Xiaomi and Poco smartphone owners often face the need to separate workspace from personal space, a feature that users often refer to as a “dual screen” that allows you to isolate apps, photos and contacts in a separate environment, not just a folder, but a full-fledged copy of the interface with its own security settings.
There are a number of ways to do this, depending on what you want, to create a completely independent profile, to clone specific applications, or to use special widgets, and each method has its own advantages for different use cases.
In this article, we will take a look at all the options available for organizing a dual screen, learn about the intricacies of setting up Second Space and understand how to maximize the capabilities of the MIUI or HyperOS shell. The right setup will help you better structure digital chaos.
What is the Second Space Mode in MIUI?
Second Space is the closest analogue of the “dual screen” in Xiaomi smartphones, which creates a virtual copy of the operating system inside your phone, and it looks like two different users, each with its own data.
When you switch between spaces, you change your desktop, wallpaper, installed apps, and accounts, and it's the perfect solution for anyone who wants to share work and personal life on a single device, and access to hidden space is protected by a separate password or fingerprint.
⚠️ Note: When you delete the Second Space, all the data inside it (photos, contacts, apps) will be permanently deleted.
It's important to understand that both spaces are running simultaneously in the background, which can consume more RAM than usual, and on low-end Poco models with low RAM, this can affect speed.
Step-by-step instructions for activating the function
To start the process, you need to go to the basic system settings. The path may vary slightly depending on the firmware version, but the logic remains the same. You need to find the partition responsible for additional system functions.
In the settings menu, find Second Space, which is usually in the About or Advanced Settings category, and the system will suggest you create a new profile, which will take a few seconds, and you will be asked to configure the login method.
☑️ Preparation for the creation of space
Once created, you will be on a clean desktop, where you need to re-enter your Google account if necessary, and switch between profiles through settings or a special shortcut on the lock screen.
Fast switching and security settings
The key feature of Second Space is that you can switch quickly without entering passwords, so you can assign different fingerprints to different spaces, and if you touch the sensor with a certain finger, you instantly go to the desired profile.
If you want to hide the fact that there's a second screen, you can turn off the desktop switching shortcut, so you can only log in through settings or a designated fingerprint, which increases data privacy.
- 🔒 Assign different graphic keys for the main and hidden profiles.
- 👆 Use different fingers to unlock different spaces.
- 🚫 Turn off notifications from the Second Space in the main profile.
Also worth paying attention to is the notification settings, which by default can hide the content of messages from the second profile when you are mostly in the notifications management menu.
Cloning applications as an alternative
If you think it's redundant to create a full-fledged second space, consider App Cloning, which allows you to run two copies of the same app (like WhatsApp or Telegram) with different accounts, and it's not a dual screen in the full sense, but it solves the problem of splitting correspondence.
You can find this feature by Settings → Applications → Applications → Cloning. This shows a list of supported programs. To activate cloning, you just need to switch the switch next to the desired application.
Clone applications are marked with a two-circle icon that works independently, has its own notification settings and access to memory, but they often share files and photos that need to be considered.
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Clone applications consume more battery because the background processes are twice as powerful.
Using widgets to simulate two screens
MIUI and HyperOS offer a flexible widget system, so you can organize your desktop so that it looks like a two-zone separation, and you can put important data from one profile in a prominent place.
Add Notes, Calendar or Weather widgets for the second account if the system allows synchronization, and it's also convenient to use feature-specific quick access widgets, which creates a multitasking effect without diving deep into settings.
For more advanced users, third-party launchers are available, allowing you to create separate workspaces or password-protected folders, which can be a great replacement for a regular second space.
| Function | Second space | Cloning | Password folder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data isolation | Complete. | Partial | Only access. |
| Separate Google Account | Yes. | No. | No. |
| Memory consumption | High. | Average. | Low. |
| Difficulty setting up | Medium | Low. | Low. |
Transferring data between spaces
One of the common problems is moving a file from one space to another, and Xiaomi has a tool for that, which is in the Second Space management menu.
When you transfer a photo or document, you create a copy of the file, the original file stays in place, and the copy appears in the target profile, which is important to consider when working with storage, since free space is consumed faster.
Contacts and messages can also be transferred, but the process requires confirmation, the system will ask if you want to copy the data or move it, and if you copy, you will have duplicate entries in the phone book.
⚠️ Warning: Transporting large amounts of data (video, archives) can take a long time and heat up your device.
Can you install different wallpapers for each space?
Frequent problems and ways to solve them
Users sometimes find Second Space stops switching or is not working properly, often due to a lack of RAM or errors in the system cache, and rebooting the device often helps solve the problem.
If the feature is missing from the settings menu, check to see if Easy Mode (for older people) is enabled, and many advanced features are hidden in this mode, and the feature may not be available on some global firmware versions without Google services.
In rare cases, cleaning the data from the Security or Settings app helps, before doing so, make sure you remember passwords from both spaces, otherwise access to the data will be lost.
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Comparison with analogues on other devices
Xiaomi’s functionality is much like Samsung’s “Secure Folder” or Huawei’s “Personal Space,” but the implementation of MIUI allows you to create a full second user profile, not just a secure folder, which gives you more flexibility.
Unlike many competitors, Poco’s system hides the existence of a second space without leaving any bright icons in plain sight, making the technique less visible to prying eyes.
However, other device owners may lack some synchronization features.In the Xiaomi ecosystem, integration with the Mi Cloud works consistently, making it easier to recover data when you change devices.