How to put a photo on the phone Xiaomi: 5 ways + problem solving

Why Xiaomi can’t add photos to your contact – and how to fix it

Are you trying to personalize the contact of a loved one or colleague by adding a photo of them, but Xiaomi’s phone is stubbornly keeping the changes from being saved? Or is the picture displayed curved, cropped or disappears after synchronization? This problem is familiar to many owners of Redmi, POCO and Mi smartphones – especially after upgrading to MIUI 14/15 or Android 13/14.

In this article, we’ll look at all the working ways to add photos to your Xiaomi contacts, from the standard Contacts app to Google Contacts and third-party services, and why photos sometimes “fly” after syncing and how to prevent it, starting with the simplest method, it works 80% of the time.

Method 1: Standard photo addition via the Contacts app

This is a basic method that should work on all Xiaomi smartphones regardless of the MIUI version. Follow the instructions carefully - often errors occur due to missed steps.

Open the Contacts app (a sign with a person's silhouette on a green or blue background) find the contact you want in the list and tap it. In the upper right corner, click on the pencil icon (edit). If it's not there, press the contact for a long time and select Change.

• 📷 Click on the empty avatar field (or the current picture, if any).
• 🖼️ Select the source of the photo: Gallery, Camera (to take a picture right now) or Download.
• ✂️ Cut the photo in a circle (if required) and click Ready.
• 💾 Save the changes with the Save button in the upper right corner.

The correct contact (not duplicate) is selected |

Photo in JPG/PNG format (not WEBP or HEIC) |

The file size does not exceed 5 MB|

Contact is not synced with an account that does not have editing rights-->

If the photo doesn't show up after saving, restart the phone. Sometimes MIUI caches old contact data, and the changes only apply after the reboot.

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If you add a photo to a contact synced with a Google Account, the changes can be applied with a delay of up to 5 minutes. To speed up the process, open Settings → Accounts → Google → Sync and click Sync Now.

Method 2: Add a photo via Google Contacts (if the standard method doesn’t work)

If a photo is not saved through the standard Contacts app, try doing so through Google Contacts, a method that is especially useful if your contacts are synced with a Google Account (which is the default on most Xiaomi).

Open your browser on your phone or computer and go to contacts.google.com. Sign in with the same account that is linked to your Xiaomi. Find the right contact and click on it. In the upper right corner, click on the pencil icon (edit).

• 🖼️ Click on the camera icon next to the avatar field.
• 📤 Download a photo from your device or make a new one through your webcam.
• ✅ Save the changes.

Important: if a contact is duplicated (for example, there is both a phone and Google), you need to edit the version that is synced with Google, otherwise the changes may not apply.

In the standard annex "Contacts" |

Through Google Contacts in the browser |

In messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram)|

I don't add photos to my contacts.-->

Method 3: Use the Truecaller app to add photos

If the first two methods didn't work, try Truecaller, which not only identifies spammer numbers, but also allows you to edit contacts, including adding photos, and install it from Google Play if you haven't already done so.

Open Truecaller and find the contact you want. Slip it, then click Edit (pencil icon). Here you can add a photo just like you would in a standard app, but with one advantage: Truecaller automatically crops the avatar in a circle and optimizes it for display in calls.

⚠️ Warning: Truecaller may request access to your contacts and call history.If you are embarrassed, drop the method and go back to method 1 or 2.

Method 4: Manually import contacts via VCF file (for power users)

If none of the previous methods worked, then there is a heavy artillery, which is editing the contact via a.vcf file. This method is guaranteed to work, but requires a little more action.

First, export the contact you want to change. Open Contacts → Settings → Import / Export → Export to a file. Select the contact you want and save the.vcf file to your phone memory. Now open this file with any text editor (like QuickEdit or Notepad). Find the string that starts with PHOTO and replace it with:

PHOTO;ENCODING=b;TYPE=JPEG:[base Base64-code of your photo]

To get Base64-the code of your photo, use the online converter (for example, base64-image.de). Upload a photo, copy the generated code and paste it into a.vcf file instead of [basic code]. Base64-photo code].

• 📤 Save changes to the file.
• 📥 Import edited.vcf back to your phone via Contacts → Imports.
• 🔄 If the contact is duplicated, delete the old version.

Why a contact photo disappears or doesn’t show up – and how to fix it

Did you successfully add a photo, but after a while it disappeared? Or is it visible in contacts, but not displayed on incoming calls? Here are 5 common reasons and solutions:

1. Sync with multiple accounts: If the contact is duplicated (e.g., there is both a Google account and a Mi Account), the photo can “fly” when synced. Solution: combine duplicates in one account.
2. MIUI limitations on photo size: Files larger than 5MB may not be saved. Solution: Reduce the photo to 1000×1000 pixels.
3. Cache of the Contacts app. Sometimes the cache forgets about the changes. Solution: clear the cache in the app settings.
4. Google Sync Error: If the contact is linked to a Google Account, check if sync is enabled in Settings → Accounts → Google.
5. MIUI theme: Some themes hide avatars in calls. Solution: return the standard theme to Settings → Theme.

⚠️ Note: If you use dual applications (cloning messengers through Settings) → Dual apps, photo contacts may not be displayed in cloned versions. MIUI — It can only be corrected by disabling cloning.

How to make a contact photo appear when you call

You add a photo, but when you call in, you only see a number instead of an avatar? This is a common problem on Xiaomi, and here's how to solve it:

• 📞 Check that the contact is saved in the correct format. The number must be in an international format (e.g., in the correct format, +79123456789, not 89123456789).
• 🔕 Make sure the contact is not blacklisted. Locked numbers are displayed without avatars.
• 🎨 Reset the settings of the Phone application. To do this, go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management → Phone. → Warehouse → Reset the settings.
• 🔄 Restart your phone – sometimes it helps to update your call data.

If nothing helps, try installing a third-party call app like Google Phone or Truecaller.They often display avatars better than the standard Phone app from Xiaomi.

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If the photo is not displayed when calling, in 90% of cases the wrong format of the number (should be +7) or the failure of the cache of the Phone application is to blame.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions About Contact Photos on Xiaomi