Xiaomi White List: How to Allow Calls and Notifications Only From Your Contacts

Xiaomi smartphones based on the shell MIUI They offer flexible tools to manage notifications and incoming calls, but not everyone knows about the whitelist feature, SMS And push notifications only from selected contacts or apps, blocking all other signals, especially in Do Not Disturb mode, when you need to focus on work or leisure, but still stay in touch with close or important services.

Unlike the standard spam blocker, the whitelist works on the principle of “all that is not prohibited is allowed» → «For example, you can set your phone to go off even in silent mode, and messages from the bank come in despite the activated sleep mode. In this article, we will discuss all the ways to set the white list on Xiaomi - from the basic options in the Internet. MIUI Up to Hidden Features for Advanced Users.

What is a white list and why you need it in Xiaomi

A whitelist is a list of contacts, apps, or notification types that are allowed to bypass system mode restrictions, and is integrated into several features on Xiaomi:

• 📞 Do Not Disturb – only misses calls from selected numbers.
• 🔔 Notification Management – Allows push messages from specific applications.
• 📱 Spam Blocker – excludes trusted numbers from filtering.
• 🔒 Application protection – allows you to run only authorized programs (relevant for parental control).

The main advantage of the white list over the black list (where only selected numbers are blocked) is the guaranteed silence from all unwanted sources. For example, if you add only your spouse’s number and the bank’s application to the list, you will not be woken up at night by notifications from messengers or advertising. SMS. Important signals will pass.

Nana MIUI The whitelist works in conjunction with other security features, such as Second Space or Data Protection, making it particularly useful for users who want to differentiate between personal and work lives on the same device.

How to Add Contacts to Whitelist for Calls and SMS

The most popular scenario is to allow calls and messages only from selected numbers, blocking all others. On Xiaomi, this is configured via Do Not Disturb:

1. Open Settings → Sound and vibration → Do not disturb.
2. Activate the switch Enable.
3. Select Allow Exclusions → Calls.
4. Just tap on selected contacts.
5. Click Add Contacts and select the numbers you need from the phone book.

For SMS The algorithm is similar: in the same menu Allow exceptions select Messages → Only selected contacts. Please note that in MIUI 14+ You can add not only individual numbers, but also groups of contacts (for example, “Family” or “Work»).

Do Not Disturb mode is on|Selected “Selected contacts only"|Added all important numbers|Exceptions for SMS|Incoming call from an unauthorized number is tested-->

⚠️ Warning: If you don't get calls from even the authorized contacts after setting up the whitelist, check if Flight Mode or Energy Saving is activated. These features can block all incoming signals, including exceptions.

For convenience, you can create a quick shortcut on the desktop:

1. Click the empty space on the screen → Widgets.
2. Find the Do Not Disturb widget and drag it to the screen.
3. Now you can turn on / off the mode with one tap.

Setting up a white list for app notifications

If you are annoyed by the constant push notifications from games, social networks or news applications, you can only allow alerts from critical services (banks, instant messengers, mail).

1. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management.
2. Select the application you want to limit notifications from.
3. Turn off the Display Notifications switch.
4. For important applications (such as SberBank Online or Telegram), leave notifications enabled.

For more flexible settings, use the Sleep Mode:

• 🌙 Turn on the settings. → Screen and brightness → Sleep regimen.
• Select Set exceptions → Notifications.
• Add to the list apps that can interrupt sleep (such as alarm clocks or calls from favorites).

Nana MIUI 15 has a feature called Priority Notifications, which allows you to highlight alerts from selected contacts or applications visually (for example, a flashing indicator or audible signal:

1. Go to Settings. → Notifications → Priority notifications.
2. Add contacts or apps to the list.
3. Set up the method of notification (sound, vibration, light indicator).

Hidden whitelist capabilities: Spam blocker and application protection

Besides the standard functions, MIUI Offers advanced tools for creating a whitelist:

• 🛡️ Spam Blocker: You can add trusted numbers to exceptions so their calls don't get into the spam filter.Path: Phone → Three points. → Settings → Spam blocker → Whitelist.
• 🔐 Application Protection: Allows only selected programs to run (useful for parental controls). → Annexes → Application protection.
• 📡 Background Restriction: Prohibits background activity for all applications except those allowed (saves battery power). → Battery → Background restriction.

Especially useful is the app protection feature for devices that kids use, so you can create a list of allowed programs (like educational apps or phone calls to parents) and block access to everything else.

1. Activate Settings → Annexes → Application protection.
2. Set a password or pattern lock.
3. Add to the whitelist the desired apps (for example, YouTube Kids or Calls).
4. All other programs will be blocked without entering a password.

For advanced users, whitelisting is available through ADB (This allows, for example, to allow autorun only for system applications or to disable background activity for all programs except instant messengers. ADB:

adb shell cmd appops set < application package > RUN_ANY_IN_BACKGROUND allow


adb shell cmd appops set < application package > RUN_IN_BACKGROUND allow

Where <package> — This is a program ID (e.g. com.whatsapp for WhatsApp) and you can find the package through the App Inspector app.

Difference between whitelists on different versions MIUI

The functionality of the whitelist depends on the firmware version. Below is a comparison of the capabilities in the MIUI 12–15:

Starting with MIUI 14, Adaptive Notifications has been introduced, which automatically determines the importance of alerts based on your behavior. For example, if you frequently respond to messages from a particular contact, the system can add it to the priority list itself:

1. Go to Settings. → Notifications → Adaptive notifications.
2. Activate the Adaptive Mode switch.
3. Choose Action-Based Learning.

💡

If you update to a new version MIUI missing whitelist settings, try resetting the Phone or Messages app via Settings → Annexes → Application management → Data reset. It'll bring back the standard settings without losing contact.

For owners of devices on MIUI 12 and below some features may not be available, in which case it is recommended to update the firmware through Settings → The phone. → Update the system or manually via Fastboot.

How to check if the whitelist works

After setting up, it's important to make sure that the exceptions are applied correctly.

1. Call test: Ask a friend to call you from a number that is and is not on the whitelist. Do not disturb mode only the authorized call must pass.
2. Test SMS: Send yourself a message from a locked and authorized number. Only the second one should come.
3. Notification Test: Open an app that is not on the whitelist (like a game) and check if alerts are coming from it.

If something goes wrong, use the call and notification log:

• For calls: Phone → Journal → Filter → Missed.
• For notifications: Settings → Notifications → Notification log (enable history record if disabled).

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note) 10 or POCO X3) The notification log function may be hidden. To activate it, run the command through ADB: adb shell settings put global notification_history_enabled 1 After that, the magazine will appear in the settings.

If the whitelist doesn’t work for a specific contact, check:

• 📱 Is the number in the phone book correctly saved (with country code, for example, +7 instead of 8).
• 🔕 Has the contact been added to the blacklist (phone) → Three points. → Blacklist).
• 🔄 Have your phone settings been reset after the update.

Frequent problems and their solutions

When using the whitelist on Xiaomi, users experience common mistakes, and here are the most common ways to fix them:

If the problem persists, try resetting your network settings:

1. Go to Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Resetting network settings.
2. Confirm the action (this will not delete personal data, but will reset your mobile internet and Wi-Fi settings).

For devices with MIUI 13+ System Diagnostics is also available, which can automatically identify the cause of the problem:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone. → Diagnostics of the system.
2. Select Notification Problems or Call Problems.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen.

💡

If none of these methods worked, check if you have third-party apps on your phone to block calls (like Truecaller or Call Blocker) that can override your whitelist system settings.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions