Every day, when we unlock our Xiaomi smartphone, we tend to look at the top right or left corner of the screen. There, in the narrow strip of the status bar, symbols, numbers and color icons are constantly changing. For the experienced user, this is the usual language of communication with the device, but beginners often lose their guesses when they see strange triangles, letters or crossed out characters. Understanding these signals is critical for effective phone management.
In the Android operating system, which runs the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS, the status bar is the main information center. This is where the system reports on the status of the Internet connection, battery level, missed calls or important system events. Ignoring some warning signs can lead to unexpected mobile costs or a quick discharge of the device at the wrong time.
In this article, we will take a look at all the options you can have at the top of the screen, learn how to distinguish between the types of Internet connection, understand why the indicator flashes, and learn how to hide the extra icons if they interfere with your view, and this guide will help you to have complete control over your gadget.
⚠️ Note: Some system icons may appear temporarily during application installation or system updates. If the icon is on all the time and you don't understand its origin, this may signal a background process consuming resources.
Indicators of mobile network and data transmission
The most important group of symbols is on the right, next to the battery divisions, and they show the quality of the communication with the operator's tower. The letters G, E, 3G, H, 4G, 5G tell us about the current data technology. If you see the letter G (GPRS) or E (EDGE), it means that the Internet is running at a very low speed, only enough for text messages in instant messengers.
More modern standards are displayed as 3G, H (HSPA+), or 4G (LTE). The appearance of the 5G symbol indicates a fifth-generation connection to the network, which provides maximum download speeds, but can consume battery power faster. The arrows up and down next to these letters show the activity of data exchange: up - you send information, down - download.
- 📶 G/E: Voice is available, internet is very slow or non-existent.
- 🚀 4G / LTE: High-speed Internet, optimal for video and games.
- ⚡ 5G: New generation network, available in major cities and requires appropriate tariff.
- 🔽 Arrows: Blinking means active real-time data exchange.
Special attention deserves the icon VoLTE. If it appeared in the status bar, it means that your operator and phone support voice over the 4G network. This allows you to talk on the phone and simultaneously use fast Internet without switching to 3G. On older Xiaomi models, this icon could be hidden by default, but in newer versions of MIUI it is often turned on.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections statuses
Wireless interfaces have their own alert system. The standard fan-like Wi-Fi icon is familiar to everyone, but variations of it can tell a lot. For example, if there is an exclamation point or cross next to the Wi-Fi symbol, it means that the router is found but there is no Internet access, and this often occurs when the provider or the password is wrong.
Figures inside or next to a Wi-Fi icon (such as 2.4 or 5) indicate the frequency range to which the smartphone is connected.The 5GHz range provides higher speed and stability, but has a shorter range compared to 2.4GHz. Xiaomi automatically selects the best network if the router has Smart Connect enabled.
The Bluetooth symbol, a stylized "B," appears when the module is active. If the icon is white or blue, the module is on. If there is a small dot or triangle next to it, the process of finding devices or transferring a file is underway. A constantly burning Bluetooth icon in the absence of connected devices (earphones, watches) is an unnecessary battery consumption.
| Badge | Status | Action. |
|---|---|---|
| A cross fan | Wi-Fi is on, no internet. | Check the router or fare |
| Fan with number 6 | Wi-Fi 6 (AX) connected | Enjoying high speed |
| Blue tooth | Bluetooth is active | Turn it off if not in use |
| Two phones. | Modem mode (distribution) | Check the connected devices |
💡
To quickly switch between Wi-Fi bands, go to your Wi-Fi settings, select your network and click Forget, then connect again if the router is broadcasting a separate SSID for 5GHz.
System notifications and operating modes
The left side of the status bar is usually occupied with system icons that inform the state of the device itself, the most prominent of which is the Do Not Disturb mode, depicted as a crescent, in which the phone will not make sounds or vibrate when incoming calls, except those added in exceptions, an indispensable feature for sleep or meetings.
