How to make a screen on Xiaomi Mi 9: the complete guide

Screenshots are one of the most basic, yet critical, features in any modern smartphone. Owners of Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 9, which runs the MIUI shell, often look for the fastest and most convenient ways to capture an image from the screen. Whether it’s saving important correspondence, capturing a game moment or fixing an error in the application, the ability to quickly take a screenshot greatly simplifies interaction with the gadget.

But the standard methods that are known to many are not the only options available. Android, coupled with Xiaomi’s firmware, offers many alternatives that can be much more convenient in different situations, such as one-handed control or process automation. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available methods for creating screenshots on the Mi 9 so that you can choose the most suitable one for your use case.

Although the Xiaomi Mi 9 has been around for a few years, it remains relevant thanks to optimization and community support. Understanding the interface makes it possible to make the most of the device’s capabilities. We’ll look at both classic keyboard shortcuts and hidden features that are not widely known to users.

Classic method: button combination

The most common and reliable way to take a screenshot on any Android device is to use physical buttons. On the Xiaomi Mi 9, this method works flawlessly even in cases where the touch screen is temporarily unresponsive or blocked by a third-party application.

It is important to keep the synchrony of pressing: if you press one button before the other, the smartphone may perceive this as a command to call the voice assistant or the switch-off menu. The press should be sharp, but not too long, lasting about one second. After successfully completing the action, you will hear the characteristic sound of the camera shutter (if the sound of the system is on) and see an animation of the screen curling.

⚠️ Attention: On the side of the Xiaomi Mi 9 is a separate Google Assistant call button.Be careful when pressing the power key so that you don't accidentally activate voice search instead of creating a screenshot.

Once you've taken a screenshot, you'll see a thumbnail at the top of the screen, and you'll click on it and you'll be taken to an editor where you can immediately trim the basics or add annotations, which is especially useful when you need to quickly send information to the messenger without saving any extra interface details.

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The button combination is a versatile method that works even when the touch layer freezes, making it a primary tool for diagnosing problems.

Gesture control: three fingers

For those who prefer software solutions to physical buttons, the MIUI shell has a convenient feature of creating screenshots with gestures. This method is especially relevant for the Xiaomi Mi 9 with its large screen, when it is difficult to reach the buttons with one hand. To activate this feature, you need to swipe three fingers from top to bottom in the center of the screen.

However, by default, this feature can be disabled. To activate it, go to the Settings menu, then select the Additional Features section and find the Screenshots section. Here you need to tick the Three Fingers option. You can also set the gesture response area in this menu to avoid accidental activations.

• 🖐️ Standard gesture: swipe three fingers from top to bottom for instant snapshot.
• 📐 Extended gesture: Hold three fingers on the screen to open the area selection menu or a long screenshot.
• ⚙️ Sensitivity settings: in some versions MIUI Calibration of the speed of reaction to gestures is available.

Using gestures requires some habit, because you have to touch the screen with three fingers at once. If the system doesn't recognize the action the first time, try changing the angle of the hand or the speed of the conduction. After a few training sessions, this method becomes the fastest way to capture information.

Use of notification curtain

The third way that is often overlooked is to use a quick access panel, which is ideal in situations where the volume buttons are busy adjusting the sound in the media player or navigation, and the use of gestures is inconvenient, and to take advantage of this option, lower the swipe notification curtain from top to bottom.

In the icon menu that opens, find a scissors icon called a Screenshot. If you don't see it on the first page, swipe left to open additional pages of control panels. On some firmware versions, this icon may be hidden and you'll need to add it through the edit menu by tapping a pencil in the corner of the screen.

The advantage of this method is that it is visually obvious and there is no risk of pressing the extra button. In addition, when you create a screenshot through the curtain, the smartphone often immediately offers an extended menu of actions, allowing you to choose the format of saving or transferring the file, this eliminates the need to look for a thumbnail in the corner of the screen.

⚠️ Note: If the screenshot icon is missing from the curtain even after editing, check if you have a third-party screen locking app installed or a launcher that can intercept system functions.

