How to change navigation buttons on Xiaomi: from gestures to ADB-tweak

The navigation buttons on Xiaomi smartphones are one of those interface elements that users either don’t notice or want to completely remake. The standard three Back-Home-Recent keys don’t suit everyone: some lack functionality, some are hindered by their location, and some prefer to control the phone with gestures. Fortunately, MIUI offers several ways to customize, from basic settings to deep changes through ADB.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible ways to change navigation buttons, from simply turning on gestures to manually editing configuration files. We’ll focus on the nuances for different versions of MIUI (from MIUI 10 to MIUI 15) and Xiaomi models (including Redmi, POCO and Black Shark). If you want to not just swap the keys, but completely reflash their behavior, here you’ll find instructions with all the pitfalls in mind.

How to Change Navigation Buttons on Xiaomi

Before you start setting up, it’s important to understand what options are available on your device, and you can divide them into three categories:

• 🔄 Standard settings MIUI — Change the location and appearance of virtual buttons through the system menu (available on all devices).
• ✋ Gesture control – complete rejection of buttons in favor of swipes (requires) MIUI 10 or newer).
• 🛠️ Advanced Customization – Editing System Files through ADB or third-party utilities (for experienced users).

The choice of method depends on your smartphone model and firmware version. For example, on Xiaomi 12T Pro with MIUI 14, all three options are available, whereas on Redmi 5A with MIUI 9 you can only swap the places “Back” and “Recent”.

Method 1: Change buttons through MIUI settings

The easiest way to do this is to take advantage of the built-in MIUI options, which are suitable for most devices, including the Redmi Note 10, POCO X3, Mi 11 and other models based on MIUI 10-15.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to the Display section (on some firmware - Screen).
3. Select the Navigation Panel or Navigation buttons.
4. Here you will see a few options: 🔀 The order of the buttons - allows you to swap the places "Back" and "Recent" (a classic problem for left-handers). 🎨 Button style – the choice between standard icons and minimalist dots. 🖥️ Full-screen gestures – switching to swipe management (not available on all models).

Some devices (e.g. POCO F3) may not have the option to change the order of the buttons, due to Xiaomi’s policy for certain regions, in which case ADB (more on this below) will help.

Method 2: Transition to gesture control

Gestures have become the standard way to navigate in modern smartphones, and Xiaomi is not far behind. There are two types of gestures available in MIUI 12-15:

1. MIUI gestures (swipe from the bottom up to return to the main screen, swipe from the side to return back).
2. Android gestures (similar to pure Android, where a swipe sideways opens the previous app).

To enable gestures:

1. Go to Settings → Display → Navigation panel.
2. Choose Full-screen gestures.
3. Follow the instructions on the learning screen (the system will offer to practice).

This will require:

1. A computer with Xiaomi and ADB drivers installed.
2. USB debugging enabled on your phone (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times) → Additional → For developers → USB debugging).
3. Connecting the phone to the PC via cable.

The main commands for changing buttons:

Change the "Back" and "Recent"


adb shell settings put secure sysui_nav_bar"space,back;home;recent,space"




Turn off the navigation bar (for gestures only)



adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*




Return the standard buttons



adb shell settings delete secure sysui_nav_bar

Method 4: Third-party applications for customization

If you don't want to mess with ADB, you can use third-party utilities.

• 📱 Nacho Notch – allows you to hide the cutout in the screen and adjust gestures.
• 🔧 Fluid Navigation Gestures – adds customizable gestures (requires Android 10)+).
• 🎛️ Button Mapper – Reassigns actions for hardware and virtual buttons.

When using third-party applications, consider:

⚠️ Note: Some utilities require root access, which can lead to loss of warranty and unstable system operation. 4PDA or XDA Developers.

For example, Button Mapper allows you to assign a camera or flashlight to a long press of the home button, but on MIUI, some functions can be blocked by the security system.

Common Problems and Their Solutions

When changing navigation buttons, users often encounter errors, and here are the most common ones and how to fix them:

• 🔙 The back button does not work after the change of order. → Restart your phone or reset the navigation bar settings through ADB (adb shell settings delete secure sysui_nav_bar).
• 📱 Gestures conflict with applications (e.g. in games) → Enable "Game Mode" in Settings → Special features or disable gestures for specific applications.
• ⚡ After updating MIUI button settings have dropped → This is standard system behavior. Reconfigure the setup.

If you used ADB and then the phone stopped responding to touch, try:

adb shell settings delete global policy_control

This will bring back the standard behavior of the navigation bar.

💡

Before any ADB or root manipulation, back up via Settings → Additional → Backup. In the event of a failure, you can restore the system without losing data.

Comparison of methods: what to choose?

What is the right way to change navigation buttons for you? Here's a quick comparison:

For most users, built-in MIUI settings or switching to gestures are enough. ADB and third-party utilities are only worth using if you need unique features that are not in the default system.

FAQ: Frequent questions about navigation buttons on Xiaomi