An alarm clock is also common, and if you set at least one wake-up time in the standard Clock app, a small alarm clock will hover in the corner of the screen, reminding you that your phone will make a sound in the morning, and it's important to check this indicator before you go to bed so that you don't accidentally fall asleep because your alarm clock is off.
Flight mode completely shuts down all wireless modules. In Xiaomi, when you turn on this mode, all communication icons disappear, and only the symbol of the aircraft remains, which is useful not only in airliners, but also for quickly restarting communication modules if the Internet is lost, or for saving charge in the area of poor reception.
⚠️ Warning: The “eyes” or mask icon usually means the Incognito mode enabled in the browser or activating the concealment of notification content on the locked screen in the privacy settings.
Charge and energy saving indicators
The right edge of the status bar is set aside for the battery indicator, and in addition to the percentage, there may be additional symbols, lightning indicates the charging process, and if a leaf symbol appears next to the battery, this indicates an on-line energy saving mode that limits the background activity of applications to extend the life of the phone.
There is also a Super-Energy Saving mode that turns the smartphone interface into a simplified black and white look with a limited set of features, in which the battery icon can change color to yellow or green, signaling a critically low charge level and austerity of every milliamper-hour.
- ⚡ Lightning: The phone is connected to the power source.
- 🍃 List: Activated mode of energy saving.
- 🌡️ Thermometer: (Rarely) The temperature of the device is too high or low.
- 🔋 Red battery: charge less than 20%, network connection required.
💡
The yellow color of the battery indicator is not a screen defect, but a regular notification of the power saving mode that can be turned off in the settings.
Application notification icons
The top bar is also a showcase of your missed events. App icons (email envelope, phone handset, WhatsApp or Telegram messages) pop up when a new notification arrives. In MIUI and HyperOS, these icons can be very prominent, sometimes overlapping if there are too many of them.
The number in the circle next to the app icon (badge) shows the number of unread events. For example, the number 3 on the phone icon means three missed calls. If you see an NFC icon (letter N), it means that the near-contact wireless module is active and the phone is ready to pay or read the tags.
Some icons can be hidden by settings. If you want to remove visual noise, you can turn off the notification icons in the status bar, and then go to the notification settings of the specific application and select the option to hide content or disable the display in the status bar.
How to hide notification icons?
How to manage icon display in MIUI and HyperOS
Xiaomi users have flexible interface settings, so you can decide which icons will be displayed permanently and which ones only when events occur, which allows you to clear the top of the screen of unnecessary information and focus on the content.
To control, you need to follow the path: Settings → Notifications and status bar. This is the "State Bar" section where you can turn on or off the display of Internet speed, signal level, time and battery charge. In some versions of the firmware, you can use the "Hide the Notch" option, which color the black strip around the camera black, making it less noticeable.
☑️ Checking the status bar settings
You can also set up the behavior of the Internet speed indicator in this menu, and if you turn on this feature, next to the network type (4G/Wi-Fi) you will run numbers showing the current download speed in real time (for example, 150 KB/s), which is useful for monitoring traffic, but can be distracting when reading text.
⚠️ Note: After major system updates (e.g., switching from the MIUI 13 by 14) status bar settings may be reset to factory ones. It is recommended to check them manually after updating the firmware.
Solution: When icons disappear or glitches
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where icons disappear, float or display incorrectly, often due to the system launcher or interface cache, if the battery icon or time icon is missing, the first thing you can do is simply reboot the device, which solves 90% of the software display errors.
If the problem persists, it may be a third-party launcher or a design theme that is not fully compatible with your version of Android.Try to return a standard Classic or Default theme through the Themes app.It's also worth checking if Extended Screen or Full Screen Mode is enabled for specific apps that may hide the status bar.
In rare cases, you need to reset your system interface settings, which can be done through the application recovery menu or in safe mode. However, before resetting your settings, make sure you have a backup of important data, although the interface settings do not usually affect personal files.