If you've ever looked at a developer's settings on your Xiaomi, you've probably come across the enigmatic "log level" parameter, which often raises questions about what it means, why it's needed, and how it affects how your smartphone works? Unlike obvious options like "Debug by Smartphone." USB» or "Window animations", the level of the magazine remains for many users a "dark horse».
In fact, this parameter plays a key role in diagnosing system errors, debugging applications, and even solving performance problems, especially for owners of Xiaomi devices, where MIUI does not always work consistently with custom firmware or after updates. In this article, we will understand what Verbose, Debug, Info and others are, how to set them up correctly and in which cases it can be useful.
Spoiler: You don't have to change the log level unnecessarily, it can fill up your device's memory with unnecessary logs, but if you're developing, testing beta versions of software, or trying to find the cause of bugs, this tool will be your sure assistant.
What is the level of the magazine on Android and why you need it?
Log level is a parameter that determines the detail of entries in the system log (logcat) Android. Simply put, it regulates which events will be recorded in the logs: only critical errors or absolutely all the system activities, including debugging information.
On Xiaomi smartphones (as well as other Android devices), log levels are used to:
- 🔍 Diagnostics of failures – looking for causes of sudden reboots, freezes or application errors.
- 🛠️ Software debugging – developers and testers analyze logs to find bugs in firmware or applications.
- 📊 Performance monitoring – tracking processor load, memory consumption, and other metrics.
- 🔧 Custom firmware settings - when installing unofficial versions MIUI or AOSP-Logic firmware helps to identify incompatibility.
It’s important to understand that the log level doesn’t directly affect smartphone performance, but it can take up extra memory space if set to maximize detail. By default, most Xiaomi devices have an Info or Warning level – enough for normal use.
What are the levels of the journal and how are they different?
Android has 7 standard log levels, organized by the level of detail (from the most detailed to the most general). On Xiaomi smartphones, the developer settings usually available 4-5 of them.
| Level. | Description | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Verbose | Maximum detail: All events are recorded, including debugging messages. | For deep debugging or finding rare bugs, it takes up a lot of space. |
| Debug | Debugging information that's useful to developers, less extensive than Verbose. | Testing applications or firmware. |
| Info | Informational messages about key events (launching applications, changing network status, etc.). | Standard level for most users. |
| Warning | Warnings about potential problems (e.g., slow server response) | If you need to track down non-critical failures. |
| Error | Only critical errors that lead to failures. | Diagnosing serious problems (such as sudden reboots) |
Xiaomi may also have an Assert level, but it is rarely used and is usually hidden from the user.
⚠️ Warning: Setting the Verbose layer on a permanent basis will lead to rapid filling of internal memory with logs. On some Xiaomi devices, this can cause slowdown due to frequent data writing.
How to change the level of the magazine on Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions
To access the log level setting, you first need to activate the developer mode.
- Go to Settings. → The phone.
- Find the item "Version" MIUI
- Enter your password (if requested).
You can change the level of the journal:
☑️ Setting up the magazine level on Xiaomi
Once the level is selected, the system will start writing logs according to the new parameters, and to see the results, you can use the adb logcat command or special applications for viewing logs (for example, Logcat Reader).
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If you're not sure which level to choose, start with Info, which provides enough information to diagnose most problems without overloading the system.
Where Logs Are Stored and How to Read Them
Android logs (including those that depend on the log level) are stored in special buffers, which can be viewed in several ways:
- 🖥️ Through ADB — Connect your phone to your PC and use the command: adb logcat -d | findstr "E/" # Only show adb logcat errors -d -s "ActivityManager" #Filter by tag
- 📱 Through apps – in Google Play there are utilities like Logcat Extreme or aLogcat that output logs directly on the smartphone screen.
- 📁 Manually in files – some logs are saved in /data/log/, But access to this folder requires root rights.
Xiaomi devices also have a built-in log collection tool, Mi Log, to use:
- Open the Feedback app (or Services & Feedback in global firmware).
- Select System Logs and click Start Recording.
- Replay the problem (for example, launch the app that crashes).
- Stop recording and save the log file (usually in.txt or.zip format).
⚠️ Note: Logs may contain confidential information (phone numbers, IMEI, Do not share it in public without first cleaning!
When and what level of journal to choose
The level of choice depends on your task. Here are typical scenarios for Xiaomi owners:
- 🔄 The smartphone often reboots or flies to bootloop → Install Error or Assert to see critical crashes.
- 📱 The app flies off at launch → Use Debug to track its activity.
- 🔍 Testing custom firmware → Verbose will help to identify incompatibility with iron.
- ⚡ Battery's running out fast. → Info will show which processes are active in the background.
If you’re not a developer, you’ll have 90 percent of the time with Info, and installing Verbose will unnecessarily fill up memory with unnecessary data — which can take up to 500MB per day on some Xiaomi devices.
What to do if the logs are not saved?
Errors and problems with journal levels
When changing the log level to Xiaomi, users may face several typical problems:
- Settings are reset after rebooting - this is a feature of some versions MIUI. Solution: Reset the level or use it ADB-The command to fix the parameter: adb shell settings put global log_level 3 # 3 = Error, 2 = Warning, etc.
- Logs are not displayed in logcat – check if MIUI blocks them (in the developer settings there may be a clause “Disable MIUI Logs”).
- The device brakes after turning on Verbose - that's OK, because the system spends resources writing logs.
Another common mistake is level confusion, where users think Debug will only show errors, when it actually includes all the debugging information, and if you only want crashes, choose Error.
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On Xiaomi devices with MIUI 14+, log levels may be limited by security policies. If the setting does not change, try disabling Data Protection in the privacy settings.
Alternative ways to get logs on Xiaomi
If standard log level settings do not help, you can use alternative methods of collecting logs:
- 📡 MIUI Diagnostics is a built-in diagnostics app (not available on all models) and runs through code ##4636##.
- 🔧 ADB-commands – for example, adb bugreport creates a full report on the state of the system.
- 📦 Specialized utilities – MatLog or CatLog allow you to filter logs by tags and levels.
To send logs in support of Xiaomi, it is convenient to use the official Feedback app, which automatically collects the necessary data and forms an archive that can be sent to developers.
If you need logs to unlock the bootloader or install custom firmware, you should use fastboot commands, for example, to record the unlock log:
fastboot oem get_unlock_log