Note that on the Xiaomi Mi 9 with updated versions of Android, the curtain interface may change. In some cases, the screenshot icon can be replaced with the Screen Record button, which also can take static pictures when you press while recording. Always check the current location of items in your version of MIUI.

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Add the Screenshot widget to your desktop if you need to take screenshots as often as possible – this will speed up access to the feature in one click.

Long screenshot and extended functions

One of the most useful features in the Xiaomi Mi 9 arsenal is the ability to create long screenshots, or “scroll shots.” This is an indispensable tool for saving long correspondence in messengers, web pages or contact lists. After creating a regular screenshot (any of the methods described above), a scroll button (or an icon with arrows down) will appear at the bottom of the thumbnail.

By pressing this button, the system automatically scrolls downward, capturing new areas and combining them into one long image. The process continues until you hit the stop button or reach the end of the page. This allows you to maintain the integrity of the context, which is impossible to do with a series of conventional shots.

MIUI also offers Text Recognition. Once you have a screenshot, if there is text in the image, the system can suggest copying or translating it, and this is done through built-in OCR algorithms that work fairly accurately with even complex fonts. To access these features, click on the "More" button in the screenshot editing menu.

• 📜 Automatic scrolling: The system itself defines the content boundaries for a long shot.
• 🔍 Text extraction: the ability to copy text from the picture to the clipboard.
• 🎨 Formatting: the ability to add frames, stickers, or blur sensitive data before sending.

It is important to understand that long screenshots can take up significantly more space in the device’s memory, especially if they contain a lot of graphics. Files are saved in a high-resolution PNG format corresponding to the Mi 9 matrix. Regularly check the image folder to avoid overflowing the storage.

Voice control and assistants

Modern smartphones, including the Xiaomi Mi 9, allow you to control a variety of voice functions, which is especially convenient when the user's hands are busy or the device is in an uncomfortable position. To create a screenshot with voice, you can use the built-in Google Assistant or Mi Assistant. Just say the phrase "Ok Google, take a screenshot" or "Take a screenshot".

To work this feature, you need the voice assistant to be active and have the appropriate permissions. Check the settings in the Google → Settings → Voice Input → Voice Mapping. Also make sure that the assistant settings include support for screenshot commands. In some regions or firmware versions, this feature may require additional activation in the Special Opportunity menu.

Voice control doesn't always work perfectly, especially in noisy environments or if the diction is fuzzy, but as a backup method, it's extremely useful. If the standard command doesn't work, try changing the wording or pronounce the words more clearly, and you can set the assistant activation by pressing the power button long enough, which speeds up the process.

⚠️ Note: When using voice commands for screenshots, make sure the microphone doesn’t record your voice at the time of screen capture if you plan to send the screenshot to third parties, although the system usually ignores audio input when creating a static image.

Don’t forget about third-party assistants like Alice from Yandex, if it’s installed on your Mi 9. They may also have their own commands to take screenshots, but their functionality is often limited compared to native Android tools.

Saving settings and file formats

All the screenshots created are automatically saved to the device's internal memory. By default, they fall into the DCIM/Screenshots or Pictures/Screenshots folder, depending on the file system version and MIUI settings. You can find them through the standard Gallery app in Screenshots. Understanding the storage structure helps you find the files you need faster when you connect your smartphone to your computer.

Xiaomi Mi 9 has a high-resolution screen, so the screenshots are quite voluminous. If you take hundreds of pictures a day, it can quickly exhaust the free space. In the camera and gallery settings, you can find options for compression or changing the format of save, although the standard PNG provides the best quality. For most tasks, this format is enough.

There is an option to change the way screenshots are saved to a memory card if your model supports microSD (although the Mi 9 does not have a card slot, this item is important for understanding the limitations), owners of this model are advised to regularly clean the screenshot folder or configure sync with the cloud storage of Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud.

Below is a table comparing the main characteristics of the methods of creating screenshots on Xiaomi Mi 9:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)