Did you take a great shot on Xiaomi, but it turned upside down or turned 90 degrees? In the standard MIUI gallery there is no obvious “Turn” button, but the function is hidden in the editing menu. In this article, 5 proven ways to deploy photos on Redmi, Poco, Mi 11/12/13/14 and others, and save changes without loss of quality.
Photo orientation issues are most common when shooting portrait mode, scanning documents, or transferring files from other devices. For example, photos from an iPhone or camera may be displayed sideways in the Xiaomi gallery due to differences in EXIF metadata. We will analyze not only standard MIUI tools, but also third-party applications for complex cases when the gallery refuses to save a turn.
Important: All methods run on the latest versions of MIUI 14/15 (Android 13/14), but some features may not be available on older firmware.If your smartphone is released before 2019, check the "Alternative Solutions" section at the end of the article.
Method 1: Rotate the photo through the built-in gallery editor
The fastest method is to use editing tools in Xiaomi’s standard gallery.It’s suitable for most models, including the Redmi Note 10/11/12, Poco X3/X4/X5 and the Mi 13 Ultra flagships.
How to do this:
- Open the Gallery app (a flower icon).
- Find the right photo and tap it to open it.
- Press the Edit button** (the pencil icon at the bottom of the screen).
- In the bottom panel, select the “Pruning” tool** (frame icon with corners).
- In the lower right corner, you'll see a "Turn" button, and press it until the photo is in the right orientation.
- Click “Done” → “Save” (or “Save as a copy”** if you want to leave the original).
⚠️ Note: If the Turn button is inactive (grey), it means that the gallery does not recognize the orientation of the photo.
Check the orientation of the photo after turning.
Select "Save" (not "Cancel")
Make sure the notification appears "Photo saved"
Close the gallery and check the file in the file manager-->
Method 2: Use the "Fix Perspective" function
If the photo is not just inverted, but also curved (for example, after shooting documents at an angle), the Xiaomi gallery has a tool called "Fix Perspective"**, which automatically aligns the image horizontally and vertically.
Instructions:
- 📷 Open the photo in the gallery and click "Edit»**.
- 🔧 Select the “Fix” tool** (grid icon with curved arrows).
- 🔄 Click Auto to automatically align or manually pull the Horizon and Vertical sliders»**.
- 💾 Save the changes (Ready button** in upper right corner).
This method is useful for passport scans, receipts or text photos, where smooth geometry is important, but it does not always work correctly with portraits, in such cases it is better to use Method 1.
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If after correcting the perspective, the photo became blurry, go back to the editor and reduce the value of the slider "Improving" in the "Details" section.
Method 3: Turn your photo through Google Photos
Google Photos often handles EXIF metadata better than the standard Xiaomi gallery. If a photo refuses to rotate in MIUI, try this method:
Steps:
- Install Google Photos from Play Market (if not already installed).
- Open the application and find the photo you want (it syncs automatically if backup is enabled).
- Slip on the photo → click “Edit”** (icon with sliders).
- Select the “Pruning” tab** (third icon on the right).
- Press the “Turn” button** (round arrow) until the photo is correctly positioned.
- Click "Save copy"** to avoid erasing the original.
Google Photos saves the rotated photos to a separate Edited folder, which is convenient for finding modified files. If the photo is displayed incorrectly again after saving it, check it on another device - the problem may be in the Xiaomi player.
Xiaomi Standard Gallery
Google Photo
Third-party applications (Snapseed, Lightroom, etc.)
I don't edit the photo.-->
Method 4: Use a file manager and third-party applications
If Xiaomi’s gallery persists in not keeping the turn, you can get around the restrictions with a file manager and specialized applications, a method that is suitable for power users.
Options:
| Annex | Advantages | Deficiencies |
|---|---|---|
| Snapseed | Accurate adjustment of the angle of rotation, preservation in high quality | A complex interface for beginners |
| Photo & Picture Resizer | Rotating with change of resolution, batch processing | Advertising in the free version |
| XnView MP | Support for rare formats (RAW, TIFF), editing EXIF | It takes up a lot of space. |
Recommended algorithm:
- Copy a photo from the DCIM/Camera folder to another directory (like Download) through the file manager.
- Open a copy in one of the applications above and turn it around.
- Save the result in JPEG format with a quality of 90-100%.
- Delete the original (if not needed) and rename the edited file.
Why is Xiaomi Gallery not keeping the turn?
Method 5: Rotate through the PC (for complex cases)
If none of the mobile methods worked, plug Xiaomi into your computer and edit the photo on the big screen, guaranteed to solve the problem with orientation.
Step-by-step instructions for Windows/macOS:
- 🖥️ Connect your phone to your PC through USB-cable (select File Transfer mode** in the notification curtain).
- 📂 Go to the Internal Storage folder → DCIM → Camera.
- 🖼️ Copy the problem photo to your desktop.
- 🔄 Open it in Paint (Windows), Preview (macOS) or GIMP (For advanced users, and turn:
- 💾 Save the file (better under a new name, for example, photo_fixed.jpg).
- 📲 Move the corrected photo back to the folder DCIM/Camera phone-on.
⚠️ Note: When editing on a PC, monitor the resolution and quality of the save. For example, in Paint, the default photo is saved in low resolution - before saving, select "Other format» → «JPEG» and set the maximum quality.
Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Even after a successful turn, the photo may not display correctly again. Here are the typical reasons and solutions:
Problem 1: The photo is turned in the gallery, but in messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) it is displayed sideways.
Solution: This is because messengers ignore EXIF metadata. Open the photo in Google Photos or Snapseed, rotate it and save it as a new file (not over the original).
Problem 2: After turning, the photo is cut at the edges.
Solution: Before turning in the gallery editor, click "Free" in the "Pruning" section to turn off automatic framing.
Problem 3: The Turn button is inactive in the Xiaomi Gallery.
Solution: Check if the photo is edit-proof (e.g., screenshots of some apps are blocked). Also update the gallery via Play Market or clear its cache in the settings (Settings → Apps → Gallery → Storage → Clear cache).
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If the photo was taken on another phone (e.g. iPhone) and moved to Xiaomi, its orientation may be confused by a conflict of metadata, in which case only saving the rotated copy through Google Photos or PC helps.
Alternative solutions for older Xiaomi models
If your smartphone is running MIUI 10/11 (e.g. Redmi 5/6/7, Mi 8/9), the built-in gallery editor may not support turning.
- 📱 Install QuickPic or Simple Gallery from Play Market – these apps have built-in rotating tools.
- 🔧 Use it. FX File Explorer (turn on View Images mode** and rotate the photo directly in the file manager).
- 🌐 Upload the photo to an online service like Img2Go, Turn it around and download it back.
For models older than 2018 (for example, Redmi 4X, Mi A1) is also relevant solution via PC (see Method 5), as their firmware is often devoid of modern editing functions.