to that digit. On Dual SIM devices you may also get asked which line to use if no default SIM for calls is set.
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.
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.
Turn On/Off Auto Brightness
If your Xiaomi screen keeps getting brighter or dimmer without you touching anything, Auto Brightness is reacting to the light sensor. You can still drag the brightness slider manually while the function stays active, which often causes confusion about which setting is actually in control.
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.
Shake to Auto-Arrange Home Screen Icons
Empty cells scattered across your Xiaomi home screen after uninstalling an app? Shaking the phone while in edit mode can pull the remaining icons together and close those gaps automatically. The feature, called Shake to fill empty cells, sits hidden in the display settings and can be switched on or off.
Split Screen on Xiaomi Phones
Split screen lets you run two apps side by side on your Xiaomi phone, so you can chat while browsing or take notes while watching a video. MIUI offers more than one way to trigger it, and not every app supports it the same way. Knowing how it behaves helps you decide when it actually saves time.
Custom Image on Always-on Display
If the pre-installed Always-on Display themes on your Xiaomi phone all look the same, you can swap them for a photo of your own. MIUI lets you pick any image from your gallery instead of the default clock designs. Once applied, you can still adjust the clock position, text color, and how battery or notification icons appear on top of your picture.
Remove a Contact from Speed Dial
Speed dial slots on Xiaomi phones fill up fast, and once all numbers are taken you cannot assign a new one until an old entry is cleared. Removing a number from the list only deletes the shortcut, not the contact itself, but the option sits several menus deep inside the call settings and is easy to miss.
Clear RAM and Storage
If your Xiaomi phone feels sluggish or storage keeps filling up, junk files, app cache, and rarely used apps are often the cause. MIUI includes a built-in cleanup tool that clears RAM and storage in one pass, but what actually gets removed depends on which categories you select before confirming.
Turn Auto-Sync Data On or Off
If your Xiaomi phone burns through mobile data or drains battery faster than expected, background account synchronization is often the reason. This setting keeps your Google Account data, like contacts, calendar entries and photos, updated in the background at all times. Switching it off stops the drain immediately but also means new changes stop arriving until you sync manually.
Restart the Xiaomi Smartphone
If apps on your Xiaomi phone start lagging, background downloads get stuck, or the interface feels sluggish after days of uptime, a restart usually clears the problem. MIUI keeps processes and cached data running in the background, and over time this can slow down the whole system. A clean reboot forces MIUI to close every open app and rebuild its memory from scratch.
Turn Tap Sounds On or Off
Every tap on a button, the Back key, or a menu item triggers a short click sound on your Xiaomi phone. If that noise gets distracting during calls, meetings, or at night, the Tap sounds setting is behind it and can be switched off just as quickly as it can be turned back on.
Turn Off Battery Saver Automatically After Charging
If Battery saver stays active even after your Xiaomi phone finishes charging, it keeps throttling performance and dimming the screen longer than needed. MIUI can switch Battery saver off on its own once the battery reaches a set charge level, so you don't have to remember to disable it by hand every time you unplug the charger.
Turn a Keyboard On or Off
A new keyboard downloaded from the Play Store does not automatically show up next to Gboard on your Xiaomi phone. Until you switch it on in the input settings, it stays hidden from the language switcher and typing keeps defaulting to the old keyboard. This usually happens with third-party layouts, handwriting keyboards, or apps installed after the initial setup.
Adjust Ringtone Volume for Calls and Notifications
If calls ring too loud while notifications stay silent, the culprit is usually the separate volume sliders inside Sound & vibration. Xiaomi phones control ringtone, reminder and notification volume independently, so lowering one slider does not affect the others. This mismatch often causes missed calls or alerts that trigger at the wrong volume.
Restrict Mobile Data Usage for an App
If a Xiaomi phone burns through your data plan even though you barely open certain apps, background data access is usually the cause. By default every installed app can use mobile data and Wi-Fi without restriction. On dual-SIM phones this applies separately to each SIM slot, which makes it harder to spot which line is actually consuming the data.
Edit and Rearrange Quick Settings
If the toggle you need most sits at the bottom of the control center or is missing entirely, you have to scroll or swipe further every time you want to switch it on. MIUI lets you add, remove and reorder these quick settings tiles, but the edit option is easy to miss if you have never opened it before.
Enable Reading Mode in Mi Browser
Bright white pages in Mi Browser can strain your eyes during long reading sessions, especially at night. Xiaomi's reading mode swaps sharp whites for a warmer tone and dims contrast to reduce eye strain, but many people miss the intensity slider that controls how strong the effect actually is. Without adjusting it, the change can feel too subtle or too aggressive.
Set Touch & Hold Delay
If long-pressing an app icon on your Xiaomi home screen either opens the shortcut menu too fast by accident or takes too long to react, the touch and hold delay is set to the wrong stage. This timing controls how long you need to keep your finger down before a long-press action triggers, and it affects every control element that supports it, not just app shortcuts.
Add New Browser Tabs
Closing your current page every time you want to check something else in Mi Browser gets old fast. If you cannot find a way to browse two pages at once without losing your place, the tab feature in Mi Browser solves that without extra apps.
Switch to Scientific Calculator Mode
You open the Calculator app on your Xiaomi phone expecting only basic math, but functions like sine, cosine, tangent, square roots or Pi are nowhere to be found. Many users assume the app simply lacks these tools, when in fact they are hidden behind a display mode that most people never trigger. Without knowing the trick, you end up switching to a third-party app for calculations your phone already supports.
Change Ringtone for a Contact Group
If every group member still rings with the default tone, or one contact keeps overriding the sound you picked, the group ringtone setting inside the Contacts app is being ignored. On Xiaomi phones a ringtone assigned directly to a single contact always takes priority over any group-level tone, no matter what you set in My groups. That mix-up is the most common reason a group ringtone seems to have no effect.