Owning a modern smartphone involves actively interacting with content that often needs to be saved as a static image. Users often wonder how to take a screenshot of the screen on Xiaomi, especially when switching from other operating systems or after updating the interface. The functionality of taking pictures in the shells of MIUI and the new HyperOS is implemented as flexibly as possible, offering many options for this task.
The need to capture correspondence, an error in the application or an interesting moment in the game occurs regularly. Screenshot is a standard tool built deep into the Android system, but manufacturers often add their unique chips. In devices of the brand from Subdniebelnoy, this process can be carried out not only with a classic set of buttons, but also through special gestures, voice commands or even tapping on the body.
In this article, we will take a look at all the screenshot techniques available so you can choose the one that is most convenient for you, we will touch on the nuances of working with long screenshots that allow you to capture entire pages of sites, and we will look at the settings that can block the creation of images in certain applications. Understanding these mechanisms will allow you to more effectively manage information on your device.
Classical Method: A Combination of Physical Buttons
The most common and reliable way to work on the vast majority of models, including the Redmi Note, Poco and the flagship Mi series, is to use physical keys. To create a picture, you need to simultaneously press the Power button and Volume Down button. This method is universal and does not require pre-tuning, even in safe mode.
It's important to note that the tapping needs to be short-term, almost instantaneous. If you hold your fingers on the buttons too long, the system might think of it as a command to call an emergency call menu or reboot. Physical buttons provide instantaneous response to the system, and you'll hear the characteristic sound of the camera shutter, and you'll see the animation of the screen flash.
Once you create an image, you'll have a thumbnail at the top of the display, and you'll click on it, and you'll be taken to an editor where you can cut it right away, add text, or send it to the messenger, and if you don't do anything, the thumbnail will disappear in a few seconds, and the file will be saved in the gallery, which is especially convenient when the phone is in the case, and the touchscreen may not respond correctly.
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If you have thumbs and it is uncomfortable to press two buttons at the same time, try pressing the volume button first and after a split second, the power button.
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the screenshot is not created, this can be due to a software failure or the fact that a particular application (for example, in the banking sector) has protection against copying data, in which case the system blocks the creation of the image for security purposes, and the screen will simply blink or nothing will happen.
Gesture control: triple touch and swipes
MIUI and HyperOS shells are famous for their advanced gesture control, which allows you to forget about physical buttons. One of the most popular methods is triple tapping on the screen. To activate this feature, you need to go to the settings, select the "Additional" section and find the "Screenshot" item where you need to switch the "Triple Touch" slider.
Once activated, it is enough to quickly touch any area of the display three times to take a picture, which is extremely convenient when the phone is lying on the table or when the second hand is busy, but it is worth considering that the sensitivity of the touchscreen can vary depending on the protective film installed or the ambient temperature.
Another useful tool is the drop-down menu, the "Stork": swipe down from top to bottom, you'll see a lot of quick-setting icons, often including the "Screenshot" button (sometimes hidden in the second page of the menu, which is swiped to the right), and clicking on this icon instantly creates a snapshot of the current content of the screen without having to reach for the buttons.
There is also a two-finger screenshot feature, although it is less common in newer firmware versions, and the method is to spread two fingers from the center of the screen to the side, and if this gesture does not work by default, you can try to activate it through the special feature menu, but triple tap remains a more stable option.
Voice control and assistants
Today’s Xiaomi smartphones are equipped with powerful voice assistants that allow you to control the device without hands. To create a screenshot with your voice, you can use Google Assistant or built-in Mi AI (depending on the region and version of the firmware), just wake the assistant with a phrase or button and say the command “Take a screenshot” or “screenshot”.
This method is especially relevant in situations where the phone is connected to an external display or is in a mode where tactile control is difficult. Voice input requires an active Internet connection to process the request on Google servers, so in flight mode it may not work. Voice commands are a great addition to the user's arsenal, increasing the availability of smartphone features.
It's worth noting that speech recognition works better if the diction is clear and the background noise is minimal. If the assistant doesn't understand the command the first time, try to formulate the query differently, such as "Photograph the screen." In some cases, you may need to pre-configure the voice input language in the system settings.
⚠️ Attention: Voice-generated screenshots may not work in privacy-enhanced applications, even if the visual method through buttons is available.
