How to block a contact with Xiaomi: the complete guide

In today’s world, smartphones have become more than just a means of communication, but personal space that is often restricted. However, intrusive calls from advertising agencies, scammers or just plain unpleasant interlocutors can disrupt this peace at any moment. Owners of Xiaomi devices based on the shell of MIUI or the new HyperOS often wonder how to effectively limit the access of unwanted subscribers to their number without changing the SIM card or carrier.

Fortunately, the Chinese giant’s engineers have built-in tools to filter incoming calls and messages. You don’t need to install third-party software that can consume battery life or collect personal data. System features allow you to create a “blacklist”, set up a lock on a number mask or even completely turn off the sound for all but a select contacts from the address book.

In this article, we will take a closer look at all the available blocking methods, from standard telephony settings to advanced scenarios through the Security app. We will look at the nuances of working with different versions of firmware, explain where blocked calls go, and answer frequent questions users have when setting up privacy.

Blocking through a standard call

The fastest and most obvious way to limit communication with a particular subscriber is to use the built-in lock feature directly in the Phone app, which is ideal if you need to urgently stop calls from one particular person whose number is already saved in your contacts or displayed in your call history.

To do this, open the Phone app and go to the call history tab. Find the number you plan to block and click on it to expand the additional action menu. From the option list that opens, select Block or Block the number. The system will immediately blacklist this contact, and from that point on all attempts to communicate on your part will be interrupted automatically.

An alternative path is through the contact management menu. If the number is saved in the address book, open the subscriber card. At the bottom of the screen or in the upper right corner (depending on the version of MIUI), you will find a button with three dots or a gear.

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If you have blocked the number by mistake, you can unlock it in the same menu by selecting the "Unblock the number".

It is important to understand that when you block a call through a standard call, the subscriber does not receive any notification that he is blacklisted, for him the beeps will go before the reset, as if you do not pick up the phone, or the call will be interrupted instantly depending on the operator's settings.

Setting up a blacklist in the Security app

More flexible call filtering and SMS-The message is concentrated in the system application Security, which is the central control center for the device's security, where you can not only add a specific number, but also customize the rules for entire groups of subscribers. Access to this menu is through the zipper shield icon on the desktop or in the Tools folder».

Inside the app, find the Antispam (or Lock) section, which displays the blocked event statistics and control buttons, and clicking on the gear icon or Settings in the upper right corner will take you to the blacklist management menu, and that's where the Blacklist switch is, which must be activated to allow all the rules to work.

In the blacklist management menu, you can manually add a number by clicking the plus or Add button, and the system will suggest you enter a number manually or select it from contacts and call history, which is convenient if you want to block a subscriber who is not in your recent call history, but whose number you know.

The keyword blocking feature deserves special attention. In the anti-spam settings there is an SMS filter section. By activating it, you can specify words that will automatically hide it in the text of the message. This is effective against casino advertising, credits and other intrusive mailings.

Use of Do Not Disturb and Quiet Mode

Sometimes the user needs to not just block one person, but create conditions of complete silence, skipping calls only from a narrow circle of people (family, colleagues).For this purpose, Android and MIUI have special modes that work at a deeper system level than a simple blacklist.

Do Not Disturb allows you to completely silence all notifications, call sounds and vibrations. However, it is flexible. Go to Settings → Sound and vibration → Do not disturb. Here you can create a schedule or activate the mode manually. The key option is to Allow calls. Select Contacts Only or Favorites. In this case, all other calls will be blocked by the system, even if the number is not blacklisted.

There is also Quiet Mode (sometimes called Sleep Mode), which is often confused with Do Not Disturb. The difference is that Quiet Mode usually just turns off the sound, but visual notification can be displayed, whereas Do Not Disturb prevents banners from appearing and wakes up the screen. Do Not Disturb is the one you use to maximize isolation from the outside world.

These modes are especially useful at night or during important meetings, when you can not rely only on a manual blacklist.You can set up automatic activation of the mode on a schedule, for example, from 23:00 to 07:00, so as not to wake up from spammer calls.

Blocking of hidden and unknown numbers

A separate category of problems is calls from hidden numbers (the number detector is disabled by the sender) or from unknown numbers that are not in your phone book. The standard blacklist is not always effective against them, since you can not block "nothing." However, in the MIUI settings there are special filters for such cases.

In the Security app, go to Antispam → Settings (cogs). Find the Locking Rules section. Here you will see the option to Lock Hidden Numbers. Activating this slider will cause any incoming call where the number is not transmitted (defined as "Private Number" or "Unknown") to be automatically rejected by the system.

There's also the option to block numbers outside the phone book, which if you turn on this feature, your phone will only accept calls from those who are saved in your contacts, and all other calls will be blocked, which is a radical but highly effective method for those who only expect calls from friends and want to completely ignore telemarketing.

⚠️ Note: When you enable locking of all unknown numbers, you may miss an important call from the courier, doctor or delivery service if their number is not stored with you in advance.

For users who don’t want to block everyone but want to see who’s calling, you can use the Caller ID feature, which is built into the MIUI shell, which marks potential spam in red, allowing you to decide for yourself whether to pick up the phone or not, based on feedback from other users.

Comparison of locking methods on Xiaomi

The choice of blocking method depends on your specific goals: whether you need to ignore one person, all the spam or ensure complete silence. Below is a table that will help you navigate the functionality of various Xiaomi tools.

As you can see from the table, the combination of methods is the best result, for example, using a built-in number detector paired with manual locking of the most active spammers allows you to keep the phone clean without the risk of missing an important call.

It’s also worth noting that some carriers offer their own blocking services that work at the network level, even before the signal reaches your smartphone. Check your carrier’s personal account – there may already be free anti-spam that can be activated with a single button.

Third-party applications for call filtering

If MIUI is not enough, the market offers a lot of third-party solutions, but installing such applications requires care, as they request access to all your calls, messages and contacts, which poses potential privacy risks.

One of the most popular solutions is Truecaller, which has a huge database of numbers updated in real time by users around the world and can detect spam more effectively than Xiaomi’s built-in databases, especially for international numbers or local scammers who often change SIM cards.

Other apps, such as Call Blocker or Should I Answer?, offer similar functionality, allowing you to create complex rules, such as blocking numbers starting with a certain prefix sequence or calling from certain regions.

When installing such software on Xiaomi, be sure to provide all the requested permissions, otherwise the lock will not work. Android system strictly controls access to calls, so you will have to manually allow the application to "Determine numbers" and "Manage calls" in the system settings.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)