Full screen mode on Xiaomi Redmi smartphones: the full guide

Modern smartphones like Redmi and Xiaomi offer advanced interface interactions, including full-screen mode, which dramatically changes navigation by removing the buttons at the bottom of the screen and freeing up precious space for content. Many device owners don’t even realize that standard three-button navigation is just one option available in the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS.

The switch to gesture control not only allows you to visually expand the usable area of the display, but also to speed up the work with the gadget due to more intuitive swipes. Full-screen mode hides the system controls, making watching videos and games as immersive as possible. However, to take advantage of all the benefits, you need to adjust the display settings correctly, especially if your smartphone has a cutout in the screen.

In this article, we’ll take a look at how to activate this feature, configure black bar hiding around bangs, and solve typical app compatibility issues. You’ll understand why gesture navigation is considered more ergonomic for larger diagonals, and learn how to tailor the interface to your habits. A deep understanding of these settings will make using your Xiaomi a truly comfortable experience.

The main advantages of the full-screen interface MIUI

The main goal of the full-screen implementation by Xiaomi developers was to maximize the useful display space. On modern models such as the Redmi Note 13 or Xiaomi 14, the frames around the screen are minimized, and the presence of bulky navigation buttons at the bottom would look unaesthetic and occupy up to 10% of the workspace. gesture control solves this problem by allowing content to occupy the entire matrix surface.

In addition to the visual aspect, there is an important ergonomic aspect: When using a smartphone with one hand, the thumb often falls short of the upper corner of the screen, where the back or home buttons are located in the classic mode. Gesture control allows you to swipe these functions from any edge of the screen, which is much more convenient. Ergonomics becomes a key factor in choosing the way of navigation for owners of devices with a diagonal of more than 6 inches.

• 🚀 Maximum use of screen area for multimedia and games without overlapping the interface.
• 🖐️ Simplified one-handed control thanks to swipes from the edges of the display.
• ⚡ Acceleration of system operation by optimizing transition animations between applications.

It's worth noting that switching to a new interface takes some time to get used to, and the brain needs to rewire from mechanically pressing buttons to muscle swipe memory, but statistics show that after a week of using gesture control, more than 80 percent of users refuse to go back to classic buttons, noting the increased speed of work.

Activation of full screen mode through settings

The process of enabling full-screen mode on Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones is as simple as possible and takes only a few seconds. All the necessary switches are in the standard system settings menu, access to which does not require superuser rights or install third-party software.

Next, the algorithm goes like this: Find the option (in some versions of the firmware it can be called Advanced settings) and select the subsection Full-screen mode. This is where the master switch that activates gesture control is located. Once turned on, you will see a training animation showing basic finger movements.

It's important to understand that depending on the version of the MIUI shell or HyperOS, the menu layout may vary slightly. In newer versions of Android, the path can be changed to Settings → Desktop → Navigation. If you don't find the right item right away, search by settings by typing in "gestures" or "navigation." Search for settings is the fastest way to find the right switch in a confusing menu.

⚠️ Warning: Once full screen mode is activated, the classic buttons will disappear instantly. If you are confused, remember that swipe from the bottom up in the center will return you to the desktop, and swipe from the bottom up with a delay will open the menu of running applications.

Setting up the display of the cutout (bangs) of the screen

Many Redmi models have a front-facing camera built right into the display matrix, creating what's called a bang or notch. In full-screen mode, the system automatically darkens the area around the camera with a black bar to align the status bar. However, users often wonder if it's possible to change this setting or hide the black area completely.

To control this, you need to go back to the Full Screen Mode menu and find Hide the Notch (or Hide the Notch) option, which allows you to forcefully hide or show the area around the front camera in specific applications, and this is especially true for applications that are incorrectly displayed with a black bar, stretching the interface.

Keep in mind that completely hiding the notch in some applications can cause important interface elements (such as time or battery icon) to be blocked by the camera lens.UI optimization in such cases falls on the shoulders of application developers, but Xiaomi users can force the display to adjust through system settings.

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If the interface hits the camera in a particular application, add it to the exception list in the cutout concealment settings. This will return the black bar only for this application, saving the full screen in the others.

Differences in navigation in MIUI and HyperOS

With the release of the new HyperOS operating system, which is gradually replacing MIUI in the global market and in China, the logic of full-screen mode has undergone some changes. Although the basic gestures remain the same, the visual design and sensitivity of the edges of the screen have been redesigned for greater smoothness.

HyperOS has improved multitasking, so that swiping and holding your finger up doesn't just open a list of windows, but a more detailed view with a preview of actions, and the activation zone for side-return gestures has changed, and the old MIUI could adjust the width of the edge of the screen to call the back button, which avoids conflicts in games.

• 🔄 In HyperOS, transitions between applications have become more fluid and resemble iOS.
• 📍 Sign areas: Side edge sensitivity changed to call the return menu.
• 🎨 Visual: The bottom of the screen is thinner and less visible in the new versions.

Users who upgraded from MIUI 14 to HyperOS may need to re-accustomed to the sensitivity of swipes. The system has become more aggressive in recognizing user intent, which sometimes leads to accidental returns in games. To solve this problem, the full-screen settings have introduced a feature for erroneous click protection, which gamers are recommended to activate.

⚠️ Note: When you update the firmware, the navigation settings may be reset to factory. Check if the three buttons are switched on again if the interface changes after the update.

Solving Application Compatibility Issues

Despite the ubiquity of the full-screen display standard, some old or poorly optimized apps may not work properly in gesture mode. A typical problem is ignoring swipes or blocking side areas of the screen, making it impossible to go back.

There's a list of apps in the Full Screen Mode menu that you can customize your behavior for, you can choose a particular program and force full-screen mode on or off for it, a useful feature for banking applications or old games that might conflict with system navigation.

Also worth mentioning is the Game Turbo feature, which often takes control in game mode. If swipes stop responding during play, check the settings of the game accelerator, which may have activated locking the edges of the screen to prevent accidental exits, which is mistakenly perceived as a failure of full-screen mode.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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Full-screen mode is not just a visual style, but a productivity tool that, when set up correctly, makes interaction with a Xiaomi smartphone faster and more convenient.