Owners of the flagship smartphone Xiaomi Mi 9 often face the need to capture information on the display, whether it is correspondence in the messenger, an interesting moment in the game or a route map. The standard procedure for creating a screenshot may seem obvious, but in the shell of MIUI there are many hidden functions and alternative methods that not all users know. Understanding these nuances allows you to significantly speed up the work with the device and save time in everyday tasks.
In this article, we will take a look at all the available ways to create screenshots on the Mi 9, from the classic button combination to advanced gestures and voice control. You will learn how to configure automatic saving, where to look for ready files and what to do if standard methods have stopped working due to a system failure or application conflict.
The material is prepared with the hardware features of your device in mind, including the absence of a physical home button and the presence of an optical fingerprint scanner under the screen. We will help you master the MIUI interface at a professional level, turning routine actions into an automated process.
Classical Method: A Combination of Physical Buttons
The fastest and most proven way to take a screenshot on the Xiaomi Mi 9 is to use hardware control keys, which works at the Android operating system level and is available even if the touch screen temporarily does not respond to touch or is locked.
It is important to keep the right sequence and synchrony of the pressing. If you press one button first and then the second, the system may perceive this as a command to call the switch menu or change the volume. Short and simultaneous pressing (0.5-1 seconds) will cause the characteristic sound of the camera shutter and vibration, signaling the successful creation of the screenshot.
⚠️ Attention: Do not hold the buttons too long. Prolonged clamping of the "Loudness down" combination» + «Powering the Mi 9 could force the device to restart, interrupting current processes.
Once you've successfully created a picture, you'll have a thumbnail at the top of the screen, and if you click on it, you'll go to edit mode, where you can use cropping, drawing, and overlaying tools, and if the thumbnail doesn't show up, check the notification settings, because the system may have blocked the pop-up for the current application.
Screen capture with three fingers: setting and use
One of the most convenient features in the MIUI shell is the ability to create screenshots using the Three Finger gesture, which is especially relevant for the Xiaomi Mi 9, given its large dimensions and the lack of physical buttons on the front panel, which makes one-handed control not always comfortable.
Go to Settings → Additional settings → Screenshot. Here you will find the "Three Finger Screenshot" switch. Once activated, simply swipe three fingers from top to bottom in the center of the screen anywhere in the interface. The system instantly responds to the gesture by creating a copy of the image.
It is worth noting that the sensitivity of the Mi 9 sensor allows you to recognize this gesture even through a protective glass of medium thickness. However, if you use thick tempered glass or screen film with poor conductivity, the system may not recognize the touch of three fingers at the same time, in which case it is recommended to increase the frequency of the sensor in the display settings or use an alternative method.
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For more accurate gesture recognition, try to keep your fingers 2-3 cm apart and hold them at a moderate speed, without pressing too hard against the matrix.
Use of control panel and notification curtain
The third way to create screenshots on Xiaomi Mi 9 does not require memorizing keyboard combinations or performing complex gestures. It is implemented through the system's software interface. To do this, you need to unlock the smartphone and lower the top notification curtain down to open the control center. In the quick settings grid, find an icon with a picture of scissors or a camera signed as "Screenshot".
Clicking on this icon initiates the same process as the button combination: a beep is heard and the image is stored in the gallery. This method is ideal for situations where the physical buttons are faulty, stuck, or when the phone is in a case that makes it difficult to access the side faces of the case.
If you don't find the right icon in the front row, try swiping right or clicking on the menu edit button (usually a pencil icon or a tripod) to add a screenshot shortcut to the active area. Personalization of the control panel allows you to bring the most commonly used features, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and screen capture, to the first level of access.
Long screenshot: saving large amounts of information
Long Screenshot (or Scrolling) is one of MIUI’s most sought-after features, which allows you to create composite images by combining multiple screens into one long tape, and is indispensable when saving WhatsApp or Telegram correspondence, browser articles, contact lists or navigator route maps.
To activate this mode, first create a normal screenshot in any convenient way. Immediately after that, in the upper right corner of the thumbnail that appears, click the down arrow button or the Scrolling icon. The device will automatically start scrolling the contents of the screen down, stitching the frames into a single image, the process will stop when you touch the screen or reach the end of the page.
| Parameter | Description of function | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Activation. | The button on the thumbnail after the usual screenshot | Doesn't work in some games |
| Max. Length. | Up to 100 screens in a single file | Depends on the amount of memory |
| Format | Saved as a single PNG/JPG file | It can have a lot of file weight. |
| Editing | The edges are trimmed after creation | You can't divide them automatically. |
If the system is slow or open with many heavy applications, the feature may be delayed, and it is also worth considering that the final file can take up a significant amount of memory, especially if you save content in high resolution.
☑️ Checklist for the perfect long screenshot
Voice control and Google Assistant
Modern smartphones, including the Xiaomi Mi 9, allow you to control basic functions with voice. This is especially convenient when the user’s hands are busy or the device is in a difficult position. To create a screenshot with voice, the built-in Google Assistant or Mi AI (depending on the region and version of the firmware).
Activate the assistant with the phrase "Ok, Google" or "Hello, Mi", or by long pressing the power button (if the function is assigned in the settings). After activation, say the command "Take a screenshot" or "Screenshot of the screen." The system will perform the request, emit an audible signal and save the image. This method works globally and does not depend on the open application.
⚠️ Attention: Voice control requires active internet and enabled microphone access permissions. In Flight mode or if a signal is bad, the command may not execute.
Voice input also allows you to combine actions, such as, "Take a screenshot and send it to Ivan's Telegram contact," which creates a powerful bundle for quickly transmitting information without touch input, but it's worth considering that speech recognition can work incorrectly in noisy rooms or with specific accents.
Where to look and how to edit the photos
After creating a screenshot on Xiaomi Mi 9 The file is automatically saved to the gallery, and you can find it by opening the Gallery app and going to the Screenshots album. In the file system, the path to the images usually looks like a picture. /internal_storage/DCIM/Screenshots or /internal_storage/Pictures/Screenshots, Depending on the Android version and system settings.
The built-in MIUI editor offers a wide range of tools for image processing immediately after creation. You can crop off extra edges, add text comments, highlight important areas with a marker, or blur sensitive information (such as card numbers or passwords) before sending.
Secrets of the editor of screenshots MIUI
For fast screenshot transfer, use the Share feature directly from previews. Mi 9 supports file transfer via Mi Share (similar to AirDrop) to other Xiaomi devices, which provides high transfer speeds without quality compression.
Solution: If a screenshot is not taken
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where a screenshot is not created, this may be due to security restrictions of some applications (for example, banking programs or incognito mode in the browser), which block screen capture to protect sensitive data, in which case a black screen or an error message will appear on the screenshot site.
Another reason may be overcrowded RAM: If the Mi 9 is under-resourced, the system may ignore the request to take a snapshot, in which case it is recommended to close the background applications through the multitasking menu and clear the cache.
Also check for free space in the internal storage. If the device's memory is full, there's just nowhere to save the new file.
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If the screenshot is not taken in a particular app, it is likely a security limitation of the app itself, not a smartphone error.