Controlling the orientation of the screen on POCO: how to turn off the autorotor

Today’s POCO and Xiaomi smartphones feature highly sensitive accelerometers and gyroscopes that instantly respond to changing device position in space, a feature known as automatic screen rotation that is incredibly convenient when watching videos, surfing the web or reading books, allowing you to instantly switch between portrait and landscape modes. However, in a number of situations, such as using a navigator in a car, reading in a prone position or working with certain applications, spontaneous change of orientation can be very annoying and confusing.

Unfortunately, the standard MIUI or HyperOS shell interface doesn’t always provide an obvious button to quickly lock this feature in a familiar place, which often puzzles new users. Sometimes the system can “glut” by ignoring the settings you set, or, conversely, lock the screen at the wrong time. In this article, we will discuss in detail all available methods for controlling the orientation of the display, from standard switches to hidden engineering menus.

You'll learn how to quickly lock an image in the right position, why the function might not work properly, and what alternative ways to solve the problem are available if standard methods don't work. Understanding the accelerometer and system constraints will allow you to have complete control over your gadget's behavior.

Standard method of blocking through the control center

The easiest and fastest way to turn off autorotation on POCO smartphones is to use a notification curtain, also known as Control Center. In the latest versions of the HyperOS shell and MIUI 14, the interface has been redesigned, and some controls may have shifted, but the basic principle has remained the same. To access the settings, you need to swipe from the upper right or left corner of the screen down, depending on your personal control settings.

In the menu that opens, look for an icon that shows the lock in a circle or the arrows that form a circle. This control is called Orientation or Autoturn. If the function is active, the icon will be illuminated with a bright color (usually blue or orange), which means that you allow the system to change the position of the interface. To lock, you just touch this icon, after which it will turn gray or change its appearance, signaling that the turn is now blocked.

It's worth noting that in some design themes or system versions, this button may be hidden in the second page of the control center. To reach it, swipe the bottom of the open curtain left or right. If you don't find the switch, it may have been removed from quick access and needs to be returned through the panel editing settings.

It's important to understand that curtain locking is a temporary solution that works until you turn it on again. The system remembers the last state of the switch even after the device is restarted, making this method the most convenient for everyday use. However, if the button does not respond or disappears, it's worth resorting to deeper system settings.

Configure through the menu of special features

If you don’t have a standard button in the curtain, or you prefer to have a permanent visual indicator of the screen status on the display, you can use the special feature feature. In Xiaomi and POCO smartphones, there is a separate switch that displays the turn lock button directly on the screen, making it available at any time without having to open the notification menu, which is especially convenient for users with large smartphones, where reaching the top corner can be difficult.

To activate this mode, go to the main Settings of the device, then select the section Additional or immediately find the item Special features. In the list of available options, you need to find the category associated with interaction or vision, and find the item Special features menu or Orientation Lock. After turning on the slider, a floating button or icon in the status bar will appear on the screen, allowing you to instantly capture orientation.

⚠️ Warning: Activating the Features menu can create an additional overlay on the screen that can rarely overlap interface elements in games or applications with non-standard aspect ratios.

This method gives you a higher priority for orientation control than a standard curtain. Even if the system accelerometer tries to flip the image, the software switch in special features will force the screen to leave in a given position, this is a reliable way for situations where you want absolute stability of the picture, for example, when you attach your smartphone to a tripod for macro shooting or scanning documents.

In addition, this section of settings can find additional options related to rotation, such as sensor sensitivity or exclusion for certain applications.Some users note that once this feature is enabled, the battery can be consumed a little faster due to the constant activity of background monitoring services for the position of the device, although on modern Snapdragon processors the difference is almost invisible.

Using the Developer Menu for Calibration

In situations where the autorotation is not working correctly — for example, the screen is turning late, not completely or, conversely, too sharply — you may need to interfere with hidden settings. The developer menu on MIUI provides access to debugging and calibration tools of sensors that are not visible to the average user. This is an advanced method that requires caution, but it solves problems that do not respond to standard treatment.

To enter the developer menu, go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7-10 times on the MIUI Version or OS Version until you notice that you have become a developer. Then a new section will appear in the settings menu Additional → For developers. Here you should look for items related to sensors, input or hardware testing.

