Personalization of calls: installation of photos on Redmi Note 9

The modern Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 series provides users with a wide range of customization options, allowing them to turn a standard call process into a personalized experience. Setting a photo on an incoming call is not just an aesthetic enhancement, but also a useful feature that allows you to instantly recognize the interlocutor, even if you do not look at the name in the contacts. Owners of devices based on the MIUI shell often face the nuances of synchronizing the image from the gallery to the phone book, which requires a clear algorithm of actions.

In this article, we will take a closer look at all the available ways to install contact avatars on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9, including standard methods through the Contacts app and alternatives through the system gallery. You will learn how to properly crop an image so that it is correctly displayed on the full screen, and which file formats are supported by the system without conversion errors. Understanding these processes will help avoid the typical problems when a photo is either not installed or displayed in low resolution.

Personalization starts small, and setting up unique images for each subscriber is a great start. We'll look at the technical aspects of how the MIUI multimedia shell works in the context of the phone book, and also discuss the issues of optimizing storage so that hundreds of photos of contacts do not take up too much space in the memory of your smartphone. Get ready to turn your Redmi Note 9 into a truly personal device.

Image preparation and system requirements

Before you start directly installing a photo, you need to make sure that the source file meets the technical requirements of the Android operating system and the MIUI shell. The optimal choice will be images in JPEG or PNG format, as they provide the best balance between quality and file size. System graphics processing algorithms on Xiaomi work best with files whose resolution is multiples of standard screen modules, although automatic framing usually copes with arbitrary sizes.

It is important to consider that vertical portraits are best suited for full-screen display during an incoming call. Horizontal photos will be automatically cropped by the system, which can lead to loss of important image details or unaesthetic framing of the subscriber's face. It is recommended to prepare square or vertical images with an aspect ratio of 9:16 or 1:1 in advance for the best visual result.

Storing the source files also matters: if the photos are in cloud storage and not uploaded to the device’s memory, the installation process may take longer or end in error if there is no stable Internet connection. Make sure that the selected images are fully uploaded to the local gallery of the Redmi Note 9 smartphone.

• 📸 Use high resolution images (minimum) 1080x1920 pixels) for clear display.
• 📐 Prefer vertical orientation of shots to fill the entire screen during a call.
• 💾 Make sure that the photo is stored in the device’s local memory, not just in the cloud.
• 🎨 Avoid complex backgrounds if you want the face of the contact to be clearly visible.

💡

For the best quality of the display on AMOLED-Redmi Note series screens use images with a deep black background color – this will save battery power during a conversation.

Installation of photos through the Contacts app

The most standard and reliable way to link a photo to a phone number is to use the built-in Contacts app.This method ensures that the image will be synced to your Google or Mi Account account if the appropriate option is enabled and will display correctly across all system applications.

Find the subscriber you need, or use the search bar at the top of the screen to quickly access the record you want. After opening the contact card, look at the area at the top where the avatar or name initials are usually located. Click on the camera icon or blank avatar area to trigger the image selection menu.

The system will offer multiple sources: take a photo right now, select from a gallery or use an existing profile photo. Select the Gallery to open the file manager. Find a pre-prepared image, edit the framing area with the built-in tool, and confirm the action with the "Done" button or tick.

Once saved, the system can choose whether to save the changes on your phone or sync with your account. Choosing the sync option with your Google account is the most sensible step, as it will allow the photos to automatically appear on your other Android devices where you have logged in to the same account, which is especially convenient when you switch to a new smartphone or after resetting.

Alternative Methods through the Gallery

There is a less obvious, but often more convenient way to set a photo to a contact that many Xiaomi users overlook: It lets you set an image straight from viewing a photo in the Gallery app, eliminating the need to search for a contact in the phone book after choosing the perfect shot.

Open the full screen photo and click on the “More” button (three dots in the corner) or swipe up to open the additional action menu. From the list of available options, select Set on or Assign, after which the system will suggest use cases of the image. Select the “Contact Photo” or “Contact” option.

This method is good because you can immediately see how the photo will look in context, and you can quickly assign the same photo to multiple contacts if necessary (for example, an office photo for different numbers of the same organization).

⚠️ Note: When installing photos through the gallery on some older versions MIUI, The image can only be stored in the phone’s local memory and not synced automatically with Google contacts.

If you use third-party applications for contact management or synchronization, they can overwrite local changes made through the gallery with their data, in which case it is recommended to use the basic method through the Contacts app to guarantee the preservation of changes.

Display setting and framing

The quality of the image display during the incoming call depends on how correctly the framing is done. The MIUI shell on the Redmi Note 9 provides a flexible tool for cropping the image, allowing you to shift the selection frame and zoom in. Don't ignore this step, as by default the system can crop the photo unsuccessfully, leaving important parts of the face outside the frame.

When framing, look for a round or oval preview area that shows exactly what the avatar will look like on the call list and lock screen. For full-size screens used in the Note 9, it is important to stretch the selection area so that it fills the vertical, but the subscriber’s head does not rest on the edges of the screen.

If the original image is low resolution, the system can warn you that quality will be lost, so you better choose another photo or accept that on a large screen of a smartphone, the picture may look grainy. Modern interpolation algorithms help smooth out defects, but miracles do not happen.

Proper framing is especially important for video calls or situations where the smartphone is on the table with the screen upwards, in which case the photo of the contact serves as the main visual identifier, and its readability becomes a priority.

💡

The quality of the final image depends not only on the original file, but also on the accuracy of manually configuring the framing area in the MIUI editor.

Synchronization with Google and Mi Account

One of the key aspects of managing contacts on Android is synchronization. On Xiaomi smartphones, the user can choose where to store data: locally, in a Mi Account or in a Google service. To install a photo that will not disappear after resetting or switching to another phone, it is critical to choose the right source of saving.

When editing a contact, look at the card header or save settings. If you have a phone or a Device, the photo will only be on that device. If you select a Google account, the image will be uploaded to the cloud and made available everywhere, especially for Xiaomi ecosystem owners who can use tablets or other smartphones of the brand.

In the case of sync conflicts, when the photo is constantly reset to a standard avatar, it is recommended to check the sync settings in the Settings → Accounts and Sync section. Make sure that the slider opposite Contact is active and working correctly. Sometimes you need to perform manual sync by clicking the appropriate button in the account menu.

• ☁️ Google Storage Provides Access to Photos from Any Android Device.
• 📱 Local storage is faster, but data is lost when a phone is reset.
• 🔄 Synchronization conflicts are resolved by disabling and re-enabled account.
• 🔒 Mi Account is convenient for users of exclusively Xiaomi equipment.

It is worth noting that when you change your phone number or (merge) duplicate contacts, the system can create a new record, and the previously installed photo can “unlock”, In such cases, the procedure for installing a photo on a call on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 will have to be repeated for an updated record.

Solving problems and mistakes

Despite the simplicity of the procedure, Redmi Note 9 users may encounter a number of typical problems: One of the most common is that the photo is set, but the incoming call displays a standard silhouette or initials. Often this is due to the fact that the phone book for one subscriber has several numbers written, and the photo is tied to only one specific number, and not to the entire contact card.

To solve this problem, you need to open a contact, find a function to combine or associate numbers, and make sure that the photo is assigned to the main card, and it is also worth checking the permissions of the Contacts and Phone application: they must have access to the device’s memory, otherwise they will not be able to read and display the graphic file.

Another problem is poor image quality, which is often the case with photos downloaded from messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber), which compress graphics very tightly, and the system may not properly scale such thumbnails, in which case you would better request the original photo from the interlocutor or find it on social networks in full resolution.

⚠️ Note: If it disappears after a while after installing a photo, check if automatic synchronization with social networks is enabled (Facebook, VK), which can overwrite local avatars with standard profile images.

In rare cases, cleaning the cache of the Contacts app helps. To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Contacts → Memory and click Clear Cache. This will not delete your numbers, but will reset temporary files that may have caused a display error.

Use of third-party applications

If standard MIUI capabilities aren’t enough, Google Play offers a variety of contact and call management apps that enable advanced visualization, and programs like Truecaller, Contacts+, or ExDialer can not only find photos of subscribers automatically from social networks, but also display them in high resolution with additional effects.

However, using third-party “calls” requires broad permissions to access the phone book, microphone and call history, which raises privacy issues.In addition, new versions of Android and MIUI may experience conflicts between the phone’s standard app and the installed counterpart, leading to missed calls or double notifications.

However, for those who want to see an iOS-style photo caller or a full-screen video backup, that's the only way to go. Once you install it, you have to designate it as the primary one for making calls to your system settings, and most of them have their own photo databases, which eliminates manual avatars for each room.