Xiaomi’s smartphone is not just a communication device, but a powerful multimedia center that we use for work, communication and entertainment every day. In the process of active use of the gadget, it often becomes necessary to capture what is happening on the display: save correspondence, capture an interesting moment from the game or send a friend an instruction. The question of how to take a screenshot in Xiaomi is one of the most popular among users who have just changed the brand or first encountered the shell of MIUI.
Fortunately, the company's engineers have come up with a variety of ways to implement this feature so that each owner can choose the most convenient option for themselves. You can use a classic keyboard combination, control the gesture device, or even just ask for a voice assistant. In this article, we will discuss all the available methods, including those that many people do not even know about, and also look at the features of working with long screenshots.
Before we get to specifics, it’s worth noting that the interface and names of some items may vary slightly depending on the firmware version. However, the basic principles of the system remain unchanged on all current models, whether it’s a budget Redmi or a flagship Mi. Let’s start with the most obvious and common way that works out of the box on any device.
Classical method using physical buttons
The fastest and time-tested way to take a screenshot on any Android smartphone, including Xiaomi, is by pressing two buttons simultaneously.This method works even when the touchscreen is delayed or when you are in a game where other ways may be blocked.
⚠️ Attention: Press buttons simultaneously, but without fanaticism. Holding the power button too much or too long may result in a device switching off menu instead of taking a snapshot.
If done correctly, you will hear the characteristic sound of the camera shutter (if the sound is on), and in the upper right corner of the screen for a split second will appear a thumbnail of the image taken. This notification allows you to immediately go to edit or send the file to the interlocutor. In some older versions of the MIUI shell, instead of thumbnails, a pop-up with options may appear, but in modern firmware, a more concise notification format is used.
It's important to understand that this is a versatile method that doesn't require any pre-tuning, and it's ideal for instantaneous situations, but it also has its drawbacks: it's quite difficult to do this with one hand, especially on the big screens of modern phablets.
It's also worth noting that on some models with a side fingerprint scanner built into the power button, the mechanics of the pressing may be slightly different. In such cases, the system reads the press as an unlock or scan command if you don't keep the right rhythm. Practice shows that a short, confident click with both fingers works best.
Gesture Control: The Three-Finger Method
For those who don't like reaching for buttons or prefer one-handed control, the MIUI shell has a great gesture screenshot feature that can be disabled by default, so the first step is to activate this option in the settings. You need to go to the Settings menu, select the Additional section and find the Screenshot item.
In the menu that opens, you need to activate the Three Finger Switch, and once you turn on this feature, the process of creating a picture will be as simple as possible: just swipe three fingers from top to bottom across the screen at any moment, the system instantly recognizes the gesture and saves the image of the current picture.
☑️ Setting up screenshot gestures
This is especially useful when viewing news feeds, websites or social networks, where the hands are already at the bottom of the screen. In addition, the three-finger gesture can be used not only to create a normal picture, but also for other actions if you configure this in the Additional Gestures menu, for example, you can assign a screenshot when drawing the letter "V" or other characters, although the standard three-finger swipe remains the most popular.
There's also a variation of this gesture to create long screenshots, so if you swipe them with three fingers and you hold them for a split second or you keep moving, the system will offer a scrolling mode, which allows you to capture the entire page of the site or the entire correspondence, which we'll discuss in more detail in a separate section.
Use of the Additional Functions Menu (Curtain)
Another way that new users often overlook is using a control panel or notification curtain. In Xiaomi’s shell, this menu is called Control Center and contains many useful shortcuts. To take a screenshot with this method, just swipe from the top right corner of the screen down (or top down, depending on the control center style settings).
Among the fast access icons like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and flashlight, you need to find an icon with a picture of scissors. Clicking on it instantly takes a snapshot of the current content of the screen. If you can't see this icon in the front row, try swiping the panel sideways or clicking on the edit button (usually a pencil or three-dot icon) to add a "Screenshot" shortcut to the visible area.
The good thing about this method is that it's visual and doesn't require remembering key combinations. It's also useful if one of the physical buttons on your device malfunctions or crashes. And you can quickly navigate to the feature settings through the same menu by pressing and holding your finger on the scissor icon.
But there is a downside to this: it requires both hands (one to hold the phone, the other to reach the top corner), which is not always convenient in transport or on the go.
