Have you ever noticed how the top notification bar and bottom navigation bar suddenly disappear on Xiaomi’s screen, freeing up as much space as possible for content? This is full-screen mode — a feature that transforms the interaction with the device, whether it’s a smartphone on a MIUI or a Mi TV. But why it is needed, how to use it correctly and what pitfalls it hides — not all owners of the brand’s technology know about this.
In this article, we will discuss in detail what full-screen mode means in different Xiaomi devices (from Redmi Note 12 to Mi TV Q2), how to turn it on or off, and also reveal unique chips that work only in this mode - for example, hidden gestures or adaptive video zooming. If you want to squeeze the maximum from the screen of your gadget, read on.
What is Full Screen Mode and Why You Need It
Fullscreen mode is an interface state in which all system elements (notification panel, navigation bar, soft buttons) are temporarily hidden, freeing the entire display for content.
- 📱 Smartphones and tablets (MIUI): Hiding the notification panel and navigation bar in applications or on the desktop.
- 📺 Televisions and consoles (Mi) TV, Mi Box: Scaling video to the edges of the screen without black bars.
- 🎮 Game mode: automatic full-screen deployment of games with random touch blocking.
The main advantages of the regime:
- 🔍 More useful area: on the screen 6.67" (Xiaomi-like 13 Pro) the winnings are up to 10-15% visible.
- 🎬 Movies without frames: video in the format of 21:9 stretches without black stripes (with distortion correction).
- 🎮 Immersiveness in games: All distractions are hidden, and control gestures become more intuitive.
But there are nuances: For example, in some applications (for example, YouTube or Netflix), full-screen mode can conflict with embedded players, and on Xiaomi TVs, when stretching the video 4:3 to 16:9, facial proportions can be distorted.
How to enable full-screen mode on Xiaomi smartphones (MIUI)
In smartphones running MIUI 12-14, there are two ways to activate mode: through gestures and through system settings. Let's look at both.
Method 1: Gesture control (quick method)
The easiest way is to use built-in gestures:
- Open any app (like Gallery or Chrome).
- Swipe down from the top of the screen (as if you want to open the notification bar), but don’t let go of your finger.
- After 1-2 seconds, the notification panel will disappear, and a thin white strip will appear at the bottom - this is an indicator of full-screen mode.
To return the panel back, swipe upwards from the bottom edge of the screen.
Method 2: Through the MIUI settings
If gestures fail (for example, due to a disabled function), turn on the mode manually:
- Go to Settings → Display → Full-screen mode.
- Activate the switch Full-screen gestures.
- Choose the display style: 🔄 Standard: only hides the notification panel. 🔄 Extended: hides both the notification bar and the navigation bar (suitable for gaming).
Is the app open to the full screen?|Has the top notification panel disappeared?|Are the gestures working for returns?|Are there artifacts on the edges of the screen?-->
On some models (for example, POCO F5 or Redmi K60) in this menu, the option is available Automatic Hide panel – it removes the navigation panel after 3 seconds of inactivity, which is convenient for reading or viewing photos.
⚠️ Note: On smartphones with physical buttons (e.g. Redmi) 9A) Full screen mode may not work properly - instead of hiding the panel, it simply darkens. MIUI last-minute.
Features of full-screen mode on Xiaomi TVs
On Mi TVs (Q1E, P1E, A Pro) and Mi Box S, full-screen mode works differently – it is responsible for zooming video to the screen size. This is true for content with non-standard proportions (for example, old 4:3 movies or YouTube videos in 9:16 format).
To activate the regime:
- When watching the video, press the Menu button on the remote.
- Select the aspect ratio (or Picture Size in English firmware).
