The shift to gesture control on Xiaomi smartphones is not just a fashion homage, but a real way to improve the usability of the gadget in everyday life. Modern screens are becoming more and more, and reaching the upper corners with your thumb with one hand becomes physically difficult. That is why navigation through swipes from the bottom up becomes a salvation for phablets and ordinary smartphones. MIUI and the new HyperOS offer flexible tools to adapt the interface to personal preferences.
Unlike the classic three buttons at the bottom of the screen, gestures free up useful space for content and make interaction with the device smoother. You no longer need to aim at a small home or back button, just make a confident finger movement. However, many users face difficulties in first activating this feature or are unaware of the hidden possibilities of adjusting the senses. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to turn on gestures, adjust their work and solve typical problems that arise in the process.
Activation of full-screen mode on Xiaomi
The process of enabling gesture control in the MIUI shell is quite simple, but the paths to the desired settings can vary slightly depending on the firmware version. First, you need to go to the main menu of system settings. Find the gear icon on your desktop or in the notification curtain. Inside the menu, look for a section that is usually called “Screen” or “Additional settings”, although in recent versions of HyperOS the logic has been slightly changed to simplify access.
The key here is Navigate System or Full Screen Mode, and that's where you switch between the classic buttons and swipes, and the system will tell you to choose one of the controls, and if you want to use bottom-up gestures, make sure you select the appropriate item, not the buttons, and then the system will show you a training animation that shows you exactly how to swipe back, go to the desktop, or open recent applications.
⚠️ Attention: When you switch to gestures, the old navigation bar with buttons will disappear instantly. If you don't remember the basic movements, you may feel confused at first, so take a look at the tutorial tips.
It's worth noting that some global firmware versions may have different paths, so use a settings search, type the word "navigation" or "gestures" into the search bar, and the system will redirect you to the desired section, which is especially true for users who have upgraded from MIUI 12 to MIUI 14 or HyperOS, where the menu structure has been redesigned.
Setting up the concealment of the navigation lane
One of the most annoying details for many users is the thin bar-indicator that remains at the bottom of the screen even after the gestures are turned on.It takes up space and sometimes interferes with games or when watching videos. Fortunately, Xiaomi has provided the ability to completely remove this visual element. → Screen. → Full-screen mode (or similar path in your version of the software).
Inside this menu, you'll see a "Hide Full-screen Mode Indicator" or "Hide Hide Hint" switch, which makes the bottom edge of the screen completely clean. But there's an important caveat: without a visual guide, it's harder for a beginner to know where to start a swipe. The system may require confirmation of an action, warning that the hint will be hidden.
When you turn off the indicator, the navigation becomes completely intuitive, based on muscle memory, and you need to remember that the swipe from the bottom of the screen leads to the desktop, and the swipe with a delay in the middle opens the multitasking menu, which creates the effect of an "endless" screen, which is especially appreciated when consuming media content.
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If you have hidden the indicator but forgot how to swipe, just try swiping from the bottom edge of the screen up the center – this is the basic movement for returning home.
Adjustment of sensitivity and swipe area
Not all fingers and not all screens respond equally to touch, so Xiaomi’s settings include sensitivity calibration.This is a critical parameter if your phone is used in a protective case with thick sidebars or a thick protective glass is pasted. The setting is on the Settings path → Additional settings → One-handed mode or directly in the navigation menu.
Here you can find a slider that regulates the gesture activation area, and by moving it, you expand or narrow the area where the system recognizes the swipe as a navigation command. If the gestures don't work the first time, try enlarging that area. Conversely, if you accidentally activate the multitasking menu while playing, the area should be reduced.
Also worth mentioning is the “Mode in your pocket” feature, which sometimes conflicts with proximity sensors when trying to unlock your phone with a gesture. Make sure that in the “Block and Protect” section, this feature is configured correctly so that the screen does not go out at the wrong time when you are trying to swipe to unlock.
☑️ Checking the gesture settings
One-handed management and additional functions
Controlling large Redmi and Poco smartphones with one hand is a challenge that special modes help to cope with. In gesture settings, you can often find the option “One-handed control”. When activated, triple tapping on the home button (or swiping in a certain direction if the buttons are hidden) compresses the interface to the size of a small square in the corner of the screen.
This allows you to comfortably reach the interface elements at the top of the thumb display. However, this feature can interfere with active gestures, since the random triple touch will constantly change the scale of the interface.
And you can also adjust the speed of transition animation, and although it's not a direct gesture parameter, it affects the perception of swipes. In the "Developers" section (which you need to activate with a seven-fold tap on the MIUI version), you can find the "Window animation scale," "Scale of transition animations," and reducing these values to 0.5x makes gesture response visually faster and sharper.
⚠️ Warning: Changing the settings in the Developer Menu may affect the stability of some applications. Return the default values if you notice strange interface behavior.
Comparison of navigation methods in MIUI and HyperOS
With the release of the new HyperOS operating system, gesture logic has undergone some changes, becoming more like pure Android. It is important for users to understand the differences in order to use their smartphone effectively. Below is a table comparing the main characteristics of navigation in different versions of the shells.
| Characteristics | MIUI (Classic) | HyperOS (New) | Pure Android |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location of buttons | Left or right (to choose from) | Just gestures or buttons | Just gestures or buttons |
| Swipe back. | From either end or just from the side | Only from the sidelines. | Side-faced |
| Animation. | More sharp, faster. | Smooth, inertia-like | Standard Google |
| Hiding the indicator | There's a cover option. | There's a cover option. | Depends on the launcher. |
As you can see from the table, HyperOS is betting on consistency with Google's ecosystem, removing the option of choosing the side of the back button in favor of fixed gestures. This may come as a shock to those who are used to the old scheme, where the button could be moved to the left.
Importantly, the new versions have improved screen cutouts (bangs and holes). The system smarter determines where to ignore random touches so as not to interrupt video or game play. HyperOS adds the ability to customize the behavior of the status bar regardless of the type of navigation, which gives more control over the appearance of the interface.
Solving Problems with Gesture Recognition
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where gestures stop working correctly: swipes are not recognized, the phone vibrates but no action occurs, or the menu crashes with a delay. The first thing to check is whether the screen sensitivity mode is turned on, which can conflict with the security glasses. It is also worth checking for system updates, since navigation bugs are often fixed with security patches.
The second common reason is third-party launchers, and if you have installed a Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher, or other interface, it can intercept gesture control. In the third-party launcher settings, you must find "Use System Navigation" or "Allow System Gestures." Without that permission, swipes can only work within the launcher itself, but not within the system.
If the problem persists, try resetting your navigation settings, temporarily switching to buttons, restarting the device, and then turning on gestures again. In extreme cases, cleaning the cache of the SystemUI system application through the application menu (requiring access to hidden system processes) helps. Remember that resetting all your phone settings will return gestures to their original state, but will delete your personal data.