Creating long screenshots (scrolling)
One of the most sought-after features in the Xiaomi ecosystem is the ability to take long screenshots, which captures not only the visible part of the screen, but also content that is hidden outside the display, such as a long article in the browser or correspondence in the messenger. After you create a regular screenshot (in any of the ways described above), a thumbnail appears at the top of the screen.
In this thumbnail, you need to click on a special icon that resembles a scroll or arrow down, with the caption "Scroll." After that, the system will automatically start scrolling the contents of the page down, "stitching" the image into one long tape, the process will stop when you touch the screen or when you reach the end of the page.
It is essential for saving instructions, WhatsApp or Telegram correspondence, and lists of products in online stores, but it is worth remembering that the length of the final image can be limited by technical parameters, and in some cases very long pages can be broken down into several files.
☑️ Checking the scroll functionality
It is important to consider that the scroll function does not work in all applications. Dynamic content, such as social media feeds (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook), often does not support automatic scrolling for screenshots due to the peculiarities of rendering their interfaces.
Settings and editing screenshots in MIUI
Once an image is created, the system offers a rich set of tools to process it, and the integrated editor allows you not only to fraternize the image, but also to mark up, add text, stickers, and even blur sensitive data, which are available immediately after you create the image, if you click on the preview.
In the screenshot settings (Settings path → Additional features → Screenshot), you can change the format of the saved file. JPG is used by default, but for users who value quality, the option of saving in PNG is available. The PNG format provides lossless compression, which is critical for screenshots with text or graphics, but such files take up more space in memory.
You can also customize your post-snap behavior to preview, make a sound, or vibrate, and for those who take hundreds of screenshots daily, it’s helpful to automatically add a watermark to the device model, although this is customized in a separate camera and design menu.
| Parameter | Description | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| File format | JPG or PNG | JPG for space saving, PNG for quality |
| Shutter sound | On/off | Turn off in the cinema or in a meeting |
| Preview screening | Miniature display | Enable for quick access to editing |
| Adding time | Useful for archiving errors |
Remember that all edited screenshots are saved as new files, while the original remains the same. This allows you to experiment with the design without fear of losing the original image. The editor supports layering, which allows you to overlay text on top of the figures and vice versa.
Where screenshots and work with files are stored
All images are automatically stored in the device’s internal memory. The standard path to the folder looks like Internal Memory/DCIM/Screenshots. The Explorer file manager, which is pre-installed on Xiaomi, has a separate Images category, where screenshots are displayed in a separate folder for easy access.
When connecting a smartphone to a computer through USB-And you can also find these files in the way that I mentioned above, which is convenient for fast transfer of materials to your PC without using cloud services. Android file system organizes storage logically, but when cleaning the memory, you should be careful not to delete the necessary pictures along with the cache.
What to do if screenshots take up a lot of space?
In the gallery, screenshots are often grouped by date of creation, and there's a smart sort that can recognize text in an image, allowing you to search for screenshots based on the keywords written on them, which makes it much faster to find the right information in an archive of thousands of images.
⚠️ Note: When cleaning memory through third-party accelerator apps, carefully check the file list to be deleted. Often they mark screenshots older than 30 days as junk, although they may be necessary.
Problems and Solutions: Why Screenshots Are Not Working
Sometimes users find that none of the methods work. The screen blinks, but the file is not created. The first reason is often crowded memory. If there is no free space on the device, the system cannot physically save the new file. In this case, you need to delete the extra applications or videos.
The second common reason is the restrictions imposed by the applications themselves: Banking programs, browser incognito modes and some streaming services (Netflix, Kinopoisk) block the creation of screenshots at the security level (flag) FLAG_SECURE). In such cases, the screen may simply go out for a moment or a message will appear about the impossibility of action.
The third reason is a software glitch, and if even the triple tap that used to work stopped working, try rebooting the device. In rare cases, resetting the special settings helps. Rebooting the system often resolves the small conflicts of the processes involved in the input and output of the image.
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If the screenshot is not taken in a particular app, it is likely to be content copy protection, not phone breakdown.
If the problem is systemic and affects all applications, it is worth checking for firmware updates. Developers regularly release patches that fix shell bugs. MIUI/HyperOS. You can also try to reset the settings of special capabilities to the factory without deleting personal data.