Customize gestures on Xiaomi Redmi: a complete guide with hidden chips MIUI

Modern Xiaomi Redmi smartphones offer users a flexible navigation system, where the classic Back, Home and Recent buttons can be replaced with intuitive gestures, a feature that not only saves space on the screen, but also speeds up interaction with the device. However, many owners of Redmi Note 12, Redmi 13C or other models do not use gestures to the fullest extent - either due to ignorance of all the features or because of inconvenient factory settings.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can customize gestures on Xiaomi Redmi, from basic swipes to hidden MIUI 14/15 features that the manufacturer doesn’t advertise, how to turn on gestures, adjust their sensitivity, return navigation buttons (if they’re missing), and what gesture combinations allow you to control your smartphone with one hand without losing functionality.

Why to switch to gestures: 5 advantages over buttons

Manufacturers are actively abandoning physical and virtual buttons in favor of gestures, for good reason.

• 📱 More screen usable area – the navigation bar disappears, which is especially noticeable on Redmi with camera cutouts (for example, Redmi Note 11 Pro).+).
• ⚡ Quick access to features – swipe up to return to the home screen works intuitively and does not require an accurate hit on the button.
• 👆 One hand control - gestures in MIUI Optimized for large smartphones (e.g. Redmi) K60 diagonally 6.67").
• 🔄 Smooth transitions between applications – horizontal swipes at the bottom of the screen allow you to quickly switch between the latest tasks.
• 🎨 Customization for yourself - in MIUI You can adjust the sensitivity of gestures, their direction and even add additional combinations.

There are also disadvantages to gestures, such as some Redmi models (especially budget ones like the Redmi A2) that can swipe randomly when playing or watching videos, and users over 40 often find it difficult to get used to the new navigation system. If you fall into this category, don’t worry: you can always return classic buttons to MIUI (see below).

How to turn on gestures on Xiaomi Redmi: step-by-step instructions

You can activate gestures on Xiaomi Redmi in a few seconds. The instructions are suitable for all models on MIUI 12-15, including Redmi 12 5G, Redmi Note 11S and others.

1. Open Settings (the gear icon on the main screen).
2. Go to the Display section.
3. Select Full-screen mode (on some firmwares it may be called System Navigation).
4. Slip by Navigation Type and select one of the options: 🔄 Gestures from the bottom panel – swipes are performed in the area where buttons used to be (recommended for beginners). 📱 Full-screen gestures – swipes work all over the bottom edge of the screen (maximum freedom, but requires getting used to it).

Ready.

Once the gestures are activated, the system will suggest a short learning session, and don't miss it, because it shows basic combinations that will be useful in everyday use, for example, swiping up and holding opens up a list of recent applications, and a quick swipe left or right returns a step back.

If they are unstable after the gestures are turned on (for example, a backup does not work), try calibrating the sensor.

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 5 times on the MIUI version until the message “You became a developer” appears.
3. Return to the main settings menu, open Additional → for developers.
4. Find the Sensor Calibration option and follow the instructions on the screen.

If none of these methods worked, try clearing the system cache:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. In the Recovery menu, select Wipe Cache (use volume buttons for navigation).
4. Confirm the action and restart the device.

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If you reset your gestures still don't work, check if you have apps like Nova Launcher or Gesture Control installed, which can conflict with MIUI gestures.

Navigation and gesture comparison: what’s best for Xiaomi Redmi

Many Xiaomi Redmi users are hesitant about whether to switch to gestures or leave the classic buttons, and to make an informed decision, compare both options on the key criteria:

The table shows that gestures win on most parameters, but do not fit:

• 🎮 To gamers who play in PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact or other shooters (swipes can interfere with management).
• 👵 Users over 50 who find it difficult to remember combinations.
• 🔧 Those who often connect the phone to an external monitor (gestures may not work in DeX mode).

If you want to return the navigation buttons, do the following:

1. Go to Settings → Display → Full-screen mode.
2. Select Navigation buttons (or 3-button navigation on older versions of MIUI).
3. Click Ready and confirm the change.

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Redmi models with MIUI 14+ can use a hybrid mode: gestures in horizontal orientation and buttons in vertical, which is convenient for watching videos or reading books.

How to customize gestures for yourself: fine settings MIUI

The standard gesture settings in MIUI are just the tip of the iceberg, and the system allows you to deeply customize the behavior of swipes, but these options are hidden.

• 🔧 Sensitivity of gestures Go to Settings → Display. → Full screen mode → Sensitivity of gestures: Move the slider to the left if swipes are too easy (for example, in games), or to the right if gestures are not recognized.
• 🔄 By default, the swipe from right to left returns a step back, but in MIUI You can reverse the direction. To do this, activate the left-handed swipe back in the gesture settings.
• 📱 Lower gesture activation zone On models with curved screens (for example, Redmi) K60 Pro) you can narrow down the area where swipes are recognized to avoid random clicks.
• ⚡ If the transitions between screens seem slow, reduce the duration of animation in Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (Tap 5 times, then open for developers → Speed of animation).

For advanced users, there's another thing that you can do, which is you can set up gestures through ADB, so you can change the width of the swipe zone, or you can turn off the vibration when you trigger a gesture.

1. Connect Redmi to your PC and activate USB Debugging in the developer settings.
2. Open the command line on PC and type: adb shell settings put global gesture_navigation_width_scale 0.5 (where 0.5 — the width of the zone in relative units; the range of 0.1 before 1.0).
3. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Note: Change of system parameters through ADB This can cause an unstable interface. Before experimenting, back up your data through Settings. → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

Xiaomi Redmi gestures in games and applications: how to avoid conflicts

One of the main problems with gestures on Xiaomi Redmi is false positives in games or apps with their own swipes (e.g. TikTok, Instagram Reels).

• 🎮 For gamers, turn on Game Mode via top-down swipe (notification panel) while playing. This will turn off system gestures at the edges of the screen. You can also add the game to Settings. → Special facilities → Turbo-playing mode.
• 📱 For social networks and videos in Settings → Annexes → Permissions find a problem app (like TikTok) and disable Overlay resolution on top of other apps.
• 🔧 For all applications, Activate the option to ignore gestures in landscape mode (available in the MIUI 14+). It automatically turns off swipes when the screen is horizontally oriented.

If you often watch YouTube videos or play Call of Duty Mobile, we recommend using immersive viewing mode:

1. Open the video or the game.
2. Swipe down from the top edge of the screen to hide the notification bar.
3. Slip the "unfold" icon (two arrows) in the lower right corner.

In this mode, system gestures are turned off, and control is fully transferred to the application.

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Redmi models with MIUI 15 have a feature called Smart Gestures, which automatically recognizes when you are playing or watching videos, and temporarily disables system swipes. Activates in Settings → Display → Smart gestures.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Gesture Questions on Xiaomi Redmi