How to Hide Xiaomi Navigation Buttons When Watching Videos: The Complete Guide

Why Navigation Buttons Get Into Your Video and How to Fix It

Have you ever noticed how the bottom bar with the Back, Home and Recent buttons distracts from watching a movie or video on Xiaomi?These interface elements not only take up precious space on the screen, but can also accidentally trigger when touched - especially on narrow-framed devices. The problem is exacerbated by models with AMOLED-displays where the panel's backlight creates a parasitic glow in dark scenes.

Fortunately, MIUI and the new HyperOS offer several ways to hide the navigation bar, from standard settings to hidden features for power users. In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods, including completely disabling buttons, automatically hiding when browsing, and even a solution for older versions of firmware. Importantly, some methods require unlocking the bootloader or root rights, so let’s start with the simplest options.

Before you start, check the version of your shell: go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version. If you have HyperOS (released in 2023), some menu items may be called differently - we will specify alternative paths.

Method 1: Automatically hide the panel in full screen mode

The simplest method that works on all Xiaomi devices without any additional settings is that the system hides the navigation bar itself when you unfold the video to the full screen - but only if two conditions are met:

• 📱 Video player supports immersive mode (YouTube, Netflix, MX Player, VLC).
• 🔄 In the settings of the phone included the option “Show full-screen gestures».

To activate the function:

1. Open Settings → Display (in HyperOS: Settings → Screen).
2. Select Full Screen Mode (or Navigation Style in the newer versions).
3. Activate the Hide Navigation Panel switch in full-screen applications.
4. Restart your phone (required!). ☑️ Open YouTube Deploy the full screen video Check if the panel has disappeared through 2 Repeat with another player Completed: 0 / 4

Limitation: On some models (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro), the panel does not completely hide, but only reduces the brightness.

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If the video does not unfold to the full screen, try to tap the screen twice or pull the corners of the player to the sides - this will force the full screen mode to activate.

Method 2: Manual concealment through gestures (without root)

If the automatic mode doesn't work, you can manually remove the navigation bar using the hidden immersive mode feature, which works on all versions of MIUI 11 to 14 and does not require superuser rights.

Instructions:

1. Open any video in the player (for example, YouTube).
2. Turn it on the full screen.
3. Swipe down from the top of the screen (like opening the notification bar), but don’t let go of your finger.
4. After 1 second, swipe up and the navigation bar will disappear.
5. To return it, swipe from the bottom edge of the screen upwards.

This gesture works thanks to the immersive mode mechanism built into MIUI, which temporarily hides system elements. On some devices (for example, POCO F3), you need to hold the swipe for 2 seconds to activate.

Important: Once you hide the panel with gestures, it will reappear every time you start the video. For a permanent solution, move to Method 3.

Method 3: Disabling buttons through developer settings

For users who are willing to dig a little deeper into the system settings, there is a more reliable method, which is to turn off the navigation bar through the developer menu. It doesn't require root rights, but it requires care.

Steps:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on MIUI Version (you will be notified "You are a developer").

Additional settings → Developer parameters

HyperOS

Settings → About the phone → Developer parameters

Full screen mode

Force full-screen display

Hide the navigation panel

Hide navigation bar

Reset the device.

After that, the navigation bar will be hidden in all applications that support full-screen mode. To return it back, swipe from the bottom edge of the screen upwards - the panel will appear for 3 seconds, and then disappear again.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Xiaomi Mi 11, Redmi) K40) When this mode is activated, system notifications may disappear. To return them, disable Force activities to be resizable from the same developer menu.

Method 4: Permanently shutting down via ADB (for experienced)

If you need to completely remove the navigation bar (not only when watching videos), you can use the ADB command. This method is suitable for users who are not afraid to work with the console, and gives the most stable result.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with ADB-tools installed.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (in the developer menu).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux).
2. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of your device.
3. Execute the command to hide the panel: adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*
4. Reboot the phone.

And then the navigation bar will be hidden permanently. To get it back, use the command:

adb shell settings put global policy_control null

⚠️ Note: On devices with HyperOS after execution ADB-commands may not be able to access the return gestures on the home screen. To return them, go to Settings → System system → Gestures and restart settings.

Method 5: Using third-party applications (without root)

If previous methods have not worked or you need flexible control of the navigation panel, you can use third-party utilities.

• 🔹 Nacho Notch -- allows you to hide the navigation bar and the notch in the screen, works by overlaying the system interface.
• 🔹 Full Screen Immersive Mode – automatically hides the panel in selected apps (for example, only in YouTube).
• 🔹 Edge Gestures – Replaces the standard panel with custom gestures (requires customization).

How to set up Nacho Notch:

1. Download the app from Google Play.
2. Run it and grant permission to overlay on top of other apps.
3. Enable the Hide Navigation Bar option.
4. Add video players (YouTube, Netflix) to the list of exceptions.

Pros: does not require root, works on all versions of MIUI. Cons: can conflict with some games, consumes an additional battery.

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The app side is the best choice for devices with older versions of MIUI (below 12) that don’t work with standard methods.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after successfully hiding the navigation bar, Xiaomi users are faced with typical problems, and here are the most common ways to fix them:

• 🔄 The panel appears again after the reboot → Check if the developer settings have reset. Repeat the steps from Method 3.
• 🎮 Gestures don't work in games → Turn off full screen mode for a specific application in the Nacho Notch settings.
• 🔋 Battery consumption increased. → The side of the panel hiding applications can consume up to 5% charge per hour.Use Method 1 or Method 4 (ADB).
• 📱 Missing notification panel → In the developer menu, disable Force activities to be resizable.

If after using any of the methods, the phone started to brake or overheat, reset to factory settings: Settings → Additional → Restore and reset. This will return all parameters to their original state, but delete user data.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions