How to set up Xiaomi MI Messages: The Complete Guide

A modern smartphone is impossible to imagine without instant communication, and owners of Xiaomi, Redmi or Poco devices often face the need to fine-tune a standard application. MI Messages is deeply integrated into the shell MIUI HyperOS, providing stable operation SMS-Notifications from banks and service providers: the correct configuration of this component allows not only receiving confirmation codes, but also using advanced features. RCS High quality multimedia exchange.

Many users ignore basic settings by relying on factory installations, which sometimes leads to delivery delays or incorrect display of long texts. SIM-Understanding these processes will help you turn a standard caller and messages into a powerful communication management tool.

Basic activation and selection of SIM-card

The first step when working with any Android device is to properly manage physical SIM cards. Modern Xiaomi smartphones often use two slots, and it is important to clearly determine which of the cards will be responsible for the transmission of text data by default. To do this, you need to go to the settings menu and select the section responsible for management. SIM-cards where you can assign a priority card for voice communication and separately for SMS-message.

If you're using a device with two active numbers, the system allows you to flexibly adjust the behavior when you send it, so you can choose the "Always Ask" option, so that the app will specify from which number to send the text, or you can rigidly fix the specific text. SIM-This is especially true for those who share personal and work space using different operator tariff plans.

☑️ Setting up SIM-map

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It is important to note that when you change the priority card, the old chains of correspondence are not lost, but new messages will leave the selected number. The MI Messages application interface often displays an active SIM card indicator next to the send button, which can be quickly switched with one touch before sending a specific message, ignoring global settings.

Interface and personalization of appearance

The visual component of the application plays an important role in the convenience of daily use. The standard MIUI theme offers several options for dialog design, including light and dark themes, which can automatically switch depending on the time of day or system settings for energy saving. To change the appearance, you need to open the application menu and select the item "Themes" or "Decoration", where the catalog of available styles is available.

In addition to global themes, users can customize the background for individual dialogues or for all chats at once, which allows you to visually highlight important correspondence or simply make the interface more pleasing to the eye, and you can also change the font size, which is critical for people with low vision, and choose the style of displaying contact avatars.

📊 Which message interface do you prefer?
Classic white
The Dark Theme (Night Mode)
Colored Bubbles (RCS)
Minimalism without avatars

Additional customization includes setting up audible notifications for specific contacts, you can set a unique sound for messages from your boss or family members so that you don’t look at the screen to understand the importance of the incoming event, open a specific dialog, click on the menu (three dots), and select Notifications, where you can download your own audio files and a full list of system tunes.

Setup MMS and multimedia messages

Despite the dominance of Internet messengers, the protocol MMS remains relevant for the transfer of photos and videos to subscribers who do not have access to Wi-Fi or mobile Internet. MMS On Xiaomi devices, it usually happens automatically when inserted SIM-- I'm not a card, but in some cases, manual intervention is required. MMS Mobile Internet is active even if you are connected to a Wi-Fi network.

ParameterRecommended valueNote
Type of network4G / LTE / 5GFor quick loading
Size limit300 KB - 1 MBDepends on the operator.
Delivery modeDelivery reportControl of receipt
AutobootOnly through Wi-Fi.Saving traffic

In multimedia messaging settings, you can limit the size of files you send to avoid errors when sending over unstable coverage networks, and there is also an automatic image quality reduction feature available before sending, which greatly speeds up the process and saves traffic, although it reduces the detail of the photo on the recipient side.

⚠️ Attention: When sending MMS If you have a traffic limit, watch for megabytes, as operators often charge. MMS-traffic separately or at standard rates for traffic.

RCS Features: Chat Services and Improved Communication

RCS (Rich Communication Services) technology represents an evolution of classic SMS, turning a standard application into an analogue of popular messengers. To activate this feature on Xiaomi, you need to go to the application settings, select Chat Functions and turn on the switch "Enable Chat Functions." The system will try to verificar your phone number by sending a hidden SMS, after which the status will change to "Connected".

Using RCS, you can send high-resolution photos, receive real-time typing notifications, and see read statuses, and send messages over the Internet, making them free when you have Wi-Fi or packet traffic, even if you're roaming, where regular SMS is expensive.

What to do if the RCS is not connected?
If the status is stuck in the Connection stage, try this: 1. Make sure that the date and time settings are automatically determined. 2. Clear the cache of the Google Play Services app and the Messages app itself. 3. Temporarily disable the VPN or antivirus, which can block the connection to the activation servers.

It is important to understand that for the job RCS Both of the interlocutors must have compatible devices and an activated function. RCS With the internet off, it will automatically go away as normal. SMS/MMS, Ensure continuity of communication without loss of important data.

Blocking Spam and Filtering Notifications

Intrusive advertising and spam are a problem for all mobile users. The built-in security mechanism in MI Messages allows you to effectively filter unwanted messages. To activate advanced protection, you need to go to settings, select Spam Protection and enable filtering. The system uses databases of known spammers and heuristic text analysis to identify suspicious senders.

You can manually create blacklists by adding specific numbers or using masks (for example, blocking all numbers that start with a specific code). All blocked messages are not deleted, but moved to a special Spam folder, where you can look in case an important notification was mistakenly classified by the system.

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Use regular expressions to block, such as “credit,” “winning,” “promotion,” combined with filtering by unknown numbers, will significantly reduce noise.

You can also set up Quiet Mode for messages from unknown numbers, so that the phone won't vibrate or make sounds when they arrive, but they'll appear in the dialog list, and it's the perfect balance between security and bandwidth, so you don't miss a message from a courier or a doctor, but you don't get distracted by ads.

Backup and recovery of correspondence

Keeping your correspondence history is a critical task, especially when changing devices. Xiaomi smartphones can use the built-in Mi Cloud or local backup. To create a copy through system tools, go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Restore, select the memory type (internal or USB) and select Messages.

Local copying is the most reliable way, since the backup file is stored physically on your device or computer. However, to protect sensitive data, it is strongly recommended to set a password for the backup file. When recovering data on a new device, the system will request this password, ensuring that personal information is protected.

⚠️ Note: When resetting to factory settings (Hard Reset) without first creating a backup copy, the whole story SMS and MMS Google Messages cloud sync may not work properly with the system application MI Messages, so use Xiaomi’s native tools.

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Regularly creating local copies of correspondence to a computer or external drive is the only guaranteed way to save the history of messages for many years.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why don’t you send messages when the screen is off?
This may be due to the aggressive MIUI energy saving system. Go to the battery settings, find the Messages app and select No Limits mode. Also check if Do Not Disturb or Sleep mode is enabled, which can block background activity.
How to restore remote SMS on Xiaomi?
Without a pre-built backup, it’s almost impossible to recover deleted messages. If you have a copy, use the recovery menu in your phone’s settings. Third-party apps from the Play Market often don’t have sufficient access rights for deep memory scanning without Root rights.
Can I use the app on the tablet?
Yes, if the tablet supports SIM-If not, you can use the "Messages in the Web interface" function (analogue to WhatsApp Web) by scanning it. QR-code from the tablet through the application on the phone, if the version MI Messages supports this, or redirects it SMS via email via special scripts.
What does the status of “delivered” mean versus “sent”?
Sent status means that the phone successfully transmitted the message to the operator's gateway. Delivered status confirms that the message has reached the recipient's device. If the status remains on Sent for a long time, it is possible that the addressee has turned off the phone or no network.