How to highlight text on Xiaomi phone: all ways for MIUI

Why Xiaomi’s text allocation is different than other smartphones

Xiaomi smartphone owners (including Redmi, POCO, and Black Shark) often face surprises when trying to highlight text, with MIUI’s proprietary shell modifying standard Android gestures and adding custom features, such as keeping a finger on a word to highlight, while MIUI 14 may depend on the firmware version, device model, and even the keyboard you choose.

Another feature is the context menu that appears after highlighting. On Xiaomi smartphones, it often contains additional options, such as instant translation through Xiaomi Translate or search for a highlighted snippet in the Mi Browser. However, these “chips” sometimes get in the way: users complain that the menu overlaps the text itself or reacts with a delay. In this article, we will analyze all the working ways of highlighting, from basic to hidden, which few know.

It is important to note that the algorithms for selecting text differ depending on the application:

• 📄 Browser (Mi Browser, Chrome, Firefox): Supports advanced highlighting with the option "Search in Google".
• 💬 Messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp): can block the standard menu due to its own features (for example, response to a message).
• 📖 Readers (WPS Office, Google PDF Viewer: Often require double tapping to activate the cursor.

Method 1: Classic finger highlighting (for MIUI 12–14)

The most versatile method, which works 90% of the time, is suitable for highlighting text in browsers, notes, instant messengers and most applications.

1. Tap the word you want to highlight and hold your finger for 1-2 seconds until the blue marker appears.
2. Without releasing your finger, move it left/right to expand the area of selection.
3. To fine-tune the boundaries, drag the blue sliders (markers) to the beginning and end of the desired fragment.

If the text is not highlighted the first time, check:

• 🔄 Screen Sensitivity: C Settings → Display. → Touch sensitivity set the value "High".
• 📱 One-hand mode: If it is active, gestures may not work correctly (disables in Settings) → Additionally. → One-hand mode).
• 🖋️ Keyboard: Some keyboards (such as Gboard) block the selection in input fields.

Make sure the text is not in read-only mode"|Turn off one-hand mode.|Check the sensitivity of the screen|Update the app where the allocation does not work-->

This is a typical problem for MIUI 13 on Redmi Note 10/11 and POCO X3/X4 models.

⚠️ Note: If after holding the finger appears only cursor, and not markers of selection, twice touch the text – this forcibly activates the selection mode in the MIUI 13+.

Method 2: Keyboard selection (for input fields)

When you want to highlight text in search bars, forms or chats, it's easier to use a keyboard, which works on Telegram, WhatsApp, VK and other messengers.

1. Tap the input field to make the keyboard appear.
2. Hold your finger on any word in the text until a magnifying glass appears.
3. Move your finger to select the beginning of the fragment, then release it.
4. Click on the marker at the end of the word (blue circle) and drag it to expand the highlight.

There's a hidden feature on the Gboard (from Google) keyboard: Once you select the text, you'll see a panel with the options "Copy", "Slice", "Share". In the Mi Keyboard (standard for Xiaomi), you can call this bar by clicking the arrow up next to the markers.

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If the highlight markers disappear when scrolling the page, press the text with two fingers - this will block the selection area from random touches.

For owners. POCO F3/F4 Xiaomi 12/13 s AMOLED-screens are nuanced:

⚠️ Attention: On these models, the keyboard can "swallow" touches due to the high frequency of the sensor survey (240 Hz).Solution: Reduce the frequency to 120 Hz in Settings → Display. → Screen refresh rate.

Method 3: Gestures for highlighting (hidden MIUI function)

Few people know, but MIUI has hidden gestures for fast text selection, which don't work in all applications, but are browser-friendly and document-friendly, and you can activate them like this:

• 👆 Swipe up with two fingers: highlights the entire paragraph (works in Mi Browser and Google Docs).
• 👉👈 Double swipe left/right: highlights a word under your finger (similar to a double-click on a PC).
• 🔄 Circular finger movement: highlights all text on the screen (requires inclusion in Settings) → Special facilities → Gestures).

These gestures are disabled by default to activate them:

1. Go to Settings → Special Options → Gesture Management.
2. Enable the option "Gestural highlighting of text".
3. Set the sensitivity in the "Advanced" section (we recommend the "Average" value).

On the Black Shark 4/5 models, gestures can conflict with game triggers.

⚠️ Warning: Turn off "Game gestures" in Settings → Special facilities → Game features if you plan to highlight text in your browser or documents.

Method 4: Selection through the Share Menu (for blocked applications)

Some apps (such as Instagram or banking programs) block standard text highlighting, in which case a workaround through the Share feature will help:

1. Find the text you want to copy and take a screenshot of the screen (click Volume Down + Power).
2. Open the screenshot in the gallery and click "Text from the image" (OCR function in MIUI).
3. Wait for the text recognition, then select the desired fragment in the standard way.

Alternative option for messengers:

• 📎 Click on the message and select "Copy Text" (if the option is available).
• 🔗 In Telegram, hold the message and select “Select” in the top menu.
• 📋 In WhatsApp, swipe the message to the right and click "Copy".

Classic finger retention|Gestures MIUI|keyboard|Menu "Share"|Another option-->

On Xiaomi models with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/2 processor (for example, Xiaomi 12 Pro, POCO F4 GT), the OCR function works 2 times faster thanks to hardware acceleration of AI.

• 📱 Update MIUI before version 13.0.5+.
• 🔧 Insert "Improved Text Recognition" in Settings → Additionally. → Functions AI.

Method 5: Voice highlight (for users with disabilities)

If you have problems with touch accuracy or prefer voice control, MIUI has a built-in Voice Input feature that supports text highlighting.

1. Activate Voice Assistant in Settings → Special Opportunities → Voice input.
2. Tell the command: "Select the text [phrase]" (for example, "Select the text phone number").
3. The system will automatically find and highlight the mentioned fragment.

The function works with Cyrillic and Latin script, but requires an Internet connection to process queries.

• 🎤 "Select a paragraph – highlights the text from an empty line to an empty line.
• 🎤 "Highlight to the point" - highlights the text to the nearest punctuation mark.
• 🎤 "Copy the highlighted – copies the text to the clipboard.

Limitations of the method:

⚠️ Attention: Voice allocation does not work in secure applications (banks, encrypted messengers) and on web pages with dynamic content (for example, Facebook or Twitter).

Comparison of ways to highlight text on Xiaomi

For most tasks, a classic finger or keyboard retention is enough. Gestures are convenient for quickly highlighting large fragments, and voice input is useful in situations where the hands are busy.

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On models with MIUI 14 (Xiaomi 13, POCO F5), the function “Smart allocation” appeared – the system automatically determines the boundaries of paragraphs, addresses and phone numbers.

Frequent problems and solutions

Problem 1: Selection markers appear, but disappear immediately. Solution: Turn off Performance Optimization in Settings → Battery → Optimization for a problem application.

Problem 2: Text is highlighted, but not copied. Solution: Clear the clipboard in Settings → Additional → Clipboard and restart the device.

Problem 3: Some apps (e.g. Instagram) don't have text highlighted. Solution: Use the screenshot and OCR method (described in Method 4).

Problem 4: After the MIUI update, gestures stopped working. Solution: Reset your gesture settings to Settings → Special Features → Gesture Management → Reset.

Unlike iOS, which has a universal button "Select everything", in MIUI This option only appears in the input fields (e.g. Notes or Browser). Otherwise, use a double swipe left to highlight all the text on the screen.-->

FAQ: Answers to popular questions