How to Change or Disable Swipe Up on Xiaomi with MIUI 12: All Ways

The swipe up gesture in MIUI 12 is one of the key navigation elements that replaces the traditional Back, Home and Recent buttons. However, not all users are comfortable with this control: someone accidentally activates it, others are used to the classic navigation bar, and others just don’t like the location of the swipe zone. Fortunately, Xiaomi provides several ways to reconfigure this gesture, from completely disconnecting to fine-tuning the sensitivity.

In this article, we will look at all the available methods for swiping up on MIUI 12 smartphones, including hidden settings, alternative launchers, and even manual editing of configuration files for advanced users. We will focus on typical problems, such as when a gesture works spontaneously or does not work after an update. If you are looking for a way to return control or, conversely, optimize the swipe for your needs, here you will find a solution.

Why Swipe Up Can Be Inconvenient

Gesture navigation in MIUI 12 is built on the principles of Android 10/11, where the swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen performs several functions at once:

• 🔹 Short swipe – returns to the main screen (analogue of the home button»);
• 🔹 Long swipe – opens a list of recent apps;
• 🔹 Diagonally swipe – calls Google Assistant or Xiaomi.

Problems arise from:

1. Screen sensitivity – a smartphone can perceive random touches as a command
2. Habits – users who switched from devices of other brands (for example, Samsung or iPhone), often confuse gestures;
3. shell conflicts – after updating MIUI, settings can be reset;
4. Hardware features – on devices with curved screens (for example, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra) touch zones are offset.

According to statistics, about 30% of MIUI 12 users have tried to change or disable the swipe up at least once, and the official settings do not always have an obvious switch – you need to search for it in hidden menus or use workarounds.

Method 1: Change gestures through standard MIUI 12 settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in options. In MIUI 12, the path to gesture settings may vary depending on the smartphone model, but the overall scheme is as follows:

1. Open the Settings → Display;
2. Select Full-screen Display (or Gestures on some devices)
3. Slip the navigation gestures;
4. You will be offered options: 📱 Navigation buttons (classic three buttons); 👆 Gestures MIUI (swipe up for "Home»); 🔄 Android Gestures (an alternative scheme from Google).

If you need to turn off the swipe completely, select Navigation Buttons. To fine-tune the MIUI gestures, go to Additional Gesture Settings (if any).

• 🔧 Change the sensitivity of the swipe (slider from 1 to 5);
• 🔄 Turn off vibration when triggered;
• 📱 Hide the tip-strip at the bottom of the screen.

Important! Some devices (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro) may need to reboot after changing gestures. If the MIUI Gesture option is missing, then your firmware has been modified (e.g. Global ROM instead of China ROM).

Method 2: Use of alternative launchers

If the standard MIUI 12 settings don't work, you can install a third-party launcher that supports gesture customization.

To configure the swipe up through Nova Launcher:

1. Install the launcher and make it the main (in the settings Home → Nova Launcher);
2. Open the launcher settings (Long Maintenance → Settings)
3. Go to Gestures and Entrances → Navigation Gestures
4. Select Setting Up the Home gesture and assign an action (such as Open the app or Show all apps).

⚠️ Warning: Third-party launchers may conflict with system gestures MIUI 12.If after installing the swipe up stopped working completely, return the standard launcher to Settings → Annexes → By default.

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If after changing the launcher gestures work incorrectly, try to disable the optimization of the battery for the launcher in the settings of the Battery → Battery Optimization.

Method 3: Editing Configuration Files (for Advanced)

If you're ready to work with system files, you can manually change gesture settings through ADB or root file manager, a method that's suitable for devices with an unlocked bootloader and a TWRP installed.

Step 1: Getting root rights

• 🔓 Unlock the bootloader through the Mi Unlock Tool;
• 📱 Install Magisk or SuperSU;
• 🔧 Use a root-enabled file manager (such as Solid Explorer or Solid Explorer) FX File Explorer).

Step. 2: File editing gesture_config.xml

1. Go to /system/usr/idc/
2. Find the file. gesture_config.xml (or navigation_gesture.xml firmware);
3. Open it in the text editor and find the lines: <gesture name="swipe_up" sensitivity="3" /> <gesture name="swipe_up_long" sensitivity="2" />
4. Change sensitivity (1 - minimum sensitivity, 5 - maximum sensitivity).

Step 3: Reboot

Save the file, set the correct rights (644) and restart the device. If the swipe up completely disappeared after the changes, return the standard values or restore the file backup.

⚠️ Warning: Incorrect editing of system files can lead to loss of functionality of the touch screen. /system through TWRP.

Method 4: Retrace to the previous version of MIUI

If you have a problem with the swipe after upgrading to MIUI 12, you can return the previous firmware version where the gestures worked correctly.

1. Download the archive with the desired version of MIUI from the official Xiaomi website;
2. Rename the file to update.zip and place it in the root folder of the phone.
3. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update;
4. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Select the firmware file;
5. Confirm the rollback.

It's important.

• 📵 All data will be erased (take backup);
• 🔒 You may need to unlock the bootloader again;
• 🔄 After the rollback, upgrade to MIUI 12 through OTA, Not manually, it will reduce the risk of repeated failures.

If the rollback didn’t help, check if the problem is hardware. For example, on the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro, there were cases where a faulty touch layer led to false swipe positives.

Solving Typical Swipe Up Problems

Even after setting up, gestures may not work properly, and consider the most common scenarios and ways to correct them:

If none of the methods worked, check:

• 🔄 Firmware updates – possibly bugs with gestures fixed in the new version;
• 🛠️ Customized firmware - some custom ROM (For example, LineageOS does not support gestures. MIUI;
• 📱 Hardware malfunctions – if the swipe does not work only in a certain area of the screen, it may indicate damage to the digitizer.

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Before contacting the service center, check the gestures in safe mode (hold the power button → “Safe Mode”). If the problem disappears, the third-party application is to blame.

FAQ: Frequent questions about swipe up in MIUI 12