- Choose one of the options: 📺 Auto: The TV will scale itself (not always exactly). 🔳 4:3: For classic films (there will be black stripes on the sides). 🔲 16:9: Standard for Modern Content. 🔀 Stretch: Video will take up the entire screen, but there may be distortions. 🎞️ Panorama: stretches the picture horizontally (suitable for cinema in 2.35:1).
| Regime. | Relationship of parties | Example of use | Distortions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automobile | Different. | Streaming services (Netflix, Kinopoisk) | Minimum |
| 4:3 | 1.33:1 | Old movies, cartoons. | No. |
| 16:9 | 1.78:1 | YouTube, modern TV series | No. |
| Stretching | Anybody | Video from the phone (vertical) | Strong (proportions distorted) |
| Panorama | 2.35:1 | Blockbusters, CinemaScope Movies | Moderate (top/bottom cut) |
Xiaomi’s Google TVs (like the Mi TV Q2 2023) have an additional AI scaling option, which analyzes content and selects the optimal aspect ratio without manual settings. However, it doesn’t work perfectly: sometimes it cuts off subtitles or stretches videos too aggressively.
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If you lose subtitles when stretching your video on your Xiaomi TV, try turning on Zoom mode instead of Stretch, which will save the bottom of the frame where the titles usually are.
Problems and Errors of Full Screen Mode
Despite the convenience, users often encounter bugs, and here are the most common:
- 🐞 Notification panel not hidden: Reason: Full-screen gestures disabled in Settings → Display. Solution: Enable Full-screen gestures and reboot the device.
- 🎮 The reason why: the game uses its own rendering engine (eg, Genshin Impact or ) PUBG Solution: Enable Fullscreen or Immersive Mode in the game settings.
- 📺 On TV, video stretches with artifacts: Reason: Low resolution of source content (e.g., scaling up, 480p). Solution: Turn it off AI Scaling in image settings.
- 🔄 After updating MIUI Full-screen mode reset: Reason: Reset display settings on major update.Solution: Reset gestures to Settings → Display. → Full screen mode.
⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro) may turn off automatic brightness when full-screen mode is activated in games. To return adaptive lighting, go to Settings → Display. → Brightness and turn on the option Adaptive brightness again.
What if the full screen mode itself turns on inconvenient moments?
Hidden chips of full-screen mode
Few people know, but Xiaomi’s full-screen mode hides a few useful features that are not documented in the official instructions:
- 🖼️ Screenshots without notification panel: If you take a screenshot in full screen mode, it will not display the top panel. This is convenient for creating clean screenshots (for example, for instructions or posts on social networks).
- 🎵 Transparent notification panel in music applications: MIUI 14 when listening to music in full screen mode (for example, in Spotify or Yandex Music), the notification panel becomes translucent without overlapping the album cover.
- 🎮 Turbo mode: On smartphones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra), full-screen mode automatically activates Game Turbo, optimizing performance and blocking background processes.
- 📱 Hidden Application Launch: If you hold the app icon on your desktop in full screen mode, a context menu will appear with the option to Open in a floating window (does not work on all models).
Another little-known feature is adaptive color change of the notification panel: In MIUI 14, when full-screen mode is activated in some applications (e.g. Chrome or WPS Office), the notification panel adjusts to the background color, creating a seamless interface.
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Full-screen mode in Xiaomi is not only about hiding the notification panel, but also a tool to optimize performance (in games), improve visual perception (in media players), and even create unique screenshots.
How to turn off full screen mode if it interferes
If the function is not working properly or is not needed, it can be deactivated.
On smartphones and tablets
- Go to Settings → Display → Full-screen mode.
- Turn off the switch Full-screen gestures.
- If you want to turn off the mode only for a particular application: Open this application. Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen and hold your finger for 2 seconds, a prompt will appear suggesting that you turn off full-screen mode for this application.
On TVs and consoles.
- While watching the video, press Menu on the remote.
- Select the aspect ratio and set the value Auto or Original.
- If the problem is automatic stretching, disable AI Scaling in Settings → Image → More.
Some firmware (e.g., Mi Box 4K) may require resetting the image settings to factory settings.
Settings → Device → Resetting settings → Resetting image settings →⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi TVs with PatchWall firmware (India), disabling full-screen mode can reset other image settings, such as Color Temperature or Movie Mode.