How to take a long screenshot on your Xiaomi phone

Modern Xiaomi smartphones have large displays with high resolution, which allows you to comfortably consume content. However, the standard screen size is physically limited, and often a single “picture” cannot cover all correspondence in the messenger, a long article in the browser or the history of transactions in the banking application.

Owners of devices running on the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS have access to built-in tools to create such panoramic images without having to install third-party applications. This not only saves memory, but also preserves data privacy, since the process takes place locally on the device. Below we will discuss in detail all the available ways to create advanced screenshots, from classic buttons to advanced gestures.

It is important to understand that the quality of the final image depends on the resolution of the matrix of your Xiaomi. If you plan to use a screenshot to print or demonstrate on a large screen, make sure that the original content is displayed clearly.

Standard method through control buttons

The most versatile and time-tested way to capture the contents of the screen is to use a physical combination of buttons. On most Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco models, you need to simultaneously press the on and down buttons. You don't need to hold them for long, just a short press, after which you hear the characteristic sound of the camera shutter.

Once you've created a normal screenshot, you'll see a thumbnail in the top right corner of the screen, and that's where the secret is: you'll quickly click on the "Scroll" button (often indicated by the down arrow or the scroll symbol) that will appear under the thumbnail, and the system will automatically scroll down, taking a picture after a picture.

You can stop the scrolling process at any time by touching the screen or pressing the stop button, so you can control the final length of the image so you don't grab the empty areas at the bottom of the page, and if the page is very long, the system will stop when it reaches the end of the content.

It is worth noting that the speed of scrolling can vary depending on the weight of the page and the speed of the smartphone processor. On older models with a small amount of RAM, the process may take a little longer, but the result will be identical.

⚠️ Warning: Don’t try to manually scroll the page with your finger while automatically creating a long screenshot, this will knock the synchronization algorithm, and the final image will be with tears or artifacts.

Using three fingers to get access quickly

For those who are uncomfortable reaching for side buttons or prefer one-handed control, MIUI offers a convenient alternative: the Three Fingers gesture allows you to take screenshots and immediately move on to editing or creating a long version, and you can activate this feature in the settings menu, which makes the process as fast as possible.

To turn on this mode, go to Settings → Additional settings → Screenshots. You need to activate the "Three-finger screenshot" switch. After that, simply swiping three fingers from top to bottom of the screen will cause you to create a snapshot and an action menu.

In the menu that opens, select the Long Screenshot or Scrolling button, similar to the one you see when using volume buttons, which is especially useful when working with web pages in Chrome or the standard MIUI Browser, where you need to save information often.

• 📱 The gesture only works on a locked screen if the appropriate security option is enabled.
• ⚙️ The sensitivity of the touchscreen can be adjusted in the engineering menu, if the gesture does not work the first time.
• 🖼️ The format of the preservation remains standard PNG or JPG depending on the system settings.

Using gestures requires some skill, especially on devices with protective glass or poor protective films, which can reduce the sensitivity of the display. If you can not make a gesture the first time, try to hold your fingers a little slower and tighter to the surface.

Setting up and using a floating button

A third way that is often overlooked is by using a Quick Ball, which can be placed anywhere on the screen and has a shortcut to create screenshots, ideal for devices with damaged physical buttons.

You can activate the function by Settings → Additional settings → Floating button. In the button settings menu, find the Actions or Shortcuts section and assign a single or double-pressed Screenshot action.

Once you create a normal shot through a floating button, the algorithm repeats, and you'll see a thumbnail that you want to select the scroll mode, and the advantage of this method is that the button is always at hand, and you can change its position depending on how you hold the phone.

The floating button also allows you to add other useful shortcuts like starting the camera, turning on a flashlight or cleaning up memory, making it a powerful Xiaomi interface management tool.

Features of work in different applications

Not all apps are equally good at supporting long screenshots. While browsers and most social networks work perfectly, some specific programs may have limitations, such as banking applications often block screenshots for security purposes by displaying a black screen.

In messengers such as Telegram or WhatsApp, a long screenshot is created without problems, but it is worth considering that when scrolling new messages can be loaded, this can cause the content to change when the frames are stitched, and the picture will shift.

When working with maps (Google Maps, Yandex.Maps), a long screenshot may not correctly display dynamic elements such as cursor position or traffic animations, in which case it is better to take several regular screenshots.

• 🌐 In browsers, it is better to wait for the full page load before starting to scroll.
• 💬 In chat rooms, it is recommended to (stop) auto-renewal of the tape, if such a function is available.
• 🛒 In online stores, long pages of goods are often “stitched” with artifacts due to lazy uploading of images.

Users should experiment with the moment they start scrolling, and sometimes it makes sense to scroll a little up before you start taking a screenshot so that all the elements load up and fall into place.

Editing and saving panoramic images

Once a long screenshot is created, it is automatically saved to the gallery, and the built-in MIUI editor allows you to do basic processing: cropping, overlaying, drawing or blurring sensitive information, which is an important step before sending a file to anyone.

Open the gallery, select a picture, and click Change. The Cover tool will remove the extra fields on top and bottom that are often left behind after automatic scrolling. Magical Erase is also available to remove random objects.

When sending via messengers, pay attention to compression. A long screenshot can have a high vertical resolution (for example, 1080x15000 pixels), and some messengers (like WhatsApp) can severely degrade the quality of the transfer.

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If you plan to print a long screenshot, save it in PNG format, not JPG. PNG uses lossless compression, which is critical for clear text in large vertical images.

Long screenshot files take up more space than regular ones. Check Screenshots folder regularly and delete failed attempts to keep your device memory from clogged, especially if you have a model with a small amount of built-in storage.

Possible problems and solutions

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the scroll button does not appear or the screenshot is cut off in the middle, this can be caused by a lack of RAM at the time of the shot. Close the background applications before trying to take a long screenshot of the volumetric page.

Another common problem is line desynchronization, where if you scroll through a page with dynamic content (like a video player or a flashing cursor), those elements can be smeared throughout the image, and in such cases, it is better to use the browser read mode, which removes the extra graphics.

⚠️ Warning: If the long screenshot function stops working after the firmware update, check the permissions for Screenshots in the privacy settings. Sometimes resetting the system settings returns the functionality.

It’s also worth considering that some global firmware versions may have slightly different interfaces than the Chinese versions. Button layouts may vary, but the logic of the work remains the same across the Xiaomi ecosystem.

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The stability of long screenshots depends on free RAM and the absence of heavy background processes at the time of shooting.

If neither method works, try restarting the device, a trivial action that often resolves minor software failures in Android and MIUI system services.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions