How to change buttons on Xiaomi: setup and reassignment

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the desire to personalize device management to suit their habits. The standard configuration is not always convenient, especially when you need to quickly launch an application or change the volume of media files rather than system sounds. Fortunately, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS provide ample opportunities for customization.

In this article, we will explore all the available ways to change the behavior of physical and software buttons. You will learn how to configure a smart button, reassign actions with double-pressing, and use third-party utilities for advanced control. Importantly, some features depend on the specific version of Android and regional firmware.

Setting up the power button and side fingerprint scanner

The first thing that catches your eye when using a smartphone is the power button. On modern models, it also acts as a fingerprint scanner. In the standard settings menu, you can change the response to a long press. By default, the system suggests calling the voice assistant Google Assistant or Xiao AI, but this behavior can be changed.

To access the usual shutdown and reboot menu, you need to change the settings in the appropriate section, which is especially true for those who are used to the classical logic of managing Android smartphones, and here you can adjust the speed of the scanner's reaction.

To change the parameters, follow the following steps:

• 🔘 Go to Settings. → Additional functions.
• 🔘 Select the option “On button” or “Side button».
• 🔘 In the section "Long press" select "Switch off menu».

Note that some global firmware versions may not have this option, or it may not be called the same, and if you don't find the right partition, your region may be different in your system settings than China or India, where functionality is often extended.

Managing Volume Buttons and Reassigning Them

Xiaomi's audio buttons change media volume by default if an app is running, or call volume when it's in standby mode. But you can set up what's adjustable when you press, and there are hidden features like controlling the camera or tracks.

You can find a button in the sound settings that allows you to invert the behavior of the buttons or assign them a "Photo" action when the screen is locked, a useful feature for fans of fast shooting, and in some scenarios, volume buttons are used to control tracks in music players.

For fine-tuning, use the following ways:

• 🎚️ Open the Settings. → Sound and vibration.
• 🎚️ Find the section "Loudness buttons».
• 🎚️ Activate the option to “Change the volume of the call” or “Change the volume of the media” depending on the priority.

You can also use volume buttons to navigate the Recovery menu or to create screenshots with a power button. In camera mode, pressing any of the volume buttons takes a picture, which is convenient when shooting with one hand.

⚠️ Note: On some models with a physical slider button (such as the Mi Mix 3), the side slider can be configured to run specific applications or sound profiles.

Use of the Smart Button function (App Twin and shortcuts)

Recent versions of HyperOS and MIUI 14 have introduced a feature that allows you to assign applications to double or triple clicks of a side button (if it supports multi-touch) or combinations of actions. Although physically single, the software allows you to distinguish between types of clicks.

Most often, this function is implemented through shortcuts or special availability settings, so you can set the flashlight, voice recorder or camera to start by double pressing the power button even when the screen is off, which saves time and eliminates the need to unlock the device.

The quick action setting looks like this:

• ⚡ Go to Settings. → Additional functions → Quick action.
• ⚡ Select the action "Run the application».
• ⚡ Assign an application to double-press the power button.

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If double tap doesn’t work, try increasing the screen response speed in the developer settings, but do so carefully to avoid causing random activations in your pocket.

It is worth noting that the quick action feature can consume additional battery power, since the button sensor is in constant standby mode. If autonomy is a priority for you, it is better to turn off the launch of applications over dual tap.

Setting up navigation buttons and gestures

One of the most important interface settings is navigation, and Xiaomi users can choose between the classic three buttons at the bottom of the screen and gesture control, and the buttons can be adjusted to their location, which is critical for left-handers.

In button mode, you can hide the navigation bar or change the order of the back and menu buttons, and in gesture mode, you can adjust the sensitivity of the edges of the screen so that the swipes work correctly even when using high-sided cases.

The comparison of navigation modes is presented in the table:

To switch mode, go to Settings → Desktop → Navigation System. Here you can choose your preferred option and adjust additional options, such as hiding hints or changing sensitivity.

Advanced Features through Engineering Menu and ADB

For advanced users who don’t have enough standard settings, there are ways to change button behavior through the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) or engineering menu, which allows you to, for example, completely disable buttons or assign them rare system commands.

Using ADB requires connecting your smartphone to your computer and having a driver installed. With commands, you can reassign keycodes in your system configuration files, but this requires root rights or an unlocked bootloader.

Example of a command to check current input settings:

adb shell getevent -l

This command will show you which codes send physical buttons when you click, and knowing these codes, you can create scripts to reassign them. Be careful: changing system files incorrectly can cause buttons to fail.

⚠️ Note: Making changes through ADB or editing system files can invalidate the warranty and cause the system to run in an unstable manner. Always do a full backup before experimenting.

Third-party applications for button reassignment

If built-in tools are not enough, Google Play apps come to the rescue, with Button Mapper and Key Mapper leading the niche, allowing you to assign any buttons (volume, power, even headset) to run apps, macros, or system functions to single, double, and long-term presses.

Apps run on top of the system and require special permissions through ADB or special features menus, and it's a secure customization method that doesn't require root rights. You can set up, for example, opening WhatsApp by double-pushing the volume button down.

The main features of such utilities:

• 📱 Launching any installed application.
• 📱 Performing system actions (flashlight, screenshot, track switching).
• 📱 Creating macros (sequence of actions).

It is worth considering that using such applications can slightly increase battery consumption, since they constantly monitor the state of the buttons. Also on some versions of MIUI, aggressive optimization can kill the background process of the application, so you need to manually prohibit energy savings for it.

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Third-party applications are the best way to get the functionality of custom buttons without the risk of system failure, unlike editing system files.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)