Where to find the menu key on Xiaomi: search for the button and hidden functions

Owners of modern Xiaomi smartphones who have moved from older Android devices or other operating systems often face bewilderment when first familiarizing themselves with the interface. The usual physical or software button Menu with three stripes or squares, which used to cause additional parameters of the application or system, on new devices simply do not exist. This is not a manufacturer’s mistake or a stripped-down version of the MIUI or HyperOS shell, but the result of the evolution of Google standards that have been implemented since Android 10 and above. Users who are accustomed to relying on this key to access hidden functions, may feel like they are not missing the basic actions.

To make matters worse, many of the instructions on the Internet still contain information relevant to Android 9 and earlier, where the menu button was a must-have. In reality, on your Xiaomi Redmi or Poco, this feature has not gone away, it has simply been redistributed between other controls and gestures. Understanding the logic of modern navigation allows not only comfortable use of the device, but also opens up access to hidden features of the system, which many do not even know.

The evolution of navigation: why the menu button disappeared

The disappearance of the separate menu key is due to a global change in the design philosophy of Android. Google decided to simplify the interface to make it more intuitive and less overloaded with unnecessary elements on the screen. Previously, the menu button served as a “crut” for application developers, allowing you to place minor functions in a hidden drop-down list. Over time, Material Design standards required that these functions be transferred directly to the application interface, often hiding them under the “three dots” icon (the so-called “hamburger menu” or “kebab menu”) in the upper right corner of the screen.

On Xiaomi’s MIUI-enclosed devices and the new HyperOS, the transition has been pretty smooth, as the company has long implemented its own navigation solutions. The physical Menu button, which was located to the left of the Home button on older smartphones, has been abolished, giving way to touch buttons or swipes, which has increased the usable screen area and made one-handed control more convenient.

⚠️ Warning: Trying to find a physical menu button on today’s Xiaomi Mi, Redmi Note or Poco F series is useless, and engineers abandoned it years ago, so don’t look for it on the case or in standard button settings.

It's important to understand that not having a button doesn't mean losing functionality. On the contrary, modern control techniques allow you to trigger the same actions faster using gesture combinations or prolonged pressing. The system has become more context-sensitive: it "understands" what you want to do based on where you are in the interface. This requires a short period of adaptation from the user, but in the long run, it significantly speeds up the work with the smartphone.

Analogue of the menu button in applications and browser

Most of the time, when users search for “where is the menu key on Xiaomi,” they are referring to accessing the settings of a particular application, such as a browser, gallery or explorer. In today’s Android ecosystem, this button is taken over by a universal icon of three vertical points, usually located in the upper or lower right corner of the screen, and clicking on it causes a drop-down list of actions that used to be opened by the menu button. In some old or specific applications, this button can be hidden, and then system commands come to the rescue.

If you are working in a browser such as Chrome or built-in MI Browser, a menu with history, bookmarks and settings, is always under the tripod icon, but there are situations where the app developer did not provide a convenient button, and here the system emulation takes effect. On Xiaomi smartphones with buttons enabled, you can emulate the pressing of "Menu" by pressing the "Back" button long enough. KEYCODE_MENU, Opens a hidden context menu if the app supports it.

For those who prefer gesture control, the situation is a little more complicated, because there are no physical buttons at all, in which case a long press will not lead anywhere. However, in the settings of special features MIUI, you can find alternative ways. Often users forget that long tapping on text or object on the screen can also cause a context menu, replacing the good old button, this is especially true in text editors and instant messengers.

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If there are no visible settings in the app, try making a long press on the screen title or on an empty space of the workspace – this often opens a hidden action menu.

Also worth mentioning is the Quick Notes feature and other Xiaomi system utilities, which call the menu down the header or swipe away from the edge of the screen, depending on the firmware version. The interface logic has become more variable, and the user has to experiment with areas of the screen, which makes interaction more lively, but requires addiction after the era of static buttons.

Setting up navigation buttons in MIUI and HyperOS

Although there is no separate key, Xiaomi's system allows you to flexibly adjust the controls you have, you can change the order of the buttons, disable the redundant ones, or switch to gesture control. To get into these settings, you need to go to Settings, then select Additional (or Advanced Settings) and find the Full Screen Mode tab, which is where the fate of your smartphone's navigation elements is decided.

In the Full Screen Mode menu, you will be offered two main options: "Buttons" and "Gesturals." If you select "Buttons", you will see a virtual bar at the bottom of the screen. Clicking on the gear or "Button Settings" option, you will be able to choose from two options: "Back, Home, Task Menu" (classic Android) or "Task Menu, Home, Back" (style iOS and old MIUI). It is important to note that even in the button mode of a separate key, "My button" can be selected from the three buttons, if the "Doll" button is often from the three buttons, the button, the "Spant" is selected from the three buttons, the button, the "Spane" or "Spane" from the button, the button is selected from the three button.

