How to turn on and use a magnifier on Xiaomi: all ways

The magnifier feature on Xiaomi smartphones is an indispensable tool for people with low vision or those who work with fine text, details in photos or barcodes. Despite its obvious benefits, many users are not even aware of its existence: in the standard settings of MIUI or HyperOS, the option is hidden in an unobvious way. Moreover, depending on the phone model and the firmware version, the activation methods can vary from the classic path through the menu to hidden gestures.

In this article, we will explore all the possible ways to turn on the magnifier on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices, including the models from 2020-2026. You will learn how to customize the zoom to your needs, what hidden combinations of buttons speed up access to the function, and why on some phones the magnifier can suddenly disappear from the menu.

What is a magnifier on Xiaomi and why you need it

The magnifier on Xiaomi smartphones is a software magnifying glass that allows you to scale any part of the screen to 15× (depending on the model). Unlike the standard zoom in a gallery or browser, it runs on top of all applications, including system menus, messages and even games.

• 📄 Reading small text in documents, checks or contracts without glasses.
• 🔍 Looking at details on photos, maps or diagrams (such as house numbers on Google Maps).
• 📦 Reading bar codes, serial numbers or markings on goods.
• 👓 Helping people with color blindness or low vision when setting up a phone.

It's important to understand that a magnifier is not the same as a zoom camera; it doesn't zoom in on real objects through a lens, it increases the content that's already displayed on the screen. For example, if you take a picture of text from 30 cm away and then use a magnifier, the character quality will remain clear (unlike the digital zoom of the camera, which adds noise).

On the new firmware HyperOS (2026), the function received additional options:

• 🎨 Color and contrast adjustment for better readability.
• 🔄 Automatic text tracking (laptop follows finger when scrolling).
• 🔋 Optimized power consumption – now the function has almost no effect on battery life.

Method 1: Enabling a magnifying glass through special features settings

This is the basic and most reliable method that works on all Xiaomi devices with MIUI 11 and newer (including HyperOS).The instructions are universal for the Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13 and other modern smartphones of the brand.

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the desktop).
2. Scroll down and select Special Features (HyperOS may call usability).
3. Slip on the item Enlargement or Loop (depending on the firmware version).
4. Activate the switch to turn on the magnifying glass.
5. Set up the parameters: 🔍 Scale: from 1.5× 15× (We recommend starting with 3.×). 🎯 Type of magnifier: Full-screen or Window (the second is more convenient for multitasking). 🔄 Finger Tracking: Turn on if you need to automatically scroll through the text.

Once activated, the magnifier will be available through triple tapping the screen with three fingers (default setting). If the gesture does not work, check it in the Special Features → Gestures menu.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Redmi) 9A or POCO M3) The "Loop" item may not be on the menu, because of the limitations of the iron platform, so use alternative methods in the following sections.

Method 2: Quickly turn on through the notification panel

If you use a magnifier a lot, it's more convenient to add it to the quick settings panel, which saves time, and you don't have to go into the settings every time. Here's how to do it.

1. Swipe down from the top edge of the screen to open the notification bar.
2. Put the badge on. ⚙️ (Edit or Set up).
3. Find the Loop icon (a magnifying glass) in the list and drag it to the active area.
4. Close the editing menu. Now the magnifier is available with a single touch!

The HyperOS algorithm is a little different:

Settings → Control Panel → Add tiles → Special features → Loop

If the Loop icon is not in the list of quick settings, then the function is disabled in special features (see Method 1). Also check if it is hidden in the Other settings section (on some firmware).

💡

To make sure that the magnifier does not interfere with a random triple touch, turn off the gesture in the special features settings and use only the notification panel.

Method 3: Voice Control and Google Assistant

For users who are struggling with touch screens, there is an alternative, voice control, and the Loop can be activated using Google Assistant or the built-in voice assistant Xiao AI (on Chinese firmware).

Through Google Assistant:

1. Say, “OK Google, turn on the magnifying glass” or “OK Google, open up the special features.”
2. If the command fails, update the Google app to the latest version.
3. Manually link the command to the action: Settings → Google → Assist settings → Commands.

How to set up your gesture:

1. Go to Settings → Special features → Gestures.
2. Choose Loop and assign one of the actions: Triple touch. Swipe up with three fingers. Double press the power button (if supported).

Save the settings and test the gesture.

HyperOS has a new option: automatically turn on the magnifier when the phone approaches an object (using a proximity sensor).

Settings → Special features → Lupa → Advanced settings → Enable by approximation

Problem Solving: The magnifier is not working or missing from the menu

If you followed the instructions but the magnifying glass never appeared, the reasons may be as follows:

If the magnifying glass is missing after the update:

1. Reboot the phone.
2. Clear the Settings app cache (Settings → Applications → Application Management → Settings → Clear the cache).
3. Reset the special features settings to factory (Special features → Three dots in the upper right corner → Reset settings).
4. If the problem persists, roll back the firmware or contact Xiaomi for support.