Screenshots are a basic feature that is not essential for a modern smartphone. Budget device owners often face the challenge of capturing important correspondence, saving a recipe from a cooking app, or sharing a funny moment from a social network. Redmi 8, despite its availability, features a MIUI shell that offers a wide range of image tools.
Unlike the older versions of Android, which had to look for button combinations using the pumpkin method, Xiaomi this process is as automated as possible and has many variations: you can use physical keys, control gestures or even voice commands. Understanding all available methods will allow you to save time and take screenshots exactly as convenient for you in a particular situation.
In this article, we will take a closer look at all the existing ways to take screenshots on Xiaomi Redmi 8. We will look at the standard button combinations, control menu settings, as well as specific features like a delayed shot, and will also discuss the issues of editing the received images and solving typical problems that users may encounter.
Classical method using physical buttons
The fastest and most common way to capture the current content of a display is to use a physical volume button, which works on all Android devices, including Xiaomi smartphones. You need to press the volume button and the lock button at the same time, and these are on the right side of the case.
The key here is synchronous pressing. If you press late buttons, instead of taking a screenshot, you can activate a switch-off menu or adjust the sound. Simultaneous pressing is a skill that you learn in a couple of seconds of practice. Once you successfully perform the action, you will hear the characteristic click of the camera shutter, and in the upper right corner you will see a thumbnail of the image you took.
⚠️ Warning: Do not press the buttons too long. Prolonged holding of the volume key down and the power button may cause the device to restart or activate an emergency call if such a feature is enabled in the settings.
The advantage of this is that it works even when the touch screen is temporarily unresponsive, or when you're in a game where the touch interface is locked, and it's also a hardware method that doesn't depend on software failures.
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If you have large palms and it is uncomfortable to reach for the buttons with one hand, try turning the smartphone horizontally, in this position, pressing the buttons with the thumb of the right hand becomes much easier.
Use of the control menu and notification curtain
For those who prefer software management or have difficulty with physical buttons, MIUI has a handy tool in the notification curtain, which you need to swipe down from the top of the screen to access, and you need to find a scissor icon in the quick settings menu that opens.
This is especially true when the buttons on the phone are faulty or stuck. Xiaomi's interface allows you to flexibly adjust the position of the shortcuts. You can move the screenshot button to the top of the list for quick access. Just pinch the icon and drag it to the active shortcut zone.
The use of a software button has its own peculiarities: first, this method requires that the screen be unlocked; second, in some secure applications (for example, banking), the creation of screenshots can be blocked by the security system, and you will see a notification of the ban, not an image.
- 📱 Open the notification curtain with a swipe from top to bottom.
- ✂️ Find the Screenshot icon (scissors).
- 🖼️ Click on it to instantly create a picture.
- ⚙️ If necessary, edit the location of the buttons in the menu.
Gesture control: swipes and triple tapping
MIUI is famous for its advanced gesture control features that make smartphone interactions more intuitive. One of the most popular methods is to swipe three fingers across the screen, which is not enabled by default on all firmware versions, so it needs to be activated in settings.
To turn on this mode, go to the Settings menu, then select the Additional section and find the Screenshot. Here you need to activate the Three Finger Swipe switch. Once turned on, you can take pictures by simply swiping three fingers from top to bottom in any part of the screen, which is especially convenient when using a smartphone with one hand in horizontal mode.
Another interesting feature is that you take a triple tap screenshot, and the mechanics are similar to the previous one, where you can use three quick fingers to activate the image, but you can also remember that the sensitivity of the touchscreen can vary depending on the protective glass or the film.
☑️ Customization of gestures
Gestures provide the maximum speed if you learn to do them correctly. Accuracy of movements is crucial here. Too slow a swipe can be perceived by the system as a normal swipe of tape, and too fast as a casual touch.
The feature of delayed screenshot in Xiaomi
The unique feature of Xiaomi smartphones is the ability to create a delayed screenshot, which is indispensable when you want to capture a context menu, a pop-up prompt or any other interface element that disappears immediately after you remove your finger from the screen.
To activate the timer, you need to open the screenshot creation menu (through the curtain or gesture settings) and select the "Timer" option. The system will offer a delay of 3 or 5 seconds. Once the timer is started, you will have time to open the desired menu, after which the phone will automatically take a picture.
⚠️ Warning: During the countdown, try not to touch the screen, otherwise the timer may reset, or the screenshot will get extra fingerprints.
This feature is also useful for creating training materials or screencasts, where it is important to show the sequence of actions without unnecessary hands in the frame.
Why does the timer sometimes fail?
Editing and marking up screenshots
Once you take a screenshot, you have a thumbnail in the bottom left or right corner (depending on the MIUI version), and if you click on it, you'll see a built-in image editor that allows you to do basic cropping, add text, pictures, or blur sensitive data.
Blur is one of the most important tools for protection, which can hide card numbers, passwords or personal correspondence before sending an image to the person, and simply highlight the area that you want to hide, and the system will use the blur effect.
Long screenshot functionality is also available. If the content does not fit on one screen (such as a browser article or a long correspondence in Telegram), after you create a normal picture, click the "Scroll" button (arrow down).
| The function of the editor | Description | Where to find out. |
|---|---|---|
| Pruning (Crop) | Removing Excess Edges of Image | First icon on the bottom menu |
| Text | Addition of inscriptions and comments | The T icon is on the tool menu |
| Blurring | Hiding confidential information | Icon drops in the tool menu |
| Long screenshot. | Slicing multiple screens | A button with a down arrow after the photo |
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The built-in MIUI editor allows you to perform 90% of the necessary actions with the image without installing third-party applications, which saves the memory of the device.
Where are the screenshots stored and how to find them
All images are automatically stored in the internal memory of the smartphone. The standard path to the folder looks like an Internal Drive → DCIM → Screenshots. Also, you can access them through the standard Gallery app, where a separate album is allocated for screenshots.
The system sorts files by date of creation, so the most recent images are always at the top of the list. If you've taken hundreds of screenshots, searching by date or name of the app in which the image was taken is the most effective solution.
It is important to clean this folder periodically, as screenshots can take up a significant amount of memory, especially if you often take long shots of web pages. Clearing the cache and removing unnecessary images will help speed up the device.
- 📂 Open the Files or Explorer app».
- 📁 Go to the folder. DCIM.
- 🖼️ Find the Screenshots directory.
- 🗑️ Remove unnecessary or transfer to the cloud.