How to turn off the flashlight when calling Xiaomi

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face an unexpected reaction of the device to an incoming call: a flash begins to flash in the dark.This feature, conceived as a useful notification for hearing-impaired users or for using the phone as an alarm, in real life often becomes a source of irritation. Especially unpleasant when bright lights hit your eyes at night or reveal your location in the cinema.

Fortunately, MIUI and the new HyperOS shell allow for flexible management of this behavior, so you don't have to be a programming expert or root-rights, you just have to know where the switch is hiding, because it's been positioned differently across different versions of the firmware, and in this article, we'll look at all the current ways to deactivate the light signal.

It's worth noting that sometimes the problem isn't with the system settings of the call, but with third-party apps or specific modes of operation. We'll go through each scenario in detail so you can guarantee that you can fix the problem. After reading this, you won't worry about your phone turning into a strobe during an important conversation.

Where is the switch in the system settings

The easiest and most obvious way to turn off blinking is through the standard settings menu, but manufacturers often hide this option deep in sections related to special features or gesture control. In most current versions of the shell, the path is as follows: you need to open Settings, find the Additional Features section, and select the Special Features item.

Inside this menu, you should look for a tab that might be called "Hearing," "Vision," or just "Physical." That's where the flash switch is located. If you use the older version of MIUI, the path may be different: Settings → Advanced Settings → Special Features. In some regions, the interface may be localized differently, so look for synonyms for "flash."

Note that on some Redmi Note and Poco models, this feature can be broken down into two states: “On” (constantly) and “Blink” (only when you call). You need to completely deactivate the slider. If the LED still lights up after switching the switch to the “Off” position, it may be that another application causes a conflict.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi global firmware may rename this feature as “Notification Indicator” and don’t confuse it with the LED light settings on the end of the case if it’s present in your model.

📊 Have you found a flash switch in the standard menu?
I found it right away / I looked for a long time / I don't have a HyperOS

Disconnection through the application "Phone"

Often users search for customization in the system's general menu, forgetting that a separate system application is responsible for processing calls. In Xiaomi shells, MIUI Dialer or the standard Google Dialer is responsible for this. To get to the desired menu, open the Phone application (green handset) and click on three dots or a gear in the upper right corner of the screen.

In the drop-down menu, select Settings. Next, scroll down to Incoming Calls or Answer and End. This is where the Flash option may be hidden. In the newer versions of MIUI 14 and HyperOS, this option is sometimes duplicated, so check both the system and the in-app menus.

If you use a third-party phone, such as Truecaller or Yandex.Phone, Xiaomi’s system settings may be ignored, so you need to go to the settings of the replacement app itself. The interface will differ, but the search logic remains the same: the Visual Effects or Notifications section.

  • 📱 Open the phone app».
  • ⚙️ Click on the menu (three dots) and select Settings».
  • 🔍 Find the section "Incoming calls».
  • ❌ Turn off the flash switch».

It's important to understand that when you update the system, the location of these items may change. Xiaomi engineers are constantly changing the structure of the menu depending on the requirements of users in different regions. If you do not find this item, try searching by settings by typing the word "flash".

☑️ Checking the call settings

Done: 0 / 1

Features of the HyperOS and MIUI 14 interface

With the release of HyperOS and the upgrade to MIUI 14, Xiaomi has rebranded and restructured many menus, and what used to be in “Additional Features” can now be moved to “Security” or “Notifications,” causing confusion among users accustomed to the old structure.

HyperOS often has a unified notification management menu, where you can set your phone's response to different types of events separately. You can ask to have the flash work for WhatsApp messages, but it's turned off for normal WhatsApp messages. GSM-You need to go to Settings for that. → Notifications and status bar → Management of notifications.

The new versions also include Smart Flash, which uses artificial intelligence algorithms to determine the level of light. If the room is light, the flashlight may not light up, but it activates automatically in the dark, and it is also on the feature menu.

