How to Put and Set Up Gestures on Xiaomi: A Complete Guide to MIUI

The controls on Xiaomi smartphones have become an integral part of the MIUI interface, offering a more intuitive and faster way to interact with the device. However, many users still do not use them fully, either because of their habit of classic navigation buttons or because of a lack of information about hidden features. This article will help you understand how to enable gestures on Xiaomi, customize them to your needs, and even activate hidden functions that are not covered in standard instructions.

It’s important to understand that gesture control on Xiaomi has evolved along with the MIUI versions. If you’ve moved from an older model (like the Redmi Note 8 to the Xiaomi 13), you may not be aware of the new gesture types that have appeared in MIUI 14 and HyperOS. We’ll look at all the current customization methods, including full-screen gestures, in-game gestures, and even custom combinations through hidden menus.

Before you go to the instructions, make sure your device runs MIUI 12 or later — this is the version that gives you the modern look. If you have older firmware, some of the features may be missing or work differently. Also note that some models (such as the POCO F1 or Mi A2 with pure Android) may have different gesture settings.

Types of gestures on Xiaomi: what are and how are different

MIUI has three main types of gesture control, each suitable for different use cases, and let's look at their features and advantages:

• 📱 Classic navigation buttons are the traditional option with three virtual buttons (Back, Home, Recent) for those who are used to the old interface or use a device with physical buttons (such as Black Shark).
• 👆 Full-screen gestures MIUI are a modern standard that uses swipes from the bottom edge of the screen instead of buttons, to maximize the workspace of the display.
• 🎮 Gestures in games - special combinations for quick access to menus, screenshots or blocking notifications during gameplay. POCO and Black Shark.

The most popular option is full-screen gestures, but they are addictive. For example, swipe up-center returns to the main screen, and swipe up and hold opens up Recent apps. Not everyone seems intuitive, especially if they used an iPhone or smartphones on pure Android.

One hand gestures that appeared in MIUI 13 allow you to control large smartphones (such as the Xiaomi 12 Pro or Redmi K50 Ultra) without having to reach the top of the screen, which are customized separately and can make life easier for phablet owners.

How to turn on gestures on Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions

The transition to gesture control takes no more than a minute, but requires a precise follow-up to the instructions. Consider the process using the Xiaomi 13 Pro with HyperOS (similar to Redmi, POCO and other devices with MIUI 12+):

1. Open Settings (the gear icon on the main screen).
2. Go to the Display section.
3. Select Full-screen display (on some models it may be called System Navigation).
4. Slip by Navigation Type and select Full-screen gestures.
5. Confirm the choice and wait for the application of settings (the device may briefly “hang” – this is normal).

Once activated, the virtual buttons will disappear on the screen, and instead a thin white bar will appear at the bottom, which is an indicator of gesture control. If the bar interferes, you can hide it in additional settings (we will discuss this below).

On some devices (such as the POCO X3 Pro), the path to settings may be slightly different:

Settings → System → Gestures → Type of navigation

If you notice that some apps (such as games or banking programs) are not working correctly after you turn on gestures, go back to the settings menu and select Auto Hiding for navigation bars to help avoid random swipes in full-screen modes.

Hidden gesture settings: what can be configured additionally

Few people know, but MIUI has hidden gesture controls that allow you to fine-tune the behavior of the system, for example, you can change the sensitivity of swipes, turn off vibration when you press, or even assign your own combinations for certain actions.

To access these settings:

1. Open Settings and go to About Phone.
2. Tap 5 times on the MIUI version until you become a developer!
3. Go back to the main Settings menu and open a new section for developers.
4. Find the Sensitivity of full-screen gestures and adjust the slider to your preferences.

In the same menu you can find other useful options:

• 🔄 Disable gesture animation – speeds up the system’s response to swipes.
• 🔇 Vibration when you press gestures is useful for tactile feedback.
• 📱 Ignore gestures in landscape mode – prevents random swipes when watching videos.

Another hidden feature is one-hand gesture customization, which is available on 6.5-inch screens and allows you to:

• 👇 Swipe down the edge of the screen to go back.
• 👈 Double tap on the back for screenshots (works on Xiaomi 12T and later).
• 🔄 Circular motion for quick switching between applications.

To activate these gestures:

Settings → Additional features → Gestures for one hand

Xiaomi’s Gesture Problems: Why They Don’t Work and How to Fix Them

Sometimes, when you turn on gesture control, users encounter bugs: swipes don't work, the system wilts when you press them, or gestures conflict with applications.

