How to Take an Extended Screenshot on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Modern smartphones allow you not only to capture a static screen image, but also capture entire web pages, long correspondence in messengers or lists of products in online stores. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices often face the need to save information that does not fit into one frame. A standard screenshot here is powerless, because it cuts off an important part of the content, making it unreadable or devoid of context.

The advanced screenshot, or scrolling shot, is built into the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS by default, but users don’t always know it exists or use it properly. It’s a powerful document-handling tool that saves time and eliminates the need to take a series of regular shots by gluing them together in third-party apps. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at all the ways to create long images.

You don't have to be an expert in the Android world to learn this skill. The interface is as simple as possible, and algorithms automatically define the boundaries of the content you're scrolling through. We'll look at both the standard methods and the hidden capabilities available through system settings that can be useful in non-standard situations.

Preparation of the device and compatibility check

Before you start taking screenshots, make sure your Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone is technically ready to do this.Scrolling is available on almost all modern models, from the budget Redmi Note series to the flagship Mi and Xiaomi 13, 14 series. However, if you have a very old device with an Android version below 9 or a stripped-down MIUI Go shell, the functionality may be limited or absent.

An important aspect is the availability of space in memory. A long screenshot, especially one taken in high resolution, can weigh significantly more than usual. If the memory is full, the system may simply not save the file or terminate the process with an error. Check the free space in the Settings → Memory section before you start working with large documents.

It's also worth checking the screen resolution settings. If you're using enlarged font mode or non-standard resolution to save energy, the scrolling algorithm may not work properly, making the "sews" between parts of the image visible, and it's recommended that you temporarily return the standard display settings if you plan to take many composite shots.

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Before you create an important long screenshot, wipe the camera and screen. Spots on the display can be perceived by the system as part of the image and remain on the final file, which will spoil its readability.

Standard method through control buttons

The most common and quick way to take a long screenshot on Xiaomi is to use a combination of physical buttons, which works 95% of the time and is universal to the entire ecosystem of the brand. You need to simultaneously press the Volume Down button and the Power button, you need to hold them for no longer than a second so that the system can lock the command, but not turn on the switch-off menu.

Once you hear the characteristic shutter sound of the camera, a thumbnail of the image will appear in the upper right-hand side of the screen (or in the floating window, depending on the firmware version), and that's where the key to creating the extended image lies. Don't rush your finger away or close the notification -- you only have a few seconds to activate the scrolling mode.

The thumbnail or next to it should display a button that says Scrolling or an icon that resembles two triangles facing down. By pressing it, you start an automatic process of capturing the bottom of the screen. The system will slowly scroll down the contents until you stop the process or reach the end of the page.

• 📱 Press the Volume buttons Down + Eating at the same time.
• ⏱️ Wait for the thumbnail to appear in the corner of the screen (no later than 2 seconds).
• 🔽 Tap the "Scroll" button on the panel that appears.
• ✋ Tap the screen at any time to stop recording.

If the scroll button doesn’t appear, it could mean that the current app doesn’t support this feature or the content on the screen is static and has no hidden scrollable areas, in which case the system will simply save a regular static shot.

Gesture control: three fingers

For those who prefer to minimize the mechanical impact of the buttons, Xiaomi offers a convenient gesture "Three fingers". This feature allows you to take a screenshot and immediately go to edit or scrolle it in one smooth movement. To use this method, you need to pre-activate it in the settings of the system.

Go to Settings → Additional Settings → Screenshots (the path may vary slightly in different versions of MIUI). Find "Three-finger screenshot" and switch the switch to the active position. Now, swipe three fingers down the center of the screen, you initiate the creation of the picture.

The thing about the gesture is that it immediately opens the editor or toolbar, where the Scrolling button is instantly available, so you don't have to wait for the thumbnail to appear, as is the case with the buttons, and this is especially convenient when you need to quickly capture long conversations while talking or watching news with one hand (although it's harder to do this with three fingers).

⚠️ Note: A three-finger gesture may conflict with other functions, such as one-handed or no-touch gestures. If screenshots are not created, check if other three-finger gestures are included.

The sensitivity of the touchscreen plays an important role: if your screen has a low-quality protective glass or is damaged, the system may not recognize simultaneous touch with three fingers, in such cases, it is recommended to use a classic combination of buttons or software methods.

Use of voice assistant and widgets

When hands are busy or physical interaction with the screen is impossible, voice commands come to the rescue. The built-in Google Assistant or Xiao AI (which is limited in its global versions) can take screenshots on voice query. Say, "Ok Google, take a screenshot," and the system will execute the command.

But to create an extended screenshot, voice commands don't always work smoothly, because they need to be updated, and a more reliable software method is to use the Screenshot widget on your desktop, and add it through the widget menu, and you have a button for instant capture.

Some users prefer to install third-party launchers that have built-in long-shot capabilities. However, Xiaomi’s regular tools usually work faster and better, as they have direct access to the system image buffer without having to recapture the screen, which often leads to loss of quality.

Editing and saving a long screenshot

Once you start the scrolling process and stop it at the right moment, the system will prompt you to save the result. At this stage, the question often arises: what to do with the excess? Xiaomi's algorithm automatically trims the bottom of the last frame to hide navigation elements, but sometimes extra details fall into the capture area.

Click on the Edit button (pencil icon) immediately after you create the picture. In the menu that opens, select the Trimming tool, and you can manually select the desired area by removing any extra fields on top or bottom that may have entered the frame at the beginning or end of the scrolling.

When saving, pay attention to the format. The default is JPG, which compresses an image well but can give artifacts on the text. If you want maximum clarity (for example, for scanning documents), choose the PNG format in the quality settings if your firmware version allows you to do so.

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The PNG format is ideal for screenshots with a lot of text, as it doesn’t blur the clear boundaries of letters when compressed, unlike JPG.

Removal and typical errors

Despite the system's fine-tuning, Redmi and POCO users sometimes run into problems, and the most common of them, the Scrolling button, simply doesn't appear, which is often the case with applications that use their own content display mechanisms, such as some banking applications or secure video players, in which cases the system blocks the creation of composite images for security or technical impossibility.

Another problem is "breaking" or shifting layers in the final image, which happens if you touch the screen during automatic scrolling or if there is a pop-up notification (ad, message) on the screen, the algorithm gets confused because the pixel structure changes and it can't dock correctly.

If the screenshot is black or blurry, check the theme settings. Some third-party themes downloaded from Themes may conflict with the system interface for creating screenshots. Try switching to a standard theme and checking the feature again.

• 🚫 Black Screen: App bans screenshots (incognito mode, banking security).
• 🧩 Shifting layers: During the shooting, a notification came or you touched the display.
• 📉 Low quality: Power saving mode is enabled or low screen resolution is worth.
• 🔄 Cyclical scrolling: Endless News Feed has no end, screenshot can be huge.

⚠️ Note: When you take very long screenshots (more than 10,000 pixels in height), some apps for viewing photos or social networks may not be able to open the entire file.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)