How to set up gesture management on Xiaomi with MIUI 12: From basic movements to hidden chips

Branded shell MIUI Xiaomi’s 12 has dramatically changed the way it navigates, offering users three control options: classic buttons, full-screen gestures, and hybrid mode. But gesture control is the most controversial innovation, with some praising it for its convenience and modernity, others blaming it for its habituation and random activations. MIUI 11 or earlier versions, or you want to finally understand all the nuances of gesture navigation, this article will help you customize the system for yourself, avoiding typical errors.

It is important to understand that MIUI 12 It offers not just an alternative to buttons, but a whole philosophy of interaction with the device, where gestures are integrated not only into navigation, but also into application work, multitasking and even invoking fast panels. Many of the features are hidden behind the scenes, not found in the obvious settings menu, and we will reveal all the secrets, including exclusive gesture combinations for models on the Snapdragon chip. 865/870, which are not dokumented in official guides.

Despite the fact that MIUI 14 It is available for most devices, and many users still prefer MIUI 12 It's stable and it's been tested over the years, which is why the relevance of gesture customization in this version remains high. Next, you will find not only basic instructions, but also solutions to specific problems – from conflicts with the shells of third-party launchers to optimizing sensitivity for screens with high refresh rates (90/120 Hz).

1. How to Incorporate Gesture Control in MIUI 12: step-by-step instruction

Before you get into the finer settings, you need to activate the very ability to gesture navigation. MIUI 12 This process takes less than a minute, but has a few pitfalls worth knowing about in advance.

Open the Settings. → Display. → Full-screen display. Here you'll see three navigation options:

• 📱 Navigation buttons – a classic mode with three virtual buttons (back, home, recent).
• 👆 Gestures MIUI — branded implementation from Xiaomi with wire from the bottom and side swipes.
• 🔄 Full-screen gestures – a mode similar to “gestures Android 10”+" bottom-wire.

Choose Gestures MIUI (We recommend it for most users, or full-screen gestures (for minimalist lovers), and once you choose, the system will offer a brief tutorial — don't skip it, even if you think it's intuitive. MIUI 12 there are nuances with the sensitivity of the edges of the screen, which are explained in this tutorial.

Check the version. MIUI (must have 12.x.x)

Disable third-party launchers (Nova, Apex, etc.)

Make sure the screen refresh rate is at least 60 Hz

Close all background applications (especially with overlays)

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If the gestures are not working correctly after activation (for example, swipe back is triggered again), the cause may be the developer mode. → The phone. → Version. MIUI and tap that 7 times. Then go back to Settings. → Additionally. → For developers and disable the debugging option USB — It sometimes conflicts with the processing of gestures.

Basic gestures in MIUI 12: What they do and how to use them

V MIUI 12 implemented 7 basic gestures that cover 90% of everyday tasks, their logic is different from pure Android, so even experienced users of other brands can get confused at first.

Particularly noteworthy is the swipe gesture down the edge for notifications. MIUI 12 is a non-standard one: instead of using a swipe from the top edge (like in Android stock), it uses a wire along the side edges of the screen. This solution is controversial - on the one hand, it frees the top of the display for content, on the other - requires retraining.

Swipe back down the bottom edge.

Double swipe to switch applications

Side swipe for notifications

Retention + swipe up for recent

I'm comfortable with all gestures.-->

If you are using Xiaomi Mi 10T or POCO F3 With a high refresh rate of 144 Hz, notice the delays in swipes. This is not a bug, but a high-frequency touch processing feature. The solution is to turn off the adaptive frequency in Settings. → Display. → Update frequency and set a fixed 120 Hz.

3. Hidden gestures and combinations: what Xiaomi won’t tell

In addition to documented gestures, the MIUI 12, there are some hidden combinations that make it much easier to work with the device. These are not found in the official manuals, but they work on most models (except for devices for the Chinese market with a high-end device). MIUI China).

Here are the most useful ones:

• 🔄 Triple swipe up from the bottom edge – instant return to the home screen with the current app closed (similar to Kill App in the recent menu). K30 Pro and Mi 9T Pro.
• 📱 Double-touch on the back — Calling Google Assistant or other assigned action. Activated in Settings → Additionally. → Touch and gesture → Double touch. POCO X3 NFC This function is in conflict with NFC-Module – contactless payments may need to be disabled.
• 🖥️ Swipe down with two fingers on the home screen - quick access to search by device (analogue swipe down on the home screen in the Pixel launcher). Works only with a branded launcher MIUI.
• 🔇 Keeping your finger on the bottom edge + swipe left/right – switch between tabs in the Mi Browser or Chrome browser. the sensitivity of this gesture is adjusted separately in the browser settings.

And what's particularly interesting is the dual-touch feature on the back, and it works with the proximity sensor, which is the proximity sensor. MIUI 12 is used not only for calls, but also for gesture recognition. However, on some models (for example, the Redmi Note 8 Pro), this feature can accidentally trigger in your pocket, the solution is to increase the sensitivity threshold in the gesture settings or turn it off altogether.

For owners of devices with AMOLED-screens (for example, Mi 11 or Black Shark 3) have a bonus: in Gesture mode MIUI The bottom navigation bar is completely hidden, which reduces the burnout of organic pixels, but this only works if you turn off the button highlight option in the display settings.