One of the useful features is the ability to reset the calibration of the accelerometer. If the sensor has "learned" to correctly detect gravity, the screen can behave chaotic. In the developer menu, sometimes there is an option to force the autorotation to turn on or off, which ignores the user settings in the curtain. This can be useful for testing applications, but for permanent use it is better not to keep these settings active.

Remember, a rash change to the developer menu can lead to unstable system operation. If you turn on some option and the screen starts to behave strangely, just turn off the entire developer mode or press the reset button at the bottom of this menu. For most users, standard locking methods are enough, and you should climb into these jungles only if you have real problems with the gyroscope.

Third-party screen management applications

When Android and Xiaomi’s built-in shells don’t work, third-party apps available on Google Play often come to the rescue, allowing you to create profiles, customize automatic scripts, and finely adjust turn sensitivity. These can be especially useful if the standard curtain button is intermittent.

One popular solution is Rotation Control, or its analogues, which runs on top of the system and intercepts signals from the accelerometer, forcing the desired orientation to be set, and the main advantage of these tools is the ability to create automatic rules: for example, when you start YouTube, the screen always turns, and WhatsApp always locks in vertical mode, regardless of the position of the phone.

• 📱 Rotation Control: A powerful tool with many settings to ignore application requests for rotation.
• 🔄 Ultimate Rotation Control: A Minimalist Interface and Low Battery Consumption.
• ⚙️ Screen Rotation Control: Simple solution for fast locking without unnecessary features.

Using third-party software requires permissions to display over other windows and, in some cases, access to system settings via ADB (for advanced features). Although most of these applications are free, they may contain ads. In addition, the constant operation of the background orientation control service can theoretically increase battery consumption, although in practice this effect is minimal.

⚠️ Warning: When installing screen control applications, carefully check the permissions requested. Don't trust access to your personal data to unknown developers, as they only need control over the orientation of the display to work.

Problems with autorotation in specific applications

Often, users are faced with a situation where the autorotation does not work in the entire system, but only in a particular application, for example, in a browser or gallery. This is due to the fact that many programs have a rigidly defined orientation in their manifesto, the developer could specifically prevent the rotation so that the interface does not “fall apart” on the horizontal screen, or, conversely, make the application work only horizontally.

In such cases, POCO system settings may be ignored, for example, some video players or games force the screen to landscape mode, and it is difficult to block this with standard means. Special commands through a computer or root rights can help, but for the average user it is easier to find an alternative application with more flexible display settings.

It's also worth considering that some applications require the proximity sensor to be turned on to make the turn work correctly. If there's a low-quality protective glass on the screen or there's contamination at the top of the display, the sensor can give false signals by blocking the turn.

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If the autorotation doesn’t work in Chrome, try clearing the app’s cache or updating it to the latest version, often because of a conflict of versions of web components.

Another reason could be the conflict of Android versions. Older apps that aren’t optimized for newer versions of MIUI can behave unpredictably. In compatibility settings (if you have one in your version of the OS), you can try running the application in compatibility mode, which sometimes solves orientation problems.

Diagnostics of sensor faults

If none of the above methods worked, and the screen behaves chaotic even after resetting, perhaps the problem lies in the hardware. The accelerometer sensor in Xiaomi and POCO smartphones is a physical component that can fail after falls, heavy impacts or moisture. Diagnosis begins by checking the system's response in different positions.

Try turning the phone slowly, paused in each position. If the screen response is more than 1-2 seconds late or jerky, it is a sign of software failure or sensor degradation. It is also worth checking whether the magnetic case or magnet in the car holder affects the operation, since magnetic fields can distort the sensor readings.

If you suspect a hardware malfunction, the best solution is to go to an authorized service center. Self-replacement of the sensor requires micro-soldiers and special equipment, since it is often integrated into the common board or tightly glued to the case. Software reset to factory settings (Settings → Advanced → Reset) can help to eliminate software errors, but the data will be deleted.

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If the calibration and resetting of the settings did not help, and the screen continues to live its own life, the accelerometer is most likely damaged, and a replacement component in the service is required.

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