Where to find the number (#) on the keyboard of the Xiaomi smartphone: all ways and life hacks

You try to type in a USSD-command, type a hashtag on social networks or specify a password with a # character, but you can’t find a number sign on your Xiaomi keyboard? This problem is familiar to many owners of smartphones of the brand — especially those who recently switched from iPhone or devices of other manufacturers. The fact that the location of special characters on the virtual keyboard MIUI is different from the standard diagrams, and in some firmware the # sign is generally hidden behind the additional menus.

In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to find and paste the grille symbol on Xiaomi, Redmi and other smartphones. POCO — From basic methods to little-known life hacks, you'll learn how to quickly access # in different applications (SMS, browser, instant messengers), why a sign sometimes disappears from the keyboard, and how to return it back. MIUI It does not display or smack special characters at all.

1. Standard location of the # sign on the Xiaomi keyboard

On most Xiaomi smartphones with the MIUI keyboard (or Gboard, if you installed it), the # symbol is on the digital keyboard.

1. Open any field to type text (such as a WhatsApp message or search bar).
2. Press the button 123 in the lower left corner of the keyboard to switch to digital mode.
3. In the upper right corner of the digital keyboard, you will see the # sign (usually next to *).

If you have a Redmi Note 12, a POCO X5 or another model with a MIUI 14+, the layout can be slightly different - sometimes # is hidden behind an additional menu (more on this below). On older versions of the firmware (before MIUI 12), the grille sign often appeared on the second tab of special characters (access by button =<).

2.Why the # sign is not on the keyboard: possible reasons

If you switched to a digital keyboard but the # symbol isn’t there, the problem may be one of the following:

• 🔄 Incorrect layout: the keyboard is switched to another language (e.g. Chinese or Arabic) where the grille sign is missing.
• 📱 Update MIUI: After the firmware update, the location of the symbols could change (especially relevant for the MIUI 13→14).
• ⚙️ Keyboard settings: Additional characters disabled or layout changed.
• 🦠 System failure: temporary keyboard glitch (often after cleaning the cache).
• 🛠️ Castom firmware: if you have installed an unofficial version MIUI LineageOS, the layout of the keyboard could be changed.

Important: On some Xiaomi models (such as the Redmi 10A or POCO M4 Pro), the default # sign is hidden behind a long press on the number 3 or 4. Try holding these buttons - perhaps a pop-up menu with special characters will appear.

⚠️ Note: If you use a third-party keyboard (like SwiftKey), check its settings – sometimes characters are moved to “Advanced” or “Rarely Used” sections».

3. How to insert # through long press (hidden method)

Many Xiaomi users are unaware that some characters (including #) can be inserted through long-pressing on digital buttons, a method that works even if the sign does not appear on the main keyboard:

1. Switch to the digital keyboard (button 123).
2. Find the button with the number 3 (sometimes 4 or 5 – depending on the model).
3. Hold it for 1-2 seconds until a pop-up with hidden characters appears.
4. Select # from the list.

This is especially useful for owners of Redmi 9, POCO X3 and other budget models where the keyboard is simplified. If a long press doesn't work, try:

• 🔄 Reboot your smartphone (sometimes helps with temporary crashes).
• 🧹 Clear the keyboard cache in Settings → Annexes → Application management → keyboard MIUI → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
• 📱 Update the firmware to the latest version MIUI (In new versions of the bug with the keyboard corrected).

💡

If the long press doesn’t work, try pressing the =< button (special characters) – sometimes # is hidden on the second page.

4. Alternative ways to insert a # sign

If standard methods do not help, use one of these methods:

Method 1: Copying from the clipboard

The quickest option is to copy the # character from this paragraph (select it and click Copy) and then paste it into the desired field.

• 📋 Copy from any text on the Internet (for example, from this article).
• 💬 Ask a friend to send you a # sign in a message.
• 📝 Create a note in Xiaomi Notes with a symbol and copy from there.

Method 2: Using Unicode

The # character has a Unicode code U+0023. If your keyboard supports code entry (e.g. Gboard), do the following:

1. Hold the 0 button on the digital keyboard.
2. Select Unicode (if you have one).
3. Enter 0023 and press the space and a # appears.

Method 3: Voice input

In Google Assistant or MIUI voice input, you can dictate "grating sign" or "hashtag" - the system recognizes and pastes the character automatically. It does not work in all languages (better use English or Russian).

5.Setting up the MIUI keyboard for quick access to #

If you often need a # sign, you can reconfigure the keyboard so that it is always on hand:

Install Gboard from Google Play|Open Gboard settings → Layout → Enable numerical series |Add # to favorite characters (in keyboard settings)|Empty the cache of the standard MIUI-->

For the standard MIUI keyboard:

1. Go to Settings → Additional → Language and input → Current keyboard → Settings (cog).
2. Select the layout and input.
3. Enable the number series option (if any) – this will add the top row with numbers and symbols where there will be #.
4. If you don’t have an option, try changing the keyboard language to English (USA) – the bar sign is usually visible immediately.

For Gboard (recommended for convenience):

1. Install Gboard from Google Play.
2. Click the space and select the keyboard settings.
3. Go to Maket. → Insert the number series.
4. Now # will always be visible on the top panel of the keyboard.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi) 8A or POCO C31) The number series in Gboard may not appear due to performance limitations, in which case use long-pressing or copying.

6. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

When searching for a # sign, users often make these mistakes:

• 🔍 Search on the letter keyboard: the symbol of the lattice is never on the main layout with letters - only on the digital or in the menu of special characters.
• 🌐 Do not check the input language: in Chinese or Arabic layout, the # sign may be missing or replaced with the character.
• 📵 No updates to the firmware: in older versions MIUI (Before 12th, the character layout was less intuitive.
• 🛑 Resetting to factory settings: this is an extreme measure that rarely helps with the keyboard, but erases all data.

If you have a problem after updating MIUI, try:

1. Reinstall the keyboard through Settings → Applications → MIUI Keyboard → Remove updates.
2. Clear the Launcher app data (sometimes keyboard failures are associated with the shell).
3. Install an alternative keyboard (e.g. Microsoft SwiftKey) where # is always in sight.

💡

If the # sign is missing after the MIUI update, try clearing the keyboard cache first, which solves the problem 80% of the time.

7. Features for different Xiaomi models

The location of the # sign may vary depending on the smartphone model and the MIUI version. Here is a brief guide for popular devices:

For older models (Redmi 5, Mi A1) or Android One devices (e.g. Mi A2/A3), the standard Google keyboard is usually used, where # is on the numerical row or behind the =< button.

FAQ: Frequent Questions About the # Sign on Xiaomi