How to Turn Off Navigation Buttons on Xiaomi: A Complete Picture Guide

The screen and touch buttons on Xiaomi smartphones take up precious display space and sometimes trigger accidentally, especially when playing games, watching videos or working with graphics applications where every pixel counts. Fortunately, the manufacturer has provided several ways to turn them off, both through standard MIUI settings and through hidden features for power users.

In this article, we will discuss all the current methods of removing navigation buttons on Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO and Black Shark devices (including the models of 2023-2026 on MIUI 14/15). You will learn how to hide them completely, replace them with gestures or reassign functions.

The main reasons why users want to remove navigation buttons are:

🎮 Full-screen games and apps – buttons occupy up to 10% of the bottom of the display, which is critical in shooters or strategies.
📺 Watching videos – a black bar with buttons spoils the impression of the content, especially on the Internet. AMOLED-screen.
✍️ Drawing and Design – In Photoshop, Krita or Inkscape, every pixel is important for accuracy.
🔄 Random taps – touch buttons often go off in your pocket or when holding your phone.
🔧 Experiments with the interface – many prefer gestures or custom control panels.

However, before you turn off, consider the disadvantages: without navigation buttons, you will have to master MIUI gestures (they are not always intuitive) or install third-party launchers. On some models (for example, the POCO F5 or Redmi Note 12 Pro+), after turning off the buttons, the home page indicator may disappear - this is normal.

⚠️ Note: On hardware-button devices (e.g. Xiaomi Mi) 5s Or Redmi 5 Plus, if you turn them off, you'll lose navigation completely!

Method 1: Disconnect via MIUI settings (the easiest)

This method works on all Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 12-15 (including HyperOS) Instructions are universal for Redmi, POCO and mainline:

Open the Settings app (cog icon).
Go to the Display section.
Select Full-screen mode (on some firmware – Navigation buttons).
Slip on the option of gestures (or full-screen gestures).
Choose the gesture type: MIUI (recommended) or Android (less convenient).
Confirm the choice – the navigation buttons will disappear immediately.

If you don’t have Full Screen Mode on your menu, try an alternative path:

Settings → Additional → Special features → System navigation

On some models (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra), after switching to gestures, you will see a hint with animations how to use them. Save it or take a screenshot - the addiction takes 1-2 days.

Study MIUI gestures in the directory

Make a backup copy of the settings

Check the compatibility of your model

Charge your phone at least 50%

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Method 2: Use of the "Developers" mode

If standard settings do not work (for example, on custom firmware), you can use hidden options.

Open the Settings. → The phone.
Tap 7 times on the MIUI version until you become a developer!
Go back to the main settings menu and find a new section for developers.
Scroll down to the Debugging block and turn on the option to Disable the navigation bar (in English firmware - Force full-screen display).
Select the apps you want to hide the buttons for (or click All Apps).

This allows you to flexibly configure the display of buttons for individual programs, for example, you can only remove them in YouTube or PUBG Mobile, leaving them in other cases.

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware (MIUI EU or Xiaomi.eu) Force full-screen display can cause bugs with the keyboard. If artifacts appear after activation, turn it off and use another method.

Classic buttons

MIUI gestures

Android gestures

The side of the launcher (Nova, Lawnchair)

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Method 3: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)

If previous methods have not worked (for example, on the POCO X5 Pro with custom firmware), you can use the ADB command.

What you need:

🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
🔌 Cable USB Type-C (original, undamaged).
📦 Installed drivers ADB Fastboot (you can download from the site) XDA Developers).
🔧 Included debugging by USB phone-on.

Step-by-step:

1. Connect the phone to the PC and allow debugging over USB.


2. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (macOS/Linux).




3. Enter the command:




adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*




4. Use the following buttons to return:




adb shell settings put global policy_control null

This command is forced to include full-screen mode for all applications, but can conflict with some games (eg, Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail).

What if the ADB does not recognize the device?

1. Check if debugging is included on USB In the developer settings. 2. Try another one. USB-cable (preferably original). 3. Install drivers for your model from Xiaomi. 4. Restart your phone and PC. 5. If you are using Windows, try running the command prompt on behalf of the administrator.

Method 4: Using Third-Party Applications

If you need to flexibly manage the display of buttons (for example, hide them only in certain applications), Nacho Notch or Full Screen Immersive Mode utility will help.

Annex	Functions	Cons	Compatibility
Nacho Notch	Hiding buttons and notches in games, supports exceptions	Advertising, sometimes resets settings	MIUI 12–15, Android 10–14
Full Screen Immersive	Full screen mode for any applications	Paid version for all functions	All Xiaomi models
Hide Navigation Bar	Flexible button hiding settings	Demands. ADB-activation	Android 9+

These applications are usually required to provide permission to use the Special Features:

Install the app from Google Play.
Go to Settings → Special features → Installed services.
Enable access for the selected application.
Launch the utility and set up the rules for hiding the buttons.

⚠️ Note: Button hiding applications may conflict with banking programs (e.g. SberBank Online or Tinkoff). If payment services stop working after installation, remove the utility or add banking applications to exceptions.

Method 5: Disable buttons on POCO Launcher and custom firmware

POCO devices (such as the POCO F4 GT or POCO X6 Pro) often come with a proprietary launcher where the navigation settings are hidden deeper.

For POCO Launcher:

Open the POCO Launcher Settings (clasp your finger on the free desktop area).
Go to the Supplementary → Navigation buttons.
Choose Gestures or Hide the panel.

For custom firmware:

🔧 In LineageOS: Settings → System system → Buttons → Navigation panel.
🔧 In Pixel Experience: Settings → System system → Gestures → System navigation.
🔧 In ArrowOS: Use Settings → Display. → Navigation panel.

On Xiaomi.eu firmware (unofficial builds), sometimes there is no way to turn off buttons through the menu, in which case only ADB or editing the build.prop file (requires root) will help.

💡

If after changing the firmware, the navigation buttons are missing and the gestures do not work, reset the launcher settings: go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Launcher and click Clear Data.

What to do if the buttons are gone by themselves

Sometimes the navigation buttons disappear after you update your MIUI, reset your settings, or install a new launcher.

🔄 Reboot – in 30% of cases, it helps to simply turn off / turn on the phone.
📱 Launcher reset – clear the standard launcher data (Settings) → Annexes → Launcher → Warehouse → Clear the data).
🔧 ADB-Adb shell settings put global settings policy_control null
🔙 Reverse update – if the problem occurred after the update MIUI, Try to roll back through the settings → The phone. → Updating the system → Three points. → Select a Service Package.

If nothing works, check if the child mode or guest mode is activated accidentally - they can block the system controls.

Unlock the phone.
Smash down the notification bar.
Check if there is a child mode or guest badge.
If you have, tap it and exit the mode.

💡

Before resetting or rolling back the update, back up your data via Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset. This will save your contacts, messages and photos.

Can I turn off the navigation buttons on Xiaomi without gestures?

Yes, but that requires a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher or Lawnchair) that supports the navigation bar hiding. In the launcher settings, find Navigation Bar or Full-screen Mode and turn it off. Note that without gestures or hardware buttons, you will not be able to control the phone, you will have to return the panel via ADB.

Why don’t the swipes at the bottom of the screen work after the buttons are turned off?

This is normal behavior — swipes at the bottom of the screen conflict with navigation gestures. If you turned off buttons through Settings → Full-screen mode, swipes at the bottom are now used to go back, open multitasking and return to the home screen. To return swipes to games or apps, try: Use Android gestures instead of MIUI (they are less aggressive). Enable in the game settings the option to turn off navigation gestures (if any). Install the Game Turbo app from Xiaomi and add the game to exceptions.

How to return navigation buttons if they are missing after the MIUI update?

If the buttons disappeared after the update, most likely, the gesture settings were lost. Try: Go to Settings → Display → Full-screen mode. Select Buttons instead of Gestures. If there is no point, follow the command via ADB: adb shell cmdlay overlay enable com.android.internal.systemui.navbar.gestural Reboot the phone. If this doesn't work, reset via Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset → Resets (the data will not be deleted, but the standard interface will return).

Can I reassign navigation buttons to Xiaomi?

Yes, but only with third-party apps like Button Mapper or Custom Navigation Bar. These utilities allow you to: Switch back and recent buttons. Add double-tap to launch applications. Set up button retention for quick action (such as opening the camera). These applications will require permission to use Special Features and possibly to perform ADB-command to unlock additional functions.

Why is the navigation button on Xiaomi Black Shark not switched off?

Black Shark Devices (such as Black Shark) 5 Pro or Black Shark 6) They use their own JoyUI shell, where the navigation logic is different. To turn off the buttons: Open Settings. → Display and brightness. Select Full-screen mode → If there's no point, use it. ADB-Adb shell settings put global force_fsg_nav_bar 1 Black Shark also has a physical Shark Space button that can block changes to interface settings.Make sure it's not activated (the zipper icon in the notification bar).