Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the need to quickly save an image of the current content of the display, whether it is correspondence, a fun moment in the game or important information from the application, the ability to quickly take a screenshot is a basic skill of an Android user. However, the MIUI shell offers not just a standard copy of the screen, but a whole arsenal of tools for working with images.
Many users are switching to the Chinese brand from other devices and at first can not find the usual features. The menu system and the logic of gestures here can be different from pure Android or iOS. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available ways to create screenshots, from classic physical buttons to advanced methods of capturing long pages.
Understanding how to take a screenshot of a shaomi will save you time and manage your media more effectively. We'll look at settings that are often hidden by default but make life much easier. Get ready to learn about features you might not even know you had using your smartphone for years.
Classical method with physical buttons
The fastest and most versatile way that works on any device running MIUI, regardless of the firmware version. The button combination is system-based and requires no additional settings. You need to press the volume down and the power button at the same time. Pressing should be short-term, but synchronous.
If you press the buttons too long, the smartphone may perceive this as a command to call the emergency menu or turn off the device. So skill is important: easy and quick click with both fingers. After successfully completing the action, you will hear the characteristic click of the camera shutter (if the sound is on), and in the upper corner of the screen will appear a thumbnail of the shot taken.
⚠️ Note: On some models with very narrow screen frames (for example, the Mi Mix series) or using irregularly shaped protective glasses, simultaneous pressing may be difficult.
This is a good way to be reliable, but it has one major drawback: it requires both hands or a very clever grip with one hand, which is not always convenient, especially if you're holding your phone in one hand and the other is busy, like eating or holding a handrail in a transport.
Use of gestures and menu of additional buttons
The MIUI shell is famous for its flexibility in setting up the interface. One of the most convenient tools is the Three Finger feature. You just swipe three fingers from top to bottom across the screen, and the system instantly creates a screenshot, which requires activation in the settings, because it can be disabled by default.
To enable this option, go to Settings, then select Additional Features and look for Screenshots. Here you need to activate the "Three Fingers" switch. Once enabled, you can take screenshots in any application where it is not prohibited by security policies (for example, in banking applications or when viewing content in incognito mode).
☑️ Setting up screenshot gestures
You can also activate a floating button or add a shortcut to the notification curtain in the same settings menu, especially for users who have a physical difficulty pressing button combinations, and the additional button menu is called by swiping from the bottom of the screen (if gesture navigation is enabled) or through a special floating sphere.
- 📱 The “Three Fingers” gesture is the fastest way to use one hand.
- 🔘 Floating button is convenient for those who like visual interface.
- 📥 Notification curtain – a classic option for Android devices.
- 🎤 Voice command is ideal for situations where hands are busy.
Importantly, touchscreen sensitivity can vary from model to model. On screens with high refresh rates (120 Hz or higher), gesture response is usually instantaneous. If the gesture doesn't work the first time, try changing the speed or angle of your fingers.
Screenshots via Control Center and voice commands
In the newer versions of MIUI 12 and MIUI 13/14, the interface has been significantly redesigned. Control is now separated from the notification curtain. Swipe down from the upper right corner opens the quick-switch bar where the screenshot icon is by default.
This is convenient because it doesn't require you to memorize gestures or click buttons, just swipe and tap the icon, but if you use this method a lot, you should know that you can move the icon to the top of the list of commonly used toggle buttons for quick access.
The Secret Function of the Voice Assistant
Voice commands are another powerful tool. You can just say, "OK, Google, take a screenshot," or activate Mi AI with a corresponding phrase. The system recognizes the command and executes the action, which is especially useful when the phone is lying on a desk or connected to an external display.
Using voice input requires a stable Internet connection to handle the request by the server, although basic commands can work offline if the language pack is loaded into the device's memory. Remember that when using voice assistant, the phone can voice the answer out loud, so in quiet places it is better to use headphones or other methods.
How to take a long screenshot (scroll)
One of the most popular features in MIUI is the ability to create long screenshots, or "scroll shots," which is indispensable when you want to save long correspondence on Telegram or WhatsApp, an article in your browser or a contact list, a regular screenshot will clip the information, and a long one will save it all.
The process starts as usual: you take a standard screenshot in any convenient way (buttons or gestures), immediately after that, a thumbnail appears in the upper right corner, there will be several control buttons on it, we are interested in a button with a down arrow or a "Scroll" button.
Once you press that button, the screen will automatically scroll down, grabbing new information, and you can stop the process at any time by touching the screen, or wait for the end of the page, and the system will glue all the pieces together into one long image.
| Parameter | Description | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum length | Depends on screen resolution. | Usually up to 100,000 pixels. |
| File format | JPG or PNG | PNG is better but heavier |
| Support for applications | Browsers, messengers, social networks | Doesn't work in some games |
| Quality. | Full screen resolution | It can decrease at a very long length. |
⚠️ Note: When you take a long screenshot, don’t touch the screen with your fingers during automatic scrolling, or the process will stop.
The finished image is saved in the gallery in the album "Screenshots." If the scrolling went too far and captured the extra, you can immediately, without leaving the editing mode, crop the image, cutting the unnecessary bottom parts.
Editing and working with the clipboard
Once you have created the screenshot, if you click on the thumbnail, the built-in MIUI image editor will open. It offers a basic but functional toolkit. You can crop the photo, draw an arrow, add text or blur sensitive data (such as a card number or address).
The feature, "Add a frame," automatically places your screenshot in a beautiful smartphone mockup, which looks professional when you send a screenshot to tech support or post a review, and the feature, "Full screen," is also available, which adds a blurred background if the original image has an aspect ratio different from your phone's.
- 🖌️ Drawing – Free drawing with a finger or stylus.
- 🔤 Text - Adding inscriptions with a choice of color and font size.
- 🔒 Blurring – a tool to hide personal information (pixelation).
- 📐 Cutting – changing the boundaries of the image.
An important feature is that you can copy the screenshot directly to the clipboard, and you can select the option "Copy to the buffer" from the edit menu or screenshot settings, so that the file is not saved to the gallery, but is ready to be inserted into a chat or document, which saves memory space if the screenshot is only needed for one operation.
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Use the "Send" function right from the screenshot menu so you don't clog the gallery with temporary files. You can send the image to Telegram "Favorites" or to your own mail, and it won't take up a place in the main album.
Where screenshots are stored and how to manage them
All screenshots are automatically stored in the device's internal memory. Standard file path: Internal memory → DCIM → Screenshots. In the gallery, they are displayed in a separate album "Screenshots", which makes it easier to find and delete them.
MIUI allows you to sort screenshots by date, and search by content (if smart search is enabled), recognizing text in an image, which means you can find a screenshot with the right word, even if you don’t remember when it was taken.
Cleaning this album regularly is critical, as screenshots often take up a significant amount of memory, especially if you take many long screenshots in high resolution.Use the built-in Security → Cleanup app to quickly find and remove old or duplicate images.
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Screenshots take up space in the "Other" or "Images" section. Regularly cleaning the Screenshots folder can free up several gigabytes of space, which will speed up the smartphone.