How to fix the screen on Xiaomi so it doesn’t flip over automatically

Automatically rotating the screen on Xiaomi smartphones is a convenient feature for watching videos or games, but in everyday use it often works inappropriately. You read an article in your browser, lie on your side, and suddenly the screen flips, causing you to turn the phone back. Or worse: a voice message is accidentally sent in the messenger because the orientation sensor is triggered by vibration, a problem familiar to many owners of Redmi, POCO and other devices on MIUI.

In this article, we'll look at all the ways you can turn off autorotation, from standard settings to hidden firmware features, how to lock the screen in portrait mode forever, how to temporarily turn off the rotation for individual applications, and what to do if the gyroscope sensor is not working properly, and also why settings are sometimes reset after a MIUI update and how to avoid this.

Why Xiaomi’s screen is turning on its own

Before you turn off the autorotor, it is important to understand why it is not working correctly, and in 80% of cases, the problem lies not in the settings, but in hardware or software failures:

• 🔄 The accelerometer sensor is contaminated, with dust or moisture entering the microslits of the case, leading to false positives.
• 📱 Firmware problems - after the update MIUI (especially beta versions, sensors may not work smoothly. MIUI 14 was a bug with a self-turn in the Redmi Note 11.
• 🔋 Saving charge - in ultra-low consumption mode (Settings) → Battery → Power saving mode: the system can ignore the turn settings.
• 🎮 Conflict with games – some applications (e.g. Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile) forced to turn on the autorotor, even if it is turned off in the system.

If the screen flips even when the autorotor is turned off, it could indicate a hardware malfunction of the gyroscope sensor, in which case only the service center will help, but in 90% of cases the problem is solved by software — that's what follows.

Method 1: Disabling autorotation through the notification panel

The fastest and most obvious method is to use the button in the notification curtain, which works on all Xiaomi smartphones, regardless of the model and version of MIUI:

1. Swipe your finger down the screen to open the notification bar.
2. Find the Screen Turn icon (usually an icon of a phone with an arrow around it) and if it's not, swipe down again to open the full panel.
3. Touch the icon once. If it's gray, the autorotor is off. If blue, it's on.

This is temporary: after the phone is restarted, the settings may reset, and some apps (such as YouTube or Google Maps) ignore this setting and force the screen to turn.

💡

If the icon isn't in the curtain, press any icon in the notification bar and drag it to the Edit section, where you can add a screen turn button.

Method 2: Permanently shutting down in system settings

To permanently block the autorotation, you need to change the settings in the MIUI menu. This method works on all devices, including the POCO F5, Redmi Note 12 Pro and Xiaomi 13T:

1. Open the Settings → Display.
2. Scroll down and select Screen Autoturn (in some versions of MIUI, this item is called Screen Turn).
3. Transfer the slider to the off position. or uncheck (depending on the firmware version).

After that, the screen will be locked in portrait mode even after the reboot.

• 🔄 Some apps (like Google Camera or TikTok) may ignore this setting and turn the screen forcibly.
• 📱 On devices with MIUI 13 and later, a notification may appear: "Some applications may override this setting".
• 🔧 After the update MIUI settings are reset, check the Settings section → Annexes → Permits → Crash-turn.

Method 3: Using gestures to block the turn

In MIUI 12 and later, we have the "Gesturing to Turn the Screen" feature, which allows you to temporarily capture the orientation of the screen without going into the settings, which is convenient if you need to quickly block the turn, for example, in transport:

1. Open Settings → Display → Autoturn Screen → Gestures for turning.
2. Turn on the slider on.
3. Now, to block the turn, double-tap the bottom of the screen (where the navigation bar is located), and the lock icon will appear, which means that the screen is locked.

This method works even if the autorotation is enabled in the settings. To unlock the screen, repeat the gesture.

Is the "Gestural Turn" slider included in the settings

Do you touch the bottom of the screen (not in the middle!)

Does the lock icon appear after a double touch?

Have you tried restarting your phone if the gesture doesn’t work?-->

Method 4: Turning off autorotation for individual applications

If the screen is only rotated in certain programs (e.g., Chrome or Instagram), you can block selectively, just for them.

Method 1: Through Application Settings

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the appropriate app (e.g. YouTube).
3. Click Permissions → Autoturn and select Prohibit.

Method 2: With the help of third-party utilities

If you don’t have this option in your settings, use the Rotation Control app (available on Google Play).

• 🔒 Block Turn for Individual Applications.
• 🔄 Forced to establish portrait or landscape orientation.
• 📱 Create exceptions for games and videos.

Example of settings in Rotation Control:

1. Open the application and give it overlay rights (App Overlay).


2. Select an app from a list (e.g. WhatsApp).




3. Set the Portrait mode (portrait).




4. Save the settings.

💡

The side of utilities like Rotation Control requires permission to "Special Access" in the Android settings, without which they can't block the turn.

Method 5: Reset sensor settings (if the autoturn works on its own)

If the screen turns even when the autorotation is turned off, the problem may be the failure of the accelerometer sensor, in which case calibration or resetting will help:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times on the MIUI version to activate Developer Mode.
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
4. Find Sensor Calibration or Sensor Reset and follow the instructions on the screen.

If calibration didn’t help, try hard resetting sensors through the engineering menu:

#6484## (for Snapdragon models)
#36446337## (for models on MediaTek)

After you enter the code, select Sensor Test → Calibrate and follow the prompts. Care: Do not change other options in the engineering menu unless you are sure of their purpose!

💡

If the sensor is worse after calibration, go back to the engineering menu and select Restore Default.

Table: Comparison of methods of turning off autorotation

What to do if nothing helps

If you’ve tried all of these methods, but the screen still turns on its own, the reasons may be more serious:

⚠️ Attention: If the screen starts to turn arbitrarily after falling or getting moisture, this may indicate damage to the accelerometer sensor plume, in which case only repairs at the service center will help!

Other possible causes:

• 🛠️ Damaged charging connector – if the cable starts to twitch, the problem may be a short circuit.
• 🧲 Magnetic field impact – some magnet cases or wireless charging can knock sensors down.
• 🦠 Viral software – some malware applications can simulate screen rotation. check the phone with antivirus (e.g. Malwarebytes).

If the smartphone is warranty, contact the official Xiaomi service. the list of addresses can be found on the website mi.com.

FAQ: Frequent questions about autoturn on Xiaomi