How to remove the strip from the bottom of Xiaomi: all ways

The appearance of a mysterious stripe at the bottom of the screen of a Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone often takes the user by surprise. This visual artifact can manifest itself in various ways: as a black stripe with control buttons, as a translucent gradient, or even as a colored glare that overlaps part of the interface. In most cases, it is early to panic, since this is not a sign of a physical breakdown of the matrix, but only a feature of the MIUI or HyperOS software shell.

The reasons for this anomaly lie in the system settings of navigation, the operation of individual applications or failures in the rendering of the GUI. Modern smartphones are abandoning physical buttons in favor of screen solutions that occupy a certain space at the bottom of the display. Understanding what exactly causes the appearance of the stripe is the first step to eliminate it and return comfortable use of the gadget.

In this article, we will discuss in detail all possible scenarios for the appearance of lower bands on the screens of the Chinese manufacturer, you will learn how to switch to gesture control, how to remove the “bangs” by software methods, and what to do if the band is a sign of a more serious software error.

Black bar with navigation buttons

The most common option is the standard Android navigation bar, which is activated by default on many models when first turned on, which is a black or dark bar in which there are three virtual buttons: Back, Home and App Menu. For many users who have moved from iPhones or older versions of Android, the presence of this bar seems to be an extra element, stealing useful screen space.

To get rid of it, you need to change the way you navigate your system settings, which takes only a few seconds and doesn't require root rights or complex code manipulation, and allows you to choose between classic buttons and modern gesture controls that hide the bottom bar and make room for content.

Go to your device's settings menu. You need to find the section that handles screen and system navigation. The path may vary slightly depending on the firmware version, but the logic remains the same for all current Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco models.

Use the following algorithm of actions:

• 📱 Open Settings and select "More".
• 🔘 Find the "System Navigation" section (or simply "Navigation").
• 🖐️ Switch the switch to the "Gestural" position".

Once switched, the black bar will disappear instantly, giving way to a thin bar at the bottom of the screen that also hides when watching videos or reading, and if the band is left, perhaps the screen zoom mode for older applications is activated, which we will discuss below.

Strip due to screen scale and old apps

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where a black area appears at the bottom of the screen, although gesture control is already selected in the settings, this often happens when running old applications that are not optimized for modern elongated screens with an aspect ratio of 20:9 or 21:9. The system forcibly adds black fields at the top and bottom to preserve the proportions of the image and not stretch the picture.

In the MIUI shell, there is a special feature that allows you to force the application to stretch to the full screen, activating this option removes the black bars, but can cause part of the application interface (for example, the menu button) to be outside the visible area or be cropped.

To manage this parameter, follow the following steps:

1. Go to Settings. → Additionally.
2. Select Screen Enlargement (some versions call it "Stretch to the full screen").
3. In the list, find the problem application and turn on the switchboard opposite it.

It should be noted that not all applications are friendly to such intervention. Some banking clients or specialized software may not work stable when changing the standard render resolution. If you notice a failure after turning on the feature, it is better to return the setting to its original state.

The problem of "bangs" and the notch for the camera

Smartphone owners with a cutout in the screen (called a "bang" or a drop-shaped cutout) often notice that the status bar kind of "fails" or forms a strange stripe around the camera. This is not a defect, but a feature of the display of system icons. However, visual discomfort can be eliminated by hiding the cutout area by software.

The system allows you to mask the cutout, making the top of the screen completely black, in which case the useful area of the screen will decrease slightly, but the status bar will become even, without any curvatures and stripes around the front camera.

The adjustment is made along the path:

Settings → Screen → Hiding the cutout (or “Nethole Area”)

You can choose an app that wants to hide the cutout, or you can apply the setting globally, and once activated, the top bar will become uniform, and this is especially true for those who watch 16:9 video, where black bars on the top and bottom can merge with the masking area, creating a cinema effect.

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If you have hidden the notch software, the battery can discharge a little faster, as a portion of the pixels around the camera that normally don’t burn will now be illuminated in black.

Artifacts after system update or failure

There are times when the bar on the bottom appears suddenly after a firmware update or a heavy application is installed. This can be a graphical bug where the system forgets to redraw the interface correctly, in which case the bar may not just be black, but have a colored hue or ripples.

The first thing you need to do is to reboot the device, which cleans the RAM and causes the graphics engine to reassemble the interface from scratch, and in 90% of cases, the temporary glitches disappear immediately after the restart.

If a simple reboot didn’t help, try a deeper method of cleaning the system’s cache:

• 🔄 Reboot the smartphone in Recovery mode (clamping the power and volume button).
• 🧹 Select Wipe Cache (not to be confused with Wipe Data!).
• ⚡ Wait for the process to end and start the system.

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Clearing the cache through Recovery is safe for your personal data (photos, contacts), it only deletes temporary system files that could have caused a graphical crash.

It is important to distinguish between the program band and the physical band: If the band is visible even in the bootloader menu (when you turn on the phone), or has clear boundaries of damage to the pixels, which do not change when you change the picture on the screen, this is, alas, a hardware problem of the matrix or the plume.

Table: Types of bands and methods of solution

For a quick diagnosis of a problem, use the following table to help you compare the visual signs with the most likely cause and method of elimination.

As you can see from the table, software solves most problems, but if the table says something about damage to the matrix, the software methods are useless.

Hidden functions and third-party launchers

Sometimes users install third-party launchers (desktop shells) to customize the interface, some of them, such as Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher, may have their own settings of the lower dock or search bars that conflict with the system settings of Xiaomi.

If you're using a third-party launcher, check its settings. Often there are Search Bar or Lower Menu options that can create visual elements that look like system bands, and disabling those features in the launcher's settings will bring cleanliness back to the interface.

⚠️ Note: When installing third-party launchers on MIUI If the bar appears at the bottom after installing the new shell, try temporarily returning the standard launcher through settings ("Default Apps").

Also worth mentioning is the Toolbar feature in games, which when you start heavy games from the side or bottom, a translucent bar with screen recording and brightness lock buttons can pop up, and you can turn it off in the Security settings" → "Accelerating games".

Diagnostics of hardware faults

If none of the software methods worked, and the band remains static with any image (even on the screensaver when turned on), it is a "broken" pixels or damage to the display plume, this often happens after falls, heavy pressure on the screen or moisture.

A hallmark of hardware failure is that the stripe does not respond to touch, does not change color, and is visible even in the BIOS/Recovery menu. Unlike software glitches, it does not disappear after completely flashing the device.

What you can do on your own:

• 🔦 Carefully examine the screen when the lights are off for microcracks.
• 👐 Easily (no bigotry!) massage the area of the strip to check if this is a temporary violation of the plume contact.
• 🌡️ Allow the device to cool completely if it overheats, as high temperatures can cause matrix artifacts.

⚠️ Note: If the band appeared after falling, do not try to "design" the screen with strong pressure. This can lead to leakage of matrix crystals and complete failure of the display.

If a hardware problem is confirmed, the only solution is to contact an authorized service center to replace the display module. Self-replacement of the screen on modern Xiaomi models with thin frames requires special equipment and skills.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)