Modern smartphones like the Poco F3 have powerful screens and cameras, but sometimes you need to capture exactly what's happening on the display. Whether it's a correspondence, an error in the application or a major moment in the game, the ability to quickly create a screenshot is a basic skill of the user. Owners of devices based on MIUI and HyperOS have in their arsenal a lot of tools for this, far beyond the standard combination of buttons.
Many users do not even suspect that their gadget can take long screenshots with scrolling or automatically record actions in the video. GIF-In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available ways to capture images on Xiaomi Poco. F3, We also look at the settings that will help optimize this process.
Once you've mastered the techniques below, you can not just save a picture, but you can edit it immediately, highlight important details, or send it to your colleagues without moving too much, so let's start with the most obvious and quickest options.
Classical Method: A Combination of Physical Buttons
The most common way that every Android device owner knows is to press the control buttons simultaneously. On Poco F3, where the fingerprint scanner is built into the on button, this method works seamlessly and has been tested for years. It's perfect when you need to snap an image urgently, and there's no time to look for settings.
To create a picture, you need to press the Volume Down button and the Power button at the same time. Pressing should be brief, almost instantaneous. If you hold your fingers longer than a second, the phone can perceive this as a command to call the emergency call menu or turn off the device.
After the characteristic sound of the camera shutter, a thumbnail of the picture will appear in the upper right corner of the screen. tapping will open it with a built-in editor where you can immediately crop the extra one or draw an arrow. If you do nothing, after a few seconds the thumbnail will disappear, and the image will remain in the gallery.
☑️ Pre-screen check.
It is worth noting that on the Poco F3, the buttons have a clear tactile response, which helps you feel the moment of pressing. However, if you use a tight protective case, the pressure may not be evenly distributed, and the first time you try to change the angle of pressing or use a wider finger to cover both buttons.
Gesture control: screenshot with three fingers
Xiaomi has introduced a handy gesture control feature that allows you to take screenshots without using physical buttons, which is especially true if the volume buttons on your Poco F3 have a backlash or you just prefer touch control with one hand.
To activate this feature, go to the Settings menu, then select Additional and find the buttons and gestures. In the list that opens, select the Screenshot option and activate the Three Fingers switch. Once you turn on this function, just swipe three fingers from top to bottom of the screen.
- 🖐️ The gesture works in most applications, including browsers, gallery and social networks.
- ⚙️ The sensitivity of the gesture can be adjusted in the same menu if the phone reacts too often or, conversely, ignores the movement.
- 🚫 In some full-screen games or applications, the gesture may be blocked to avoid accidental tapping.
Using gestures can make it much faster when your hands are busy or your phone is on the table, but be careful: accidentally swiping three fingers while reading a book or watching a video can lead to the unplanned creation of many extra files in your memory.
⚠️ Attention: A three-finger gesture may conflict with special features or third-party launchers. If a screenshot is not created, check if an application that blocks system gestures is running.
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If the three-finger gesture is unstable, try to swipe your fingers not too fast, but also without holding them on the screen.
Control Panel and Multitasking Menu
There's another tool hidden from the eyes of beginners in the MIUI shell, but a very useful tool is the screenshot button in the menu of running applications, which is convenient because you see a preview of the window you want to save, and you can select it from the list.
To access this feature, you swipe from the bottom up (or click the navigation button if classic control is enabled) to open a list of recent apps. Under each window of the application, you'll see several icons. One of them, usually the second one on the left, looks like a scissor or a camera icon, and clicking on it instantly creates a snapshot of this window.
Also, the Control Panel (notification curtain) often has a separate screenshot button, so if you can't see it in quick access, click on the edit icon (usually a pencil or a gear in the corner of the curtain) and drag the Screenshot icon into the active zone, which allows you to take screenshots even if the physical buttons are faulty.
| Method | Speed. | Convenience | nuance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttons | Tall. | Average. | Risk of clamping the shutdown menu |
| Three fingers. | Tall. | High. | Requires customization |
| Task menu | Medium | High. | You need to open the list of applications. |
| Voice. | Low. | Average. | Requires internet or settings |
Using software buttons in the interface is a great backup option, which ensures that you can take a screenshot even if a serious software error blocks physical buttons, although on Poco F3 such cases are rare due to high-quality optimization.
Voice Control and Google Assistant
The era of voice assistants brought with it the ability to control a smartphone without touching. On the Poco F3, you can use the built-in Mi AI voice assistant or the standard Google Assistant to take screenshots, which is especially convenient when your hands are dirty or busy.
To activate, you just need to say a trigger phrase, such as "OK, Google," or unlock the phone with your voice, and then say "Take a screenshot" (or "Make a screenshot" in English), and the system recognizes the command and executes the action, saving the current screen image to the gallery.
- 🎙️ Voice control works even on a locked screen if the corresponding setting is activated.
- 🌐 Google Assistant may require an active internet connection.
- 🗣️ Commands can be configured in Russian in the settings of Google Assistant.
The disadvantage of the method is that it's relatively slow compared to the buttons, so you have to wait for the microphone to activate, say the command, and confirm the action, but in situations where physical interaction with the screen is not possible, this is the only way to save the phone.
Long screenshot and extended functions
One of the most useful features in Xiaomi’s arsenal is the ability to create a long screenshot, an indispensable tool for saving correspondence in messengers, web pages or long contact lists that do not fit on a single screen.
Once you've taken a normal screenshot of any of these methods, the thumbnail appears in the upper right corner, and it has a button with two arrows down on it, or the words "Scroll" on it, and the system automatically scrolls down the page, making a series of pictures, which it then glues into one long image.
You can stop scrolling at any time by touching the screen, or let the system go to the end of the page. The resulting image is saved in PNG format and can be significant in height. Also available in the screenshot editor is the "Add frame" feature, which places your shot in a beautiful Poco F3 case template.
⚠️ Note: When you take a long screenshot in applications with dynamic content (such as a news feed), the final image may appear intermittent.
In addition, in the screenshot settings, you can enable automatic thumbnail removal after viewing or configure the save format. For professionals, the option of saving in JPG with customizable quality is available, which saves space on the disk.
Secret editing function
Where to look for saved screenshots and how to edit them
All images are automatically stored in the device's internal memory, and can be found through the standard Gallery or Explorer app, and the screenshot gallery has a separate album, making it easier to sort and search the desired file among hundreds of photos.
The path to the file system is as follows: Internal memory → DCIM → Screenshots: If you connect your phone to your computer through USB-cable, you can easily find this folder and copy files to your hard drive, which is useful for backing up important data.
The built-in MIUI editor offers a wide range of features: cropping, rotating, drawing, adding text and stickers. You can even blur sensitive information (such as card numbers or passwords) with a special tool called Marker. This makes it unnecessary to use third-party applications for basic processing.
- 📂 Files are sorted by date of creation, the most recent are at the beginning of the list.
- ✏️ Editing is available immediately upon creation or at any time through the gallery.
- 🗑️ Deleted screenshots are placed in a shopping cart, where they are stored for 30 days before final deletion.
Cleaning the screenshot folder regularly helps free up space on the drive, as these files are often temporary and lose relevance after a few days. Use the Cleanup feature in the Security app to quickly remove duplicates.
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The folder with screenshots takes up space in the shared storage, so it is recommended to periodically delete old or unnecessary images to make the system work faster.