Hidden capabilities of the management menu
Voice control via Google Assistant and Xiao AI
Modern smartphones allow you to control most functions with voice, and taking screenshots is no exception. If your hands are busy (like cooking with a prescription on a screen or holding something heavy), the easiest way to ask for a voice assistant is to do so. Global firmware versions most often use Google Assistant.
To activate, say "Ok Google," or press the assistant button, and then say "Take a screenshot" or "Take a screenshot." The assistant will command and show a preview of the image, which is especially true for people with disabilities or in situations where touching the screen is undesirable.
Chinese firmware versions, as well as some regions, may have its own Xiao AI assistant available, and it works in a similar way: voice activation and command to create a snapshot, but for a Russian-speaking user, Google Assistant remains the most stable and understandable option.
⚠️ Attention: Voice control requires an active Internet connection and speech recognition enabled. In flight mode, this method will not work.
It's worth noting that voice can be a little slower than button pressing because of the time it takes to recognize commands, but in certain use cases it's a real lifesaver, and it's also a great way to demonstrate the power of a smart phone to friends.
Creating long screenshots and panoramic pictures
One of the most useful features in Xiaomi’s ecosystem is the ability to create long screenshots, an indispensable tool for saving pages of websites, long articles, instant messenger correspondence or contact lists. A typical snapshot trims an image by screen size, but scroll mode allows you to stitch multiple screens into one long picture.
You can start this mode immediately after you've created a normal screenshot. When you have a thumbnail in the corner, press the down arrow button (or scroll icon) on it. The system will automatically start to scroll down, grabbing new areas. You can stop the process at any time by touching the screen or pressing the stop button.
The alternative is to use the three-finger latency gesture we mentioned earlier, and if you don't let your fingers go after the swipe, you hold them back a little bit, you'll see a menu that'll have a choice of either Full Screen or Scrolling mode, and you'll pick the second option, and the phone will define the boundaries of the content.
| Parameter | A typical screenshot. | Long screenshot. |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Small (up to 1MB) | Medium/Large (up to 5-10 MB) |
| Format | PNG/JPG | PNG (most often) |
| Use of the | One photo, one dialogue. | Websites, long lists, articles |
| Editing | Instantly. | Requires completion of the scroll |
This mode may also not work in applications where content is not scrolled in the standard way, such as some games or maps.
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When creating a long screenshot of a site, make sure that all images and page elements are fully loaded, otherwise there may be blank white areas in the final file.
Where to look and how to edit saved images
Once you've taken a picture, the system automatically stores it in the gallery, and you can find it by opening the Gallery app and going to the Screenshots album, which is a separate folder where all the screenshots you've taken are stored, making it easier to find and sort them.
The MIUI shell offers a built-in but powerful editor, and right after you create the screenshot, if you click on the thumbnail, you'll be taken to the editing menu.
- ✂️ Cut the image to the desired size, removing the extra fields.
- 📝 Add text, hand drawings or ready-made stickers.
- 🔲 Blurr confidential data (card numbers, passwords) with a special tool.
- 📐 Add a phone frame for beauty.
The editor also allows you to immediately send a file through any messenger, save it to the Mi Cloud or Google Photos cloud, and recognize the text in the image (OCR function) if there is printed text in the screenshot, which turns the picture into editable text, which is very convenient for copying information.
If you've taken a lot of pictures, you can use the sorting function by date or size, and you can also turn on the gallery settings to hide the album of screenshots if you want these files to keep your eyes from turning up when you're viewing normal photos.
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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, saving the device memory.
Frequent problems and ways to solve them
Despite the system's fine-tuning, users sometimes face situations where screenshots are not created. One common reason is to protect content in certain applications, such as banking applications, streaming services (Netflix, Kinopoisk) or incognito browsers block screenshots from being taken for security purposes, in which case you will receive a black screen or a ban notification instead of an image.
Another problem is the lack of free memory: if internal storage is crowded, the system will not physically be able to save the new file, in which case you need to clear the cache or delete unnecessary files, and it is also worth checking the permissions for the Gallery application or the system screenshot service in the privacy settings.
Sometimes it helps to simply restart the device, which resets temporary system process errors, and if none of these methods work, it may be that the problem is that system files are damaged after a failed update, and you may need to reset or flash.