How to make a screen screen on Xiaomi: the complete guide

Screenshots are one of the most basic but critical features in any modern smartphone. Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices often look for quick ways to save important information, correspondence or an interesting moment from the game. Standard methods may vary depending on the version of the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS, as well as on the individual settings of the system.

In this article, we will take a closer look at all the ways that screenshots are created, from classic button combinations to advanced features like long scrolling, and learn how to customize handy gestures to take pictures with a single touch, and what to do if the feature stops working, and understanding these mechanisms will allow you to manage the content on your gadget more effectively.

Whether you own a budget model or a flagship, the principles of the system remain similar, but the layout of interface elements can vary. We will look at the nuances that will help avoid errors while keeping confidential data. Ready for different use cases ensures that you can always capture the right moment.

Classical method using physical buttons

The most reliable and versatile way that works on all Android devices, including Xiaomi smartphones, is to simultaneously press the control buttons. You need to press the volume down and the on button at the same time, holding them for literally a fraction of a second until the characteristic sound of the camera shutter and visual flash of the screen.

It's important to keep the right sequence and synchrony of the press. If you press the power button first and then the volume (or vice versa) with a long delay, the phone will perceive this as two separate actions: locking the screen or changing the sound level. Mechanical buttons require clear, but not too strong pressure.

• 📱 Press the Loudness button and Power at the same time.
• ⚡ Hold for about 0.5 seconds until the animation appears.
• 🔊 Pay attention to the confirmation beep.

Once you've successfully performed the actions at the top of the screen (in the notification area), you'll see a thumbnail of the image you've taken, and if you click on it, you can immediately edit the image, overlay the picture, or send the file to the person you're talking to, and if nothing happens, check if the screenshots feature is locked in the security or parental controls settings.

Setting and using a swipe with three fingers

The MIUI shell is famous for its convenience, and one of the most useful features is to take a screenshot with a hand movement, which allows you to take a screenshot with one hand, which is especially true when using large diagonals. To activate this option, you need to go to the system settings.

Go to Settings → Additional Features → Screenshots. Here you need to find the Three-Finger Swipe switch and activate it. Once turned on, just swipe three fingers from top to bottom down the center of the display, and the system instantly creates a copy of the image.

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If the three-finger swipe doesn't work, try changing the speed or pressing your fingers tighter against the screen, and make sure the display doesn't have any greasy marks that interfere with the multi-touch.

It's worth noting that in some versions of the firmware, you can change the direction of the gesture, the standard top-down motion, but for left-handed people or use cases, this can be adapted, and the gesture control feature significantly speeds up the work with content on social networks and browsers.

⚠️ Note: When you activate a gesture with three fingers, make sure you do not use protective glass with very thick edges that can overlap the touch recognition areas on the sides of the screen.

How to take a screenshot through the notification curtain

If the physical buttons on your device are worn out or you're uncomfortable reaching for them, you can always use the interface software. The default control (notification curtain) is the Screenshot icon, which looks like a scissor or a phone image.

To access this feature, swipe-strip from top to bottom to reveal the full list of switches. If you don't see the icon you want right away, it may be hidden in the second menu page or in the Quick Settings edit section. Click on the pencil icon or edit button to add a screenshot shortcut to a prominent place.

This is especially useful when the phone is on the table or you hold it in one hand and the other interacts with the screen, and it eliminates the risk of accidentally pressing the extra button and locking the device.

• 🔽 Lower the notification curtain completely.
• 🔍 Find the Screenshot icon (scissors).
• 👆 Click on it for an instant snapshot.

In newer versions of HyperOS, the layout of the elements can be changed for minimalism. If the standard curtain does not contain the desired element, check the Control Panel settings in the Control Center section, where you can choose a display style that will be more familiar to you.

The function of a long screenshot (scroll)

Often, you need to save not just one screen, but an entire page of the site, a long correspondence in the messenger or a document, and for this purpose Xiaomi has an "Advanced Screenshot" feature, after you take a regular shot in any of the ways described above, a preview appears in the upper corner.

