Xiaomi’s modern smartphones, which run on MIUI shells and the new HyperOS, offer users the flexibility to personalize the interface. One of the first things owners change after buying is how they navigate. The standard three buttons at the bottom of the screen are common, but take up useful space and often interfere with viewing content in horizontal mode.
The switch to gesture control allows you to free up the bottom of the display, make interaction with the device more smooth and visually pleasing, but not all users immediately understand how to activate this feature or, conversely, how to return the usual appearance of the interface if new finger movements seem uncomfortable.
You'll learn where the switches are hidden in the system menu, how the modes of operation differ, and how to adjust the sensitivity of swipes. We'll also talk about hiding a thin bar at the bottom of the screen, which annoys many minimalists. The navigation system is the foundation of your experience with your smartphone, so it's important to customize it for yourself.
Where to find navigation settings in MIUI and HyperOS
Finding the right menu can take time, as Xiaomi developers periodically change the location of items in different versions of the firmware. In current builds MIUI 14 and HyperOS, the path to settings has become more logical, but still requires several transitions. You do not need to be an engineer to find these parameters, just follow the algorithm.
To get to the right section, open the Settings app and scroll through the list to Additional or Advanced Settings, which is where the settings that affect system controls are usually hidden. In some regions or older versions of software, this section may simply be called System Settings.
Inside the screen navigation (or System Navigation) section, you'll see two major switching options: buttons and gestures, and you'll find one of these modes instantaneously, without the need to reboot the device or confirm actions, which allows you to quickly test both options and determine your preferences.
- 📱 Buttons: A classic interface with three or two virtual keys at the bottom of the screen.
- 🖐️ Gestures: Swipe control around the edges of the display hiding the bottom panel.
- ⚙️ Additional: the ability to hide the bar-indicator or change the order of the buttons.
If you can't find this, search by settings. Just type the word "navigation" or "gestures" into the search box, and the system will suggest the desired transition. It is a universal method for any version of Android on Redmi and Poco devices.
Difference Between Button and Gesture Management
Understanding the philosophical difference between the two approaches helps you adapt faster, and push-button navigation is based on visual elements: you see where to click to go back or to go to the desktop, which reduces the cognitive burden for those who are switching from button phones or older smartphone models.
In gesture mode, the interface becomes full-screen, swiping back from the left or right edge of the screen to the center, accessing the main screen with a short swipe from the bottom up, switching between applications with a long swipe from the bottom up with a finger retention, which requires muscle memory, but frees up to 50 pixels of useful space in height.
⚠️ Attention: When you switch to gestures for the first few days, you may accidentally call a multitasking menu instead of a return.
It's worth noting that in gesture mode, the Home button disappears and the swipe takes over its functions. To call the Google Assistant or Xiao AI voice assistant, you now need to swipe from the bottom corner diagonally, which changes the logic of the interaction, making it more dynamic.
Hidden Signatures
How to change the order of the navigation buttons
Many users coming from Samsung or iOS devices experience an unusual location of the Back and Menu buttons in Xiaomi. The default MIUI shell has the Back button on the right, and the App Menu on the left, and in European and American tradition, and in pure Android, it is often the opposite.
Fortunately, you can change this order in a couple of seconds without installing third-party software. In the same Navigation menu where you choose the type of control, there is a button order switch (or "Reflect buttons"), activating this switch instantly changes their location.
This is especially true for left-handed people or those who are using one hand and are used to swiping back with the thumb of the right hand from the right edge, and the ergonomics of using a smartphone depends on how convenient it is for you to reach the control elements.
- 🔄 Standard: Menu on left, Back on right (usually for the MIUI).
- 🔃 Mirror: Back left, menu on right (Android standard).
- 👆 Convenience: The choice depends on the dominant hand.
After changing the order, it is recommended to do a few test taps at once so that muscle memory begins to rebuild. If you often take the phone with different hands, you may want to leave the standard version for your current firmware to avoid confusion.
How to hide the gesture indicator strip
When you turn on gesture control, a thin horizontal bar appears at the bottom of the screen, which serves as a visual cue for the swipe zone, but in dark topics or watching videos, it can be conspicuous and spoil the impression of a frameless display.
The latest versions of HyperOS and MIUI 14 have a long-awaited feature to completely hide this strip, so you can find Hide gestures (or similar) in the navigation menu, and once you turn on the strip, the swipe functionality will disappear, but the swipe functionality will remain completely.
It's worth remembering that without a visual indicator, it can be harder for beginners to know where to start with their fingers. 10-15% The screen, even if nothing is painted.
☑️ Checking the navigation settings
If the concealment option is not available on your menu, it may mean that for your particular model or firmware version it has not yet been implemented by developers, in which case the strip can be made less noticeable by choosing a light theme where it merges with the background.
Setting sensitivity and speed of animation
Not everyone knows that gesture response speed and transition animation speed can be adjusted. If swipes are executed but the system reacts with a delay or, conversely, too abruptly, this can be fixed. In the For developers section (which needs to be activated by a separate procedure) or in special tuner applications, these parameters are available.
However, in Xiaomi’s standard settings, there is an item called “Speed of Animation” in the Advanced Settings section or through search. Reducing the animation value to 0.5x makes the interface visually faster, which subjectively improves the responsiveness of navigation.
| Parameter | Default value | Recommended value | The effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Window animation | 1x | 0.5x | Acceleration of opening/closing |
| Animation of transitions | 1x | 0.5x | Quick screen switching |
| Duration of animation | 1x | 0.5x | General acceleration of the interface |
| Sensitivity of touch | Standard | Tall. | Best response to light touches |
Access to advanced animation settings sometimes requires use ADB-Teams or third-party launchers, because Xiaomi restricts access to some system timers, but for most users, a standard scale change of animation is enough.
⚠️ Attention: Excessive reduction in animation speed (up to) 0x) It can lead to visual artifacts and a twitchy interface. 0.5x.
💡
If gestures are not working correctly after updating the firmware, try to clear the cache of the application "System" UI" (System UI) It's often a solution to the problem of sticking the interface.
Solution: Gestures don't work or glitches
Sometimes, after a system update or a new launcher is installed, gestures may stop responding or not work correctly, the screen may not recognize swipes, or the navigation bar may disappear with the functionality, most often the problem lies in a software conflict.
First, check if you have a third-party launcher (Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher, etc.) Some require separate permission to control gestures or completely replace system navigation. In the launcher settings, find System Navigation and enable gesture support.
It's also worth checking for safety films or low-quality glass, and if the touchscreen doesn't respond well to the edges of the screen, the "Back" gestures won't work, and calibrating the screen in the engineering menu or simply removing the thick protective glass can solve the problem.
- 🔄 Reboot: a banal but effective way to reset system process errors UI.
- 🛡️ Protection: Check if Pocket Mode blocks touching edges.
- 📲 Launcher: Make sure that the third-party shell has navigation control rights.
In rare cases, resetting navigation settings to factory settings helps. ADB-command to reset specific parameters, but this requires a connection to the PC.
adb shell settings put secure system_navbar_buttons 2This command forcibly switches navigation mode, but use it with caution only if standard methods do not help, and in most cases, the problem is solved by software updates or restarting the interface service.
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In 90% of cases, navigation problems are solved by restarting the smartphone or updating the launcher to the latest version.