Xiaomi’s Multitasking Menu: Where to Search and How to Open in MIUI 12/13/14

You're actively using a Xiaomi smartphone, but you find that your regular multitasking menu (the recent app panel) has disappeared or moved to another place? This problem is familiar to many users after the MIUI update — the interface changes, the gestures control become different, and the standard navigation buttons disappear. In this article, we'll look at all the possible ways to open the multitasking menu on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO phones, including models with MIUI 12, 13 and 14.

The MIUI is a tool that regularly experimentes with navigation, either by returning the classic three buttons, imposing gesture controls, hiding useful features in the depths of the settings, showing you where to look for the recent app bar depending on the firmware version and device model, and by teaching you how to configure a convenient way to call. If you recently upgraded your smartphone or bought a new model (for example, Xiaomi 13T or Redmi Note 12), this guide will help avoid confusion.

Before you get into the details, check out: you may not be aware of the hidden gesture to invoke multitasking in MIUI 14 – swipe upwards with a 0.5 second delay – a nuance that even experienced users often miss!

1. Standard method: swipe up gesture (MIUI 12/13/14)

With MIUI 12, Xiaomi has started to push for gesture control, abandoning traditional navigation buttons, and as a result, the multitasking menu is now opened not by clicking on a square icon, but by a special movement:

• 📱 Swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen with a pause in the middle (hold your finger for 0.3–0.5 seconds).
• ⚡ If it doesn’t work, try starting the gesture strictly from the center of the bottom panel (not the edges!).
• 🔄 In some models (for example, POCO F5) Double swipe up quickly enough without delay.

This method works on most modern devices, including Xiaomi 12/13/14, Redmi Note 11/12 and POCO X5. However, users often confuse it with a back gesture (swipe from the edge of the screen), which causes the panel of recent applications to not open. If you can’t, try calibrating the sensitivity of gestures in the settings.

2. Classical three buttons: where is the "square"?

If you're used to the traditional navigation bar with the Back, Home and Recent buttons, but it's gone, don't worry. You can manually return it to MIUI.

1. Open the Settings → Display.
2. Select Full-screen Display (or Navigation buttons in older versions).
3. Switch to Navigation Buttons (instead of Gestures) mode.

Then, at the bottom of the screen, you'll see three familiar buttons, where the center round is Home, and the square right is the multitasking menu. Click on it once to see a list of recent apps. Note that some models (like Redmi 10) may have a square button on the left, depending on regional settings.

3. Alternative ways to open up multitasking

If standard methods don’t work (for example, due to a firmware failure or an unusual shell), try these options:

• 🔘 Double-click on the home button (works on older models with physical buttons, such as Redmi) 4X).
• 🖱️ Mouse gesture (if connected to the mouse) OTG): swipe up with a delay in the center of the screen.
• 📲 Voice Assistant: Say “Open Recent Apps” (requires Google Assistant or XiaoAI enabled).
• 🔧 Through the notification bar: Swipe down from the top edge and find the Multitasking icon (not available on all versions).

On devices with MIUI for POCO (e.g., POCO X3 Pro), a swipe to the right on the bottom panel sometimes works – this gesture duplicates the function of the square button. If none of the methods worked, check if multitasking is disabled in the developer settings (more on this below).

Make sure the device does not turn on the "No distractions" mode"|Try restarting your phone.|Update. MIUI last-minute|Check if a third-party launcher is installed (e.g. Nova Launcher)-->

4. Customize multitasking gestures in MIUI 14

In the latest firmware version (MIUI 14), the gesture recognition algorithm became more sensitive to speed and trajectory, to customize it to suit itself:

1. Go to Settings → Display → Full-screen display → Additional gesture settings.
2. Turn on the “Gestural Sensitivity” option and move the slider to the maximum.
3. Activate “Gestural Vibration” to feel the response when swiping.

MIUI 14 also introduced the Quick Switch between Applications feature, where if you swipe down the bottom edge of the screen from left to right, the last app you used will open, which is convenient for switching between two programs (for example, between messenger and browser).

5. Multitasking Problems: Why doesn't the menu open?

If the menu of recent apps has stopped opening, the reasons may be as follows:

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi) 9A) post-update MIUI 13 missing gesture response. This is due to a firmware error — check for patches in the System Update section».

• 🛠️ Launcher failure: Clear Launcher app cache in settings.
• 📱 Incompatible launcher: Third-party shells (like Nova Launcher) can block gestures MIUI.
• 🔒 “No distractions” mode: turn it off in the notification curtain.
• 🤖 Developer Settings: Check if the “Background Process Limit” option is disabled».

If the problem persists, try resetting your gesture settings:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times on the MIUI version to activate the developer mode.
3. Return to “Additional Settings” and select “Developers”.
4. Find the item “Reset navigation gestures” and confirm the action.

💡

If after resetting gestures, multitasking still does not work, try temporarily disabling the function "Window animation" in the developer settings - sometimes it conflicts with the recognition of swipes.

6. How to close applications in the multitasking menu?

Opening a recent app dashboard is half the battle, and users often find themselves unable to close or pin programs to this menu.

• 🚫 Closing the application: swipe up the application card (in MIUI 14 added animation "explosion»).
• 🔒 Fixing: Click on the app icon in the card and select “Fix” (the pin icon will appear).
• ℹ️ Application information: tap on the icon to open its settings (for example, to clear the cache).
• 🗑️ Cleaning everyone: the “Close everything” button at the bottom of the screen (in MIUI 12 and newer).

MIUI 14 has a Smart Close feature, which is the system that determines which applications can be closed without compromising performance, and if you see a gray bin icon next to the card, it means that the application can be safely completed.

⚠️ Warning: Do not force system processes (e.g. com.miui.home or android.systemui) to close – this may cause the interface to freeze and the need to restart.

7.Comparing multitasking on Xiaomi and other brands

Users switching from Samsung, Huawei or Google Pixel to Xiaomi often notice differences in multitasking.

The main advantage of MIUI is the application anchorage, which is not available in pure Android. The disadvantage is that gestures are not always stable, especially after updates. If you are used to a different interface, you can install an alternative launcher (for example, Microsoft Launcher), but note that this can disable some of the features of MIUI.

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On Xiaomi with MIUI 14, the multitasking menu supports up to 20 simultaneously open apps (vs 12 for Samsung and 8 for Google Pixel).

FAQ: Frequent questions about multitasking on Xiaomi