Modern smartphones have become an integral part of our digital lives, and it is often necessary to capture what is happening on the screen. Xiaomi Redmi 9 users are constantly looking for quick and effective ways to save important information, whether it is correspondence in the messenger, an interesting moment in the game or confirmation of a bank transfer. The question of how to take a screenshot of the Xiaomi Redmi 9 is one of the most popular among owners of this model, and this is not surprising given the popularity of the device.
There are many ways to take screenshots, and each user can choose the most convenient option for themselves. Some prefer the classic combination of buttons, others – gestures with a finger on the screen, and others – voice commands. In this article, we will discuss all the available methods, and also consider the settings that will allow you to take screenshots even faster and more convenient.
We'll also look at the possible problems you might encounter in the process, and we'll tell you where to look for saved images. Understanding all the nuances of how MIUI works will help you feel more confident when using your gadget. Let's start with the simplest and most common method.
Classical method: button combination
The most reliable and quickest method that works on any Android smartphone, including the Redmi 9, is to use physical buttons. This method requires no pre-setting and is always available, even if the touchscreen temporarily does not respond to touch in certain areas.
It is important to press them almost simultaneously, with minimal delay between clicks. If you press the lock button too long, the phone may offer a switch-off or reboot menu rather than taking a snapshot. Once you successfully complete the action, you will hear the characteristic snap of the camera shutter (if the sound is on), and a thumbnail of the image taken will appear in the upper right corner of the screen.
Some users have difficulty pressing at the same time because of the location of the buttons on the body. On Xiaomi Redmi 9, the buttons are on the right side, and you need to adjust to them. If you have thumbs, there is usually no problem, but in a case with thick sides, this can be more difficult.
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If you can’t press the buttons at the same time, try pressing the volume button slightly first and adding the power button for a split second.
Once you've taken a screenshot, you have a few seconds to interact with the thumbnail, and you can immediately edit the image, add text, or send it to the person without opening the gallery, and if you don't do anything, the thumbnail will simply disappear and the file will be stored in the device's memory.
Screenshots with three fingers: setting and use
One of the most convenient features of the MIUI shell is that it can take screenshots with a three-finger gesture, which is spectacular and allows you to take pictures with one hand, which is especially convenient when the second one is busy, but by default, this feature can be disabled, so you need to activate it in the settings.
To enable, go to the Settings menu, then select Additional and find the Screenshot section. Here you need to put the switch in the active position opposite the Screenshot option with three fingers. Once activated, you can take pictures by simply swiping three fingers from top to bottom across the screen at any time you use the interface.
This gesture works in almost all applications, but there may be exceptions in some games or secure applications, such as bank clients, where screenshots are prohibited for security reasons.If the gesture does not work, check if the Gloves mode or other specific input settings that may conflict with multi-touch gesture recognition are enabled.
☑️ Checking the screenshot settings
And it's worth noting that the speed of the fingers is important, because if you run them too slowly, the system might perceive this as just scrolling the page or not recognizing the command at all, and the movement should be confident and fast enough, but not sharp enough to cover the desired area of the screen.
Control through the notification curtain
If you find physical buttons uncomfortable, and gestures don't always work the first time, you can use the software method through the control panel, which is especially relevant if one of the buttons on the phone body is faulty or fails, and you need to unlock the screen and swipe from top to bottom to open the notification curtain.
In the quick action menu that opens, look for an icon called Screenshot or Screenshot, which is usually located among other switches like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and flashlight. If you don't see this icon right away, it may be hidden in the second page of the menu or in the hidden items list that opens when you click on the edit icon (usually a square with a pencil or three dots).
Clicking on the icon instantly captures the current content of the screen, and it's a good visual comprehension, but it has one major drawback: when the curtain is opened, part of the screen's content (the top part) overlaps the menu, so the screenshot will show the notification bar itself, not what was underneath it.
How to hide icons in the curtain?
However, for desktop screenshots, settings menus, or application starter screens, this is ideal, and it's also useful when the phone is on the table and you don't want to pick it up to press the buttons.
Voice control and Google Assistant
In the age of artificial intelligence, smartphone control is becoming more voice-activated. The Xiaomi Redmi 9 has a Google Assistant pre-installed, which can take screenshots on command. This can be useful if your hands are dirty, for example, while cooking, or you are wearing gloves that do not support multi-touch.
To use this feature, you need to activate the assistant with the phrase "Ok Google" or "Hey Google" (if voice control is enabled), or by long pressing the home button (if it is configured). After activation, just say "Take a screenshot" or "Photograph the screen." The system will execute the command and save the image.
But there are limitations to this method: the assistant must be active and have access to the microphone, and in some regions or with certain language settings, the command may not be recognized the first time, and voice input may not be appropriate in quiet places, such as a library or a movie theater.
| Method | Speed. | Convenience | Dependence on buttons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttons | Tall. | Average. | A proper volume button is required |
| Three fingers. | Tall. | High. | Not required |
| Curtain. | Low. | Average. | Not required |
| Voice. | Medium | Low (in noisy places) | Not required |
Using voice commands opens up new possibilities for people with disabilities, making the smartphone more affordable, an important aspect of modern technology that cannot be ignored.
Where to look for saved screenshots
Once you've learned how to take screenshots, it's important to know where to look. On Redmi 9, like most Android smartphones, all images are automatically sorted by the system. Immediately after you create a screenshot, a separate folder appears in the gallery, usually called Screenshots or Screenshots.
You can open this folder through the standard Gallery app. At the bottom of the screen, go to the Album tab, and you'll see a category with the appropriate name. Inside, the files are sorted by date of creation: the newest ones are on top, so you can quickly find the picture you just took.
You can also access files through a file manager. The path to the folder is usually this: Internal memory. → MIUI → Gallery → cloud → Screenshots or simply Internal Memory → Pictures → Screenshots, depending on the firmware version and settings. Knowledge of the path is useful if you want to connect your phone to your computer and copy files through USB-cable.
Remember to clean this folder periodically, as screenshots can take up a significant amount of storage space in the device, especially if you take them frequently and in high resolution. Redmi 9 has a sufficient screen, and the detail of the pictures can be high.
Long screenshot and extended functions
One of the most useful features for social media and instant messenger users is the ability to take long screenshots, which allows you to capture all correspondence in the whole or a long article in the browser, rather than taking many individual frames. On Xiaomi Redmi 9, this feature is built into the standard image capture mechanism.
Immediately after you have taken a normal screenshot (by buttons or gesture), a thumbnail will appear in the upper right corner, and it will have several control buttons, one of which looks like two rectangles or an arrow down with the words Scrolling or Long Screenshot.
The process continues until you stop it by pressing the stop button or until you reach the end of the page, which is the perfect way to save recipes, instructions or correspondence on WhatsApp and Telegram. However, it is worth considering that some applications may not support this feature correctly, scrolling through jerks or cropping content.
⚠️ Note: When taking a long screenshot, try not to touch the screen, as this may interrupt the scrolling process or distort the final image.
Also worth mentioning is the floating window feature, which, once you've created a screenshot, you can not only send it, but you can open it right away in a floating window to edit or copy text (if you're using text recognition), which makes it faster to work with information.
Possible problems and solutions
Despite the simplicity of the process, users sometimes face difficulties, and the most common problem is that the screenshot is not created or saved, this can be due to a lack of free memory in the device, and if the memory is full, the system simply cannot write a new file.
Another common situation is that screenshots are not saved in some applications, which is not a bug, but protection. Banking applications, browser incognito modes, and some streaming services block screenshots from being taken for security and copyright protection, in which case you will either see a black screen or the system will issue a message that you cannot act.
If the buttons on the case have stopped responding and the screenshot needs to be taken urgently, you can use alternative methods described above, or connect an external keyboard via USB-OTG, if you have one at hand.
⚠️ Note: If the volume or power buttons are not working properly (stick, do not press), do not make excessive efforts to avoid damaging the plumes inside the case.
In rare cases, the problem may be a software failure of the MIUI shell itself. Check for system updates in the settings, as new firmware versions often contain bug fixes.
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If the screenshot does not work in any way, check the availability of free space in memory and whether the application is running with copy protection.