Modern smartphones like Xiaomi’s Redmi 9 have become an integral part of digital life, allowing you to instantly store important information from the screen. The need to take a picture of the display can arise at any time: whether it’s a correspondence in the messenger, an error in the application, an interesting moment in the game or an installation manual. Users often look for quick ways to capture the image, but standard methods may not be enough, especially if the hardware buttons are not working correctly.
In this article, we will take a look at all the available screenshot techniques on Redmi 9, including standard button combinations, notification curtain functionality and advanced MIUI shell gestures. You will learn how to set up automatic snapshots by tapping, use a timer for delayed capture and where to look for saved files. This guide will help you master all the nuances of working with graphics on your device without the need to install third-party software.
Standard Method Through Physical Buttons
The most obvious and common way most smartphone owners know about is to use a physical key combination. On Redmi 9, as on most Android devices, you need to press the on and off button at the same time. It is important to observe the timing: pressing must be short-term, literally "push", otherwise the phone can perceive long-term retention as a command to call the off menu or voice assistant.
If you do the right thing, the screen will blink and you will hear the characteristic shutter sound of the camera (if the sound is not turned off). In the upper right corner, you will see a thumbnail of the image that you can immediately edit or send, which works even in cases where the system is experiencing temporary loads, and is the most reliable "emergency" option.
But the physical method has its drawbacks: mechanical buttons can wear out over time, and in winter, when a user wears gloves, it can be difficult to get through small volume keys, and if you hold the phone with one hand, reaching the volume button without dropping the device can be difficult.
⚠️ Warning: Do not press the buttons too long. Long-term retention of the combination + Loudness down" on some firmware versions MIUI It can run a screenshot-creating mode or trigger an emergency call menu, which can confuse an inexperienced user.
Use of control panel and curtains
If you're uncomfortable or busy with physical buttons, the MIUI shell interface offers a convenient software analog. Swipe down to open the control center (curtain). In the array of quick-setting icons, you need to find an icon with a picture of scissors or a camera, which is called a "Screenshot." Pressing this icon instantly captures the current content of the screen.
For those who don't see this button in the front row, click the edit button (usually a pencil icon or three dots in the corner of the curtain). In the menu of available widgets, find "Screenshot" and drag it to the active zone, which will always allow you to have quick access to the function without having to reach for the side edges of the case.
The advantage of this method is that it is completely software-based and does not depend on the physical state of the buttons. This is especially true for Redmi 9, if your instance has already started to stick the volume control, and it also eliminates the random change in the volume of media files at the time of the shot, which sometimes happens when using physical keys.
💡
Add the Screenshot widget to the top of the notification curtain so you can always access it with a single touch, even if the volume buttons are busy adjusting music or video.
Gestures and taps on the screen
MIUI is famous for its richness of interface settings, and one of the most useful features for creating screenshots is gesture control. You can set the phone to take a screenshot with triple tapping your finger on the display, which is much faster than finding buttons, and allows you to take a picture with one hand in any situation.
To activate this feature, go to Settings → Additional Features → Screenshots. You need to find the "Triple Touch" item and switch the switch to the active position. The system will prompt you to choose the action for this gesture: create a full screenshot or a scrolling screenshot (which we will talk about below). After activation, just tap your finger three times on any part of the screen to get the image.
There is also an alternative gesture available on some firmware versions: swipe three fingers down the screen. The principle of operation is similar to triple tap, but some users find swipe movement more convenient and less prone to random activation.
Why can't a gesture work?
Voice control and assistants
For those who prefer voice control or can't use their hands at the moment, Google Assistant is a great solution. On Redmi 9, it's built in by default. Just say "OK, Google" or activate the assistant (with a long press) of the home button (if the navigation buttons are set up), and say "Take a screenshot."
It automatically recognizes the command, emits the shutter sound, and saves the image to the gallery, which is especially useful when you're engaged in other activities, like cooking a prescription on your phone and getting your hands dirty, but you urgently need to keep the cooking phase. Voice control does not require physical contact with the screen, which is its main advantage.
It is worth noting that this method requires a stable internet connection to work, as voice command processing often takes place on Google servers. If you are in a bad reception zone, the command may fail or execute late. Make sure that the device is allowed to be controlled in the Google Assistant settings.
| Method | Speed. | Convenience with one hand | Dependence on buttons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttons (Loudness + Power) | Tall. | Low. | Complete. |
| Notification curtain | Medium | Average. | No. |
| Triple touch. | Very high. | High. | No. |
| Google Assistant | Medium | High. | No. |
Long screenshot function and timer
Often, you need to save not just one screen, but an entire page of a site, a long correspondence in a messenger or an article in a browser. Redmi 9 provides a Scrolling Screenshot. After you create a normal shot (in any of the ways described above), a thumbnail appears in the upper corner, and it has a button with two down arrows or the inscription "Scroll".
Press this button, and the phone automatically starts folding the content of the screen into one long picture, and it will continue until you touch the screen or reach the end of the page, and it's an invaluable tool for saving instructions, checks, or correspondence that don't fit into one frame.
Another useful feature is a timer: in the screenshot creation menu (available through a curtain or settings), you can set a delay of 3 or 5 seconds, which allows you to prepare the screen: open the drop-down menu, fold the keyboard or go to the desired application that blocks the screenshot interface, after the time the phone will take the picture itself.
☑️ Checking the screenshot settings
Where to look and how to edit pictures
Once you've taken a screenshot, it's automatically stored in the device's memory. Standard file path: Internal memory → DCIM → Screenshots. The Xiaomi Gallery has a separate tab or album for them, allowing you to quickly find the images taken among the photos from the camera.
Once you've created a picture, if you click on the thumbnail, you'll see the built-in editor, and it allows you to do basic things like cropping, overlaying, drawing with a marker, or adding stickers, which is very convenient if you need to hide sensitive information (passwords, card numbers) before sending the image to the person you're talking to.
Screenshot files take up space in memory, and if you take them often, the folder can grow to a significant size. Periodically check the contents of the album and delete the excess to avoid clogging up Redmi 9 storage, especially if you have a version with 64 GB of memory.
⚠️ Note: When using the Long Screenshot feature, the final file can have very high resolution. When sending such images through WhatsApp, Telegram, the quality can be very compressed. For important documents, it is better to send them as a File, not as an image.
Resolving and remediation of malfunctions
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where screenshots are not created, most often due to Android security restrictions, such as in banking applications, incognito browser mode, or when viewing content on Netflix and other streaming services, screenshots are blocked at the system level, in which case the screen will simply blink or nothing happens, and a black square will appear in the gallery.
Another common problem is a lack of free memory: if Redmi 9's internal storage is overcrowded, the system will not be able to save the new file, in which case you need to clear the space by removing unnecessary apps or videos, and it is also worth checking the permissions for the Gallery app or system screenshot service in the privacy settings.
If the volume buttons are no longer working and the gestures are not configured, you can use third-party apps from Google Play, although this is rarely necessary in MIUI. Built-in functionality usually covers 99% of the user's needs. Remember to update the system, as new versions of MIUI may introduce new ways of interacting.
💡
If the screenshot is not taken in a particular app, it is likely to be content copy protection, not phone breakdown.