Personalizing a smartphone interface isn’t just a tribute to fashion, it’s a way to quickly navigate the flow of incoming calls. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices often wonder how to tie a particular image to a contact to see who’s calling before you even pick up the phone. The standard MIUI shell or the new HyperOS offers flexible tools for doing so, but they have their own features to be aware of.
While the process of installing a subscriber avatar may seem trivial, users often find that the image is not displayed or cropped incorrectly, due to the way the Android system handles graphic files of different resolutions. In this article, we will examine everything from basic download through the phone book to work with synchronization Google and Mi Cloud.
It's worth noting that the quality of the display depends not only on the source file, but also on the firmware version. Some MIUI updates change the algorithms of cropping images. So it's important to follow current guidelines to avoid black fields or stretched pictures during an incoming call.
Image Preparation and Format Requirements
Before you go to the settings, you need to make sure that your image meets the technical requirements of the system. 500x500 pixels, although modern screens with high DPI They need better source code. If you upload a picture that's too small, it'll look blurry on the whole screen.
The file format also matters. The standard and most compatible format is JPG or PNG. Using rare formats like WEBP or HEIC (often found on iPhones) can cause the system to simply not be able to process the file and leave a standard plug with the letter of the name.
⚠️ Attention: Images with transparent background (PNG Alpha channel can be displayed with a black or white background depending on the theme set in the Themes. For best results, use pictures with a monochromatic or filled background.
It's important to consider the proportions. Because the smartphone screens are elongated, and the area of the caller's photo is often square or round, the system will automatically trim the edges. It's critical that the face or the main object is in the center of the frame, otherwise you'll only see part of the head or shoulder when you call.
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Use editor apps to pre-frame your photo in a 1:1 ratio before uploading to control exactly which part of the image remains visible.
Basic installation of photo through the phone application
The easiest and most common way to install a photo is to use the built-in Phone or Contacts app, which works on all versions of Android without the need to install additional software. The algorithm is intuitive, but has its own hidden menus.
To start, open a contact list and find the person you want to call, click on their name to go to the card, and at the top of the screen, where the gray plug with the first letter of the name is usually located, there should be an edit button or a pencil icon, and if you click on them, you will be in data change mode.
☑️ Photo installation algorithm
Once you have selected the source of the image (camera or gallery), the system will suggest framing the image. When you move the frame, make sure that the face is in the center. Once the changes are confirmed, the photo will be stored locally on the device. If you have synchronization enabled, it will also go to the cloud.
However, sometimes users are faced with a situation where the photo disappears or does not appear when calling, this may be due to the permissions of the Contacts to Storage application. Check in the App settings → All Apps → Contacts → Permissions that access to photos and media files is allowed.
Working with Google Contacts and Synchronization
In the Android ecosystem, contacts are often divided into two categories: saved on the Internet. SIM-For Xiaomi owners, it is highly recommended to keep contacts in Google Account, which ensures that when changing the phone or resetting all photos and numbers are saved.
If you added a photo through the Phone app but it didn't sync, check where the contact was kept. The contact card at the top often says "Save to: Phone" or "Save to: Google." If you select "Phone", the photo will only be attached to that particular device.
| Storage type | Synchronization of photo | When changing the phone | Editing from PC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Account | Automatic. | It's still there. | Perhaps (contacts.google.com) |
| Phone memory | Absent. | Lost (without backup) | Impossible. |
| SIM-map | Not supported | Saved on the map. | Impossible. |
To change a photo through the web interface, go to contacts.google.com from your computer. Find a contact, click on an avatar and upload a new image. After a while, with the Internet, the changes will automatically apply to your Xiaomi.
It is important to understand the difference between local cache and cloud. Sometimes the photo in the cloud has updated, and the phone has the old version, in which case it helps to clean the cache of the application Google Play Services and Contacts through the Settings → Apps menu.
Using Mi Accounts for Synchronization
Xiaomi device owners have an additional tool, Mi Cloud. If you use Mi Account to sync contacts, the logic of the work is similar to Google, but the servers are in Xiaomi infrastructure. This can be useful if you are having trouble accessing Google services.
To activate this feature, go to Settings → Mi Account → Sync and make sure the switch opposite the Contacts item is active. Photos added to the device will be uploaded to the Mi cloud. However, it is worth considering that when you switch to a phone of another brand (for example, Samsung), it will be more difficult to get these photos through standard means.
There is a nuance with duplication: If the same number is saved in both Google and Mi Account, the system can create two different contacts or combine them, but the photo can fly. In such cases, it is recommended to select one main sourcetruth and delete duplicates through the function of Combine repeated contacts in the Contacts app.
⚠️ Warning: If you reset to the factory settings without first checking the sync, all local contact photos will be irretrievably lost. Always check the sync status before formatting.
Display problems and their solution
Quite often, users are faced with the situation: the photo is installed, but when calling, the standard gray silhouette is displayed. This is a common problem of the MIUI shell, associated with aggressive energy savings or caching errors.
The first thing to do is check if the contact is limited to "Voice only" or hiding the number, although this rarely affects the photo. The more likely cause is a failure in the Themes app. Standard Xiaomi themes sometimes conflict with custom avatars. Try changing the theme to classic "Standard" and check the result.
Hidden display settings
Another reason could be the name format: If a contact is written with extra spaces, special characters or emojis at the beginning of a name, the system may incorrectly index its image database, try renaming the contact, leaving only letters and numbers, and re-introduce the photo.
If nothing works, the effective method is to force the data cleanup of the Contacts app. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Contacts → Memory and click Clear. Don’t worry, the numbers themselves won’t be lost if they’re synced with the cloud, but the display settings will reset.
Third-party applications for call management
Staff tools don't always meet the needs of advanced users. There are many apps on the Google Play store that replace the standard caller and offer advanced photo-sharing features, including Truecaller, Contacts+, EX Dialer.
These programs often automatically pull up photos from social networks (Facebook, Telegram, Viber) if the contact does not have an image, which allows you to see the photo of the interlocutor, even if you did not save it manually, but this requires broad permissions to access your data.
Installing a third-party call on Xiaomi can have features. MIUI aggressively kills background processes, so you need to:
- 🔒 Load the application in memory (Lock app).
- 🔋 In the battery settings, select "No restrictions" mode".
- 📞 Manually assign the application by default call in the system settings.
Using third-party software can lead to the fact that the widget contacts on the desktop will stop displaying photos, because it is tied to a standard application, a compromise that is made for the sake of functionality.
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Third-party calls offer more features, but require careful permission settings and may conflict with standard MIUI widgets.