Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices often face the need to quickly save an image from the display. Whether it is an important dialogue in the messenger, a payment application instruction or just a funny shot from the game. However, not everyone knows that the standard MIUI or HyperOS shell offers much more tools for working with screenshots than the basic buttons. Understanding all the methods available will allow you to save time and capture the screen in the way that you are comfortable at a particular moment.
There are many ways to do this, from physical button combinations to voice commands. Some methods can be disabled by default or work incorrectly due to a system settings failure. In this article, we will examine each option in detail, look at the hidden functions of the editor and answer frequent questions that arise from users of smartphones of this brand.
For starters, it’s worth noting that the interface may vary slightly depending on the version of the Android operating system and the firmware version. However, the basic principles remain the same for most models. We’ll look at both the classic options and the less obvious chips that make a regular screenshot a convenient tool to work with.
Classical Method Through Physical Buttons
The fastest and most common way that every Android smartphone user is familiar with is using physical keys. On modern models without a mechanical home button, you need to simultaneously press the Volume Down button and the Power button. Pressing should be short-term, but synchronous: if you pinch them too long, the phone can offer a turn off menu or start Google Assistant.
Once you've done the action, you'll hear the characteristic shutter sound of the camera, and a thumbnail of the image will appear at the top of the screen, at which point the system automatically suggests the basic steps: send the file, edit it, or simply delete it. If the thumbnail doesn't appear, check if the device's memory is full or if the Do Not Disturb mode is on, which prohibits the system's sounds.
⚠️ Note: On some older models or under certain settings, the button combination may be reassigned.If the standard method doesn't work, try pressing the buttons in reverse order or at a small interval, although for modern versions, MIUI it's rare.
This method has its own nuances of working with large lists or web pages. A standard screenshot captures only the visible area, but the editing menu often provides the option "Scroll" to create a long image. This is especially useful when saving correspondence or articles. However, for games with active anticheat or banking applications, the screen can remain black for security reasons.
☑️ Check before using buttons
Gesture control: three fingers down
MIUI is famous for its functionality, and one of the most convenient features is gesture control. You can take a screenshot just by swiping three fingers from top to bottom across the display. This feature is not activated by default on all devices, so it needs to be enabled manually in the settings. The path to settings is usually: Settings → Additional features → Screenshot.
In the gesture settings menu, you can select the action that will be performed with three fingers, the default is "No action" or "Take a screenshot", and the option "Screenshots Menu" is available here, which calls the toolbar to select the capture area. This is especially useful if you don’t need to save the entire screen, but only a specific fragment, such as a part of a table or a table. QR-code.
Using gestures requires a certain touchscreen sensitivity. If you have a thick protective glass or use a poor quality film, the phone may not recognize the simultaneous touch of three fingers, in which case it is worth trying to calibrate the screen or return to using physical buttons. Gestures work in almost all applications, except those where the swipe is reserved by the application itself for other purposes.
It's important to note that gesture direction can also be changed in some versions of firmware, although top-down motion is considered standard. If you're left-handed or hold your phone with one hand, you may be more comfortable swiping the other way, but this option is rare. The main thing is to make sure that the finger touches the screen with the entire surface, not just the tip, so that the sensors count the touch.
Control panel and notification curtain
Another convenient but often overlooked way is to use the control panel, where you can swipe the curtain down from the top of the screen and find the screenshot shortcut there. If the icon isn't on the first page, swipe left or press the edit button (usually a pencil or three dots) to add this element to the active quick access widgets.
The advantage of this method is that it does not require physical agility with buttons and works even when the touchscreen is partially unresponsive (although it should be serviceable for the pile itself).It is also a great option for those who have volume or power buttons are tight. In some versions of HyperOS, the shortcut can be called "Screenshot" or have a scissor icon.
And also, the notification curtain often shows a preview of a screenshot you just took, if you've used another method, and clicking on this preview, you're immediately taken to the editor, which allows you to quickly take a few screenshots in a chain and then batch-process them without leaving the context of the current task. Remember to clear the notification bar so that important system messages don't get lost among the image thumbnails.
⚠️ Note: On some models with a cutout in the screen ("bangs") or a hole under the camera, the area of the pile to open the curtain may be limited. Try to pull the curtain from the very edge of the screen so as not to accidentally activate other interface elements.
Voice control and assistants
Modern smartphones allow you to control the voice system. For Xiaomi devices, two main assistants are relevant: Google Assistant and XiaoAI (in global versions, the functionality can be limited). To take a screenshot with a voice, you just wake the assistant with the phrase “Ok Google” or holding the call button, and then say the command “Take a screenshot” or “Scanvature screenshot”.
This method is ideal in situations where hands are busy or dirty, such as during cooking or repair, and is useful if the physical buttons of the device are faulty. Voice control requires an Internet connection to process the command by cloud servers, although the basic commands can work offline if the language pack is loaded onto the device.
It is worth considering that in some applications, especially banking, the voice assistant may be blocked for security reasons, in which case the system will respond that it cannot perform the action in the current context, this is normal behavior that protects your personal data from accidental interception or screenshot by third-party voice-activated programs.
Secret Team Through ADB
Advanced settings and timer
The screenshot settings menu has a powerful tool called the delay timer, which allows you to delay the creation of a picture by 3 or 5 seconds, which is an indispensable feature when you want to capture a context menu, a pop-up prompt or the moment you open an application that disappears with any touch of the screen. You can find this option in the same Settings menu → Additional Features → Screenshot.
Once you activate the timer and press the screenshot (or gesture), the screen will count down, you will have a few seconds to open the menu or go to the desired application, and once the timer expires, the system will automatically take a picture, which eliminates the need to make many attempts and then choose the best shot.
You can also turn off the shutter if you want to take screenshots silently, like in a movie theater or in a meeting, but remember Do Not Disturb mode, which can globally drown out system sounds. In some regions, due to legal restrictions, completely disabling camera sound and screenshots may not be possible without root rights.
| Parameter | Description | Where to find out. |
|---|---|---|
| Three-finger gesture | Swipe down for grabs | Additional functions → Gestures |
| Timer. | 3 or 5 seconds delay | Screenshot settings |
| Format | JPG or PNG | Image quality |
| Sound. | On/off shutter | Sounds and vibrations |
💡
Save screenshots of confidential information in PNG format without compression, so that when editing or sending the text, the quality of the text remains maximum for reading.
Editing and a long screenshot
Once you create an image, you have a floating preview window in the corner, and if you click on it, it opens up the built-in editor, and you have the basic tools available here: cropping, drawing, adding text and stickers, but the most useful feature is Scrolling (or Long Screenshot), and by pressing that button, the system automatically scrolls down the page, taking a series of pictures and gluing them into one long picture.
The gluing process is automatic. You can stop scrolling at any time by clicking on the stop button. This is ideal for storing long Telegram or WhatsApp correspondence, contact lists or web pages. The system itself aligns the joints, although complex dynamic elements can be noticeable seams.
Once saved, a long screenshot takes up more memory than a regular one, because its vertical resolution is much higher. Files are saved to the same Screenshots folder in the gallery. When sent through instant messengers, such images can be compressed more than usual, so it is better to use the Document function or cloud storage to transfer important details.
⚠️ Warning: When you take a long screenshot, don't touch the screen or change the orientation of the device. Any interference will interrupt the process and you'll get a cropped result.
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A long screenshot is not just a series of images, but a single file that is created by the system’s algorithms in real time, which requires the processing resources of the processor.