Xiaomi’s current smartphones, which run MIUI and HyperOS shells, offer users a wide range of customization options. One of the most sought-after features is gesture control, which allows users to completely abandon physical or on-screen navigation buttons. This not only frees up the usable display area, but also significantly speeds up the device in everyday scenarios.
However, many owners of Redmi and POCO devices have difficulty in first activating or fine-tuning these settings. Often users are unaware of the existence of additional hidden actions that significantly expand the functionality of the smartphone. In this article, we will discuss in detail all aspects of gesture work, from basic inclusion to advanced settings for power users.
Turning on gesture control is the first step to making more ergonomic use of the gadget. Standard navigation with three buttons at the bottom of the screen is gradually becoming a thing of the past, giving way to more intuitive swipes. Moving to gestures allows you to switch between applications faster and return to the menu using only finger movements on the screen.
Activation of full screen mode in MIUI and HyperOS
To get started with a modern interface, you need to change the system navigation settings. Many newer models already have this feature activated by default, but previous generation devices or after resetting can have a classic schema. To change that, open the Settings menu and find the Desktop section, which is where the basic interface management settings are hidden.
In the list that opens, select System Navigation. You'll have two options: classic buttons and gesture control. Choose the second option. The system can offer a short tutorial that you'd better not skip if you're doing it for the first time. Once confirmed, the screen will blink and the usual buttons will disappear, giving way to the thin strip at the bottom of the display.
It is important to note that the path may vary slightly from one firmware version to another. In some cases, the item you are looking for is at Additional → Full-screen Mode. If you can't find these settings, search the settings menu by typing in "navigation" or "gestures." This is the fastest way to get to the menu you want on any Xiaomi device.
- 📱 Go to the Settings menu through the gear.
- 🖱️ Select the Desktop section or additionally.
- ⚙️ Find the item System Navigation.
- ✅ Activate the switch Full screen mode.
Remember, after the switch, it takes some time to get used to it, and the muscle memory will look for buttons at the bottom of the screen by inertia, and the adaptation period usually takes one to three days of active smartphone use.
⚠️ Note: On some older low-resolution models, full-screen activation may hide the bottom of the interface in individual applications. If you notice that the Next button is not visible in some application, temporarily return the navigation buttons.
Basic gestures and management principles
Once activated, it is important to master the basic movements that replace physical buttons. A swipe from the bottom up in the center of the screen replaces the Home button and returns the user to the desktop, which works in almost all applications and is the main way to exit running programs.
To go back, which was the left button before, you now swipe from the left or right edge of the screen to the center, and the direction of the swipe depends on which side you're holding the phone, and if you're right-handed, you'll be more comfortable swiping from right to left, and vice versa, making it more flexible and convenient for people with any leading hand.
To open the menu of running applications (similar to the Menu button or the box), you swipe from the bottom up and hold your finger on the screen for a split second. Animation will appear, and you will see open-source cards. Multitasking in MIUI is very convenient: you can swipe up the cards to close or scroll horizontally through the list.
Swipe from bottom up (short) - Home
Swipe from left/right edge - Back
Swipe from bottom up (hold) - Application menu
Swipe down from the middle - Notification PanelThe control panel is noteworthy. In the new versions of the HyperOS shell and MIUI 12+, the notification curtain and the control center are separated. The swipe down from the upper left corner opens notifications, and from the right one - quick settings (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, flashlight), a solution copied from iOS and can initially cause confusion for those who move from Android smartphones of other brands.
- 🔄 Swipe left/right of the edge - action "Back».
- 🏠 Swipe up the center - access to the desktop.
- 📑 Swipe up with pause - list of running applications.
- 🔽 Swipe down from the corner - curtain or control center.
There's also a useful feature called "Cast-Blocking" that activates when you swipe from the very edge of the screen, and at that point, a special bar appears to show that the system has recognized the navigation gesture, not the touch in the app, and that prevents accidental exits from games or video players.
Hidden gestures and additional opportunities
In addition to standard navigation, Xiaomi smartphones have a number of hidden gestures that not all users know about, which allow you to perform useful actions without unlocking the screen or opening applications. For example, double tapping on a switched-off screen can wake the device, a feature called Screen Activation and is included in the Settings → Lock screen.
Another interesting feature is one-handed control. If you have a big smartphone like the Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12 Pro+, it can be difficult to reach the top corner. Swipe down the bottom horizontal navigation bar (you swipe along the bottom edge of the screen), and the interface will shrink, shifting downwards for easy access.
Three-finger screenshots are a classic feature that can be disabled by default. To activate it, go to Settings → Additional Features → Screenshot and turn on the option. Now, swipe three fingers from top to bottom across the screen, you will instantly snap a snapshot of the content being displayed.
List of all hidden gestures in MIUI
The Gallery app also uses specific gestures, two-fingered motion zooms in, compression decreases. When you watch a full-screen video, swiping up the right side of the screen increases the volume and up the left side the brightness, which doesn't require you to call sliders and is done by touch.
⚠️ Note: Three Finger Screenshots may conflict with gestures in some games or drawing apps. If a game suddenly takes a screenshot while trying to swipe a map, temporarily turn off this gesture in the settings.
Setting sensitivity and speed of animation
For users who want to maximize responsiveness, there's a subtle setup of animation speeds available. While that doesn't change the mechanics of gestures, it affects how fast they're being made. To change those parameters, you need to activate the developer mode. You need to click 7 times quickly on the version number in the About Phone section.
When activated, the Advanced Settings menu will have a Developers option. Find the Drawing section and change the values of the Windows Animation, Transition Animation and Animation Duration scales. Setting 0.5x instead of the standard 1x will make gestures more visually responsive and sharper.
Also in this section you can find a setting that affects touch processing. Make sure that the "Show Touch" option is turned off if you're not debugging apps, as it can interfere with normal gesture perception. For ordinary users, standard settings remain optimal, but lowering the animation ratio is a popular tweak to speed up work.
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For maximum smoothness of gestures, set the screen refresh rate to the maximum (90 Hz, 120 Hz or 144 Hz) in the screen settings, which will make the animations of transitions between applications incredibly smooth.
And don't forget the sensor calibration. If you notice that gestures are no longer accurately recognized or late, you may need to calibrate. The engineering menu (available through a set of code in a phone that depends on the device's processor) has sensor tests, but it's easier for the average user to reset the calibration settings through the Services app or simply reboot the device.
Solving Problems with Gesture Recognition
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the gestures stop working correctly. The screen may not respond to swipes or perform false positives. First of all, check whether the screen is glued to a protective film of poor quality or thick glass that violates the sensitivity of the sensor. Touchscreen in modern smartphones is very sensitive, but physical barriers can distort the signal.
The second common cause is a software failure of the system launcher. If gestures work in jerks, try clearing the cache of the Desktop application. To do this, go to Settings → Apps → All Apps, find the Desktop (or System Launcher) and select Clear the cache. Don't confuse it with Clear Everything so you don't reset the icons.
If the problem persists, check for system updates. Xiaomi engineers regularly release patches that fix display sensitivity bugs. Go to Settings → About phone and click on the MIUI version logo to check for updates.
| Problem. | Possible cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Gestures don't work. | Screen or film contamination | Wipe the screen, remove the protective glass |
| Random transitions | High sensitivity | Turn off "Gloves operating mode" |
| Swipe lags | Lack of RAM | Close background applications, clear RAM |
| Swipe back doesn't work. | Conflict in the annex | Use swipe from the other side of the screen |
☑️ Diagnostics of gesture problems
Use of special navigational capabilities
The Android system on Xiaomi has a "Special Features" section that offers alternative controls, so if you're uncomfortable with standard gestures because of your motor or vision, you can turn on a "Special Features Menu," which adds a floating button to the screen that duplicates swipe and navigation buttons.
It also allows you to assign actions to certain movements, such as shaking your phone or swiping on the back (if the model supports this function hardwarely or through special trigger stickers), which extends the standard navigation functionality and allows you to create your own use cases.
For people with visual impairment, there's a Screen Narrator mode that also changes the logic of gestures. In this mode, a single tap sounds the element, and a double tap activates it. Swipes are done with three fingers. Swips are done with three fingers. Switching between normal mode and availability mode is usually done by a combination of volume buttons or through a quick tuning in the curtain.
⚠️ Warning: Do not enable multiple navigation types (such as buttons, gestures, and feature menus) at the same time, this can lead to control conflicts and chaotic interface behavior.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the right gesture setting makes using a smartphone a pleasure. Xiaomi provides enough tools for each user to adapt the device to their habits. Experiment with the settings, but always remember to return to classic control if the new one seems uncomfortable.
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Properly tuned gestures speed up work with the smartphone by 20-30% by reducing the path of the finger to the target element of the interface.