How to take a screenshot on Xiaomi: full instructions

Xiaomi’s modern smartphones have powerful functionality that is often hidden behind user-friendly interface solutions. One of the basic but critical skills for any user is the ability to quickly capture an image from the screen. Whether it’s saving important correspondence, furniture assembly instructions or a funny moment from a video, creating a screenshot is required daily.

The MIUI shell on the brand’s devices offers many options for doing this, from classic buttons to advanced gestures. Owners of Redmi and POCO models can also take advantage of these methods, since the software platform is the same. Understanding all the available ways will allow you to save time and make the process of using the gadget more comfortable.

In this article, we will take a detailed look at how to take a screenshot of the Xiaomi Android using various tools, not only standard methods, but also specific settings that can be disabled by default, and you will also learn about useful features such as long page scrolling and automatic saving.

Classical Method Through Physical Buttons

The most common and versatile way that users of any Android smartphone are familiar with is to press the keys simultaneously. On Xiaomi devices with a physical control button or capacitive buttons under the screen, this method works faultlessly. You need to press the volume button and the lock button at the same time.

The key here is synchronicity of pressing. If you press the buttons too slowly or at a large interval, the system can perceive this as a separate action, for example, simply reduce the volume or lock the phone. The buttons must be pressed briefly, at a moment, after which the characteristic click of the camera shutter is heard, and a thumbnail will appear in the corner.

This is especially useful when the phone is upright and you hold it with one hand and you manipulate it quickly with the other, but when using the device horizontally, such as while playing or watching a video, it can be difficult to reach the side keys.

• 📱 Press the “Loudness Down” and “Nutrition” buttons at the same time.
• ⚡ Hold the press for less than a second until the flash appears.
• 🖼️ Check the notification of successful photo creation in the status bar.
• 📂 Find the saved image in the gallery in the Screenshots folder».

⚠️ Warning: Don’t pinch the buttons too long, as the long-term retention of the “Loudness down” and “Power” combination on many Xiaomi models causes a forced reboot of the device.

If the screenshot is not created, make sure the buttons are not stuck and work correctly. In rare cases, a software failure can block the response to physical keys, then it is worth trying software methods.

Use of the Quick Access Panel

For those who prefer screen control, the MIUI has a handy notification curtain, which you pull from top to bottom, and you get to the control center, where you have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other switches, often with the Screenshot icon.

If you don't see this icon right away, it may be hidden in the second page of the menu, or not added to the active elements at all. To fix this, click on the edit icon (usually a pencil or three dots in the corner) and drag the Screenshot button into the area of active switches, which will allow you to take pictures in one tap.

Using a control panel is ideal for situations where the phone is lying on the table or you hold it in one hand without being able to reach the side edges, and it eliminates the risk of accidental reboot that exists when using physical buttons.

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Add the Screenshot widget to your desktop for even faster access, which can be done through the system's widget menu or through the Themes app in the MIUI widget section.

Once you tap the icon in the curtain, the system will instantly capture the current image. Unlike the buttons, there is no risk of mistaking the timing of the press, which makes the method very reliable for users with limited motor skills or for those who wear protective covers with thick sides that interfere with access to the buttons.

Set-up and use of gestures

MIUI is famous for its customization capabilities, and gesture control is one of the system's strengths. You can set your phone up so that screenshots are created by simply swiping three fingers across the screen, one of the most elegant and quickest ways.

To activate this function, you need to go to the settings. Find the Additional Features or Advanced Settings section, then select Screenshots. Here you will have the option "Three-finger screenshot" that you need to move to the active position. Once enabled, just swipe three fingers from top to bottom on any part of the screen.

There is a second gesture that works on some versions of firmware, knuckle tapping. However, the three-finger method is more stable and common for the Xiaomi brand, and is especially convenient when browsing long lists or web pages where you need to quickly save information.

• 🖐️ Open the “Settings” menu on your device.
• 🔍 Find the “Additional Features” section in the list.
• 📲 Select the "Screenshots" item and activate the desired gesture.
• ✅ Swipe three fingers across the screen to check.

Importantly, a three-finger gesture can conflict with some applications that use swipes to navigate, and in such cases, the system usually prioritizes the action within the application, but in most interfaces, the gesture works flawlessly.

⚠️ A three-finger gesture may not work if a very thick protective film or low-quality glass is pasted on the screen, which impairs the sensitivity of the touchscreen to multiple touches.

Screenshots via voice assistant

In the age of smart assistants, voice control is becoming increasingly relevant, with a voice assistant built into Xiaomi devices that can execute system commands, including taking screenshots, ideal when the user's hands are busy or dirty.

To use this method, make sure that the voice assistant is activated and configured in Russian. Usually, just say the command "OK, Google" or activate the assistant with a button, and then say "Take a screenshot" or "Take a screen off." The system recognizes the command and performs the action.

This requires an active Internet connection, as voice requests are often processed on servers. However, the speed of response of modern 4G and 5G networks makes latency almost invisible. Voice control is also useful for people with disabilities who have difficulty performing accurate mechanical actions.

In addition to the standard command, you can customize your voice scripts through the Google Assistant Routines app if the standard phrase for some reason does not work. However, in the basic Android configuration on Xiaomi, the team works out of the box.

The function of a long screenshot (scroll)

One of the most useful features in Xiaomi’s arsenal is the ability to create long screenshots, which is indispensable when saving correspondence in messengers, articles in the browser or long contact lists. A normal shot captures only the visible area, but the scrolling mode allows you to “stitch” several screens into one long picture.

Once you've created a normal screenshot (in any of the ways described above), the top right corner of the thumbnail will have an icon that looks like a scroll or a down arrow. When you click on it, you'll start the long screenshot mode, and the screen will automatically scroll down, capturing the content.

You can stop scrolling at any time by touching the screen, which gives you complete control over which part of the page will land in the final file, and when it stops, the image will be processed and stored in the gallery as a single file.

The quality of the final image remains high, but it is worth considering that very long sausages can take up a significant amount of memory and poorly display in some messengers that compress pictures.

Where to look and how to edit screenshots

Once you've taken a screenshot, the system saves it to a specific directory. By default, all images are in the Gallery app in the Screenshots album. The path to the file in the file manager usually looks like /internal_storage/DCIM/Screenshots or /internal_storage/Pictures/Screenshots.

Once you've created a picture, if you click on the thumbnail in the corner of the screen, it opens up a built-in editor that allows you to do basic things like cropping, drawing, adding text or stickers, which is very convenient if you need to hide sensitive information before sending the image to the other person.

The editor also has a feature called Add Frame, which places a screenshot in the image of the smartphone case, which looks aesthetically pleasing when posted on social networks, and you can immediately send a file to the messenger or upload it to the cloud storage via the Share menu.

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Automatic cloud saves (Mi Cloud or Google Photos) ensure that your screenshots are not lost when your phone is lost or broken.

If you take a lot of screenshots, it is recommended to periodically clean this folder, as it can quickly grow and take up valuable space in the device memory. Built-in cleaning tools in the Security app will help you find and delete duplicates or old files.