Where is the blacklist in Xiaomi Redmi phones

The modern rhythm of life dictates its rules, and constant calls from spammers or intrusive advertising agents can seriously disturb your peace. Owners of Xiaomi brand smartphones and sub-brands Redmi and POCO often face the need to quickly limit the access of unwanted contacts. Fortunately, the built-in shell MIUI or the new HyperOS offer powerful tools to filter incoming calls right out of the box.

Many users are lost in the abundance of menus and settings, not understanding where exactly the desired function disappeared after the next update. The blacklist is not just a separate folder, but part of a comprehensive security system that is integrated into the standard application Phone and Messages. Understanding the logic of these components will allow you to effectively manage your contact list.

In this article, we will discuss in detail where to look for lock settings, how to add numbers to them and what nuances you should consider when working with MIUI Security antivirus. You will learn not only to block individual numbers, but also to configure smart filters that will weed out 90% of junk traffic before it reaches your screen.

Standard methods of blocking through the phone application

The fastest way to add a number to an ignorant list is to do so directly from a call history or contact book. This is ideal when you urgently need to block a particular caller who just disturbed you. Android, in conjunction with the shell from Xiaomi, allows you to do this action in just a couple of touches of the screen.

To do this, open the standard Phone app and go to the Recent tab. Find the number you want to block in the list and click on it to reveal the additional action menu. In the option list that appears, select Lock or the crossed-out circle icon, after which the number will automatically be blacklisted.

Alternatively, you can work through a specific contact menu, open Contacts, find the entry you want, and click on it to see the details, at the bottom of the screen or in a three-dot menu (depending on the version). MIUI) The lock option will be available, and once confirmed, all incoming calls and SMS-The messages from this subscriber will silently deviate.

It's worth noting that when locked through a standard menu, the phone doesn't make sounds or vibrate, giving the caller the impression that you're not picking up the phone, which is the most polite way to ignore, and not cause unnecessary questions from the interlocutor.

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If you have blocked the number by mistake, you can unlock it in the same menu by selecting the “Unlock” option in the contact card.

Set up a blacklist through the security center

A deeper filtering setting is available through the system application Security, which is pre-installed on all Xiaomi devices, and this is where advanced settings are hidden to control the behavior of the system when blocked calls arrive, accessed through the built-in antivirus module.

To get to the menu you want, run the Security app and find the Antivirus section or go straight to the Blacklist. In some versions of the firmware, this item is placed in a separate Lock menu, where you will see a complete list of all the blocked numbers and you can edit their list.

Not only is it manually locked, but you can also control the behavior of the system, and you can choose what happens when you call from blacklist: a full reset, a reset with a busy signal, or just silently ignored, and you can also set up SMS blocking, which is especially important for combating advertising mailings.

⚠️ Note: When activating Do Not Disturb or Air Mode, the blacklist settings may be temporarily omitted because communication with the network is interrupted at a higher level.

An important feature of the security center is the ability to import and export lists, which is convenient when switching to a new Redmi phone, allowing you to quickly transfer all locked contacts from the old device without manually entering each number again.

Use of smart filters and antivirus

MIUI is famous for its aggressive but effective spam protection mechanisms, and the blacklisting settings include smart filters that use updated databases and behavior analysis algorithms to block not only known numbers but also suspicious activity.

In the filter menu, you can activate the blocking of hidden numbers, which saves from scammers using special services to mask Caller ID. There is also an option to block all foreign numbers if you do not expect calls from abroad. These settings are located in the Settings section inside the blocker menu.

The Ad Calls and Financial Fraud filters are particularly noteworthy, and the system analyzes the incoming number based on other users' complaints database and, if the number is flagged as spam, automatically resets the call. The database is regularly updated over the Internet, so it's important to monitor the network connection.

• 🛡️ Keyword Blocking: Allows You to Weed Out SMS, containing certain phrases, such as “credit” or “winning».
• 🌍 Regional lockdown: the ability to ban calls from certain city or country codes, which is convenient for travelers.
• 🕒 Schedule mode: set up automatic blacklist activation at night or on weekends.

Third-party applications for extended locking

While Xiaomi’s built-in tools are powerful, some users prefer to use third-party solutions to manage calls more flexibly, with apps like Truecaller, Call Blocker, or Should I Answer offering cloud-based number databases and fine-tuning rules, but requiring broad permissions to install them.

The main advantage of third-party apps is huge crowdsourcing databases, which are often updated faster than standard MIUI databases. If you get a call from new spammer numbers that have not yet made it to Xiaomi databases, a third-party app can identify them by the “Spam” label set by other users.

On the other hand, the use of such applications can negatively affect the autonomy of the device and the consumption of RAM. In addition, in Android there are restrictions on access of third-party applications to the call log, so the functionality may not work as stable as the native blocker.

When installing a third-party blocker on Redmi, be sure to add it to the autoload list and remove background activity restrictions, otherwise the system will kill the blocker process and the call will pass.

Table of comparison of blocking methods

To make it easier for you to choose the right way to manage unwanted contacts, we have prepared a comparison table that will help you understand the difference between fast blocking and deep filter adjustment.

As you can see from the table, for most users, the best option is to use the built-in Security app, which provides a balance between functionality and resource consumption of the device.

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The built-in MIUI tools cover 95% of the needs of the average user, making installing additional software unnecessary measure.

Frequent problems and their solution

Despite the system's cleverness, users sometimes face situations where locked numbers do pass, or, conversely, important calls are lost, often due to synchronization with Mi Account or malfunctioning of the telephony service.

If the blacklist stops working, try clearing the Phone and Security app cache. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps, find what you want and select Clear Cache. Don't confuse it with Clear Data so you don't lose your call history.

Another common problem is calling from unknown numbers, and some versions of HyperOS have added a silent for unknowns feature that automatically resets calls from numbers that aren't in your contact book, and check if this mode is activated by accident.

⚠️ Attention: If you are using SIM-Operator card with the service "Number Antideterminer", the phone may not see the caller's number and miss the call, as it will be marked as "Hidden" and not "Unknown».

It’s also worth checking if Pocket Mode is enabled in lock settings, which can affect the behavior of the screen and buttons during an incoming call, although this rarely affects the fact that the number is locked.

Questions and Answers (FAQ)