How to open two apps at once on Xiaomi: all ways to MIUI 12-14

Multitasking on Xiaomi smartphones has long ceased to be a luxury — a necessity for those who are used to working with several tasks in parallel. Want to chat in the messenger and watch video at the same time? Or compare prices in the browser without closing the table in Excel? In this article, we will analyze all the official and hidden ways to run two applications on the screen at the same time, including split mode, floating windows and even bypassing the limitations of MIUI for older models.

It’s important to understand that functionality depends on the firmware version and device model. For example, flagship Xiaomi 13 Pro or POCO F5 supports all multitasking modes out of the box, and budget Redmi 10A may require additional manipulation. We tested all methods on MIUI 12-14 and identified those that work consistently without the risk of “outage” of the system.

Split Screen (Split Screen) is the standard method for MIUI

The most reliable and versatile method that works on most Xiaomi devices since MIUI 9. Supports all applications except system utilities (such as Settings or Calls). The activation algorithm is the same for Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 and other models with current firmware.

To enable split screen:

• 📱 Open the first app (for example, YouTube).
• 👆 Swipe from bottom up the screen and hold your finger for 1 second to open the recent app bar.
• 🔄 Click on the app icon (not the preview!) and select Split Screen (or Split Screen in English).
• 🔍 Select the second app from the recent list or through search.

Once activated, a dividing strip will appear between the windows, which can be dragged up/down to change the proportions (e.g., make one window 70%, another 30%) to exit the mode, pull the strip to the edge of the screen or swipe from it down.

💡

If there is no app in the recent list, open it in normal mode first, then go back to the multitasking bar and repeat the steps.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Redmi) 9A s MIUI 12.5) The split screen may be turned off after the screen is locked. To avoid this, add both apps to the Secure Applications (Settings) → Annexes → Permits → Auto-start).

2.Floating Windows - for quick access

Floating windows allow applications to be opened in a miniature format on top of the main interface, which is convenient for messengers, calculators or players, and unlike a split screen, one window remains active, and the second one floats on top of it in a reduced form.

How to turn on floating windows:

1. Go to Settings → Special Opportunities → Floating Windows.
2. Activate the floating window slider.
3. Select the applications that can be opened in this mode (by default, Calculator, Notes, Recorder are available).
4. To add another app, click Add and select it from the list.

Now for the window to open:

• 📲 Open the notification bar and find the Floating Windows icon (or swipe the screen with two fingers from top to bottom).
• 🖱️ Select the app you want – it will open in a small window that you can drag and drop and resize.

Quick switch gestures (only for MIUI 13+)

In the firmware MIUI 13 and more recently, hidden gestures for multitasking control have been introduced, allowing you to split the screen instantly without opening the recent app bar, saving you time. AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T, POCO X4 Pro).

Algorithm of settings:

1. Activate Full Screen gestures in Settings → Display.
2. Go to Settings. → Additionally. → Gestures.
3. Enable the option of Quick Screen Split.

Now to activate the split screen:

• 👉 Swipe your finger from the lower right corner of the screen upwards and hold for 1 second.
• 👈 Similarly, for the left corner, this will cause the second app's selection panel to be called.

4. Picture in Picture Mode (PiP) for Video

If you need to watch videos (like YouTube or Netflix) and use another app at the same time, use PiP (Picture-in-Picture) mode. It is available on all Xiaomi devices with MIUI 10 and newer, but requires pre-setting.

How to turn on the PiP:

• 🎥 Open the video in the supported app (list below).
• 🔄 Press the Home button (or make a gesture “home”) – the video will automatically roll up into a small window.
• 🖥️ Drag the window to any corner of the screen. To turn it back, touch the window twice.

List of applications with PiP support:

• 📺 YouTube (only for Premium users or bypassing restrictions).
• 🎬 Netflix, Disney+, Twitch.
• 📱 Google Maps (for navigation), VLC, MX Player.

⚠️ Note: On YouTube, without Premium, PiP turns off in 10-15 seconds. To get around this, install an alternative Vanced client or use the Firefox browser with Desktop Mode enabled".

Make sure the application supports PiP|Enable mode in the application settings (if required)|Deactivate battery optimization for the player |Check out MIUI-->

5. Hidden features for older models (MIUI 8–11)

If you have a MIUI device older than version 12 (like the Redmi 5 Plus or Mi A2), standard methods may not work, and activating hidden multitasking mode through the developer settings will help.

Instructions for MIUI 8-11:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Find the option Multitasking or Force Resize Activities and activate it.
4. Reset the device.

After that:

• 🔧 Open the first application.
• 🔄 Click on the square button (multi-tasking) and hold the app icon.
• 🔀 Select the Divided Screen from the menu (if the option appears).

If this method didn’t work, try installing a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher) that supports multitasking, and it has an Enable split-screen option in its settings that sometimes works even on unofficially supported devices.

6.Alternative methods: third-party applications and ADB

If the built-in MIUI features don't work, you can use third-party solutions. We tested 3 reliable applications that do not require root rights and work on most Xiaomi devices:

For advanced users, there is a way to enable multitasking through ADB (Android Debug Bridge. This method works even on devices where the manufacturer has disabled the feature at the firmware level. USB-cable.

Teams for ADB:

adb shell settings put global force_resizeable_activities 1


adb shell settings put global enable_freeform_support 1

Once you've done the commands, restart your smartphone. Now you'll see Force activities to be resizeable in your developer settings, turn it on, and this will unlock split screen for all apps, including those that didn't previously support mode.

💡

Using ADB can cause some applications to run unstable. Before experimenting, back up your data through Settings → Additional → Backup.

7. Frequent problems and their solutions

Even on new Xiaomi devices, there may be failures when using multitasking, and we have collected common errors and ways to fix them:

• ❌ Split screen not turned on: Check if the mode is turned off in Settings → Battery → Performance mode. Switch to Balanced or High Performance.
• ❌ Floating windows disappear after locking: Add the app to Battery Optimization Exceptions (Settings) → Annexes → Battery management).
• ❌ App does not support split screen: Try opening it in Google Chrome via Desktop Mode or use it ADB, as described above.
• ❌ Screen "twitches" when changing window size: Turn off animation in Developer Settings → The scale of the window animation (install animation disabled).

If none of the methods worked, check:

• 🔄 Updates MIUI (Settings → The phone. → Updating the system).
• 🧹 Cache cleaning (Settings) → Annexes → Select the application → Clear the cache).
• 🛠️ Resetting settings (Settings) → The phone. → Resetting settings but not data!).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions