Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphone owners often notice a translucent round button on their screen that follows their finger when dragging and dropping. Many users accidentally activate this interface element and don’t know how to get rid of it, or, conversely, start looking for a way to turn it on, a feature called Quick Ball (or “Fast Ball” in Russified firmware).
In fact, Quick Ball is an analogue of AssistiveTouch from the iOS ecosystem, adapted for the MIUI and HyperOS shell. It is an ergonomics enhancement tool that allows you to perform system actions with one touch, without reaching the edges of the display. In this article, we will discuss in detail how this mechanism works, what hidden features it opens up and why it can be useful even for those who are accustomed to standard navigation.
It’s worth noting that despite its name, this widget has nothing to do with physical ball games or sports accessories: it’s a software overlay running on top of all running applications. Understanding how it works will help you significantly speed up your interaction with Xiaomi smartphone.
What is Quick Ball and Why is it Necessary?
The idea behind the feature is to create a floating quick access menu. Quick Ball is a virtual button that is always on top of the active window. When you click it quickly, it unfolds in a shortcut menu with shortcuts, and when you press it long enough, it allows you to move it around the screen or perform a designated action.
The main purpose of implementing this element in MIUI is to simplify the management of devices with large screen diagonals. When it is difficult to reach the top corner of the display with one hand, moving the ball to the bottom of the screen solves the problem of accessing functions, this is especially true for phablets of the Redmi Note series or flagships of Xiaomi.
It is important to understand the difference between conventional widgets and Quick Ball. Standard widgets are tied to the desktop, whereas this tool is available in any application, including games, browsers and instant messengers. It does not consume significant CPU resources, as it is a system overlay, rather than a separate running application.
The functionality of the balloon goes beyond a simple menu, and it can recognize complex gestures like double-touching or drawing shapes, making it a powerful automation tool that can replace multiple steps in settings.
How to Enable and Configure Quick Ball
Activation of the feature is done through the system settings of the shell. the path may vary slightly depending on the version of Android and regional firmware, but the logic remains the same for all devices of the brand.
To enable, go to Settings → Additional Features → Quick Ball. In some versions of MIUI, this item may be simply called “Quick Ball.” Once the slider is activated, a floating button will appear on the screen.
☑️ Setting up Quick Ball
Once turned on, the system will prompt you to select shortcuts that will be displayed in the open menu. You can select up to five most commonly used features, which can be screenshots, locking the screen, launching the camera or switching tracks.
⚠️ Warning: If you can't find the "Fast Ball" item on the menu, try searching by settings. Type "Quick Ball" or "Fast Ball" into the search box, and the system will open the desired section itself.
Special attention should be paid to adjusting behavior with long pressing. By default, long-term retention allows you to drag the ball, but this feature can be reassigned. For example, you can make a long press immediately take a screenshot, saving the user time.
Hidden opportunities and gesture management
Few people know that Quick Ball supports advanced gesture control, which turns a simple button into a powerful control tool, and there's a Gestures section in the feature settings menu where you can activate additional scripts.
Among the available options are:
- 👆 One touch: Opening the Quick Access Menu (standard behavior).
- ✌️ Double-touch: Launch a pre-selected application or function (e.g. flashlight).
- ✍️ Drawing letters: Drawing the letter "C" will start the camera, and "V" - volume control.
- ⏱️ Long press: moving or running the context menu.
The letter drawing function requires some training, but it's extremely effective for quick access, so you can draw a letter directly over a running game or video, and the system will respond instantly without interrupting the current process.
Also worth mentioning is the ability to set up smart concealment, which can include apps that will automatically hide Quick Ball so as not to interfere with viewing, which is useful for video players and full-immersion games.
Comparison with other navigation methods
To see if you need this tool, compare it to classic control methods, and the table below compares Quick Ball to navigation buttons and gestures.
| Parameter | Quick Ball | Navigation buttons | Gestures (Swipe) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupied seat | Minimum (floating) | The strip at the bottom of the screen | Absent. |
| Availability | In any appendix | Everywhere. | Everywhere. |
| Customizability | High (its own labels) | Low (standard) | Medium |
| Impact on the battery | Minimum | Absent. | Absent. |
As you can see from the table, the main advantage of Quick Ball is personalization. You decide what features are at hand. Gestures are convenient for going back, but they can't start the camera or take a screenshot without additional actions.
Also, for users with damaged volume or power buttons, Quick Ball is a lifesaver.You can bring the screen lock and volume changes to the floating menu, completely eliminating the physical buttons.
Typical problems and their solution
Despite the stability of the work, users may face certain difficulties, most often the problem is that the ball overlaps interface elements in games or applications, this is solved by setting transparency or temporary hiding.
Sometimes Quick Ball can spontaneously disappear after a device is rebooted, and this is due to aggressive battery optimization in MIUI. To fix this, you need to find the Fast Ball process in the application list and prevent it from saving energy.
Algorithm of actions to eliminate the failure:
- 🔋 Go to Settings. → Battery and productivity.
- 📱 Go to the Application Management section.
- 🔍 Find the system process that is responsible for the ball (often called the System) UI Quick Ball).
- ✅ Select the "No Limits" mode».
⚠️ Warning: Do not delete the navigation app in an attempt to fix the ball, which may result in a complete failure of the phone interface.
Another common complaint is that the ball is pulled when dragging, which usually indicates a low frequency of sensor surveys in a particular application or contamination of the screen, wipe the display and check if the hypersensitivity mode is turned on in the screen settings.
Use Quick Ball in Games and Applications
Gamers often wonder if Quick Ball will interfere with games. By default, the system tries to hide overlays in full screen mode, but in some cases the ball remains visible.
You can set up Quick Ball specifically for games, like double taps to enable "Do Not Disturb" or instant messaging, and that allows you to stay connected without leaving the game.
However, in competitive shooters (PUBG, Call of Duty Mobile), any overlays can be considered third-party software and lead to account locking, in which case it is better to completely disable the function before launching the game.
In work applications such as Excel or text editors, the ball can serve as quick access to the clipboard or calculator if you configure the appropriate shortcuts through third-party launchers or scripts, although standard functionality limits this.