Shell versionLocation of settingsTitle of paragraph
MIUI 12 / 13Additional functions → Special opportunitiesFlash for notifications
MIUI 14Settings → Special Opportunities → HearingA flash on a bell
HyperOS 1.0Settings → Additional → Special OpportunitiesNotification indicator
Android GoSettings → AvailabilityFlash notification

If you have a custom build or a global version with a changed region (like Chinese firmware with a global language), the paths may differ, and in such cases, it is best to use a search by settings, since it indexes all hidden menus.

Use of third-party applications and conflicts

Sometimes, when you're settings, everything's off and the flashlight still flashes when you call, 90 percent of the time, the culprit is third-party apps that intercept the camera or flash, or smart calls, or conversation recording apps, or even flashlight applications that run in the background.

And the focus is on the software and antivirus apps, which often have their own set of optimizations and notifications, and they can force the flash to be turned on as a useful feature. To test that, try running your phone in Safe Mode, and if it doesn't have a flash, it's a software problem.

There may also be conflicting gesture control apps like Gestures Control or launchers, and if you've recently installed a new program, try uninstalling it and checking your phone, and users often forget that they've given the app permission to use the camera, and it uses the flash as it sees fit.

  • 🛑 Check out the list of recently installed apps.
  • 🔍 Turn off camera permissions for suspicious programs.
  • 🧹 Clear the cache of the "Phone" application».
  • 📲 Try to remove third-party calls.

In rare cases, the cause may be a virus or a miner who uses the resources of the phone. If the flash flash flashes chaoticly, even without calling, it is recommended to conduct a full antivirus check of the device.

Resetting settings and radical methods

If the software methods don't work, and you've tried all the options, you have to reset the specific modules, and it's not a complete factory reset, but just a return to the original system application settings, and it's safe for your personal data (photos, contacts), but it resets your call and message settings.

To do this, go to Settings → Applications → All apps. Find the list “Phone” (or “Calls”), click on it and select “Clear → Reset.” Same thing for the Messages app. Once you reboot, the phone will behave like new in terms of call settings, and the flash feature should go off.

In extreme cases, if the problem is systemic (a firmware glitch), resetting all phone settings can help. Remember that a full reset (Wipe Data) will delete all your files, so be sure to backup your computer or the Xiaomi Cloud before this procedure. After reset, do not restore the settings from the old backup immediately, but check the flash on the “clean” phone.

⚠️ Note: Recovery Mode will remove all data from internal memory, and only use this method if other methods have not worked and you are ready for loss of information.

Sometimes it helps to simply upgrade to the latest available version. Security and stability patches often fix peripheral bugs, including flash. Check for updates in the About Phone menu → MIUI/HyperOS version.

Frequent Questions and Challenges (FAQ)

Why does the flashlight flash even when the phone is down?
This is standard behavior of the Notification Flash function. The light sensor or accelerometer doesn't always correctly detect the position of the device in some versions of the firmware. Try calibrating the sensors through the engineering menu or just flip the phone over.
Can you make the flash flash flash only for certain contacts?
It's hard to do this with standard MIUI, but if you assign a ringtone to a contact, and if you have flashed the sound settings for this type of notification (if you have one in your version), it can work, and most often, it requires third-party caller apps.
Does the Do Not Disturb mode affect the operation of the outbreak?
Yes, in most cases, when Do Not Disturb mode is activated (the moon in the notification curtain), all visual and audible notifications, including the flash, are blocked. This is a temporary solution if you need to quickly remove the blinking for sleep or movies.
The Flash item disappeared after the Android update. What do I do?
Google has changed the notification flash API in pure Android 13/14, so if you have a global version with pure Android, this feature could have been removed by developers, and only third-party apps from Google Play that mimic this functionality that can be configured or disabled will help.
Does flashing hit the battery?
Short-term blinking LED-The flash consumes minimal energy and has little or no effect on the autonomy of the smartphone. However, if the flash lights up constantly (lightlight mode) due to a failure, it can drain the battery in a few hours.