Poco smartphone owners often face the challenge of capturing the information displayed on the display. The Poco X3 NFC and its more powerful X3 Pro offer a wide range of tools to do this, far beyond the standard button combination. Understanding all available techniques saves time and makes interaction with the device more efficient.
The MIUI operating system that powers the smartphone shell provides users with flexible image capture settings. You can use physical buttons, special gestures, voice commands, or even schedule a shot with a timer. In this article, we will detail each of the ways so you can choose the most convenient for yourself.
We will also discuss editing images and solving typical problems when a function stops working, and whether you need to save a correspondence, an app error or a frame from a game, this knowledge will be useful.
Standard Method Through Physical Buttons
The fastest and most common way to capture a screenshot on Xiaomi Poco X3 is to use a combination of hardware keys, which works at any level of the system, whether it’s a home screen, settings menu or running an application, it requires no pre-setting and is available immediately after the device is turned on.
To do this, you need to press Volume Down and Power simultaneously, and the pressing needs to be short-term, almost instantaneous, and if you hold your finger longer than a second, the system can perceive this as a command to call the off menu or voice assistant, depending on the settings.
Once successful, you will hear the characteristic shutter sound of the camera (if the system sound is on), and a thumbnail will appear at the top of the screen, at which point the device vibrates, confirming the file is saved to the gallery.
⚠️ Warning: Don't keep the buttons pinched too long. Prolonged retention of the combination on some firmware versions can trigger Fastboot mode or forced reboot, which will interrupt your current work.
The advantage of this method is that it's versatile. Even if the touchscreen doesn't respond to touch temporarily, the physical way will remain available, but it can be a bit difficult to do this with one hand on the big screen of the Poco X3.
Using a three-toed swipe (Gests)
For those who prefer to control without the use of buttons, the MIUI shell features a “Three fingers” feature, which allows you to take a screenshot on the Poco X3 with a simple swipe across the screen, a feature that is especially convenient when reading news or reading web pages when your hands are busy holding your smartphone.
By default, this option can be disabled. To activate it, go to Settings, then select Additional and find Screenshots. Here you need to switch the slider to the active position opposite the "Three fingers" inscription, and then the system will respond to a vertical swipe with three fingers top-down.
You can also set up additional actions for a given gesture in the same menu, for example, you can set a long three-finger retention to call an edit menu or create a long screenshot, which makes navigation more intuitive.
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For comfortable use of the three-finger gesture, make sure that there is no protective film on the screen with strongly rounded edges (2.5D/3D), which can interfere with the simultaneous touch of three points of the display.
It's worth noting that the gesture may not work if you're using a low-quality protective glass or if your finger is wet, and in such cases, it's better to resort to alternative methods.
Control panel and notification curtain
Another effective way is to use the quick access panel, swipe down from top to bottom to open the "Stork," and find the icon with the scissors, and tapping it instantly creates a snapshot of the current contents of the screen.
If you don't see this icon in the top row, it's probably hidden in the second level of the menu. Swipe right through the shortcut bar to expand the full list of available tools. There you can find the Screenshot button and add it to the main Quick Settings screen for permanent access.
The good thing about this method is that it's completely software-based, independent of the physical buttons, and it's also convenient when the smartphone is on the table or fixed in the holder, and it's not easy to reach the side edges.
Voice control and Google Assistant
Modern smartphones, including the Poco X3, allow you to control your voice system, and if your hands are busy or you are in a situation where touching the screen is undesirable, you can use a voice assistant, which is especially true for people with disabilities or while driving.
To do this, you need to activate Google Assistant with the phrase “Ok Google” or “Hey Google”, or press the home button (if it is configured). After activation, say the command “Take a screenshot” or “Take a screenshot.” The system will automatically capture the image.
Alternatively, the native team uses Google or Yandex with voice input, but the native team is faster and more reliable because it has deep access rights to the Android system.
⚠️ Attention: Voice control requires an active Internet connection and a microphone on. In areas with poor signal or low battery power in saving mode, this function may not work properly.
You can also set up command recognition without a trigger word if that option is supported by the installed version of the assistant, but this is less common.
Long screenshot and screen recording
The Long Screenshot (or Scrolling) feature is indispensable when you want to save a long correspondence, article or web page as a whole. After you create a normal screenshot (in any of the ways described above), a thumbnail appears in the corner. Click on it, and at the bottom of the menu, select a button with a down arrow or a "Scroll" sign.
The system will automatically scroll down, stitching the image into one long tape, and you can stop the process at any time by tapping the screen, and the maximum length of this image is limited by the resolution and memory of the device.
The Screen Record feature, which allows you to capture not a static image, but a video of what is happening on the display along with sound, can be found in the notification curtain (camera icon) or through a search in settings.
☑️ Checking screen recording settings
When recording a screen, it's important to choose the right sound source. If you want to record sound from a game or video, choose System Sound. If you want to comment on actions with a voice, Microphone. You may not be able to record both streams simultaneously on some versions of MIUI.
Editing and management of the gallery
Once you've created a screenshot of the Poco X3, you can edit it quickly, and you click on the thumbnail and you get into the built-in editor, and you can cut the edges, add text, draw arrows, or blur sensitive information (such as card numbers or passwords).
Blurr is particularly useful for protecting personal data before sending a screenshot to messengers, automatically detecting text and allowing it to be hidden with a single touch, an important security feature in today's digital world.
All images are saved in the Gallery app in Screenshots, and search for the text in the image (OCR) is available, allowing you to quickly find the information you need, even if you don’t remember where the image was taken.
⚠️ Attention: Text recognition function (OCR) It only works for languages loaded into your system settings. If you scan documents in a foreign language frequently, make sure the appropriate language package is installed.
To free up space, you can use a built-in cleaning tool that finds similar screenshots and suggests removing duplicates or old files created more than a month ago.
Table of comparison of capture methods
To organize the information, we'll look at the main characteristics of each method in a comparative table, which will help you choose the best option for a particular situation.
| Method | Speed. | Convenience with one hand | Dependence on software |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttons (Loudness + Power) | Instantly. | Average. | No (works everywhere) |
| Three-finger gesture | Tall. | High. | Requires activation. |
| Notification curtain | Medium | Low (two hands) | No. |
| Voice command | Low (latency) | High. | Demands the Internet. |
As you can see from the table, the button combination remains the most reliable method, independent of interface settings, but gestures provide the best user experience when using the smartphone in portrait mode.
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The optimal strategy is to use buttons for rare shots, and make the three-finger gesture the main one for daily use, having previously trained in touch accuracy.
Remember, you can combine these methods, like taking a long screenshot with buttons and then editing it through a menu triggered by a thumbnail swipe.