A modern smartphone is not just a means of communication, but a powerful tool for work, entertainment and storing information. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices often face the need to quickly capture the contents of the display, whether it is correspondence, recipe or error in the application. The ability to quickly create screenshots significantly speeds up interaction with the gadget.
The MIUI shell interface or the new HyperOS offers many ways to do this. You can use physical buttons, special gestures or voice commands, and each method has its advantages depending on the situation. Understanding all the options available will allow you to choose the most convenient option.
In this article, we will take a look at each method, explain the finer points of the setup, and answer frequently asked questions: How to take long page shots and where to look for saved files, and once you master these skills, you can make the most of your smartphone.
Using physical buttons to create screenshots
The most common and familiar way, which works on the vast majority of Android smartphones, including Xiaomi, is highly reliable and works even when the touchscreen reacts with a delay.
You have to press the Power button and the Volume Down button, and it has to be short and synchronous, almost like a punch, and if you press the buttons too long, the phone can perceive this as a command to call the emergency call menu or turn off the device.
β οΈ Warning: Do not hold the buttons pinched for more than one second, otherwise instead of taking a screenshot, the power-off menu or emergency call is activated. SOS.
The success of the operation is confirmed by the characteristic sound of the camera shutter and the visual flash of the screen. In the upper left corner, a thumbnail of the image taken with a countdown timer will appear, allowing you to quickly edit or delete the file. This method is universal for all models, from the budget Redmi to the flagship Mi.
Screenshots with three fingers: setting and use
The MIUI shell is famous for its clever gestures, and one of the most convenient is to take a three-finger screenshot, which is especially useful when one-handed phone is difficult to control or when the buttons on the body are stiff, but it is often turned off by default.
To activate this option, you need to go to the system settings. Find the Additional section, then select Screenshot. In the menu that opens, you need to switch the slider opposite the Three fingers inscription to the active position.
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To create a screenshot with three fingers, swipe them across the screen strictly from top to bottom or diagonally, touching the display with the entire area of your fingers for better recognition.
There are some nuances to consider when using this method, and gestures may not work if you swipe your fingers too slowly or too quickly, and some high-security applications can block screenshots in any way, including gestures.
- ποΈ Swipe three fingers from top to bottom in the center of the screen for an instant snapshot.
- βοΈ Set the sensitivity of the gesture in the special features menu if the phone is unresponsive.
- π« In banking applications and incognito mode, the function can be blocked by the security system.
Control through notification curtain and side menu
If physical buttons are unavailable or damaged for some reason, you can use the interface software, and there's a separate icon in the HyperOS control center or MIUI notification curtain to create a screenshot that looks like a scissor or a rectangle.
To get to this feature quickly, you can add it to your favorite toggles. Just pull the curtain down, find the screenshot icon and drag it to the active zone. Now, it takes just one touch to create a copy of the screen, which is very convenient when you're wearing gloves.
Another way is to use a floating window, where on some models, if you press the Menu button long enough (three bars) or through the sidebar of the tools, you get an action menu, which also has a snapshot button, which allows you to take screenshots without interrupting the full-screen video.
| Method | Speed of access | Dependence on buttons | Convenience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttons (Power + Vol-) | Instantly. | Tall. | High. |
| Gesture (3 fingers) | Quickly. | No. | Very high. |
| Notification curtain | Middle-Average | No. | Average. |
| Voice commands | Slowly. | No. | Low. |
βοΈ Checking the screenshot settings
Creating long screenshots (scrolling)
Often, a single screen isn't enough to capture all of the messaging or a long article on a website, and for those cases, Xiaomi smartphones have a "Scroll" or "Long Screenshot" feature that allows you to automatically glue multiple images into one long tape.
Immediately after you take a normal screenshot (in any of the ways described above), a thumbnail appears in the upper left corner, and it will have a button with two arrows down on it, or the words Scroll, and click on it, and the phone will automatically scroll down the contents, capturing new areas.
β οΈ Attention: Auto-scrolling will stop if a pop-up, advertisement or end of the page appears on the screen, in which case the long screenshot will be saved as it is.
You can manually control the process by clicking on the screen to add another snippet, or press the stop button when the information you need is captured. The finished image is saved in the gallery as a single file, which is convenient for sending documents or instructions.
What to do if a long screenshot is blurred?
Voice control and Google Assistant
When hands are busy or the device is on the table, voice control becomes relevant. Google Assistant or built-in Mi AI (depending on the region) can execute the command to create a screenshot without touching the screen.
To activate, you just say "OK, Google" or hold the home button for a long time (if configured), and then clearly say "Take a screenshot" or "Make a screenshot." The system recognizes the command and performs the action, saving the image to a standard folder.
This method requires a stable internet connection to handle a voice request, and it may not work in some system applications or with a locked screen, requiring the device to be unlocked beforehand.
- π£οΈ Make sure that the Google Assistant settings include a Russian or English language model.
- π The screen must be unlocked to work, otherwise the assistant will not get access to the content.
- π± In some models POCO Voice commands may require additional activation in the special features menu.
Where to find and how to edit saved photos
Once you have taken a screenshot, it is automatically saved to the deviceβs internal memory. The standard file path is usually like Inner Memory β DCIM β Screenshots or MIUI β Gallery β Cloud β Screenshots. All images are duplicated in the Gallery app.
The built-in editor allows you to quickly process the image immediately after you create it, and by clicking on the thumbnail, you can cut the edges, draw arrows, add text, or blur sensitive data (such as card numbers or passwords), which is an important aspect of digital hygiene.
Files take up space in memory, so it's recommended that you periodically review the folder with screenshots. Many users forget about this, which leads to a quick filling of the storage. Delete old and unnecessary images to make the phone work faster.
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Regular cleaning of the folder with screenshots frees up a significant amount of memory and speeds up the gallery, preventing hanging up when viewing photos.
For more advanced work, you can use third-party apps from Google Play that offer automatic screenshot removal or cloud backup features, but Xiaomiβs standard tools cover 99% of the average userβs needs.