If you select Gesture mode, all the buttons will disappear, giving way to swipes. Swipe from the bottom up returns to the desktop, swipe with a delay opens the task menu, and swipe from the side faces works like a back button. In this mode, emulating the menu button is more difficult, but you can use special applications or settings for people with disabilities, as discussed below. For many users, switching to gestures becomes the final stage of abandoning old habits.

Use of special opportunities for emulation

For those cases where standard methods of calling menus are not enough (for example, to work with specific software or games), there is a powerful section on Android called “Special features”. On Xiaomi, it is located on the path of Settings → Advanced Settings → Special features. Here you can activate a virtual control panel that will hang over all windows and contain emulators of all missing physical buttons, including “Menu”, “Home”, “Back” and even “Loudity”.

One of the most useful features in this section is the Special Features Menu, which, when enabled, will have a floating button at the bottom of the screen (or in the notification curtain, depending on the version of MIUI), and clicking on it will show you a list of actions, including the Menu button, which is a full-fledged analogue key that works in all applications without exception, ideal for those who are looking for where the menu button on Xiaomi Redmi Note or other models to manage old programs.

You should also look at the "Look Control" or "Face gesture control" feature, if available in your firmware version. Although they are primarily for people with disabilities, they can be used to create unique control scenarios. For example, blinking or turning your head can be programmed to call certain system events. However, a standard "Special Features Menu" that does not waste the battery is enough to simply call the menu.

⚠️ Warning: Activating too many features in the Special Features section can lead to lower system performance and accelerated battery discharge.

Another hidden tool is Switch Access, which allows you to control your phone with external buttons or a screen, and when you set it up, you can call a menu to a specific action, like tapping a screen with two fingers, and it takes time to set up, but it gives you full control of the device, making the touch screen any user-friendly interface.

Hidden functions and engineering menu through keyboard

If by “menu key” you meant entering hidden engineering settings to check the signal, screen or battery, then here work USSD-There is no magic button on Xiaomi that opens all the tests, but there are a set of combinations that are typed into the dialing field. For example, code ##6484## opens the engineering testing menu (CIT), where you can check the operation of all sensors, speakers and communication modules.

To access the extended stats and network settings menu (similar to the menu that was on older phones), code ##4636## is often used. By entering it, you will be taken to the Testing section, where detailed data on Wi-Fi, battery usage and phone information is available. These codes work at the system level and are independent of the physical menu button. They are a direct path to the device's brains, bypassing the graphical interface.

If the code doesn't work, the system will simply ignore the input or send out a message about a connection error, and don't worry, it doesn't mean that your phone is broken, it just means that your region's software is limited.

There is also the possibility of using terminal applications such as Termux or ADB (via USB debugging) to call system menus programmatically. the adb shell input keyevent 82 emulates pressing the menu button (code 82). This is a professional method used by developers and enthusiasts to test applications for the absence of a physical button. For the average user, this is redundant, but knowing about the existence of the 82 code is useful.

Frequent User Questions and Problems

Many users are wondering if you can return the old navigation bar with three buttons, if it disappeared after the update. Answer: yes, you can, but only within the framework of the options available in Full-screen mode. Return the same panel that was on Android 6 or 7, with a characteristic design and behavior, will not work, as the system framework has changed. However, installing third-party launchers (shells) such as Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher, can partially recreate the familiar atmosphere.

Another common problem is sticking or spontaneously pressing touch buttons, which often happens when using poor-quality security glasses that overlap the edges of the screen, or when the bottom of the display is contaminated, in which case it is recommended to temporarily switch to gesture control in the settings to check if the problem disappears. If the phone is behaving normally with gestures, then it is a matter of physical impact on the bottom edge of the screen.

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Gesture control not only frees up screen space, but also eliminates problems with “phantom” touch button presses, which often arise from contamination or poor security glasses.

And you can also think about customization through the theme, because there are thousands of designs in the MIUI theme store that change the way navigation buttons look, you can make them transparent, change their shape, or even hide them completely, just by leaving gestures, and it allows you to personalize your device to make it as comfortable as possible, whether you're looking for one particular button or a whole set of tools.

How to live without a menu button

To sum up, Xiaomi's physical or software Menu key has evolved into more modern and user-friendly tools. Instead of looking for a single button, it now uses a combination of long-press, three-point icons in apps and special features that make the interface cleaner and the management more flexible. Understanding where these features hides makes you feel confident with any Android device.

If you can't do without a classic button, use the "Special Features" section to create a virtual dashboard, guaranteed to solve the problem of accessing system commands. Remember that technology is evolving, and what you thought was necessary yesterday can be replaced today with a better solution. Master the gestures and new features of HyperOS, and your Xiaomi will become even more convenient.

So in conclusion, don't be afraid to experiment with navigation settings. Try to live a week on gestures, then go back to the buttons, change the order. It's only through personal experience that you can determine which option is the most effective for your Xiaomi model and use case, and the technology serves the human, and most importantly, to customize them to yourself, not to adapt to them.