How to set a photo on the contact Xiaomi Redmi: step-by-step guide

Personalizing a mobile device starts with little things, and installing avatars for subscribers is one of the easiest ways to make communication more comfortable. When the screen lights up on an incoming call, you immediately see not just the name but the face of the person you are talking to, which greatly speeds up the identification of the call. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the nuances of the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS, which are different from pure Android.

The process of adding an image may seem trivial, but the system offers several ways to do this, each with its own peculiarities: you can download the image directly from the gallery, select an avatar from your Google account, or even pull up a photo from social networks if the corresponding permissions are activated. It is important to understand where the image is saved so that it is correctly displayed during synchronization.

In this article, we will discuss all the methods available to install and edit contact photos, we will discuss the issues of data synchronization, working with groups of subscribers and solving common problems when the picture is not saved or displayed incorrectly. Follow the instructions to make your phone truly personal.

Image preparation and system requirements

Before you start editing the contact list, you should take care of the quality of the source material. Android, on the basis of which Xiaomi devices work, is quite flexible with file formats, but for the perfect display on the lock screen and during the call, it is better to use high-resolution images. The optimal choice will be photos in JPG or PNG format with an aspect ratio of 1: 1.

Keeping contacts is also key, if your numbers are stored in memory. SIM-cards, add a photo to them by standard means will not work – functionality SIM-You're only limited to text, you're going to have to transfer your subscribers to your phone or your Google account.

⚠️ Note: When transferring contacts with SIM-Make sure you have a backup, although modern Xiaomi smartphones usually offer to save a copy automatically before migrating.

To work with images, make sure that the Contacts or Phone app has the necessary permissions to access media files. Without this, you simply cannot select the desired image from the gallery. → Annexes → All applications → Contacts → Permits.

File size also matters, although modern Snapdragon and MediaTek processors can easily handle even heavy images, but files that are too large can take longer to load when a call list is displayed, which can create the illusion of slowing down the interface.

Installation of photos through the standard Contacts app

The most direct and reliable way to install an avatar is to use the built-in contact management application, which can be simply called Contacts in the MIUI shell or integrated into the Phone application. The algorithm for actions is the same for most firmware versions, but the location of the buttons may vary slightly.

To start, open a list of all the saved numbers and find the subscriber you want. Click on the contact name to open their card. If the contact is tied to a Google or Mi Account account, at the top of the screen you'll see a circular area for the avatar, often with a camera icon or a person.

• 📸 Click on the avatar area or the Change button (pencil) to go into edit mode.
• 🖼️ Select the option “Add Photo” or “Change Photo” which will prompt you to select the source of the image.
• 📂 The system will offer to select the application for searching photos: “Gallery”, “Google Photos” or “Files».
• ✂️ After selecting the picture, use the built-in cropper to crop the image for a round format.

Note that when you trim, the system suggests you select the framing area. Try to place the face of the person in the center, because the call list only shows the center part of the circle. After confirming the changes, remember to click the Save button in the upper right or lower corner of the screen.

If you're using voice control or you're syncing enabled, the changes may not be instantaneous across all devices, and usually take anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes depending on the speed of the Internet connection.

Adding an avatar through the Gallery app

It is often more convenient to act from the opposite: you found a great photo in the tape and want to immediately assign it to the contact. In Xiaomi smartphones, the Gallery app has built-in functionality for working with contacts, which eliminates unnecessary transitions on the menu.

Open the image you want in the gallery. Click on the "More" button (three dots) or swipe up to open the action menu. The options list often includes "Appoint contact" or "Install as contact photo," and the choice of this item will immediately take you to the subscriber list.

Start typing in the name of the person who's being photographed, and the system will offer options from your phone book, and if you pick the right person, you'll see a preview of the cropped image, which is especially useful when you need to quickly update your avatar after a photo shoot.

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If the “Appoint Contact” item does not appear in the Gallery menu, try first clicking “Edit”, doing a crop, saving a copy, and then assigning the saved file.

Keep in mind that when you assign a photo from the gallery, the original image remains in the album, and a copy of it is stored in contact, which means that if you delete the photo from the gallery, the avatar in the contact will not disappear, since it is stored in the database of contacts, and not by reference to the file.

The quality of the final image depends on the source. If the photo was taken on the front camera of an old smartphone, when zooming to the full screen during the call, it may look grainy, in such cases, it is better to use the built-in improvement tools in the MIUI editor before appointment.

Working with Google Contacts and Synchronizing

One of the big things about the Google ecosystem is cross-platform, which means that if you save contacts and avatars to your Google account, they automatically pull up to any new phone, tablet, or even Gmail web interface, which eliminates the need to manually transfer hundreds of numbers when you change devices.

To make sure that the photo is saved in the cloud, when creating or editing a contact, pay attention to the Save in box, where your Google email address should be selected, not Phone or SIM. If the contact is already created, it can be moved using the export/import function or special applications for combining duplicates.

Sync is done in the background, but the Internet must be turned on. If you have changed your phone photo but it hasn’t appeared in the web version of contacts (contacts.google.com), check your sync settings in Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google. Make sure the Contacts switch is active.

⚠️ Note: If you have duplicate contacts (one in your phone’s memory, one in Google’s), the system may display them as a single subscriber, but the photo may not be pulled up from the card you expect.

Using cloud storage also makes it easy to edit avatars from your computer, so you can upload a professional photo through your browser, and in a few minutes it will appear on your Redmi or Poco smartphone.

Configure the display and contact groups

Managing the look of a contact list is an important part of customizing personalization, so MIUI and HyperOS can flexibly customize what contacts are displayed and sort them into different settings, especially if the phone book mixes work numbers, personal contacts and service records.

To adjust the display, go to the contact menu and click on three dots or the settings button. Here you can choose to sort by name or surname, as well as order from A to Z or from Z to A. Filtering by storage source is also available (Google only, SIM only, etc.).

Contact groups allow you not only to structure the list, but also to assign common settings, such as a unique call sound for the entire family or work group. Although you can't assign one photo to the entire group by standard means, visual separation helps you find the numbers faster.

• 📁 Create groups for colleagues, relatives and friends for quick access.
• 🔔 Assign unique ringtones to groups to understand the caller category without looking at the screen.
• 🙈 Hide unnecessary groups (e.g. old ones) SIM-maps) so as not to clog the list.

Newer versions of the shell have the ability to create Favorites or pin important contacts at the top of the list, which works regardless of alphabetical order and allows you to always keep the numbers of emergency services or loved ones at hand.

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Grouping contacts not only organizes the list, but also allows for mass actions such as sending messages or setting up shared ringtones.

Solution: Photo is not saved or displayed

Xiaomi users sometimes face a situation where after all the manipulations, the avatar does not appear, “flys” after the reboot or displays a standard silhouette, most often the problem lies in the app’s cache or access rights conflict.

First, try clearing the Contacts and Phone app cache. This won’t delete your numbers, but it will reset temporary files that may have been corrupted. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find Contacts, select Storage, and click Clear Cache.

If the problem is not resolved, check if the back-end limit for Google services is worth it. Aggressive battery saving in MIUI can block the image syncing process. Add Google services to autoboot and remove battery restrictions.

Also worth checking is screen resolution and theme. Some third-party themes can change the interface of the call, hiding round avatars or replacing them with squares. Switch to the standard theme to rule out this factor.

In rare cases, removing and re-additioning a contact helps, and if the contact is stored in Google, delete it completely (including from the shopping cart in the web interface) and recreate it with the right account and photo attached.

Frequent questions about setting up photo contacts