If the gestures stopped working after the MIUI update, try resetting the interface settings:

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Settings (three points) → Reset Settings

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If your gestures don't work after reset, check if you have a third-party launcher (like a Nova Launcher or Apex) and some launchers conflict with system gestures. Return to the standard MIUI launcher to check your gestures.

A separate problem is gestures in banking applications, where many financial programs like Sberbank Online or Tinkoff block swipes for security, and you can:

• 🔒 Temporarily switch to navigation buttons in the settings.
• 📱 Use One-Hand Mode with gestures turned off.
• 🔄 Add the application to exceptions via Settings → Special features → Banking applications.

Gestures in games on Xiaomi: how to set up for gameplay

For gamers, Xiaomi offers a separate set of gestures that allows you to quickly access key features without leaving the game, especially for POCO and Black Shark devices, where the gaming experience is brought to the forefront.

To adjust the game gestures:

1. Open Settings and go to Game Turbo (on some models – Game Mode).
2. Choose Gestures in Games or Quick Actions.
3. Activate the combinations you want: 📸 Screenshot — swipe three fingers down. 🔇 Notification lock — swipe two fingers on the side. 🔄 Quick app switch — swipe four fingers left/right.

Black Shark devices offer additional gestures for physical Shark Space buttons, such as double-clicking a button that can trigger screen recording or activate game mode.

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Game gestures only work in Game Turbo mode, and if you didn't activate it before you started the game, swipe combinations won't work.

For owners of POCO F4 GT and similar devices with shoulder triggers (POCO Pop-Up Triggers), gesture settings for physical buttons are available:

• 🎯 Set a trigger press to shoot shoot shooters.
• 🔄 Double press for jumping or squatting.
• 📱 Retention for activation of macros (e.g., a series of actions in MOBA).

If game gestures conflict with system gestures, turn them off for specific applications:

Game Turbo → Settings → Exceptions → Add a problem game

Xiaomi gesture comparisons with other brands: which is better?

Xiaomi’s gesture controls are often compared to those of Samsung, Apple and Google, each with a different approach, and the choices depend on the user’s habits.

Xiaomi’s unique feature is that it supports one-hand gestures at the system level, which most competitors don’t, which makes it more convenient to use one-handed devices, especially on phablets like the Xiaomi 13 Ultra or Redmi K60 Pro.

On the other hand, Xiaomi gestures are sometimes criticized for being over-customized, which can confuse newcomers: For example, in the iPhone, swipe up always leads to the home screen, while in Xiaomi this behavior can be changed, which sometimes leads to confusion.

If you’re switching from iPhone to Xiaomi, the first few days may be uncomfortable with different gesture logics.

• 🍎 The iPhone swipe from right to left is back, and the Xiaomi swipe is left to right.
• 🤖 On Xiaomi swipe up and hold opens Recent, and on iPhone - only swipe up and pause.

Castomic gestures on Xiaomi: how to customize your combinations

For advanced users, MIUI offers the ability to create your own gestures through hidden menus or third-party apps, which allows you to assign any actions to swipes, double taps or even movements in the air (on devices with a proximity sensor).

Method 1: Configure through "For Developers"

In the menu for developers (how to open it, we told above) options are available:

• 🔄 Double tap to wake up - turn on the screen with a double tap.
• 📱 Wake-up – The screen is turned on when the device is lifted.
• 👆 Screenshot gesture -- swipe three fingers down.

Method 2: Third-party applications

If standard options are not enough, you can use:

• 🛠️ Fluid Navigation Gestures – allows you to create custom gestures for any action.
• 🎨 Edge Gestures is a swipe setting from the edges of the screen.
• 🔧 Tasker – for creating complex automatic gesture-based scripts.

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Before using third-party gesture apps, turn off battery optimization for them, otherwise they may not work in the background. You can do this in Settings → Apps → Permissions → Autostart.

Method 3: ADB- Instructions for Hidden Functions

You can use ADB to activate experimental gestures that aren't on by default, like:

adb shell settings put global force_fsg_nav_bar 1

This command forcibly includes full-screen gestures even on devices where they are not officially supported (for example, on some Redmi models with pure Android).

Warning: changing system settings through ADB may cause the device to malfunction.Before experimenting, back up your data.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions About Gestures on Xiaomi