How to put a photo on a call on Xiaomi: 3 ways to MIUI 12-15

When an incoming call is on your Xiaomi or Redmi screen, instead of a standard contact avatar, you can see your favorite photo, meme, or even a GIF. This feature not only personalizes the interface, but also helps you identify the caller more quickly — especially if there are hundreds of contacts with the same names in the phone book, but not everyone knows that the setting of the photo to a call to MIUI is different from standard Android and has its own nuances.

In this article, we’ll break down three working ways to set a photo to a call (including the method for contacting without avatars), explain why sometimes the image is not displayed, and share the life hacks for image optimization. The instructions are relevant for all modern Xiaomi models 11/12/13/14, Redmi Note 10/11/12, POCO F/X and other devices on MIUI 12-15. If you use custom firmware or the old version of the shell (below MIUI 10), some of the features may be missing, we’ll mention this too.

Method 1: Installation of photo through contact in the phone book

The most obvious method is to attach a photo directly to a contact, which works for all versions of MIUI, but has a limitation: the image will only be displayed if the caller is saved in the phone book.

1. Open the Contacts app (a icon with a person's silhouette).
2. Find the contact you need in the list or through the search bar.
3. Slip on the contact, then click the Edit button (pencil in the upper right corner).
4. Tap the camera icon next to the name or the Photo field.
5. Select the source: 📸 Take a photo – an instant shot from the camera. 🖼️ Gallery – a choice of existing images. 🎨 Avatar – creating a stylized image (not available on all models).

Cut the photo in a circle (if required) and save the changes.

After that, when you call in from this contact, you will see the image installed. However, there is a caveat: MIUI caches the avatars, so the changes may not apply immediately. If the photo does not appear, restart the phone or clear the cache of the Contacts application in the settings.

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To make the photo on the call look clear, use images with a resolution of at least 480×480 px. MIUI automatically crops the pictures into a circle, so center the face or key object in the middle.

Method 2: Using themes and stickers for calls

If you want to install a universal photo for all incoming calls (or contacts without avatars), use the themes feature in MIUI. This method even allows you to add animation!

Steps:

1. Go to Settings → Design → Themes.
2. Select the Call tab (or the Call Screen in older versions).
3. Scroll down to the Call Stickers section or the Call Screen background.
4. You can tap the template you like: 🌄 Static backgrounds (mountains, cities, abstractions). 🎭 Animated stickers (such as flashing lights or moving objects). 👤 Personalized – upload your photo through the Add button.

Apply the theme and check the result with a call from another phone.

The advantage of this method is the ability to set different backgrounds for outgoing and incoming calls, for example, you can display a cat photo on the incoming one, and the outgoing one - a landscape. However, note that some animations can slow down on budget Redmi models (for example, Redmi 9A or POCO M3).

Method 3: Manually add photos through the file system (for advanced)

If the first two methods didn’t work (for example, due to MIUI glitches or custom firmware), you can manually replace the contact avatar via the file system. This method requires Root rights or access to ADB, so it is only suitable for advanced users.

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and enable USB Debugging (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times tap on version, then go back to Additional → For Developers).
2. Download ADB Tools and open the command line in the folder with adb.exe.
3. Enter the commands: adb shell su cd /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/sqlite3 contacts2.db
4. Find it. ID contact: SELECT _id FROM raw_contacts WHERE display_name='NAME CONTACTACT';
5. Update the path to the photo (pre-upload the image to the folder) /sdcard/Pictures And write down the full path): UPDATE data SET data1='/sdcard/Pictures/photo.jpg' WHERE raw_contact_id=ID_CONTACT AND mimetype_id=(SELECT _id FROM mimetypes WHERE mimetype='vnd.android.cursor.item/photo');
6. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Note: Wrong actions with the database contacts2.db You may lose all contacts, and we recommend you to make a backup copy in advance through Settings. → Google → Backup.

Why the photo is not displayed on the call: 5 reasons and solutions

Even after you set it up correctly, the photo may not show up, and here are the most common reasons and ways to fix them:

If the problem persists, check if the photo display function is disabled in the call settings:

1. Open the phone. → ⋮ (menu) → Settings.
2. Go to Incoming Calls. → Call screen style.
3. Make sure to turn on the setting Show photo contact.
4. Truecaller (for spam identification): Automatically uploads photos for business contacts, blocks spam calls with warnings.

⚠️ Note: Some applications (e.g. Full Screen Caller) require permission to Overlay over other windows. MIUI. To avoid problems, turn off the swipe up gesture for the home in the screen settings.

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Third-party calling apps can drain the battery faster than standard ones. If you notice an increased consumption, check the application permissions in Settings → Battery → Battery Use.

FAQ: Frequent questions about photos on a call to Xiaomi