How to take a screenshot on Xiaomi Mi: full instructions

Screenshots on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO are one of the most popular features needed to save correspondence, payment receipts or interesting moments from games. Despite the apparent simplicity, there are many nuances in the shell of MIUI and the new HyperOS that not all users know about. Screenshots can be done in several ways, each of which is convenient in a certain situation.

Device owners often face situations where the standard button combination is uncomfortable or the hardware buttons are busy in the game, which is why the company's engineers have implemented alternative methods, including gesture control and voice commands. Understanding all the options available will allow you to quickly save information from the display without interrupting current tasks.

In this detailed guide, we’ll take a look at all the screenshot techniques that exist, including hidden features like long-distance scrolling, where to look for finished images and what to do if the feature stops working after a system update.

Standard Method Through Physical Buttons

The fastest and most familiar way, running on 99% of Android smartphones, including the Xiaomi Mi and Redmi line, it requires no setup and is available immediately after the device is turned on, you need to simultaneously press the power button and the volume down button.

It's important to keep the timing: press the buttons simultaneously and briefly, and if you press them too long, the phone will perceive this as a command to reboot or call the emergency menu. On modern side-fingerprint models, this button also performs an unlock function, but when combined with volume, it acts as a power key.

⚠️ Note: Do not keep the buttons locked for longer. 2-3 Seconds, otherwise the device shutdown menu will start, which may interrupt your current task.

Once you've done the action, you'll hear the characteristic shutter sound of the camera (if the sound is on), and a thumbnail will appear in the top corner of the screen, which confirms that the image is saved in the gallery, and this method is universal and works even in safe mode.

Use of the Additional Functions Menu (Three Points)

If physical buttons are damaged or busy in the game, a software interface comes to the rescue, there is a special tool in the notification curtain or in the floating window to take pictures, to activate it through the curtain, unlock the phone and lower the top panel down.

Find an icon with a scissor or a camera, and if you can't see it in the main buttons, it might be hidden in the secondary menu, click on the three-dot icon, or swipe left through the quick settings panel, and there's a screenshot button.

Alternatively, you can use a floating window. In some versions of MIUI, when you swipe three fingers down or through the multitasking menu, you get a special panel. By clicking on the camera icon in this menu, you get a high-quality snapshot of the current state of the interface without using hardware keys.

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Add the Screenshot button to your desktop via widgets if you often use this method to take one-click pictures.

This is especially true for models with damaged volume buttons, and it ensures that you don't accidentally turn off your phone at an important time, and it also allows you to take screenshots in those rare applications where the combination of physical buttons is blocked.

Handling gestures and swipes

MIUI is famous for its customization, and gesture control is one of its strengths. You can set your smartphone to create screenshots by simply swiping your finger across the screen. To do that, go to Settings → Additional Features → Screenshot.

There are several activation options available here, and the most popular is swipe three fingers down, which instantly captures the image on the screen, and you can also set up two fingers with a "V" shape, although this gesture is more commonly used for other actions, it can be reassigned.

• 👆 Three fingers down is the fastest and most ergonomic way to use big screens.
• ✌️ Two fingers V - alternative if the first option seems uncomfortable.
• 🖱️ Long press – in some themes of design, you can click on the “Recent” button (task menu).

Activating gestures makes it much faster to use content on social media and browsers, so you don't have to reach for buttons on the body, which is especially convenient when using your phone with one hand, but it's worth remembering that casual touches can lead to unwanted shots if the sensitivity is set too high.

Voice control via Google and Mi AI

Modern Xiaomi smartphones are equipped with advanced voice assistants. If your hands are busy or your phone is on the table, you can just say a command. To work this method, you need to have Google Assistant or built-in Mi AI (depending on the region).

Just say, "OK, Google, take a screenshot," or "Take a screenshot." It recognizes the command, it makes a sound, it saves the image, and it's perfect for people with disabilities or in situations where touching the screen is not desirable.

⚠️ Attention: Voice control requires a stable Internet connection and the enabled “Ok Google” function in the account settings.

Voice input is also useful for creating a series of screenshots in a specific rhythm if you dictate commands quickly. Although less effective than gestures, in some use cases, voice commands become the only option available.

The function of a long screenshot (scroll)

One of the most useful features in MIUI is the ability to create long screenshots, which is necessary when you need to save a web page, long correspondence in the messenger or news feed that does not fit on a single screen.

First, take a regular screenshot in any convenient way, and immediately after that, a thumbnail will appear in the upper right corner, and underneath it will be a button with a down arrow or a Scrolling icon, press it until all the content you want is captured, or click Stop to finish.

A long screenshot is automatically stitched together by the system to create a single, high-quality image, eliminating the need to glue many individual images together in Photoshop, a feature that is particularly needed when saving instructions, recipes or correspondence for proof.

Where to look and how to edit saved screenshots

Once created, the image is automatically saved to the gallery. The path to the file is usually: Gallery → Albums. → Screenshots. In the Android file system, it matches the directory. /Pictures/Screenshots/ or /DCIM/Screenshots/ depending on the OS version.

The built-in editor in MIUI allows you to mark up immediately after you create a screenshot, so you can highlight text with a marker, add arrows, text, or blur sensitive data (card numbers, addresses), which makes a separate editing application unnecessary.

• ✏️ Drawing – Free drawing with a finger or stylus.
• 🔲 Figures – adding squares, circles and arrows.
• 🌫️ Blurring – Hiding Personal Information in an Image.

If you can't find a screenshot, check the recent folder in the gallery, and files can be hidden if Hidden Album mode is enabled, and you need to use a gesture in the album menu to access it.

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All screenshots are saved by default in a separate album Screenshots, which makes it easier to find and remove them.

The solution: why the screenshot doesn't work

Sometimes users are faced with the fact that the screenshot is not created, most often due to security restrictions in certain applications, for example, banking applications, incognito mode in the browser or DRM-protected video players (Netflix) block the creation of screenshots.

In these cases, instead of an image, you get a black screen or a ban notice, which is normal Android security behavior, protecting your data and rights, and you can't get around this with standard tools without root rights.

⚠️ Note: If screenshots stop working in all apps, check if the Guest or Second Space mode is enabled, where settings may differ.

The problem may also be a memory shortage: If the phone's storage is 99 percent full, the system won't be able to save the new file, clear some space, and the function will be available again, and in rare cases, it helps to reboot the device.

Customization of quality and format of preservation

In advanced MIUI settings, you can change the save format. JPG is the default, which provides good quality with a low file weight. However, for text documents or diagrams, it is better to use the PNG format, which supports lossless compression.

You can change the format through camera settings or special camera applications, but standard MIUI means the format is usually fixed. However, conversion occurs automatically when sent through some messengers that compress images.

Clean your screenshot folder regularly, as it takes up space and can be duplicated in cloud services. Using Google Photos with Save Space will help optimize your image archive storage.