How to take a screenshot of the screen on Xiaomi Redmi 9

Redmi 9 smartphones have become some of the most popular budget devices on the market, offering a great balance between price and functionality. However, despite the intuitive MIUI interface, new users often have questions about basic features such as screenshots, which is necessary to save important correspondence, tickets, maps or instructions that need to be quickly transferred to another person.

There are several ways to do this, and the choice of the specific method depends on your habit and situation. Some prefer to use physical buttons, others - gestures or voice commands. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the options available for the Redmi 9 model, and also consider the settings that will help automate the process.

You don't have to be a technician to learn these techniques, but we structured the information so that you can go straight to the right section and get an answer to your question, and the key is to follow the instructions carefully, because the location of the elements can vary slightly depending on the firmware version.

Standard Method Through Physical Buttons

The most common and quickest way Android users are familiar with by default is a combination of hardware keys. On Xiaomi Redmi 9, this feature is built-in at the system level and works even if the touch screen temporarily stops responding to touch.

It's important to keep the timing: pressing should be simultaneous, but not too long. If you keep the buttons clamped for more than a second, the shutdown or reboot menu will start, which is not our goal at the moment. A short, confident tap will result in a characteristic camera shutter sound and a thumbnail in the corner of the screen.

Once you've created the image, the system will suggest you to take a few actions: share the image, edit it, or delete it right away. This is the standard MIUI behavior that saves time. If the thumbnail doesn't show up, check if the Do Not Disturb mode or the energy savings that can block the audible notifications are on.

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When pressing buttons, try to press them evenly so as not to shift the phone in your hand – this is especially important if you take a picture with one hand on the go.

Some users complain that they can't press buttons at the same time the first time. It's a matter of practice. The mechanism on Redmi 9 has a small delay to filter random taps, so it requires a clear and synchronous action. If you have thumbs, make sure you don't close your screen view at the time you press them to see the result.

Use of the control menu and notification curtain

If you find physical buttons uncomfortable or one of them is faulty, you can always use the software interface. In the MIUI shell installed on the Xiaomi Redmi 9, there is a built-in feature to create screenshots through the control center, you need to unlock the phone and swipe from top to bottom (usually from the upper right corner) to open the notification curtain.

In the icon menu that opens, find an icon that says "Screenshot" or a picture of scissors. Clicking on this icon will instantly take a snapshot of the current contents of the display, which is especially convenient when the phone is lying on the table or you hold it in one hand and the buttons are in a hard-to-reach place.

It's worth noting that the icon set in the curtain can be edited. If you don't find the right button, click on the edit icon (usually a pencil or three dots) and drag the screenshot shortcut to the active zone, which will allow you to always have quick access to the function without having to search for it in the depth of the settings.

Software buttons also have their advantages in situations where hardware keys are worn out. Frequent use of physical buttons over time leads to the erasure of rubber pads or deterioration of contact, so alternating methods prolong the life of the device.

Screenshot with three fingers (Gestural)

One of the most convenient features in the Xiaomi ecosystem is the ability to create a screenshot with a simple swipe of three fingers. This method requires pre-activation in the settings, as it can be disabled by default. To enable the feature, go to the settings menu, select the "More" section and find the "Screenshots" item.

In the menu that opens, you need to tick the "Three-finger swipe" option. Once activated, you just swipe three fingers down the screen at any time to take a picture, which is ideal for those who like to control a smartphone with one hand or when the hardware buttons are not comfortable.

But there are limitations to this method, and the gesture may not work if you're doing other multi-touch activities at the same time, like in games or graphics editors, and the touchscreen sensitivity needs to be adjusted correctly, especially if you're wearing a low-quality protective film.

If the gesture stops working, try to clean the screen of grease and dust, as it affects the recognition of touch. In some cases, calibration of the sensor through the engineering menu helps, but for most users, standard activation of the function is enough. Make sure you swipe your fingers with enough force, but not too quickly for the system to register the movement.

Voice control and Google Assistant

Modern smartphones, including the Redmi 9, have powerful voice control systems. You can just say, "OK, Google, take a screenshot," and the phone will execute the command, and that requires that the voice assistant be activated and the microphone not be blocked by other apps.

This seems redundant for everyday use, but it's indispensable in situations where your hands are busy or dirty. For example, if you're cooking with a prescription on your phone and you need to keep the cooking phase, the voice command will be the most hygienic and convenient solution, and the system will recognize the command itself and create an image without touching the screen.

To activate voice control, make sure that the Google Assistant settings include Voice Match, which will allow your phone to recognize your voice, which improves security and reduces false positives, and check if you have access to the Internet, as voice requests are often processed on servers.

If you are in a noisy place, the phone may not recognize the command the first time, and in such cases, it is better to use alternative methods, such as buttons or notification curtains, so as not to waste time repeating phrases.

Long screenshot (Scrolling page)

Often, you need to save not only the visible part of the screen, but the entire page, such as a long correspondence in the messenger or an article in the browser. Xiaomi Redmi 9 implements the function "Long screenshot" or "Scroll". After creating a normal shot (any of the ways described above), a thumbnail will appear in the corner.