Click on the "More" button (or the icon with the arrows down) for the preview, and automatically scrolling the page down, the system will "stitch" the screens into one long tape, you can stop the process at any time by touching the screen, or wait for the content of the page to finish.

The maximum length of this image is limited by the system, usually a few thousand pixels in height. If the content is very long, the system may suggest splitting it into several files or simply trimming the tail, the format of the saved file remains standard PNG or JPG.

This feature is essential for saving checks, tickets, articles and correspondence, saving time by eliminating the need to take many individual frames and then glue them together in third-party applications, and the built-in MIUI algorithm does this well enough, although sometimes artifacts can be found at the joints in dynamic content.

Use of voice assistant and application menu

For those who prefer voice control or can’t use their hands, Xiaomi offers to take screenshots via voice commands. If you have Google Assistant or your own Xiao AI assistant activated (depending on the region and firmware version), just say the phrase “OK, Google, take a screenshot” or “Take a screenshot.”

In addition, there is a hidden menu available through the Menu button (three dots) in some system applications, such as Gallery or Browser. The context menu often contains a "Share" item or a specific snapshot creation button that is integrated into the interface of a particular application.

Voice is especially relevant in situations where the phone is connected to external devices or is in hands-free mode. However, it should be noted that the voice assistant requires an active Internet connection and a configured microphone. Voice commands may not work in Do Not Disturb mode or when the screen is turned off (depending on settings).

⚠️ Note: When using a voice assistant, make sure that the privacy settings allow screen recording or interface interaction, otherwise the command may be ignored by the security system.

Third-party applications and enhanced capabilities

While Xiaomi’s built-in functionality is extensive, it sometimes requires specific features such as automatic screenshots, hidden recording, or an advanced editor. Google Play Market has a variety of apps, such as Screenshot Easy or Stitch & Share.

Third-party snails often require special permissions, such as “Draw on top of other applications” or “Access to use,” to allow the application to “see” what is happening on the screen and intercept the image, and install such programs only from trusted sources.

The advantage of third-party software is the ability to adjust hotkeys (shaking the phone, swiping with two fingers anywhere, a floating menu button), which allows you to adapt the process to your habits if standard Xiaomi methods seem inconvenient, but it is worth remembering the memory consumption that will increase with background services.

Where to look for saved screenshots and how to edit them

Once a picture is created, it automatically stores in the device's memory, can be found in several ways, the fastest is to click on the notification that appears immediately after the screenshot, and all images are also included in the standard Gallery app.

In a file system, it usually looks like this: Internal memory → DCIM → Screenshots or MIUI → Gallery → Cloud → Screenshots. If you use sync with Google Photos, screenshots can automatically go to the cloud and be tagged with Screenshots.

The built-in Xiaomi editor allows you to perform basic actions: framing, overlaying text, drawing with a marker and blurring confidential information. For more complex processing (object removal, color correction), it is better to use third-party applications, but for most tasks, built-in HyperOS tools are enough.

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All screenshots are saved by default in the DCIM/Screenshots folder, making it easier to find them when connecting your phone to your computer via USB.

Frequent problems and their solution

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where screenshots are not taken or saved, this can be caused by a lack of free memory, software failure or security restrictions, for example, in some banking applications or when watching videos on Netflix, the creation of screenshots is blocked at the system level (DRM protection).

If screenshots are no longer saved in the gallery, try clearing the Gallery or Explorer app cache. Also check if the phone's storage is full. In rare cases, rebooting the device helps, which resets temporary system services errors.

• 🚫 Check if the ban on screenshots in the app is worth it.
• 💾 Make sure there is free space on the disk.
• 🔄 Reboot your smartphone to reset services.

If the problem is systemic and not solved by restarting, you may need to reset or update the firmware to the current version.