Create a New Event in the Calendar App
If a date only lives in your head, it disappears the moment you get distracted. The Calendar app on your Xiaomi phone lets you save events with a title, guests, location and repeat schedule, but many users only ever use the quick add-note shortcut and miss the full event options. Skipping the dedicated event category also means no reminder fires before the actual date.
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 On/Off Pop-up on Keypress
If every letter you tap on your Xiaomi keyboard flashes up in a small preview bubble, typing can feel slower and the screen looks cluttered. This preview comes from a keyboard setting called Popup on keypress, and it can get in the way when you type quickly in Messenger, WhatsApp or any other app. You can switch it on or off directly in the keyboard settings on your phone.
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.
Set a Custom Start Page in Mi Browser
Every time you open Mi Browser on your Xiaomi phone, the same default home screen with shortcuts and preset services loads instead of a search engine you actually use. This happens because the start page setting is locked to the built-in default and has not been switched to a custom web address. You can point it to Google, Bing or any other site you prefer.
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.
Disable Swipe-Up Search on Home Screen
On Xiaomi phones, swiping up from the home screen opens search by default instead of doing anything else. That gets in the way if you accidentally trigger it while scrolling widgets or switching between screens. The option to turn it off only shows up when the app drawer is disabled.
Auto-download Updates via Mobile Data
If your Xiaomi phone keeps pulling system updates in the background while you are off Wi-Fi, mobile data usage can climb fast without warning. MIUI treats update downloads as automatic once a new version is detected, and a separate toggle decides whether mobile data counts as an allowed source for that download. Switching it off limits update downloads to Wi-Fi only, which matters if you are on a limited plan.
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.
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.
Snooze App Notifications
When a chat app or delivery tracker keeps buzzing during a meeting, muting it completely isn't always what you want. MIUI lets you pause a single notification for a set time instead of turning it off for good. This keeps the alert coming back later without touching the app's notification settings.
Configure Individual System App Settings
When Security, Messages, or Camera on your Xiaomi phone keeps auto-updating or asking for permissions you never approved, a hidden per-app toggle in System app settings is usually the cause. Each preinstalled MIUI app, from Calendar to Recorder, carries its own switches for updates, notifications, and background data that do not show up on the regular app info screen. Finding the right toggle for the right app is the only way to fix the behavior without disabling the whole app.
Set Up a Portable Wi-Fi Hotspot
If your Xiaomi phone still hands out a hotspot name and password nobody chose, other people nearby can guess it or connect without permission. A weak default SSID also makes it harder to spot your own hotspot among several devices in the same room. Setting a custom name and password fixes both problems and keeps the connection under your control.
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.
Select Network Manually
When you travel abroad and your phone keeps hanging on a weak carrier, automatic network selection is usually the cause. MIUI picks a network by signal priority, not by actual reception quality, so calls drop and data stalls even though a stronger carrier is available nearby. Switching to manual selection lets you pick that carrier yourself instead of waiting for the phone to reconnect.
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.
Delete an Album in Gallery
Deleting an album on your Xiaomi phone also deletes every photo and video still stored inside it. This catches a lot of people off guard when they just wanted to tidy up their Gallery app and end up losing media they meant to keep. Knowing which albums are safe to remove and which ones hold originals is key before you tap delete.
Back Up Phone Data to Google Drive
If your Xiaomi phone gets reset, lost or swapped for a new one, contacts, messages and app data disappear unless a backup exists somewhere else. MIUI has a built-in option to save that data to Google Drive, but the toggle sits buried in the general settings and is easy to miss until you actually need it.
Turn On App Lock
If anyone can open your banking, messaging, or gallery apps just by unlocking your phone, sensitive content stays exposed. Xiaomi phones include a separate app-level lock that adds a second layer of protection on top of your screen lock. Setting it up wrong, or skipping the fingerprint option, often leaves some apps unprotected.
Fingerprint Shutter: Enable or Disable
If your Xiaomi phone snaps a photo every time you rest a finger on the fingerprint sensor while the Camera app is open, the fingerprint shutter option is turned on. Some users only notice this after an accidental shot ends up in the gallery, others want to turn it on deliberately for a steadier one-tap trigger. Either way, the setting lives inside the Camera app itself, not in the general phone settings.
Manage Updates for System Apps
If your Xiaomi phone keeps nagging you about system app updates - or stays silent when new versions are actually ready - the System apps updater settings are probably not set the way you want. MIUI lets you control whether update notifications show up, whether updates install automatically, and whether downloads run on Wi-Fi only or also over mobile data. Leaving these settings on default can mean unexpected data usage or missed fixes.