How to change buttons on Xiaomi Redmi Note: all ways and life hacks

You're used to a certain location of navigation buttons, but after buying the Xiaomi Redmi Note, you found that the manufacturer placed them in a different way than you like? Or you want to optimize one-handed control by changing the back and recent buttons? This problem is familiar to many Xiaomi smartphone users, especially those who have switched from other brands (for example, Samsung or Google Pixel).

In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to reassign buttons to Redmi Note – from standard settings. MIUI Up to hidden features for power users.You'll learn how to swap places ←→ Recent ones, disable gesture control, bring back the classic navigation bar, and even customize button combinations, and what pitfalls await when using third-party button-change apps and how to avoid them.

Why do users want to change buttons?

The reasons for reassigning navigation buttons to Xiaomi Redmi Note can be different:

• 🔄 A habit from a previous smartphone, like the Samsung Galaxy, the back button is traditionally on the right, and Xiaomi is on the left.
• 👆 One-handed control: Left-handed or small-handed users are more comfortable when the back button is closer to the edge of the screen.
• 🎮 In some games (e.g. in some games, PUBG Mobile or Genshin Impact: Standard button layout interferes with management.
• ⚡ Optimize speed: A frequently used button (e.g., Home) should be under the thumb.

According to a survey of Redmi Note 10/11/12 owners, 63 percent of users have tried to change the location of navigation buttons at least once, and 41 percent of them have experienced difficulties either not finding the right setting or the changes were reset after the MIUI update.

Method 1: Standard MIUI settings (without root)

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in MIUI options. It is suitable for most Redmi Note models (from Note 7 to Note 13) and does not require superuser rights.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings → Display.
2. Select Full-screen Display (on some versions of MIUI - System Navigation).
3. Slip by Navigation Type and select Navigation Buttons (if you have gestures enabled, go back to the buttons first).
4. Click on the location of the buttons and select the desired option: 🔘 A-B-C (Standard: Back to Home - Recent) 🔘 C-B-A (Reverse: Recent - Home - Back)

If you have MIUI 12.5+, you may need to turn off gesture control in the same menu first.Please note: on some firmware (e.g. MIUI Global for Redmi Note 10 Pro), the button location option is hidden – you need to activate it through the MIUI Lab (more on this below).

Turn off gesture control

Check the version of MIUI (Settings → About the phone)

Backup settings (Settings → Additional → Backup)

Charge your phone at least 30 times%-->

Method 2: MIUI Laboratory (Hidden Settings)

If the standard settings don’t have a button reassignment option, you can turn it on through the MIUI Lab, a hidden menu for testing new features, which works on most Redmi Note devices with MIUI 10–14.

How to open a laboratory:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 5-7 times on the MIUI version until you get a message You became a developer!
3. Return to the main settings menu and open Additional → For developers → MIUI Lab.
4. Activate the switch Location of the navigation buttons.

After that, the Full-screen Display menu will have an additional option to change the order of the buttons. Attention: not all functions in the Laboratory are stable - some can work with bugs or reset after a reboot.

Method 3: Applications for button reassignment (without root)

If the built-in settings don't give you the flexibility you need, you can use third-party utilities.

How to set up Button Mapper:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Grant permission for Special Features (in your phone settings).
3. Select the Navigation Bar and tap the button you want to reassign.
4. Assign a new action (for example, replace “Recent” with “Back”).
5. Save the settings and restart the phone.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party applications to reassign buttons, conflicts with system gestures may occur MIUI. For example, after updating the firmware buttons can reset to standard settings, and in some cases the navigation bar disappears altogether. → Additionally. → Backup.

Method 4: Reassign buttons via ADB (for the experienced)

If you want to customize navigation buttons completely (like assigning apps or macros to them), you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the phone to your computer, but gives you maximum flexibility.

Step-by-step:

1. Install ADB Tools on your PC.
2. Turn on USB debugging on your phone (Settings → Developer).
3. Connect Redmi Note to your computer and type in the terminal: adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=* This will disable the navigation system panel.
4. Install the Tasker or MacroDroid app to create custom buttons.
5. Create a widget on the home screen with the desired buttons (for example, "Back" on the right, "Recent" on the left).

1. Does the button application conflict with other utilities (for example, launchers).

2. Is not animation included in the developer settings (Settings → For developers → Scale of animation).

3. Is the phone overloaded with background processes (check in Settings) → Battery → Battery utilization).-->

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions