How to Take a Screenshot on Xiaomi Phone: The Complete Guide

Owning a modern Xiaomi smartphone offers a lot of possibilities, one of which is the rapid creation of screenshots, a feature known as screenshots, which is necessary to save important correspondence, fix errors in applications or simply to share interesting content with friends. Unlike many other devices, the brand’s phones offer several unique methods of capturing images, making the process as convenient as possible for any use case.

There are many ways to take a screenshot on Xiaomi, and the choice of a particular method depends on your habit or physical ability to reach the buttons. You can use the classic keyboard combination, use a convenient control menu, or even resort to a voice assistant. Understanding all the options available will allow you to save time and act instantly in any situation.

In this article, we will take a look at each of the available methods, look at the nuances of working with long pages and answer frequent questions that arise from Mi and Redmi owners. Regardless of which version of the MIUI or HyperOS operating system you have, you will find here the current information. Let's move on to practical actions.

Classical Method Through Physical Buttons

The most common and quick way, which works on the vast majority of models, including the budget Redmi and flagship Xiaomi series, is to press two buttons simultaneously. You need to press the volume down and the power button (lock the screen).

Once you've done the action, you'll hear the characteristic shutter sound of the camera, and you'll see a thumbnail of the image you've created in the top corner of the screen, which is the standard reaction of the system, confirming that the screenshot is saved in the gallery. If the screen flashed but there was no sound, check the media settings, maybe the system's sound is off silently.

⚠️ Warning: Do not hold the buttons tight for too long. Prolonged retention (more than 3 seconds) on some models may trigger the camera's quick start function or trigger the device's switch-off menu instead of creating a snapshot.

Many users prefer this method because of its reliability, as it works even when the touch screen is temporarily unresponsive or locked in a particular application. However, if you have a large smartphone, reaching both buttons with one hand can be difficult, in which case alternative control methods come to the rescue.

Use of the control menu (Stork)

If using physical buttons is uncomfortable for you, MIUI offers a great software analog: You need to unlock your phone and swipe from the top edge of the screen down to open the control center. Depending on the firmware version, this can be a notification bar or a separate menu with feature icons.

And among the many icons you need to find an item called a "Screenshot" or a scissor icon, and clicking on that button will instantly create a snapshot of the current image on the screen, which is especially useful when the phone is on the table or you're holding it with one hand, and you don't have the ability to reach the side edges of the case.

Sometimes the icon you want can be hidden in the second page of the Quick Settings menu. To find it, just swipe your finger across the icon panel left or right. If you don't find this item, you can add it manually through the Control Panel edit mode, dragging the icon to the active area.

Screenshot with three fingers (Gestural)

One of the most convenient features in the shell from Xiaomi is the ability to create a screenshot with a simple swipe of three fingers on the screen. This method requires pre-activation in the settings, as by default it can be disabled. To enable the function, go to the Settings menu → Additional Features → Screenshots and activate the screenshot switch with three fingers.

Once activated, just swipe your three fingers from top to bottom across any part of the screen, and the system will instantly take a snapshot. This is ideal for anyone who likes to control their phone with one hand or whose physical volume buttons are stiff. The gesture works in almost all applications, including browsers, social networks and a gallery.

It's worth noting that a certain touch area is required to function properly, so on very small screens or when using thick-framed protective glasses, sensitivity can vary. If the gesture doesn't work the first time, try swiping your fingers a little faster or, conversely, slower so that the system recognizes the command.

Creating long screenshots (scrolling)

Often, you need to save not just one frame, but a whole page of text, a long correspondence in the messenger or an article in the browser, and for this purpose, Xiaomi phones have an "Advanced Screenshot" feature. After you take a regular shot in any of the above methods, a preview appears in the upper corner.

Click the "Scroll" button on the thumbnail that appears. The screen will automatically scroll downwards, capturing content that didn't fit in one frame. You can stop the process at any time by tapping the screen, or wait for the end of the page.

This feature is essential for storing long conversations on Telegram or WhatsApp, as well as web pages, and automatically glues all parts into one long, high-quality image, but it is worth remembering that dynamic content such as video or animations may not be displayed correctly on the final image.

Voice control and other methods

With modern technology, you can control your smartphone almost without touch. If you have Google Assistant or Xiao AI voice assistant activated (relevant to Chinese and some global versions), you can just say a command. For Google Assistant, the phrase is "OK, Google, take a screenshot" or "Make a screenshot."

This method is especially useful in situations where the user's hands are busy or dirty, such as during cooking or repairs. However, voice control requires an active Internet connection and allowed microphone access to the system, and the reaction rate can be lower than with physical buttons.

Another rare but existing way is to use a stylus (if your model supports it, which is typical for some Xiaomi Pad tablets). Double tapping the stylus on the screen or pressing a special button on the pen case can also initiate the creation of a screenshot, if this is configured in the appropriate settings section.

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Use the desktop widget for instant access. Add the shortcut widget to the home screen and select the screenshot function, which allows you to take pictures with one tap without opening the notification curtain.

Editing and saving pictures

Once you've taken a screenshot, it offers basic editing tools, so you can cut the edges, add text, draw arrows, or blur sensitive information directly into the preview, which is a very useful feature that allows you to prepare the image for submission without having to open a separate editor.

All images created are automatically saved in the Gallery app in the Screenshots album. There you can find the file, share it through any messenger or delete it if it is no longer relevant. The default save format is JPG or PNG, which ensures good quality with a minimum file size.

It is important to keep in mind privacy. Before sending a screenshot taken in a browser or an application with personal data, always check if passwords, card numbers or addresses are in the frame. Use the blur tool in the editor to hide sensitive data.

⚠️ Note: When using the Long Screenshot feature in applications with infinite tape (e.g. social networks), the final file can weigh a lot.

Solutions and format configuration

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where screenshots are not created, most often due to security restrictions in specific applications, such as banking applications, incognito mode in the browser or secure video players block the creation of screenshots for security purposes, in which case you will see a black screen instead of an image.

You can also change the format of the stored images. By default, the system can save screenshots in the format of PNG, which takes up more space but retains quality, or JPG. You can change this in the screen settings or through special camera applications, if the standard MIUI settings do not provide such a choice explicitly.

If none of these methods work, try restarting the device. In rare cases, the system process that captures the screenshot can freeze. Restarting the phone resets all the time processes and returns the functionality to working condition.

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If you can't get a screenshot from the bank's app, it's not a phone bug, it's a built-in fraud protection, so use Screen Record or take a photo on another phone if it's critical.