4.Tunes sensitivity and speed of gestures

One of the main problems MIUI 12 is a suboptimal factory gesture sensitivity setting, and many users complain that swipes are triggered one-time or are activated by accidental touch. Fortunately, this is fixable.

Go to Settings. → Additionally. → Gestures → You can set up gestures. There are three key parameters available:

1. The back sensitivity of the swipe -- it regulates how much you have to swipe down the bottom edge to get back (FHD+) It is recommended to set the value High.
2. The speed of gesture animations - affects the smoothness of transitions between screens. 8A) It is better to set up quickly to avoid lags.
3. The swipe zone upwards, which determines how wide a gesture can be started from the bottom edge, on models with a front-facing camera cutout (e.g., the front-facing edge, POCO X3) It is recommended to narrow the area to the narrow to avoid false positives.

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If the gestures start to work worse after the sensitivity change, return the settings to the factory settings and restart the device. MIUI 12 gesture parameters are cached and sometimes a restart of the system is required to apply them correctly.

For devices with a high frequency of screen refresh (90/120/144 Hz) has a separate setting – Optimizing gestures for high FPS. It is hidden in the developer menu (Settings) → Additionally. → It's for developers, and it's off by default. Turn it on if you notice delays in swipes. 5-7%.

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and Black Shark 4 Pro, optimizing gestures for high performance FPS This can lead to artifacts when scrolling web pages in Chrome, in which case it is recommended to use the Mi Browser browser or disable optimization.

5. Solving gesture problems: lags, random triggers, conflicts

Even after the correct setting of the gestures in MIUI 12 can work in an unstable way. Here are the most common problems and their solutions:

If none of these solutions worked, try resetting your gesture settings to the factory.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Launcher (or MIUI Launcher) and select Warehouse.
3. Click Clear Data and confirm the action.
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Warning: Resetting the launcher will not only bring back gesture settings, but also the location of the icons on the home screen, as well as widgets.

For devices with root rights, there is a radical solution - file editing gesture_config.xml file /system/usr/keylayout/. However, this method requires experience with ADB If you're not confident, you'd better turn to alternative launchers like Nova Launcher, which offer customized gesture settings.

6. Gestures in MIUI 12 vs MIUI 13/14: whether to update?

Many users MIUI 12 ask, should we upgrade to a newer version of the shell for better gestures:

V MIUI 13 and MIUI 14 Gesture navigation is more responsive thanks to kernel optimization, but the fundamental gesture logic remains the same, with the exception of two key changes:

• ⚡ V MIUI 13+ And we have this Adaptive Gesture option that automatically adjusts the sensitivity to the current app, and in games, for example, the swipe back zone narrows to avoid random taps.
• 🎯 V MIUI 14 added swipe gesture down the center of the lower edge to call the control panel (replaces swipe from the top right corner).This is convenient for devices with large screens (6.7" and more).

However, updating for gestures alone is not always justified. MIUI 12:

• 📱 If you have a model with MediaTek Helio G (e.g. Redmi) 9A), MIUI 13/14 It can be slower due to more difficult optimization.
• 🔋 If you are satisfied with the current autonomy - new versions of the shell are more voracious to the battery.
• 🎮 If you are actively using the Game Turbo, you will be in MIUI 12 He works more stable with gestures.

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Update with MIUI 12 on MIUI 13/14 For gestures, it is only worth it if you are experiencing problems with the current version (lags, bugs) or want adaptive sensitivity.

If you do decide to upgrade, back up your gesture settings.

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup.
2. Select Local Backup and select System Settings.
3. After the update, restore the settings from the backup.

Please note that when you reset the settings from MIUI 12 on MIUI 14 some gesture parameters may reset, due to a change in the structure of the configuration files in new versions.

7. Alternative control: when gestures are not enough

If the standard gestures in MIUI 12 You are not satisfied, there are several alternatives:

1. Third-party launchers with gesture support

Launchers like Nova Launcher or Action Launcher offer flexible gesture settings, including:

• 👆 Assigning any action to swipe up/down on the desktop.
• 🔄 Double touch to lock the screen or launch the application.
• 📱 Gestures on a locked screen (e.g. swipe left to start the camera).

However, note that third-party launchers cannot override system gestures (such as swiping back or home) and only work on the home screen and in the app menu.

2. Applications for gesture customization

Utilities like Fluid Navigation Gestures or Edge Gestures allow you to create your own gestures on top of the system, for example, you can configure:

• 🖥️ Swipe from the corner of the screen to call Google Assistant.
• 🔇 Keeping the edges of the screen to adjust volume.
• 🔄 Double-tap status bar to switch between apps.

⚠️ Attention: Sign customization applications require permission Special features that may create a security vulnerability.

One Hand Mode

For devices with large screens (6.5" or more) in MIUI 12 has a one-hand mode that reduces the interface to a compact size, activated by swiping the home button (if you use buttons) or double tapping the power button (if you use gestures). In this mode, all interface elements are shifted downwards, and gestures are adapted to one-finger control.

To adjust the one-hand mode:

1. Go to Settings. → Additionally. → Convenience → One-hand mode.
2. Select the size of the smaller screen (Small or Medium).
3. Activate the option to Enable gestures in one hand mode for a smooth transition.

FAQ: Frequent questions about gesture management in MIUI 12