How to permanently turn off the flashlight when incoming call on Xiaomi smartphones

Are you tired of your Xiaomi automatically turning on the flashlight every time you call or notify? This feature, designed to attract attention in noisy places, is often a source of irritation — especially at night when bright lights wake up your household, or in public places where it attracts unnecessary attention. Fortunately, you can turn it off in several ways, and we will discuss each of them in detail.

In this article, you will find the current instructions for all versions of MIUI (12 to 14), including hidden settings that are not always obvious. We will also look at alternative methods for cases where standard options are not available, and explain why the flashlight can spontaneously turn on even after turning off. If you are the owner of a Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T or any other model based on MIUI, this guide is for you.

Why does Xiaomi turn on the flashlight when calling?

The automatic flashlight feature, which was introduced in MIUI 10, was originally marketed as a useful tool for users, and is the main reason why it exists:

• 🔦 Attracting attention: In noisy places (such as outside or in the office), vibration and melody may go unnoticed, but bright lights may not.
• 📱 Unification of notifications: Xiaomi aims to make all types of alerts (calls, SMS, Messages in messengers) equally noticeable.
• 🛠️ Marketing move: the function emphasizes the “smart” capabilities of the smartphone, although in practice it is useful not for everyone.

However, this function has a downside:

• 😴 Night wakes: The light of a flashlight can wake you or loved ones if the phone is lying screen up.
• 🔋 Battery consumption: even a short-term flashlight on each call is added to an additional 1-3% of the charge consumption per day.
• 🚫 Discomfort in public places: in cinemas or transport, bright lights can interfere with others.

Interestingly, in some regions (e.g. Europe), this feature is disabled by default due to local privacy regulations, and in Russia and CIS countries it is active out of the box.

Method 1: Disconnect via call settings (standard method)

The most obvious and safe way is to use the built-in MIUI settings. It works on most models, including Redmi 10/11/12, POCO F/X, Xiaomi 12/13/14 and others.

1. Open the phone application (pipe icon).
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Settings.
3. Go to Incoming Calls (or Calls in some versions of MIUI).
4. Find the flashlight option when you call (may be called Backlight on the call or Flash on the notification).
5. Move the slider to the off position.

If you have a MIUI 14 or newer, the path may be slightly different.

Settings → Applications → Phone → Incoming calls → Additional settings → Lamplight when calling

⚠️ Note: Some firmware (e.g. global version) MIUI for POCO M5) This option may be hidden. If you don't find it, move on to the next one.

Method 2: Disconnecting through notification settings

If you don’t have the right option in your Phone settings, try turning off the flashlight through the general notification settings.This method works for MIUI 12-14 and affects not only calls, but also other notifications (SMS, messengers).

Instructions:

1. Open the smartphone settings.
2. Go to Notifications and Status bar (or Notifications in MIUI 14).
3. Select Additional Settings (bottom of the list).
4. Find the flash option at notification or flash at alerts.
5. Turn it off or uncheck the Calls item in the notification type list.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling this option will block the flashlight for all notifications, not just for calls. If you need a selective setting, use Method 3.

Method 3: Using hidden settings (for power users)

If standard methods do not work, you can use hidden MIUI settings available through the engineering menu or ADB. This method is suitable for advanced users and requires caution.

Method 1: Through the Engineering Menu (without root)

1. Open the Phone app and enter the code ##6484## (responsible for sensor testing).
2. In the menu that opens, look for the Flashlight Test (or Flashlight Test).
3. Turn off the Auto Flash on Call option (if any).

Method 2: Across ADB (requires a PC)

If the engineering menu is not working, use ADB:

adb shell settings put global flash_notification_enabled 0

This command completely turns off the flashlight for all notifications, so to get it back, replace 0 with 1.

Important: Changes through ADB are reset after resetting or updating the firmware, and after the upgrade MIUI will have to repeat the command.

Method 4: Third-party applications for flashlight control

If the built-in settings don't work, you can use third-party utilities, which offer flexible flashlight settings, including turning off calls.

• 📱 Flash Alerts 2 (Play Market) – allows you to configure a flashlight for individual applications (calls, SMS, WhatsApp).
• 🔧 MacroDroid – Creates automatic rules (e.g., “turn off flashlight when incoming call").
• 🛠️ Tasker – advanced tool for automatic tasks (requires customization).

Example of settings in MacroDroid:

1. Create a new macro.
2. Select an Incoming Call as a trigger.
3. Add the action to Turn off the flashlight (or Set the flashlight brightness to 0%).
4. Save and activate the macro.

⚠️ Note: Some apps require permission to access notifications and special features. Provide them only to proven utilities from Google Play.

💡

Before installing third-party apps, check reviews — some of them may contain ads or collect data — and give preference to programs with a rating above 4.5 and downloads above 100,000.

Method 5: Manual disabling through system files (for root users)

If you have root rights, you can turn off the flashlight at the system file level, which is guaranteed to work, but it takes care that the wrong actions can lead to failures.

Instructions:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Go to /system/csc/others.xml or /system/csc/feature.xml.
3. Find a line with FlashNotification or CallFlash.
4. Change the value from true to false.
5. Save the file and restart the phone.

Alternative path (for some firmware):

/system/build.prop

Add a line to the end of the file:

ro.config.flash_notification=false

⚠️ Note: Editing system files may disrupt the work MIUI or lead to a reboot cycle. Before making changes, back up the file!

💡

If after editing system files, the phone stopped working, restore the original version of the file via TWRP or reflash the device.

What if the flashlight turns on on on its own?

Sometimes the flashlight keeps turning on when you call, even after you turn off all settings.

If the problem persists, check:

• 🔄 Cash app Phone: clean it in Settings → Annexes → Phone. → Warehouse.
• 📱 Updates MIUI: Sometimes bugs are fixed in new versions of the firmware.
• 🛠️ Resetting: the extreme method is resetting to factory settings (don’t forget to make a backup!).

FAQ: Frequent questions about flashlight when calling on Xiaomi