In this thumbnail, you have to click on the down arrow button or the Scrolling icon. The phone will automatically take pictures and stitch them into one long picture. You can stop the process at any time by clicking on the screen, or wait for the end of the page. This saves time and eliminates the need to glue images manually.

It works in most standard applications, such as browsers, social networks, notes and instant messengers. However, some applications with dynamic content loading (when new messages appear only when you scroll) may crash, in which case the system may stop scrolling ahead of time.

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A long screenshot is automatically cropped if a pop-up notification or video content that cannot be captured appears on the screen.

The quality of the final image depends on the resolution of the source screen. When you create long screenshots, the file can take up a significant amount of memory, so keep an eye on the vault. If the memory is full, the scrolling process can be interrupted by an error.

Configuring the format and quality of preservation

In the MIUI settings, you can choose the format of the stored images; by default, you use PNG, which provides high quality without loss, but takes up more space; For everyday tasks where text or graphics are important, this is the best choice.

If you take screenshots very often and save space, you can switch to JPG format. This will reduce the image quality due to compression, but the files will weigh much less. The switch is in the same menu "Screenshots" in the settings section.

You can also set up a watermark in this section, and many users prefer to remove the phone model and the time of the shot from the image to make the screenshot look cleaner, but for technical support, having a time stamp can be an important argument.

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If you plan to send screenshots through messengers, choose the JPG format - the difference in quality on the small screen of the phone will be invisible, and traffic will be saved.

Remember to check the folder with the saved images periodically, over time, it accumulates many extra files that take up space, and the built-in cleaning tool on Redmi 9 will help you find and remove duplicates or failed pictures.

Where are the screenshots stored and how to find them

All images you create are automatically saved to the device gallery, and to find them, open the Gallery app and go to Screenshots, where images are sorted by date of creation, which allows you to quickly find the file you want, and access them through the file manager.

In a file system, the path to a folder is usually: Internal Memory → MIUI → screenshot. Knowing this path, you can easily connect your phone to your computer and copy files for archiving or processing on a large screen.

If you delete a screenshot from the gallery, it moves to a cart that lasts 30 days, which allows you to recover an image that is accidentally deleted, and after that period, the files are deleted irrevocably, so it's important to be careful when cleaning the album.

Understanding folder structure will help you organize files faster, you can create your own albums and move important screenshots there so they don't get lost in the general mass. Android allows you to manage files flexibly using sorting by date, size or name.

Frequent problems and their solution

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where screenshots are not created, most often due to security restrictions, for example, in banking applications, incognito browser mode or when viewing protected content (Netflix, Kinopoisk), screenshots are blocked at the system level.

In such cases, the screen may simply blink or nothing happens, not because the phone malfunctions, but because it protects against copying sensitive information, you can't get around this with standard means, and trying to install third-party apps can lead to viruses.

Another reason could be a lack of RAM, because if you have a lot of heavy applications open, the system may not be able to process the request to create an image, in which case, close the redundant programs and try again.

⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to install unverified screenshot apps from third-party sources.They may request excessive permissions and steal your personal data, including passwords from banking apps.

If the problem is systemic and the screenshots don't work anywhere, try restarting the device. 90% of the time, it solves the problem of temporary interface failures. If the restart didn't work, check for system updates in the settings.

Use of third-party applications

While Redmi 9’s built-in features are quite functional, some users prefer third-party solutions, with apps like Long Screenshot or Stitch & Share offering advanced image stitching and editing capabilities that can be useful if standard scrolling is not working properly on the app.

But you have to be careful about security. Third-party programs require access to the entire screen and your files. Before installing, read reviews carefully and check permissions. In most cases, MIUI is abundant, and there is no need for third-party software.

If you do decide to use third-party software, choose applications with a large number of installations and high ratings, which reduces the risk of encountering malicious code, regularly check the list of installed applications and remove those that you do not use.

⚠️ Warning: Third-party screenshot apps may conflict with the system shell MIUI, You can use them only when you need them, when you need them.

The built-in screenshot editor on Xiaomi allows you to do basic things like cropping, drawing, adding text and stickers, which are enough for 95% of users, and the additional software only makes sense for professional image work.

Editing immediately after creation

Once you have a screenshot of Redmi 9, you can edit quickly, and by clicking on the thumbnail, you get to the editor where you can highlight an important part with a marker, add an arrow, or cover up sensitive data (such as a card number or address).

The blur tool is particularly useful for hiding personal information before you send a screenshot to a chat or post it online, so you can choose an area and apply the blur or paint-out effect, which takes a few seconds, but protects your privacy.

It also has a framing feature that removes unnecessary parts of the screen, such as a status bar with time and battery life, which makes the screenshot more presentable and easy for the recipient to perceive.

Don't neglect editing. You can't take it back if you send a screenshot of your personal data, and it's better to take 10 seconds to process it than worry about security later, and you can add a text comment directly to the image in the editor.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions