Modern Xiaomi smartphones, which use MIUI shells or the new HyperOS, offer advanced image processing algorithms. However, by default, the front camera often operates in a preview mode that mirrors the image in a mirrored manner, like a normal mirror in the bathroom, which is designed to make it easier for the user to make the hand movements or facial expressions match the brain’s expectations in real time.
The problem is when you take a picture: the final photo may be inverted relative to what you saw on the screen, or vice versa, remain mirrored, which creates dissonance when viewing asymmetrical details of the face or text on clothes. Mirror display is a software feature that can be flexibly adjusted to their preferences, but many device owners do not know exactly where these switches are hiding.
In this article, we will discuss how to change the behavior of the camera so that your selfies look exactly as you used to see yourself in reflection, or, conversely, how people see you. Understanding the logic of processing algorithms will help avoid the frustration of “curved” photos and save time for post-processing.
⚠️ Note: Changing the display settings only affects how the photo is saved in the gallery and does not change the physical performance of the matrix.
Why the camera distorts the image by default
The phenomenon of seeing your face on a smartphone screen flipped horizontally has deep psychological roots. The brain gets used to its mirror image from childhood, so the real image (as in photos taken by other people) seems unusual and even repulsive. Engineers at Xiaomi and other manufacturers take this effect into account by setting the default preview mode.
Technically, the image-forming process on the front camera goes through several stages of signal processing: the camera sensor captures light, the processor processes data, and before displaying the data, a transformation matrix is applied. In standard mode, this matrix inverts the image along the X-axis, creating a mirror effect, which allows the user to intuitively correct the hair or line up the frame.
But when you press the shutter button, the second set of rules comes into effect, and by default, the system can save the photo as the outside observer sees it, ignoring the preview settings. And that's where the confusion comes in: you've seen one thing and you've got another, and understanding the difference between preview and save mode helps you understand.
Social networks such as Instagram or Snapchat often have their own processing algorithms that can override Xiaomi’s system settings. In such cases, the settings of the phone’s camera itself may not apply, and control is transferred to the app’s internal engine.
Set up a standard Camera application in MIUI and HyperOS
To start with, consider the full-time app that's pre-installed on all the brand's devices. The interface may vary slightly depending on the version of the operating system, but the logic remains the same: You need to launch the Camera app and switch to the front module by clicking on the icon with the image of two cameras or swiping on the screen.
Next, you open the settings menu, which is usually represented as three horizontal bars in the upper right corner of the screen, and in the list of parameters that opens, you need to find the item associated with the display, and in different versions of the firmware, it can be called Mirror reflection, Save as in Preview, or have an icon with two triangles.
☑️ Camera setup algorithm
It is important to distinguish between the two basic states of this switch, and if the function is activated, the photo will be saved exactly as you see it on the screen when you shoot it (mirror). If the function is disabled, the final file will be flipped horizontally relative to the preview, matching reality. MIUI It allows you to choose one of the options for the behavior of the system.
It’s worth noting that some updated versions of the HyperOS shell may have shifted the layout of the elements. If you don’t find the right switch in the main menu, check the “Additional” or “Extended Settings” section, and make sure the application has all the necessary permissions, although this is rarely required for basic functions to work.
| Parameter | Meaning "On" | Meaning "Off" | Influence on photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mirror reflection | Actively. | Disconnected. | Photo = Preview |
| Keep it as a preview. | Yes. | No. | Photo = Reality |
| Selfie mode | Symmetrical | Asymmetrical | Depends on the version. |
| Turning while maintaining | No. | Yes. | X-axis inversion |
⚠️ Note: Some global firmware versions may have a menu item called "Mirror front camera" or "Front camera mirroring".
Use of modes in the Google Camera app
Many Xiaomi enthusiasts install an alternative Google Camera (GCam) app to improve the quality of their images, especially in low light conditions. The interface of this application is different from the stock one, and the mirror settings are located here differently. In most GCam ports, the settings are located in the Settings -> Additional or hidden menu.
To get into the extended settings menu in GCam, you often need to click on the app logo or make several taps on certain areas of the screen (depending on the port version). Inside, you need to look for the option Selfie mirror or Mirror front camera. Activating this item will cause the application to save images mirrored.
The unique feature of Google Camera is that it allows you to separate preview and save, so you can see yourself as a mirror for convenience, but save your photos in a “real” way, and this is achieved by integrating more deeply with the Android API that port developers use.
Where to download the stable version of GCam?
If you use a modified version of the app, such as from the developer BSG or Arnova8G2, the item names can be translated into Russian by community translators. In this case, look for phrases like “Front camera”, “Reflection” or “Mirror”. The processing algorithms in GCam often ignore the system settings of Xiaomi, so you need to change them inside the application.
Third-party applications for camera control
When standard tools don’t meet the user’s requirements, specialized applications from the Google Play Market come to the rescue. Programs like Open Camera or Camera FV-5 provide full manual control over shooting parameters, including orientation and mirror control.
Open Camera, which is completely free and open, you go to the settings (cogs), then select Photo settings, and there's Mirror, which has three states: off, on for the front camera, on for all cameras, which gives you maximum flexibility.
The advantage of third-party solutions is that they often don't depend on the regional features of Xiaomi firmware. If your region has no menu item in the stock camera or does not work correctly, a third-party app will be a great solution. EXIF-data by labeling the image as inverted software, which can be useful for sorting.
- 📸 Open Camera: Fully free, open source, supports many formats and mirroring settings.
- 🎥 Camera FV-5: Professional interface emulating DSLR-cameras, fine-tuning exposure and reflection parameters.
- 🤳 Selfie Camera HD: Specialized selfie application with many filters and easy display setting.
When using third-party software, you should consider that it may not support all the hardware features of your Xiaomi smartphone, such as stabilization or night shooting modes, which are implemented at the manufacturer’s driver level.
Technical nuances and work with EXIF-data
It is important to understand that “disabling” mirroring is often not a physical rotation of the pixels, but a change in the file metadata. JPEG-Images exist tagged EXIF, It tells the viewer exactly how to display the picture. The smartphone can record the image in one form, but in the tag, write the command "display inverted».
When you transfer a photo to a computer or other operating system, some programs may ignore these tags by showing a raw image, which is why a photo that looks normal on your phone can be turned upside down on a PC. This is not a mistake, but a feature of the interpretation of metadata by different programs.
For advanced users, it is possible to edit this data after the fact. Using EXIF editors on Android or PC, you can force the image to change the orientation without loss of quality by simply changing the corresponding flag in the file title, which is especially true for photographers who process large volumes of images.
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Use EXIF-enabled viewer apps to see exactly how the image will look on other devices.
In addition, social networks often automatically rotate images according to their algorithms when downloading, ignoring the original camera settings. Instagram, for example, can flip a photo if it believes that orientation is incorrect, which sometimes leads to unexpected results when posting Stories.
Solving problems with inverted photos in the gallery
There are times when the settings are set correctly, but the photos in the gallery still don't show correctly.This could be due to the cache of the Gallery app or an error in indexing media files. First of all, try clearing the cache of the gallery app through the phone's settings menu: Apps → Gallery → Memory → Clear the cache.
If cleaning the cache didn't help, maybe the problem lies in a specific file or record format. Try changing the format of the save in the camera settings (for example, switch from HEIF to JPEG or vice versa) and check if the behavior of the system changes. The file format can affect how orientation tags are read.
In rare cases, the cause is a conflict of third-party apps that are embedded in the process of the camera. Check which applications have access to the camera and storage, and try to disable newly installed programs. It is also worth checking for system updates, since Xiaomi regularly releases patches that fix such bugs.
⚠️ Warning: Resetting all camera settings to factory values can help if errors have accumulated in the configuration file.