Setup on and off Xiaomi phone: all ways 2026

Turning on and off Xiaomi’s smartphone seems like a simple procedure – as long as you don’t encounter unexpected problems: freezing when booting, accidentally disconnecting from low charge, inability to turn on the device after discharging – these situations are familiar to many owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi. Meanwhile, MIUI has many power control features that users often don’t know about.

In this article, we will discuss not only basic on/off methods (button, menu), but also automatic timers, control gestures, and ways to solve typical problems from black screen to cyclic reboot. Particular attention will be paid to models with AMOLED- screens (for example, Xiaomi 13 or Redmi Note 12 Pro+), where improper power settings can reduce the service life of the display.

All instructions are valid for MIUI 14/15 (including global and Chinese versions) and tested on devices from 2022-2026.If your phone is released earlier, some menu items may differ, we will warn you about this separately.

The standard ways to turn Xiaomi on and off

To start with the obvious, how to turn off and turn on your smartphone to avoid crashes, and even here, there are nuances that are not written in the official instructions.

To turn off the Xiaomi phone, use:

• 🔘 Long press power button (3-5 seconds) → will appear menu with options to Turn off, Reboot and Emergency mode.
• 📱 Software shutdown via Settings → About Phone → Turn off (relevant to MIUI 14+).
• 🔌 Forced shutdown (press the power button + increase the volume by 10+ seconds) - only if the phone is getting stuck!

You can just press the power button short enough to turn on, but what if the phone doesn't respond?

• 🔋 Charge level (plug in charge for 10-15 minutes, even if the indicator is not on).
• 🔌 Cable and power supply (try another kit).
• 📱 Physical damage (moisture, falls)

Important for NFC models (e.g. Xiaomi 13T or Redmi Note 12 Pro): If the phone is used for contactless payments, shutting it down completely may temporarily disable virtual cards, in which case, after turning on, you will need to re-authenticate in the bank application.

Automatic shutdown and timer switching on

The MIUI automatic power management feature allows you to schedule your phone to turn off or turn on as scheduled, which is useful if you:

• 😴 Want to limit your phone use before bedtime.
• 🔋 Save battery power at night.
• 📵 Need a quiet hour without notification.

To set up an automatic shutdown:

1. Go to Settings → Advanced settings → Shutdown timer.
2. Activate the slider and set the time.
3. Choose the days of the week (for example, only on weekdays).

Automatically enable will require a third-party app like MacroDroid or Automate, as standard firmware does not have this option.The alternative is to use Do Not Disturb mode with a schedule, but this will not turn off the phone completely, but only limit notifications.

On Xiaomi models with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra), automatic shutdown may conflict with the background processes of the game accelerator. Before setting the timer, turn off Game Mode in the battery settings.

Power management through gestures and buttons

Xiaomi smartphones support alternative on/off methods that speed up access to features or help with button failures.

The gesture of “Double touch to wake up”:

• 👆 Activated in Settings → Display → Double tap to wake up.
• 🔋 Only works when the screen is off (does not unlock the phone!).
• ⚠️ On AMOLED- screens (e.g., Xiaomi 12T), frequent touches can cause burn-in (pixel burnout).

Box button (for models with an IR port):

On some devices (e.g. Redmi Note 11 Pro+), the Box button can be reassigned to turn off the screen or lock.

1. Go to Settings → Buttons and gestures → Box button.
2. Select Screen Lock or Sleep mode.

⚠️ Warning: Gesture settings may conflict with fingerprint protection. If the scanner stops working after Double Touch activation, reset your gesture settings to Settings → System → Reset settings → Gesture reset.

What to do if Xiaomi does not turn on

The situation when the phone does not respond to the power button is familiar to many, and the causes can vary from deep discharge to software failure. Let's take a look at the algorithm of actions.

Step 1. Charge check.

• 🔌 Connect the original charger (at least 18W).
• ⏳ Leave your phone on charge for at least 30 minutes — even if the indicator isn't on.
• 🔋 Try another charger or cable (preferably with Quick Charge support).

Step 2: Forced reset

If the phone is stuck on the MI logo or the screen is black:

1. Press the power button + increase the volume for 10-15 seconds.
2. If the Fastboot menu appears, select Reboot using volume buttons.

Step 3: Entering Recovery Mode

If the phone is turned on but cyclically rebooted:

1. Press the power button + increase the volume before the MI logo appears.
2. Select Wipe Data (Settings Reset) or Reboot.

Power settings to save battery

Incorrect shutdown and wake-up settings can significantly reduce battery life, especially on budget models (Redmi 10A, POCO M5), where battery capacity is limited.

Optimization of automatic shutdown:

• 🕒 Set a turn off timer for a time when the phone is not in use (e.g. 23:00 to 7:00).
• 🔋 In the battery settings (Settings → Battery), turn off AutoRun for unnecessary applications.
• 📵 Activate Charge Saving Mode at Battery Levels Below 20%.

Screen awakening setting:

• 👁️ Turn off the Rise to Wake up in Settings → Display (saves up to 5% charge per day).
• ⏱️ Reduce screen latency to 15-30 seconds.

On devices with MIUI 15, a Smart Shutdown feature has been introduced, which analyzes the user's habits and suggests the optimal time to turn off the phone. To activate it, go to Settings → Special Features → Smart Power Management.

Hidden Nutrition Management Functions

There are little-known options in MIUI that allow you to flexibly adjust the behavior of the phone when you turn on / off.

1. Quick reboot through the notification panel

In MIUI 14+, you can add a reboot button to the notification curtain:

1. Deploy the notification bar and click on the ⚙️ (Edit) icon.
2. Find the Reset tile and drag it to the active area.

2. Delayed shutdown

If you need to turn off your phone after a certain time (for example, after you have finished downloading a file), use the command:

adb shell shutdown -t 60

60 is the time in seconds before shutdown. This will require USB debugging enabled (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times press to unlock the developer options).

3. Turning on the phone on schedule (via ADB)

Standard MIUI means you can’t schedule the phone to turn on, but you can do it via Automate or Tasker using the command:

am start -a android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED

⚠️ Warning: Use ADB- commands requires caution. Incorrect settings in the shutdown command can cause the system to crash. Before experimenting, back up your data via Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced Xiaomi users sometimes make power management errors that cause failures. Let's take a look at the most common ones.

1. Frequent forced shutdown

Turning your phone off regularly with a button press (rather than a menu) can damage the file system, especially when you are:

• 📁 Updates to an application or system.
• 💾 Record data to a memory card.
• 🎮 Launching resource-intensive games.

2. Ignoring low charge warnings

On Li-Po models (all modern Xiaomis), a deep discharge (below 3%) reduces battery life.

• 🔌 Do not turn it on immediately after charging is connected - wait 10-15 minutes.
• 🔋 Avoid using your phone while charging after a deep discharge.

3. setting up automatic shutdown without taking into account background tasks

If the phone is turned off during:

• 📥 File downloads (e.g., via Mi Share or Telegram).
• 🔄 Data synchronization (contacts, photos in Mi Cloud)
• 🎧 Playing music or podcasts.

Always check active processes before setting the timer.

💡

If the phone often turns off on its own, check the battery status in the engineering menu. To do this, type ##4636## in the dialer and select Battery Information. Temperatures above 45°C or health levels below 80% are an excuse to replace the battery.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions