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.
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.
Switch Contact Name Order (First/Last Name)
If your Xiaomi contact list always shows the first name before the last name, finding people gets harder when you organize contacts by family name or your workplace expects last-name-first lists. This affects how names appear in Contacts, the call log, and message threads alike. MIUI lets you flip that order without editing a single contact.
Turn Off Screen Lock
Want to skip entering a pattern, PIN, or password every time you wake your Xiaomi phone? Removing the screen lock only asks for your current unlock method once, but afterward the device stays open to anyone who picks it up. That trade-off matters if the phone holds banking apps, messages, or saved logins.
Select Quick Ball Shortcuts
The Quick Ball on Xiaomi phones only holds five shortcuts at a time, so adding a new function always means removing one that is already assigned. If you tap the wrong field or pick the wrong replacement, you can accidentally lose quick access to a shortcut you use every day.
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.
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.
How to Turn on/off Airplane mode
If your Xiaomi phone suddenly stops receiving calls, texts, or mobile data, Airplane mode is often the reason. Turning it on shuts down the mobile network, mobile data, WLAN, and Bluetooth at the same time. On some Xiaomi phones you can still switch WLAN or Bluetooth back on manually while Airplane mode stays active, which causes confusion when connectivity only half works.
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.
Set Up Fingerprint Unlock
Setting up fingerprint unlock on a Xiaomi phone only works if you already have a Pattern, PIN, or Password configured, and MIUI asks for it before it lets you enroll a finger. If you cannot remember that unlock code, the fingerprint menu will not let you proceed at all. Many users also get confused about how many fingerprints they can add and what each one can be used for.
Assign Alarm Functions to Volume Buttons
If your alarm keeps ringing because pressing a volume button does nothing, MIUI lets you change that behavior in the alarm settings. By default the phone treats both volume keys the same way, so you cannot assign a separate action to volume up and volume down. This single setting decides whether a button press snoozes, dismisses or ignores the alarm every single time.
Set Up a VPN Connection
If a website, streaming service, or company network blocks your current connection, a VPN reroutes your traffic through an encrypted server and hides your real location. Without one, your provider and any public Wi-Fi you join can log everything you send. MIUI does not create VPN profiles on its own, so you need a working server address and login details ready before you connect.
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.
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.
Hide or Show the Notch
If icons or app content get cut off by the camera cutout on your Xiaomi phone, the Notch display setting is likely still set to show full-screen content behind it. Some apps stretch their layout right into the cutout area, hiding status bar icons or clipping off parts of the interface. MIUI lets you switch between covering the Notch with a black bar or letting content run around it.
Turn On, Off or Auto Camera Flash
If your Xiaomi camera fires the flash in bright rooms or refuses to light up a dark shot, the flash mode is set wrong. The camera app lets you force the flash on, force it off, or leave the decision to the automatic sensor. Getting this wrong ruins both photos and video clips shot in low light.
Set a Custom Ringtone for Calls
If your Xiaomi phone still rings with a stock tone and you want a favorite song for incoming calls instead, the built-in ringtone list only shows preset options at first glance. MIUI actually lets you pick any audio file already stored on your phone, without moving it into a dedicated ringtone folder. On dual SIM devices, the ringtone also needs to be set separately for each SIM card.
Show or Hide Carrier Name on Lock Screen
If your Xiaomi lock screen shows the SIM carrier name under the clock, a MIUI status bar setting is behind it. Some people want that text gone for a cleaner lock screen or extra privacy, while others lose it after a reset and want it back. Either way, the toggle sits in one specific settings screen and is easy to miss.
Turn Auto-correction On or Off
If your Xiaomi keyboard keeps swapping in a word you never typed, MIUI auto-correction is stepping in before you finish a sentence. It usually helps, but on names, slang or foreign words it can turn a normal message into something embarrassing. The feature sits in the keyboard settings and you can switch it on or off depending on how you type.
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.
Turn Vibration on Tap On or Off
Every tap on your Xiaomi screen can trigger a short buzz, and if that feels too strong or barely noticeable, the haptic feedback setting is usually the cause. MIUI lets you switch this tap vibration off completely or pick between three intensity levels. The same control also affects the buzz you feel while typing on the keyboard.
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.
Mount SD Card
If you tapped Eject SD card or safely removed the card from your Xiaomi phone, the storage disappears from your file manager and apps stop saving to it. MIUI keeps the card unmounted until you tell it to reconnect, even after a reboot in some cases. Photos, downloads, and app data meant for the card get redirected to internal storage instead.