How to take a screenshot on Xiaomi: full instructions for MIUI and HyperOS

Screenshots are a basic feature that every smartphone owner needs to save correspondence, payment receipts or interesting moments in games. On Xiaomi devices, this process is implemented as flexibly as possible, offering users many options for completing the task. You can use a physical keyboard, finger gestures, voice control or even automatic scripts.

With MIUI and the new HyperOS, image functionality is vastly enhanced compared to standard Android, offering the ability to take long screenshots (scroll through the page), edit immediately after capture, and easily sort. Understanding all the methods available will save you time and screenshots in all situations, even when one hand is uncomfortable using your phone.

In this article, we will take a look at all the existing ways to create screenshots on Redmi, POCO and Xiaomi smartphones. We will touch on system settings, button work, sidebar use and hidden features that not all users know about.

Classical method: button combination

The most common and common way for most Android users to create a screenshot on Xiaomi is to use a physical key combination. This method works on all smartphone models, regardless of the firmware version or year of release of the device. To perform the action, you need to simultaneously press the Power button and Volume Down button.

It is important to press the buttons at the same time, with a minimum interval. If you press the power button too long, the system may consider this as a command to call the off menu or activate the voice assistant Google Assistant.

Once you successfully capture the image, you will hear the characteristic shutter sound of the camera (unless the sound is turned off in the settings) and the screen will blink. At the top of the display, a thumbnail notification will appear, where buttons are available for quick editing or deleting. The file is automatically saved to the gallery in the Screenshots album.

⚠️ Note: On some older models or in certain launchers, the button combination may be changed by the manufacturer.If the standard method does not work, check for physical buttons on your device, as the method will differ on tablets or devices without volume buttons.

For users who often take screenshots, this method becomes a reflex action, but it can be uncomfortable if the smartphone is on the table or you hold it in one hand, and in such cases, alternative controls built into the MIUI shell come to the rescue.

Screenshots with three fingers and other gestures

The MIUI and HyperOS shells are famous for their handy gestures that make it easier to interact with the interface. One of the most popular is to take a three-finger swipe screenshot, which is especially useful when the phone is lying on a horizontal surface or when the second hand is busy.

To activate this feature, you need to go to the system settings. Go to Settings → Additional Features → Screenshot. Here you need to find the Three Fingers switch and activate it. Once turned on, just swipe three fingers from top to bottom across the screen at any moment and capture the image.

Gestures allow you to not only take normal pictures, but also to run other functions. For example, in some versions of firmware, long holding with three fingers can open the quick access menu, and it is worth noting that the sensitivity of the touchscreen should be normal for this method to work correctly.

The use of gestures requires a certain skill. The movement must be smooth and pass through the entire area of the screen. If the swipe is done too quickly or the fingers are not properly melted, the system may not recognize the command, in which case try to change the speed of movement or the angle of the fingers.

It is worth considering that on devices with very large diagonals or using low-quality protective glasses, the sensitivity of the multi-touch can be reduced. In such situations, a three-finger gesture may not work the first time. Regularly calibrating the screen or removing the thick protective glass can solve the problem.

Use of sidebar and function menu

For those who prefer visual control, Xiaomi has a handy sidebar, a quick access menu called by a swipe from the edge of the screen, and you can find a screenshot shortcut that performs the same function as the button combination, but without having to reach for the keys.

To add this feature, open the sidebar (usually a swipe from the top corner) and click on the settings icon (cog). In the list of available tools, find Screenshot and drag it to the active zone. Now, when you call the panel, you can take a screenshot in one click.

This is ideal for users with large smartphones, where it can be difficult to reach the volume buttons, and the sidebar allows you to quickly move to edit or send a file without interrupting the current task, part of the convenience ecosystem that HyperOS offers.

Another option to access the screen capture features is through the Additional Features menu in the notification curtain, and if you swipe down the notification bar, you can find the Screenshot icon there. If it's not there, click on the edit pencil and add this shortcut to the top row for quick access.

Long screenshots and scroll mode

One of the most popular features in Xiaomi smartphones is the ability to create long screenshots, or “scrollshots,” which is an indispensable tool for saving long correspondence in messengers, articles in the browser or lists in applications that do not fit on a single screen.

The process of creating a long screenshot begins as usual: you take a picture in any convenient way (buttons or gestures). Immediately after the thumbnail appears in the corner of the screen, click on the button with the down arrow or the Scroll icon. The system will automatically begin to scroll down the contents, capturing new areas.

The stop recording happens automatically when you touch the screen, or when you reach the end of the page, and you can also press the stop button manually, resulting in one long image that is easy to read and send, instead of a series of individual pictures.

It's important to note that the long screenshot function doesn't work in all applications, and some programs, especially banking or secure content, can block the creation of extended images, and in such cases, the system simply won't show the continuation button after the first frame.

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When creating a long screenshot, try not to touch the scroll area with your finger, so that there are no traces of touches or blurred areas on the final image.

Voice control and timer

Modern Xiaomi smartphones support voice control via Google Assistant or the built-in voice assistant MI AI. This allows you to take screenshots without touching the screen with your hands, which can be useful if your hands are busy or dirty.

To activate this feature, make sure that the voice assistant is configured and has permission to interact with the system. In some regions and versions of the firmware, commands may differ, so it is worth checking the language and voice input settings. The accuracy of recognition depends on diction and noise level in the room.

Another interesting feature is the screenshot timer, which allows you to delay the creation of a picture by 3 or 5 seconds, which is useful if you need to capture a context menu, a pop-up or an action that disappears immediately after you touch the screen, and you can find a timer in the edit menu after you have created a normal screenshot or in the camera settings.

⚠️ Attention: Voice control may not work in full-screen games or applications, where the system blocks third-party interventions to prevent accidental clicks.

You need to be prepared to use a timer, you need to have time to open the menu or call the interface before the shutter goes off, and you need to practice in advance to understand the logic of how the delay works on your particular device.

Editing and managing screenshot files

Once a screenshot is created, Xiaomi can quickly edit it, allowing you to crop the image, add text, draw arrows or figures, and blur sensitive information, eliminating the need to install third-party apps for basic processing.

All images created are saved in a standard gallery. The path to files usually looks like Internal Memory → DCIM → Screenshots or Internal Memory → MIUI → gallery → cloud → screenshots, depending on the shell version. The files are PNG format for maximum quality or JPG for space saving.

The system automatically sorts screenshots by date of creation, you can delete the bad shots directly from the notification that hangs in the curtain, or through the gallery, and there is also a batch removal feature, which is convenient for cleaning the space when you are actively using the phone.

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The built-in screenshot editor in MIUI and HyperOS has functionality sufficient for 90% of tasks, including blurring text and adding stamps, which makes installing additional applications redundant.

For those who work with large amounts of graphics, the automatic sorting feature is useful. Screenshots can be moved to a separate folder or configured to sync with the cloud storage of Xiaomi Cloud or Google Photos so as not to lose important data when resetting settings.

Frequent problems and their solution

Despite the system's fine-tuning, users sometimes have problems creating screenshots, most often because a particular app has a screen capture ban, which is common in banking applications, incognito browsers and some streaming services from the Internet. DRM-protection.

In these cases, the screen might blink, but the image won't survive, or instead of the picture, it's a black rectangle, and it's not a phone malfunction, but a security measure implemented at the level of the Android operating system, and you can't get around that limitation with standard tools.

If screenshots are no longer created in all applications, try restarting the device. Sometimes the system process that captures the image (screenshot service) can freeze, and also check for free memory, because with crowded storage, there is simply no place to write new files.