How to put an avatar in Xiaomi contacts: the complete guide

Personalizing a mobile device is not just a matter of aesthetics, but also a way to instantly identify a caller. Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone owners often face the need to assign a specific image to a specific number to avoid guessing who is bothering at the moment. The MIUI shell and the new HyperOS provide flexible tools for managing a phone book, but the interface can vary depending on the Android version and regional firmware.

Installing an avatar not only allows you to quickly recognize the interlocutor, but also gives the call interface a more modern and friendly look. Google’s standard “calling” or MI Dialer’s proprietary application supports displaying high-quality images that automatically scale to the screen size during an incoming call. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the ways to add photos, from standard methods to hidden synchronization functions.

Before you start editing your records, make sure you have a finished image in the gallery. The quality of the image directly affects how it will look when you call: blurry or too dark photos can be poorly read by the system. It is also worth considering that some methods of linking photos work only for local contacts, while others require an active Google account or Mi Account.

The basic way to install a photo through the phone application

The most obvious and quickest way to change an avatar is to use a built-in call app, which is universal and works on the vast majority of brand devices, regardless of the model’s year of release. To start, open the standard Phone or Contacts app on your gadget’s desktop.

Find the contact you want, or use the search bar at the top of the screen to type in the subscriber's name. Once you open the contact card, you'll see a standard gray plug with the first letter of the name or an empty silhouette, and that's where the editing menu is usually hidden, which is activated by a simple touch.

• 📸 Click on a gray circle with a letter or icon of a person at the top of the screen.
• ✏️ If a direct click fails, find the Change button (often looks like a pencil) and select the photo add-on.
• 🖼️ The system will suggest to choose the source: take a picture with the camera or choose from the gallery.
• 💾 After selecting the image, fram it with your fingers and click Save or tick in the corner.

⚠️ Note: If the photo is not displayed in the call list after saving, try clearing the Contacts cache through the system settings. Sometimes the old cache prevents you from updating your thumbnails.

Importantly, when you use this method, the image is locally linked to the device. If you change your phone or reset completely without first syncing, the image will be lost. For permanent contacts, you better use a Google account, as discussed below.

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Use square photos with a clear central object – with round cropping in the ringing interface, the corners will still be hidden, and the face should be clearly visible.

Synchronization of avatars through Google account

Using Google Contacts cloud storage is the most reliable way to store data, and when you add a photo through this service, it automatically pulls up to any device that logs in to your account, which is especially true for the Android ecosystem that Xiaomi smartphones belong to.

To take advantage of this method, go to your phone's settings and look for Accounts and Sync. Make sure your Google account is active and the contact sync slider is on. If the contact is already stored in the phone's memory rather than in the cloud, the system may suggest moving it.

The process of adding photos through Google contacts is slightly different from the local one:

1. Open the Contacts app (from Google, a blue icon with a letter “K” or a human silhouette).
2. Select the number you want from the list.
3. Click on the Change button in the upper right corner of the screen.
4. Tap the photo area and select Choose from photos.

The advantage of the method is that the photo will be available in the mail client Gmail and other services of the company. When calling from such a number to other Android smartphones that also have synchronization enabled, your photo can be displayed to the subscriber if you are saved in his contacts (the function “Contacts from Google”). However, to display a photo of the incoming caller on your screen, just save it in your Google contacts.

Editing via web interface and PC

Sometimes it’s more convenient to work with contacts not from a small smartphone screen, but from a large computer monitor. The web version of Google Contacts allows you to quickly upload high-quality photos, which are then synced with your Xiaomi. This is ideal if you need to update several avatars at once or if the phone is temporarily unavailable.

To do this, go to the official Google Contacts website and log in under the same account as on your phone. The web version interface allows you to drag and drop images directly from your computer folders, which greatly speeds up the process.

Once you upload a photo on the site, you don't have to do any extra work on your phone, just make sure your smartphone is connected to the Internet (Wi-Fi or mobile network), and open the contact app, and sync usually happens in the background within minutes.

⚠️ Note: If you edit the contacts saved on SIM-And the system will automatically create copies of them in the cloud, through Google's web interface. SIM-The map will remain without a photo, so for the correct display on all devices, it is recommended to completely switch to storage in Google.

This method is especially useful if you have a collection of professional photos of contacts stored on your hard drive.You can (package) update the database, saving time compared to manually typing on your phone.

Working with contact groups and labels

Xiaomi business phone owners often evaluate the function of grouping contacts. While it is technically impossible to assign a single photo to a whole group at once (each subscriber is different), the right organization helps to quickly find the right people to install avatars. MIUI has the ability to create contact shortcuts on the desktop.

To create direct access to frequently used numbers with photos:

• 📌 Hold your finger on an empty desktop space.
• 📂 Select Contacts widget or Direct Call.
• 👤 Select a specific person from the list.
• 🖼️ On the desktop will appear an icon with its avatar, clicking on which initiates call.

Also worth mentioning is the Favorites feature, which if you add contact with an installed avatar to your favorites, their photo will be displayed in the Favorites widget on the home screen or in the notification curtain (depending on the theme of the design), which creates a visual connection and speeds up access.

Some MIUI themes may hide avatars from recent calls, leaving them only on the full screen. If you notice that photos are missing after a theme change, try returning the standard design or choosing a theme with full avatar support.

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Grouping contacts does not replace installing individual photos, but Direct Call widgets with desktop avatars are the best way to keep important people in sight at all times.

Display problems and their solution

Despite the simplicity of the procedure, users often face technical nuances, the most common problem is that the photo is installed, but when an incoming call shows a standard silhouette, which may be due to duplication of entries in the phone book.

Android smartphones, including Redmi and POCO, often have the same number saved twice: once in a phone’s memory, a second time in a Google account, and the system can show a photo for one record only, and call from the other.

To solve this problem, follow the following steps:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Find the problem number.
3. If you see two records that are the same, combine them. To do this, open one, click the menu (three dots) and choose Combine or Link.
4. Select a second entry with the same number for the merger.

Another reason could be the image format, and the system might not display files properly in the format. HEIC (standard for iPhone or very heavy RAW-Convert to standard files. JPEG or PNG usually solves the problem.

⚠️ Note: When connecting contacts, the system may ask what information to keep, be careful not to lose important notes or additional numbers if they were written in different cards.

Features of MIUI 13, 14 and HyperOS

With the release of new firmware, the contact algorithms may change. MIUI 13 and later, as well as HyperOS, have improved integration with social networks (in some regions) and instant messengers. For example, if you have Viber or Telegram installed, the contact app may suggest that you pull up the avatar from there automatically.

The latest versions of the shell feature Smart Call Screen, which dynamically changes the background and style of the avatar based on the time of day or theme, but the basic principle of installing the photo remains the same: through editing the contact card.

It is worth noting that in global versions of firmware (Global ROM) the standard “calling” from Google is more often used, whereas in Chinese versions (CN ROM) or re-flashed to multilingual (Global Stable) there may be the original MI Dialer. The interface in them is slightly different, but the logic of actions is identical: contact search -> Editing -> Photos.

If you use third-party launchers or deep-change themes, the functionality of displaying avatars may be limited to the theme developer. For strange artifacts, instead of photos, test the work on a standard theme first.