Modern smartphones, including popular Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco models, automatically capture each incoming and outgoing connection. However, the standard MIUI or HyperOS shell interface does not always highlight detailed statistics on the duration of conversations. Users often face the need to quickly find out how many minutes they spent in a conversation with a particular subscriber or what the total duration of calls per month is to control tariff limits.
Android stores this information in a special log, accessed through the standard Phone app, depending on the firmware version and regional build, the location of the elements may vary slightly, but the logic of the work remains the same for the entire ecosystem of the Chinese manufacturer.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at all the available ways to view timekeeping, from the basic log to the use of engineering codes that allow you to access hidden counters.
View the duration of a particular conversation in the journal
The fastest way to know how long your last conversation or conversation lasted is to use a built-in call log. The standard Dialer app stores timestamps for each event, and to see that data, you just have to open the app and go to the History or Journal tab.
The list shows all recent contacts. The call time is usually indicated next to the name or number of the caller. If you click on a particular record or information icon (the letter "i" in a circle or the arrow), a detailed window will open, and this is where the call timer is located, showing the exact duration of the connection in the format of minute:seconds.
Note that for outgoing calls that have not been accepted, the system will also show the duration of the beeps, but this is not considered to be the time of the conversation. Statistics are available only for completed connections. In some versions of the MIUI shell, if you press the contact in the log for a long time, a brief help with the duration of the last conversation can also pop up.
- 📞 Open the standard “Phone” application on the desktop.
- 📋 Go to the History tab (watch icon or tube icon).
- ℹ️ Click on the “i” icon or select the contact you want to view the details.
⚠️ Warning: Call history is stored locally on the device. If you perform a full Hard Reset without first synchronizing, the log will be cleared, and it will be impossible to restore data about the time of past conversations with standard means.
Use of the Engineering Menu for Detailed Statistics
For more advanced users who need deep analytics, Xiaomi smartphones have an engineering menu, a hidden part of the system designed to test communication modules, but also contain useful meters, accessed through the input of special code in the dialing field.
Enter the combination ##4636##. If the code is active for your model and region, the Testing menu will open. Here you will select Phone Information. This section provides technical information about the network, signal level and, importantly for our topic, usage meters.
Scroll down, you can find the fields that are related to the duration of calls, and you can see the time spent on the voice network and the number of successful connections, and this data is updated in real time and is independent of cleaning the user log.
What if the code doesn't work?
It's important to understand that the engineering menu is a diagnostic tool, and changing some of the parameters in this section can cause the communication module to work in an unstable way, and be careful to change only the settings you're sure of, or just use this section to view the information.
- 🔢 Type ##4636## in the phone app.
- 📱 Select “Phone Information” in the menu that opens.
- 📊 Find the section with usage statistics).
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The engineering menu provides access to system meters that are not reset when clearing call history, making it a useful tool for auditing activity.
Configure the display of duration during the conversation
Many users want to see a timer not only after the call is over, but also during it, which allows you to control the conversation time in real time. In standard MIUI settings, the timer is usually displayed by default, but if it is not, you may have lost the interface settings or turned on the energy saving mode, which hides unnecessary elements.
To check your settings, go to the Phone app, click three dots in the corner of the screen and select Settings. Next, look for Incoming Calls or Interface. Here you can customize the screen behavior during a conversation. Make sure that you don't include topics that hide system elements or third-party launchers that conflict with the system caller.
It is also worth noting that during video calls or calls through messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber), the timer is displayed in the interface of the application itself, and not the system “caller”.
- 🛠 Go to the settings of the application “Phone” through the menu (three dots).
- 👁 Check the sections related to display and interface.
- ⏱ Make sure the Show Timer switch is active (if available).
⚠️ Warning: Third-party themes can change system fonts and hide interface elements. If the timer is missing after changing the theme, return the standard design in the Themes app».
Third-party applications to account for conversation time
If Xiaomi’s built-in tools aren’t enough, the Google Play market offers a variety of specialized counter apps that allow you to keep detailed statistics, plot charts, set minute limits, and even automatically complete a call after a certain time.
Popular applications like Call Timer or Call Duration ask for permission to read the call log, and once installed, they automatically record the duration of each connection, and the advantage of these tools is that they can group data by days, weeks or months, which is convenient for comparison with an operator's billing.
But privacy is important, because when you give an application access to calls, you trust it with sensitive data, you only choose programs that are highly rated and have a lot of installations, and some of the "optimizers" in MIUI can aggressively unload those applications from memory, so you need to add them to the exceptions.
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Add the counter app to the battery exception list (“No Limits”) so it doesn’t stop keeping statistics in the background.
Installing third-party software is especially relevant for older models where a standard log may have overflowed or malfunctioned, and it is also the only way to get a detailed report if the embedded log has been accidentally cleared, although such applications will not be able to restore old data.
Table: Comparison of the way statistics are viewed
To make it easier to compare different methods of obtaining information about the duration of calls, we have prepared a summary table that will help you choose the best option depending on your goal: a one-time check or constant monitoring.
| Method | Data detail | Difficulty of access | Post-discharge retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call magazine | Latest calls. | Low. | No. |
| Engineering menu | Common counters | Medium | Yes (partially) |
| Third-party annexes | Full statistics | Medium | Depends on the backup. |
| Personal account of the operator | Billing (paid) | Low. | Yeah (archive) |
As you can see from the table, a standard log is enough to quickly check, a combination of an engineering menu and third-party applications is better for deep analysis, and the operator's personal account remains the most reliable source of legally relevant information.
☑️ Checking the settings of statistics
Frequent problems and their solution
Xiaomi users sometimes face a situation where the call timer does not start or shows zero time, often due to a software failure in the system application Phone, in which case it is recommended to clear the cache of this application through the settings of the smartphone.
To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find Phone (or Calls), select Memory and click Clear Cache. It is important not to confuse it with Clear All, otherwise you will lose your call history. After this procedure, the timer must earn correctly.
Another reason could be a conflict with recording conversations: If you have automatic call recording enabled, in rare cases, the system may delay the start of the timer until the recording begins. Try turning off the recording and see if the timer's behavior changes.
- 🧹 Clear the cache of the phone application in the settings.
- 🔄 Reset the device to reset temporary errors.
- 📵 Check if the antivirus is blocking the work of the call.
⚠️ Attention: Clearing the data (not cache) of the Phone application will result in the complete deletion of the history of all incoming and outgoing calls.