Xiaomi Developer Menu: How to Open and What to Do If It’s Missing

Developer mode on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones is a hidden settings section that gives you access to advanced Android features. Here you can enable USB debugging, change the interface animation, activate OEM unlock for firmware or even speed up the system. But by default, this partition is hidden — you need to specifically activate it.

In this article, we will explore not only the standard way to turn on a developer menu, but also alternative methods for cases when it disappears after updating MIUI or resetting, and find out which settings in this menu are really useful for ordinary users, and which are better not to touch unless absolutely necessary.

Why you need a developer mode on Xiaomi

Many users mistakenly believe that the developer menu is only for programmers or those who are engaged in the firmware of smartphones, in fact, there are useful features even for ordinary owners of Xiaomi:

• 🔧 Accelerating animations – reducing the transition time between screens (makes the interface visually faster).
• 📱 Initiation of debugging USB — It is necessary to connect to the PC through ADB, backup or recovery of data.
• 🔓 Unlocking the bootloader is the first step to install custom firmware or root rights.
• 📡 Compulsory incorporation 4G/5G — If the network is automatically switched to 3G.
• 🔄 Resetting battery meters - helps with incorrect display of the charge level.

However, there are also dangerous options, for example, turning on Do not turn off the screen while charging can lead to overheating of the battery, and changing the parameters. GPU-rendering to graphic artifacts, so before you activate any setting, you need to understand what it's responsible for.

⚠️ Attention: Some settings in the developer menu can disrupt the stability of the smartphone, for example, enabling the option Do not save operations will cause applications to close immediately after folding.

Standard way to include a developer menu

The instructions work on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones with the MIUI 12/13/14/15 shell and Android 11-14. The main condition is that the phone must be unlocked (no bootloader unlock required!).

1. Open the Settings app (cog icon).
2. Go to the About Phone section (usually at the bottom of the list).
3. Find the MIUI version and tap it 7 times in a row.
4. After 3-4 taps, a pop-up notification will appear: “You are almost there!”
5. After pressing 7, the system will say, “You’ve become a developer!”

Now, a new section will appear in the main Settings menu — Additional → For Developers (or just Developers in newer versions of MIUI). If there is no item, try restarting your phone or using alternative methods (described below).

I've been hitting MIUI Version 7 times |

You have received a notice saying, “You have become a developer!"|

In the settings appeared the section "For developers" |

Reboot the phone (if desired)-->

On some models (such as the Xiaomi 13 Ultra or POCO F5), the path may be slightly different:

• 📱 Settings → System system → The phone. → Version. MIUI
• 📱 Settings → General. → The phone. → Information on POs

Alternative Incorporation Methods (if Standard Incorporated Does Not Work)

Sometimes the developer menu doesn’t appear even after 7 clicks on the MIUI version.

• 🔄 System update (temporary bug).
• 📱 Resetting settings to factory.
• 🛠️ Modified firmware (castomy recavery or root rights).

In such cases, try one of the alternative ways:

Method 1: Through ADB (if USB-The debugging has already been included)

If you have previously activated USB debugging, but the developer menu is gone, you can return it via the ADB command:

adb shell settings put global development_settings_enabled 1

After completing the command, restart the phone - the partition should appear.

Method 2: Resetting the pressure counter

Sometimes the system forgets you clicked on the MIUI version, so you can reset the counter and start over.

adb shell settings delete global development_settings_enabled

Then repeat the standard procedure (7 taps on the MIUI version).

Method 3: Through the Engineering Menu (for advanced users)

If you have access to the engineering menu (code ##4636##), try:

1. Enter the call code ##4636##.
2. Go to the tab Information about the phone.
3. Slip on the Assembly Number 7 times (similar to the MIUI version).

⚠️ Warning: The engineering menu contains parameters that can cause the phone to run in an unstable way!

Standard (7 clicks on MIUI version)|

Through ADB|

Resetting the counter and pressing again |

Another way.-->

What to do if the developer menu is gone after the update

One of the most common problems is that the Developer section disappears after the MIUI update, and that's because the system resets some of the default settings.

If none of these methods worked, try resetting to factory settings (but don’t forget to back up your data!) and 90% of the time, this returns access to the developer menu.

Useful settings in the developer menu (and what not to touch)

Now that the developer menu is activated, let’s figure out which options are really useful and which ones are better left alone.

🔧 Useful functions (can include)

• ⚡ Window/Slip animation – scale down to 0.5x Speeds up the visual work of the interface.
• 🔄 Don’t turn off the screen when charging – convenient to watch recipes or videos, but don’t leave it for long (risk of overheating).
• 📶 Forced to turn on 4G — If the phone is constantly switching to 3G.
• 🔓 Unlocking OEM — It is necessary to install custom firmware.
• 🖥️ Demonstration mode – hides notifications and personal data when shooting the screen.

⚠️ Dangerous settings (do not touch unnecessarily)

• 🚫 Do not save operations – applications will close immediately after folding.
• 🚫 Turning off the absolute volume level can cause distortion of the sound.
• 🚫 GPU-rendering – incorrect settings will cause graphical glitches.
• 🚫 Background processes – restriction will lead to application departures.

If you accidentally changed a dangerous setting and the phone started to glittle, try resetting the developer’s settings:

adb shell settings put global development_settings_enabled 0


adb shell settings put global development_settings_enabled 1

💡

Before you change any settings in the developer menu, take a screenshot of the current settings, which will help you get it back if something goes wrong.

How to turn off the developer menu on Xiaomi

If you don't need a developer mode anymore, you can deactivate it, but there's no standard way to turn it off, you can only hide it.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Show System.
3. Find the Settings app and open it.
4. Press Warehouse. → Clear the data.

After that, the Developer section will disappear, but all the previously changed settings will remain active! To reset them to the factory, you will have to do a complete reset of the phone.

⚠️ Attention: Settings will reset all personal phone settings (wallpaper, sounds, brightness, etc.) It is recommended to make a backup copy beforehand.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When working with the developer menu, users often face typical problems, and here are the most common ones and how to solve them:

If you’re facing another problem, try looking for a solution on the XDA Developers or 4PDA forums, which often discuss specific bugs for different Xiaomi models.

💡

The developer menu is a powerful tool, but it requires caution. Always check what a particular setting is for before you change it. If in doubt, you better not touch it.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions