How to deploy photos on Xiaomi Mi 9: all ways to fix the orientation of the pictures

You took a great shot on the Xiaomi Mi 9, but it is displayed sideways or upside down? The problem with misdirection of photos is familiar to many owners of Xiaomi smartphones — especially when shooting in horizontal mode or when you quickly turn the device. In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to deploy photos directly on the phone, from built-in gallery tools to specialized applications.

The reasons for the incorrect display can be different, from a failure in the EXIF metadata to the processing features of the Mi 9 camera. For example, if you took a photo in HEIF format (used by default on some firmware), orientation can be confused when viewing on other devices. But take your time - you can fix this in a few seconds without using a computer.

Important: If the photo is stuck in the wrong position after transferring to a PC or downloading to a social network, the problem most often lies in the metadata of the file, in which case it will help not just rotate the image, but save it with the correct parameters, which we will also discuss below.

Method 1: Turn your photo in the standard Xiaomi gallery

The fastest method is to use the built-in MIUI gallery editor, which supports basic correction functions, including turning 90° counterclockwise, and is relevant to the standard Gallery application (flower icon) on MIUI 10–14 firmware.

How to do this:

📱 Open the Gallery app and find the photo you need.
🖼️ Slip the picture to open it in full size.
⚙️ Click on the Edit icon (pencil in the bottom menu).
🔄 In the bottom toolbar, select the Rotate option (round arrow). Each tap turns the image by 90.°.
✅ Click Save to apply the changes (the original will remain on the Album Modified).

The limitation of the method: if the photo is saved in HEIF (.heic) format, it automatically converts to JPEG after turning, which can slightly worsen the quality when edited repeatedly, and MIUI does not have automatic orientation detection function - you have to rotate manually.

The correct photo is open (check the date and time of the shooting)

At least 10% of the memory on the device is free

Gallery updated to the latest version (go to Settings → About Phone → Software Update)

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Method 2: Using Google Photos to Automatically Correct

Google Photos not only stores images in the cloud, it can automatically correct orientation when it loads, which is useful if the photo is “upside down” due to an error in metadata, and even works for older images that were uploaded earlier.

Step-by-step:

Install Google Photos from Play Market if it is not already installed.
Open the app and find the problem photo (it can be in the Camera or Screenshots folder).
Slip on the picture, then click Edit (the icon with sliders).
Select the Trimming tab (frame icon) → Turn.
Use the Turn button or Auto function (if available).
Save the changes – the edited version will appear next to the original.

Important detail: Google Photos saves edit history, so you can always undo changes or return the original version. Also, if Backup is enabled, the corrected photo syncs with all your devices.

Standard Gallery Xiaomi

Google Photo

Other cloud storage (Yandex Drive, iCloud, etc.)

Snapseed Editors (Snapseed, Lightroom)

I do not use photo apps

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Method 3: Rotate through the file manager (for power users)

If a photo refuses to rotate in the gallery because of corrupted metadata, you can try changing the orientation manually through the file manager, which requires additional software installation, but even works with stubborn HEIC or RAW images.

You'll need:

📁 File Manager with support for metadata editing (e.g, FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer).
🔧 Viewing module EXIF (can be used EXIF Viewer).

Algorithm of action:

Open the file manager and find the photo folder (usually DCIM/Camera).
Long press on the file → Properties → EXIF data.
Find the Orientation parameter. If it has a value of 6 (turned 90° to the right) or 8 (90° to the left), change it to 1 (normal position).
Save the changes and check the photo in the gallery.

⚠️ Note: Not all file managers support editing EXIF. If the image is worse after the changes (for example, the color gamut is lost), return the original metadata or use another method.

Why does the photo turn itself after the shooting?

On the Xiaomi Mi 9, the camera has the Autoturn Sensor setting (the gyro detects the position of the phone). If you are taking upside down or at an angle, the smartphone may not correctly retain orientation in the metadata. To turn off this feature, go to the camera Settings → Additional → Autoturn and deactivate the option.

Method 4: Third-party editors – Snapseed, Lightroom, PicsArt

If the built-in tools don't work, professional editors will come to the rescue, offering not only turn, but also perspective correction, proportional trimming, and RAW and HEIC formats.

Comparison of popular editors:

Annex	HEIC support	Crash-turn	Additional functions	Cons
Snapseed	✅ (convertible)	❌	Perspective correction, selective editing	A complex interface for beginners
Adobe Lightroom	✅	✅ (sometimes)	Color profiles, presets, work with RAW	Registration required for synchronization
PicsArt	❌	❌	Collages, stickers, effects	Advertising in the free version
Photo & Picture Resizer	✅	❌	Package processing, change of permission	Limited editing tools

Recommendation: Snapseed is best suited for Xiaomi Mi 9 — it is free, does not require registration and retains quality when you turn.

Open the picture in Snapseed.
Select the Turning Tool (arrow icon).
Use a finger gesture to manually turn or a 90° left/right button.
Click Ready and export the file (select 100% quality).

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If the photo becomes blurred after turning in Snapseed, check the export settings. Turn off the Compression option while saving the application parameters in the menu.

Method 5: Correcting computer orientation (for complex cases)

If none of the methods on the phone worked, you have to transfer the photo to the PC and edit it there, which is true for RAW (Mi 9 supports shooting in.dng), as well as for batch processing of a large number of files.

Programs for turning on the computer:

🖥️ FastStone Image Viewer is a lightweight utility with support EXIF and packet-turn.
🖼️ IrfanView – Free Viewer with Orientation Correction Tools.
📷 Adobe Bridge is for professionals (works with the RAW and HEIC).
🌐 Online services: Img2Go or EZGIF (for GIF and JPEG).

Instructions for FastStone Image Viewer:

Connect Xiaomi Mi 9 to your PC in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
Copy the problem photos into a separate folder on your computer.
Open them in FastStone, select the files you want and press Turn → 90° CW/CCW.
Save the changes (Ctrl + S) or export to a new folder.

⚠️ Note: When transferring photos from Mi 9 to Windows MTP Sometimes, orientation metadata is lost. To avoid this, use Scrcpy to manage your phone from a PC or cloud services (e.g. Google Drive).

What if the photo doesn’t turn in any way?

If the picture persists in the wrong position despite all attempts, the problem may lie in:

🔄 If you have a file that is damaged, try opening it on another device, and if it is also a fault, you will have to restore it through programs like Stellar Repair for Photo.
📱 Failure in the firmware: on some versions MIUI (For example, 12.5.3) has encountered a processing bug HEIC. Update the software through Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
🔧 Application Conflict: If you use an alternative gallery (such as Simple Gallery), try clearing its cache in Settings → Annexes.

The last option is to convert the photo to another format.

Install the Image Converter app from the Play Market.
Select a problem image and convert it to PNG or JPEG.
Check the orientation in the new file.

💡

If the photo is only rotated in some apps (like Google Photos is fine, but Instagram isn't), the problem is metadata. Use EXIF Purge to reset it.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the photo turn on Xiaomi Mi 9

Why is the photo in the gallery displayed correctly, and when sent to the WhatsApp/Telegram turn around?

This is because messengers ignore EXIF metadata when compressing images. Solution: Before sending, rotate the photo to the gallery and save it as a new copy. Or use the option to Send as a file (in Telegram) - so the orientation will remain.

Can I turn the photo in viewing mode (without editing)?

In the standard MIUI gallery, hold your finger on the screen and turn your phone, the image will follow the gyroscope, but once the gallery closes, the orientation will be reset.

How to turn live photos on Mi 9?

Live photos on Xiaomi are a combination of JPEG + video. To rotate them: Use Google's Motion Stills app - it will split the live photo into a static picture and video that can be edited separately. Or convert to a regular JPEG through the Gallery → Edit → Save a copy.

After turning, the photo became of poor quality. How do you fix it?

This is due to multiple compression. To avoid loss: Always save edited photos as a new copy (do not overwrite the original). In the editor settings, select the maximum quality (for example, in Snapseed it is 100%). For HEIC, use HEIC to JPEG Converter with the Lossless option.

Can you set up the Mi 9 camera so that the photos are immediately stored in the correct orientation?

Yes, but it depends on the firmware: Go to Camera Settings → Additional. Turn off the Autoturn Sensor option (if any). Or install GCam (a modified Google camera) - it handles orientation metadata better. Note: some versions of MIUI may not have these settings.