How to set up the alphabet in contacts on Xiaomi: all ways and solutions to problems

Sorting contacts alphabetically on Xiaomi smartphones seems like a simple task, but many users face unexpected problems: contacts are displayed in a chaotic order, names with Cyrillic and Latin alphabets are mixed, and surnames are ignored when sorting. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways of adjusting alphabetical order in the standard application "Contacts" on the Internet. MIUI 13/14, including hidden settings, bug fixing and alternative methods for Redmi models, POCO mi.

Feature MIUI The problem is that the default system can sort contacts not by alphabet, but by date of addition or frequency of use, and this is due to the integration of Google and Mi Account services, which overlay their display algorithms. In addition, after firmware updates, sorting settings are often reset — so even if you previously set up order, after upgrading to the top of the system. MIUI 14 may require a repeat of the procedure.

It's important to understand that the problem isn't always with smartphone settings: sometimes it's account sync, duplicate contacts, or even regional settings, and we'll look at all of these and provide clear instructions for each case.

Why Xiaomi contacts are not alphabetically sorted

Before you start setting up, you should understand the causes of chaotic display of contacts.

• 🔄 Multi-account sync: If you have Google, Mi Account, and other services (such as WhatsApp or Viber) connected, contacts can be duplicated or displayed in the order specified by each service.
• 📱 Regional settings: System language and name format (first name or surname) affect the sorting algorithm, for example, Chinese firmware may default to the order "Family name" → Name".
• 🔄 Update MIUI: after major updates (for example, with MIUI 12 on MIUI 14) the settings of the “Contacts” application are reset.
• 📁 Duplicates and empty fields: contacts without names (numbers only) or with the same names can break alphabetical order.
• 🛠️ Cache errors: corrupted data from the Contacts app or Google Contacts Sync cause crashes.

Most often, the problem is solved by changing the sorting parameters in the application itself, but in 20% of cases, a deeper setup is required, such as cleaning the cache or resetting the synchronization. Next, we will look at all methods in order, starting with the simplest ones.

Method 1: Set up sorting in the standard "Contacts" application

The most obvious method is to change the display parameters directly in the application. MIUI 13 and MIUI 14:

1. Open the Contacts app (an icon with a human silhouette).
2. Tap the three-point menu (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Settings.
3. Go to Display Contacts (or Sort Order in some versions).
4. Select the option by name (A-Y) or by surname (A-Y) depending on how you want to sort.
5. Below, set the name format option: specify what should go first - Name or Surname.
6. Save the changes and restart the application.

If after these actions contacts are still displayed incorrectly, check the following points:

• 🔍 Make sure that the selected language of the system supports Cyrillic (e.g. Russian (Russia) and not English (USA)).
• 🔄 Try changing the order of sorting to the opposite (from A-Y to I-A), then return it back – this sometimes resets the display cache.
• 📱 Reboot your smartphone: some settings MIUI apply only after reboot.

Selected language of the system with Cyrillic

The order of sorting is set on "By name (A-Y)"

The name format corresponds to your data (name) → Name or vice versa)

Contact app is restarted-->

Method 2: Synchronization and unification of contacts

If contacts are duplicated or some of them appear in one order and some in another, the problem is sync with accounts.

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync (or Passwords and Accounts in newer versions of MIUI).
2. Select a Google account (or Mi Account if you use it for contacts).
3. Turn off the contacts sync, wait 10 seconds and turn it back on.
4. Go back to the Contact App, tap on ⋮ → Contact management → Connecting contacts.
5. The system will automatically find duplicates – confirm the union.

After the combination, check the sorting. If the problem persists, try the following method:

⚠️ Note: If you turn off sync, contacts that are only saved in your account (such as Google) will temporarily disappear from the phone book. Do not delete your account - just turn off contact sync!

Method 3: Reset the settings of the "Contacts" application

If previous methods didn't work, try resetting the settings and cache of the app, which won't delete your contacts, but will return the display settings to factory settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the "Contacts" list (or com.android.contacts) and tap it.
3. Select Warehouse. → Clear the cache.
4. Then click Reset (or Delete Data, but it will delete all local contacts!).
5. Reboot your smartphone.

After resetting the cache, the Contacts app will reassemble the name index, which often solves sorting problems, especially if they arise after the update. MIUI.

⚠️ Note: If you choose Delete Data instead of Clear Cache, all local contacts (not synced to Google or Mi Account) will be deleted! → Contacts → Imports/Exports.

Method 4: Manually editing contacts for correct sorting

Sometimes the problem lies in the contact data itself.

• 📛 Names begin with a space or an unprintable character (e.g., "Ivan" instead of "Ivan").
• 🔤 In the field "Name" additional symbols are indicated (dots, dashes, brackets).
• 📌 Contacts are saved only with phone number, without name.

To fix this:

1. Open a contact that is displayed incorrectly.
2. Tap Edit and check the name field for extra characters.
3. Make sure that the surname and first name are filled in correctly (for example, "Ivanov Ivan" instead of "Ivan" in the surname field).
4. Save the changes and check the sorting.

💡

To quickly find problematic contacts, export them to a file. VCF (through settings → Import/Export) and open it on your computer, so it's easier to spot extra symbols or empty fields.

Method 5: Use of alternative contact applications

If the standard Xiaomi Contacts app stubbornly ignores sorting settings, you can install a third-party solution.

• 📱 Google Contacts is the official Google app with flexible sorting and sync settings. Download it from the Play Market and make it the default contact app.
• 🔍 Truecaller – in addition to the number detector, has a convenient phone book with a customizable sorting.
• 📊 Contacts+ — Supports groups, tags and manual sorting of contacts.

To make the third-party application the main one:

1. Install the selected application from the Play Market.
2. Go to Settings. → Annexes → Default applications → Phone book.
3. Select the app installed (e.g. Google Contacts).
4. Import contacts from the standard Xiaomi app (via Import/Export).

The advantage of this method is that third-party applications are often updated more often than standard software. MIUI, It does not depend on firmware updates.

Solving specific sorting problems

Some situations require a special approach. Let's take a closer look at them:

Problem 1: Contacts on Chinese firmware are displayed by surname

In the global firmware MIUI The default format is "Name" → The surname, but in Chinese (e.g. Xiaomi for the Chinese market) may be the opposite:

1. Install the system language in Russian (Russia) or English (United States).
2. Go to Settings. → Additionally. → Language and input → Regional settings.
3. Choose the United States or Russia (depending on language).
4. Reboot your smartphone and check the sorting.

Problem 2: After the update MIUI contact

This is a common problem when moving from MIUI 12 on MIUI 14. Decision:

1. Make a backup of contacts through Settings → Contacts → Imports/Exports.
2. Turn off sync with Google and Mi Account.
3. Clear the cache and data of the Contacts application (as in Method 3).
4. Import contacts back from backup.

Problem 3: Cyrillic and Latin are mixed

If contacts in Russian and English are displayed in different ways, try:

• 🔤 Install the language of the system in Russian and region in Russia.
• 📱 In the settings of the application "Contacts" select sorting by locale (if there is such a point).
• 🔄 Resave problematic contacts by adding an invisible symbol before the name (e.g, U+200B — This will force them to move to the beginning or end of the list.

💡

If the problem with sorting occurred after the update MIUI, 90% of the time, cleaning the cache of the "Contacts" application helps" + smartphone-reboot.

FAQ: Frequent questions about setting up the alphabet in Xiaomi contacts