How to Make a Small Window on a Xiaomi Phone: A Complete Guide

Mobile devices have long since ceased to be just a means of calling, becoming powerful workstations that we carry in our pockets. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often wonder how to make a small window on the screen to chat in the messenger and watch videos or work with documents at the same time. This feature, known as “floating windows” or “Freeform”, is one of the most underrated features of the shells of MIUI and HyperOS.

Activating free windows allows you to turn your smartphone into a desktop computer with several active applications. You can run the navigator in the corner of the screen while you flip through the news feed, or leave the video player on top of the game. Understanding how to make a small window on a Xiaomi phone significantly improves productivity and usability of the gadget in everyday life.

In this article, we will look at all the available ways to activate floating windows, from standard gestures to hidden features for advanced users. We will look at the nuances of working with different versions of firmware, as the algorithms for managing windows in new Android updates may differ from the usual schemes.

What is free window mode in MIUI and HyperOS

Free window mode is a system feature that allows applications to run not on the whole screen, but as independent floating blocks. Unlike split screen, where two apps share a display equally, here you can create a small window, move it around the screen and resize it, which fundamentally changes the way we multitask on mobile devices.

The MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have built-in support for this technology, but often hide it behind complex gestures or additional menus. The system allows you to keep several of these windows open at the same time, limited only by processor performance and the amount of RAM of the device. For modern models, this means the ability to work comfortably with 3-4 active applications.

It's important to understand that not all apps are optimized for floating, and some programs can be forced to unfold full-screen or be unstable, but most popular services, such as browsers, instant messengers, and video players, work perfectly in this mode.

• 🚀 Multitasking: The ability to perform multiple actions simultaneously without constantly switching between tabs.
• 📐 Size flexibility: You decide how big or small the app window will be.
• 📍 Positioning: The window can be fixed in any corner of the screen without overlapping important content of the main application.

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Use floating windows for a calculator or translator while working with documents – this will save a lot of time on switching.

System resources are dynamically distributed, so a small window can consume less power than if it were running on a full screen, but it is worth remembering that too many active processes can lead to accelerated battery discharge.

How to activate a small window through the menu of recent applications

The most common and safe way to make a small window on a Xiaomi phone is in the menu of running apps, which works on the vast majority of devices, regardless of the Android version. You need to open the desired application, then swipe from the bottom up (or click the menu button) to go to the open source review.

In the list of recent apps, find the card of the program you want. On some versions of the firmware, you need to press and hold your finger on the application preview until the context menu appears. In other cases, you need to click on the application icon at the top of the card. In the list that appears, select the window or icon that resembles two rectangles.

Once you choose the appropriate action, the application will fold into a floating block, and you can drag it, stretch it around corners, or roll it into a sidebar, which is standard and doesn't require any additional developer settings.

If the standard menu doesn’t show the options you need, your version of MIUI may have a slightly modified logic, so try swiping up from the app card in the recent task menu — sometimes this action also transforms the app into a floating window.

Using the sidebar for quick access

The sidebar (or "Soaring Windows") is another effective tool for those who want to quickly make a small window, which allows you to run applications in floating mode on top of any other program with one touch, and you need to activate the panel itself in the system settings first.

Go to Settings → Special Features → Sidebar. You need to turn on the Sidebar switch and select the apps you want to see in the Quick Access list. After setting up on the side faces of the screen (left or right), a semi-transparent bar will appear.

A swipe from that bar inside the screen will open a list of selected apps, and clicking on the icon will start the program in small window mode, which is perfect for messengers, voice recorders or notes that should always be at hand.

The convenience of the sidebar is that the application running through it does not completely cover the main content. You can respond to messages on Telegram or WhatsApp while watching YouTube or reading an article in your browser.

⚠️ Note: If the sidebar doesn’t appear on the screen, check to see if Full Screen mode is enabled in a particular app (e.g., in games) as it can block pop-up interface elements.

Hidden features and settings for advanced users

For users who don’t have the standard methods, there are deeper system settings, and some versions of MIUI and HyperOS firmware can force applications to run in free window mode through the developer menu or special commands.

One method involves using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to change system flags, but this requires a connection to a computer.A simpler option is to search for hidden switches in the Advanced Settings menu or through hidden feature activation apps like Activity Launcher.

And you also have to pay attention to the split screen feature, which is that when you run a split screen app, you can pull the dividing line to turn one of the parts into a floating window, and it doesn't work in all versions, but it's key to activating the mode on many devices.

Using third-party launchers can also provide an alternative interface for window management, however, this can lead to unstable system operation or conflicts with system gestures.

Control and sizing of floating windows

Once you've made a small window, it's important to learn how to manage it properly. The main control is across the window edge: pull at any edge to resize. Corners often have special markers for rapid transformation.

The system offers several preset states for a floating window. You can turn it around the entire screen, roll it into a narrow strip on the side (bubble mode), or close it completely. To fold, you usually just pull the window to the bottom edge of the screen or press a special button in the window header.

Newer versions of HyperOS add the ability to group windows, so you can put multiple floating apps in a stack and switch between them, saving space on the display, especially for devices with diagonals less than 6.5 inches.

• 🔄 Wrap: Turns a window into a miniature icon that continues to play sound or video.
• 📏 Scaling: Diagonal stretching allows you to adapt the window to any content.
• 🔒 Fixing: Some windows can be fixed so they don’t overlap important interface elements when accidentally touched.

Remember, the position of the window is saved when you switch between tasks. If you push the browser into a corner, it will stay there until you close it or change the configuration.

Solution and possible problems

Despite the usefulness of the feature, users may encounter a number of problems, often because an application refuses to run in a small window or closes immediately, because the app developer has not put in support for scaling the interface.

In such cases, you can try to force scaling. Go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times to activate the developer menu). Then, in the developer menu, look for Force resize activities and activate it.

⚠️ Warning: Enabling forced scaling may cause fonts, buttons and images to display incorrectly in some applications. Use this option only for specific programs if it is really necessary.

Another common problem is battery gluttony: multiple active windows load the processor more than one full-screen application. If you notice a fast discharge, close unused floating windows.

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Forced resizing activities is a powerful tool, but it can disrupt the layout of applications, making them uncomfortable to use.

Also worth mentioning is the problem with notifications: In small window mode, notifications from the app itself can come in standard form, overlapping the content, and prioritize notifications for such applications so that they do not interfere with the work.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)