How to remove buttons on the screen Xiaomi: disable the navigation bar and touch keys

Touch and virtual buttons on Xiaomi’s screen often take up precious space, especially on devices with a small diagonal or non-standard aspect ratio. Many Redmi, POCO or Mi users want to hide them to increase the usable display area or move to gesture control. However, not everyone knows that MIUI has several ways to do this, from standard settings to hidden features for power users.

In this article, we will discuss all the working methods for removing buttons from the screen, including the navigation bar, touch keys under the display and even hardware buttons on some models, learn how to completely remove the button bar, replace it with gestures or hide individual elements of the interface, and also what to do if after changes the phone stopped responding to touch.

⚠️ Note: Some methods require superuser rights (root) or use ADB. If you're not sure about your skills, use only standard settings. MIUI.

Before you start, check your firmware version: Settings path → About Phone → MIUI version. On older versions (below MIUI 10), some features may not be available.

1. Standard disabling of the navigation bar through the MIUI settings

The easiest way to remove buttons on the screen is to use built-in gesture control options, which works on all Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 9 and newer, including the Redmi Note 10, POCO X3, Mi 11 and others.

To hide the bottom panel with buttons:

1. Open the Settings → Display.
2. Select Full-screen mode (on some firmware - gesture management).
3. Slip on full-screen gestures or No buttons.
4. Confirm the selection and restart the device if necessary.

After that, the bottom bar with the Back, Home and Recent buttons will disappear, and gestures will appear instead:

• 👆 Swipe up from the bottom edge – return to the main screen.
• 👈 Turn left to right and go back.
• 👉 Hold your finger at the bottom and swipe up – open a list of recent apps.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Redmi) 9A) When you turn off the buttons, the gesture indicator may disappear. To return it, turn on the gesture hints in the settings.

2. Hiding touch buttons under the screen (for older models)

On Xiaomi devices with physical or touch buttons under the display (e.g. Redmi 4X, Mi A1, Mi Max 2), they can be turned off via the engineering menu or ADB.

If you have one of these models, try the following method:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
2. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Turn on USB debugging and connect the phone to the PC.
4. Open the command line and type: adb shell settings put global force_fsg_navbar 1 This will force the navigation software bar to turn on, hiding the hardware buttons.

If the buttons have not disappeared after the command, try an alternative method:

• 📱 Install the Button Mapper app from Google Play.
• 🔧 Give him the rights. ADB via command: adb -d shell pm grant flar2.homebutton FLAR2_HOME_KEY
• 🚫 In the application settings, turn off unnecessary buttons.

3.Using Android 10+ gestures (for new MIUI versions)

Starting with MIUI 12 (based on Android 10), Xiaomi smartphones have native gesture support from Google, which is smoother and more intuitive than standard MIUI gestures, but require separate activation.

To include them:

1. Go to Settings → Display → Full-screen mode.
2. Select Android 10 Gestures (or System Navigation on some firmware).
3. Set up sensitivity and trigger zones.

The differences between Android 10 gestures and standard MIUI:

⚠️ Note: On some models (e.g, POCO F3) Android 10 gestures may conflict with branded features MIUI, So, in this case, go back to the standard gestures.

4. Hiding buttons with third-party apps

If the built-in settings don't work, you can use third-party tools that not only remove buttons, but also customize their behavior to your needs. Let's look at two proven options.

1. Nacho Notch (to hide cutouts and buttons):

• 📲 Download the app from Google Play.
• 🔧 Grant rights ADB via command: adb shell pm grant com.uberspot.notchfilter android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
• 🎨 Select Hide Navigation Bar and set up the Hiding Zone.

2. Fluid Navigation Gestures (Advanced Gestures):

• 🔄 Install the application and activate special features in the settings.
• 🖼️ Enable the Hide Navigation Bar option.
• ⚙️ Set up sensitivity and gesture areas (for example, you can swipe from the corner to call Google Assistant).

⚠️ Attention: Apps like Fluid NG may conflict with MIUI Optimization is Xiaomi's branded shell. If you have lags after installation, turn off optimization via ADB:

adb shell settings put global miui_optimization_disabled 1

5. Disable buttons through build.prop editing

For experienced users who are ready to work with system files, there is a way to remove buttons by editing build.prop. This method requires root rights and can lead to unstable system operation.

Instructions:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer).
2. Open /system/build.prop file in the text editor.
3. Add a line to the end of the file: qemu.hw.mainkeys=1
4. Save the changes, restart the device.

If the buttons have not disappeared after the reboot, try the alternative option:

ro.build.type=userdebug

Xiaomi

MIUI Optimization

ADB

⚠️ Warning: Incorrect editing of build.prop can lead to bootloop ( looped download!

💡

If the phone doesn’t turn on after building.prop editing, download to TWRP Recovery and restore the original file from the backup.

6 Reset settings if the buttons are gone forever

Sometimes, after experimenting with settings or third-party apps, the buttons disappear without the ability to return them through the menu, in which case a factory reset will help.

How to return buttons through Hard Reset:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. From the Recovery menu, select Wipe Data → Wipe All Data.
4. Confirm the action and wait for the process to be completed.

If the sensor is not working and you can’t select the menu items:

• 🔌 Connect your phone to your PC and use it. ADB Resetting: Adb Reboot Recovery Adb Shell -- wipe_data
• 📡 In some models (POCO X2, Redmi K20) Recovery can be controlled via volume (up/down) and power (select) buttons).

⚠️ Note: After the reset, all data, including photos, contacts and apps, will be deleted. If you have Mi Cloud enabled, restore the data from the backup after the restart.

💡

Factory resets are the last way to get back up if other methods don't work. Always back up before experimenting with system files!

7. Frequent problems and their solutions

When you turn off the buttons on Xiaomi, users encounter common mistakes, and let's look at the most common ones and how to fix them.

Problem 1: Gestures are unstable or delayed.

• 🔄 Reset the device.
• 📱 Turn off window animation in the developer settings.
• 🔧 Reset your gesture settings: Settings → Display. → Full screen mode → Reset.

Problem 2: After the buttons are turned off, the lower indicator (band) is lost.

• 🎨 Enable gesture hints in screen settings.
• 🖌️ Install a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher) with gesture support.

Problem 3: Swipes don’t work in games or apps.

• 🎮 Enable Game Mode in Settings and turn off gestures for a specific app.
• 🔄 Switch to classic buttons in navigation settings.

Problem 4: There are no unlock buttons on the lock screen.

• 🔒 Check the security settings → Lock screen.
• 📱 Install an alternative blocker (e.g. AcDisplay).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions