How to find favorites on the Xiaomi phone: step-by-step instructions for all models

Have you saved an important page in your browser, added a file to your favorites in the gallery, or marked your contact as your favorite, but now you can’t find that data? On Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO smartphones, the Favorites feature works differently depending on the application — and is often hidden in non-obvious menu sections. In this article, we’ll take a look at all the possible options where your favorites can be stored, from the standard MIUI browser to the file manager and system settings.

Compounding the problem, the manufacturer regularly updates the shell (currently MIUI 14 and HyperOS), and the layout of the partitions can change. In addition, some applications (such as Google Chrome or Mi Browser) have their own bookmarking mechanisms. We have collected universal methods that work on 90% of Xiaomi devices regardless of the firmware version, and also took into account the nuances for popular models like the Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 or Xiaomi 13T.

1.Favorites in the browser: MI Browser, Chrome and others

The most common reason for looking for favorites is to try to find saved web pages. Xiaomi smartphones have the default MI Browser browser (formerly called Mi Browser), but many users use Google Chrome or Firefox. Consider each option.

V MI Browser is called “Bookmarks” and is available through the icon ⭐ But in the latest versions of the HyperOS shell, the path has changed:

• 🌐 Open up. MI Browser and tap on three points (⋮) bottom-screen.
• 📁 Select Bookmarks – all saved pages will be displayed here.
• 🔍 If there are many bookmarks, use the search bar at the top.
• 📥 To export bookmarks, click "Management» → «Exports (the file will be saved in.html format).

Google Chrome has a different algorithm:

1. Launch your browser and tap three points (⋮) top-right.
2. Select Bookmarks. This will show the folders: Mobile Bookmarks, Favorites (if synced with a Google account), and others.
3. To see bookmarks from your computer, enable synchronization in your account settings.

If you can't see the saved pages, check:

• 🔄 Sync with Google account (for Chrome) or Mi Account (for Chrome) MI Browser).
• 🗑️ Recycle Bin folder in bookmarks – sometimes pages get there after updates.
• 📲 Browser settings: perhaps bookmarks are hidden in incognito mode.

2. Selected contacts in the phone book

If you’re looking for favorite contacts instead of web pages, Xiaomi’s contacts show up in the Contacts app. However, after upgrading to HyperOS, the interface has changed – now favorite contacts can be hidden behind an additional gesture.

To find them:

1. Open the Contacts app (an icon with a human silhouette).
2. Pull the screen down and a quick access panel with the Favorites tab will appear.
3. If there is no tab, tap on three lines (☰) in the upper left corner and select "Favorites" manually.

How to add contact to your favorites:

1. Open the contact card.
2. Slap the heart icon (❤️) star (⭐) top-right.
3. HyperOS may require confirmation through a pop-up window.

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If your favorite contacts are gone after the update, try resetting the Contacts app settings to Settings → Apps → Application Management → Contacts → Storage → Clear the data. Backup first!

3. Selected files in the gallery and file manager

Xiaomi Gallery (Mi Gallery or Photos) has a Favorites feature for photos and videos, which works independently of cloud services like Google Photos, so the files are stored locally to find them:

1. Open the Gallery app.
2. Slap the icon. ⋮ (three points; or ☰ (three lines, depending on the version.
3. Select "Albums" (Albums) → «The Chosen Ones (Favorites).

In File Manager, the selected files are stored in a separate folder:

• 📁 Launch the Files (Files).
• 🔍 Go to the Categories section (Categories) → «The Chosen Ones (Favorites).
• 📌 This will show all the files you have marked with a star (⭐) manually.

How to add a file to your favorites:

1. Press your finger on the file in the gallery or file manager.
2. In the menu that appears, select “Add to Favorites”.
3. In some versions of MIUI, you first need to click More and then select the star icon.

4. Selected messages in SMS and messengers

The standard Messages app on Xiaomi does not have a feature called “favorite SMS”, but you can save important messages to a separate folder.

1. Hold your finger on the right one. SMS.
2. Select “Add to Archive” – the message will be moved to the Archive folder.
3. To find the archive, tap on ☰ in the upper left corner and select Archive».

In messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber, selected messages are stored differently:

• 💬 WhatsApp: Click the message → press ⭐ («To find it, open a chat room. → ☰ → Selected communications.
• 📌 Telegram: Click the message → «Save Message: All saved messages are displayed in the Saved Messages folder (at the top of the chat list).
• 💜 Viber: Hold the message → «Add to Favorites to find: open chat → ⋮ → Chosen.

Important! In HyperOS, the standard Messages app may not support archiving. SMS-Managers like Pulse SMS Textra, where there is a feature of selected messages.

5. Featured apps and desktop shortcuts

On Xiaomi smartphones, you can add apps to your favorites for quick access.

• 📱 Featured Apps Panel (swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen) shows 5-8 frequently used apps that you can edit.
• 🔖 Desktop folders: Create a folder, call it “Favorites” and move the necessary shortcuts there.
• 🔧 Quick Start Settings: In MIUI You can attach applications to the notification panel (Settings) → Control panels → Edit → Add labels).

To add an app to your favorites on the panel:

1. Make a swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen (open the app bar).
2. Press the icon of the desired application and drag it to the bottom of the screen (in the favorites panel).
3. To remove – press the icon in the panel and drag it up.

Nuance for HyperOS: In the new shell, the select app panel can be disabled by default to enable it:

Settings → Desktop → Panel of the selected → Include

Hold an empty space on the desktop|Open the desktop settings|Check the select panel in the swipe up|Make sure the required applications are fixed-->

6. Selected settings and system bookmarks

Few people know, but Xiaomi can save your favorite settings for quick access, for example, if you often turn on Do Not Disturb mode or change the screen resolution, these options can be added to quick settings.

1. Open the "Settings" (Settings).
2. Scroll down and select “Additional settings” → “Quick settings”.
3. Tap on Edit and drag the desired switches to the top (for example, “Airplane Mode”, “Mobile Data”).
4. These settings will now be available in the notification bar (swipe down from the top edge of the screen).

HyperOS also introduced a feature called “Favorites” to control Xiaomi’s smart gadgets (like Yeelight light bulbs or robot vacuum cleaners).

• 🏠 Open the application "Dom" (Mi Home).
• 🌟 Go to the “Favorites” tab in the lower menu.
• 🔄 Here you will see all the devices that you have added to your favorites (to do this, press the device icon and select “Add to your favorites»).

Tip: If you use certain system features often (like Read Mode or Dark Theme), add them to the Quick Settings Panel, which will save time and reduce taps.

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In HyperOS, select settings and devices sync with your Mi Account account, so if you reset your phone to factory settings, you can quickly restore them once you log in.

7.Recovery of the lost elect

If your favorite files, contacts, or bookmarks are missing, don't panic, you can recover them.

1. Check backups: 🔄 For contacts: Settings → Google → Backup → Re-establish contacts. 📁 For files: Open Mi Cloud or Google Drive and check the Backup folder».

Use system tools:

• 🗑️ In the gallery, check out "Basket" (Gallery) → Albums. → The files are stored there for 30 days.
• 🔍 In the file manager, enable the display of hidden files (☰ → Settings → Show hidden files).
• Third-party utilities: If data has been permanently deleted, try recovery software like DiskDigger or Recuva (requires root rights for deep scanning).

If the selected ones are not transferred, mark them manually in the Contacts app.