How to listen to a recording of a conversation on Xiaomi: the complete guide

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone owners often face the challenge of saving important information from phone calls, whether it’s an in-store order confirmation, a customer agreement, or just a personal conversation that can’t be missed. The built-in functionality of the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS allows you to do this automatically, but settings can be hidden or changed depending on the region.

The main challenge for many users is not only to activate the feature, but also to search for stored audio files, store them in specific directories that are not always obvious when you first get acquainted with the Android file system, and legal restrictions in different countries affect the presence of a write button during a call.

In this article, we will discuss in detail how to set up automatic recording of incoming calls, where to look for ready-made files and what to do if standard methods are not used. You will learn about the nuances of the recorder in the background and how to optimize data storage.

Activation of the built-in call recording function

The most reliable and easy way to keep the conversation going is to use the regular telephony capabilities that are pre-installed on the system. Unlike third-party applications, the built-in module does not require additional permissions to access the microphone and works steadily even when there is a lack of RAM. To start, you need to open the standard Phone application, which usually has a green or blue icon with a handset.

In the upper right corner of the screen, you'll see a three-dot or gear icon that represents the settings menu. When you click on it, select Record Settings. That's where all the switches are hidden. If you don't see one, your firmware version may be limited by regional laws, and you'll need to change the region in your smartphone's general settings to India, Indonesia, or Singapore.

Inside the recording settings menu, you'll have some critical options available to you, you can choose to manually turn on during a conversation or you can entrust it to the system. To automate the process, find the Automatic Recording switch and activate it, which will allow you to save every incoming and outgoing call without you.

Also worth paying attention to the settings of sound quality and notifications, the system can warn the interlocutor about the beginning of recording by voice message, which is a requirement of law in many countries, and you can turn off this warning by unchecking the appropriate tick in the menu Warn about recording, but be aware of the ethical side of the matter.

Once activated, the system will start creating audio files every time you call, and it's important to understand that automatic recording can take up a significant amount of space on the internal drive if you communicate a lot, and it's recommended that you periodically check for free memory.

Where to find and how to listen to saved files

Once a conversation is over, the file is stored in the device's memory, and there are two main ways to get to it: through the Phone interface or through the file manager, the first option is convenient if you're looking for a record of a particular contact, the second option is if you want to copy or send a file.

To find the record through the phone book, open the Phone app and go to the Contacts or Journal tab. Find the number you want, which may have a special voice recorder icon or just a record mark. When you click on the contact name, you'll see the call history. Under each specific call, if it's been recorded, there'll be a play button.

If you want access to the file itself to be transferred to your computer, you'll have to use a Explorer. The path to the directory may vary depending on the version of Android and the other version. MIUI. In modern versions of the system, the path often looks like this: → MIUI → sound_recorder → call_rec. In older firmware, the folder may be simply called Recordings or be at the root of internal memory.

Files usually have an extension of.m4a or.mp3, which provides good compatibility with most media players. If a standard player does not open a file, try using a VLC Player or other universal combine. Below is a table with possible paths to files in different versions of the system.

When you search through File Manager Explorer, make sure that the application has permission to access the files. Without that, you simply won't see the contents of the system folders. call_rec Check if the recording was actually done and if there were any system failures.

Set up automatic recording for selected numbers

Recording all conversations is not always practical; users often only need to save conversations with specific numbers, such as a delivery service, a bank, or a specific employee; Xiaomi’s built-in settings allow for flexible management of this process, creating exceptions or, conversely, priority lists.

In the record settings menu, which we talked about earlier, there is an option called "Write down selected numbers," and by activating this mode, you can add contacts from the phone book to a special list, and all calls from these people will be saved automatically, while the rest of the conversations will be recorded without fixation.

This is especially useful for businesses when you need to monitor the work of managers or preserve evidence of agreements with suppliers, and you can also set up a record of unknown numbers, which will help to capture calls from scammers or spammers, although in this case the quality of communication can be unstable.

⚠️ Warning: When setting up automatic recording for all numbers, make sure that your device has enough free space. An hour of conversation in good quality can take up from 20 to 40 MB of disk space.

Remember that the list of numbers to record can be edited at any time. If the need for control is no longer, simply remove the contact from the list or completely disable the function, this will help to avoid the accumulation of unnecessary audio files that will have to be manually deleted over time.

Use of third-party applications for recording

Xiaomi's hardware is functional, but sometimes it's not enough, like if your firmware version has a recording feature cut out because of regional constraints, or if you want to do more advanced cloud storage, and Google Play apps come to the rescue.

One of the most popular solutions is the Call Recorder app, ACR or TapeACall, which have their own audio capture algorithms and can bypass system limitations. However, since Android 9 and later, Google has significantly restricted the access of apps to the microphone during a call, which has led to warnings or recording silence instead of the voice of the interlocutor.

To make a third-party app work correctly on Xiaomi, you need to give it advanced rights. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find your voice recorder and open “Other Permissions.” You need to allow running in the background, displaying over other windows and accessing contacts.

It's also critical to turn off battery savings for this application. MIUI aggressively kills background processes to save energy, which can interrupt recording in the middle of a conversation. Set "No Limits" mode in the battery menu.

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Use hands-free mode when recording via third-party apps if the other person is not audible, which often helps bypass the microphone's software limitations.

Problems with sound quality and their solution

A common complaint of users is a quiet voice or a complete lack of sound in the recording, which may be due to the peculiarities of noise cancellation or conflict of software modules, first of all, check whether the microphone is covered with a cover or fingers during a conversation.

If the problem is software, try changing the sound source in the recording settings (if this option is available in your version), switching between Microphone, Voice Call and Dynamic can dramatically change the result, and in some cases, turning on the speakerphone before recording begins helps.

Another reason could be the use of a headset or Bluetooth headphones, and not all devices support the transmission of conversational sound to record via Bluetooth protocol, in which case the system can only record your voice through the microphone of the phone, and the interlocutor can not.

To improve quality, it is recommended to regularly clean the cache of the Phone and Dictophone applications. The accumulated temporary files can cause malfunctions in the audio subsystem, and this can be done through the application management menu in the system settings.

Synchronization and backup of records

Audio recordings of conversations often contain sensitive information, so losing them can be a nuisance. Xiaomi Cloud's built-in feature allows you to sync recordings, but the amount of free storage is limited. For large amounts of data, it is better to use third-party services or manual copying.

You can set up automatic folder download. call_rec Google Drive, Yandex.Disk or Dropbox. Many file managers have a built-in folder sync feature that will instantly send new records to the cloud as soon as a call is completed.

When changing your phone or resetting your settings, remember to copy important files to your computer in advance. USB-Cable, select file transfer mode, and copy the directory you want, which will take a few minutes, but it's guaranteed to keep your history.

⚠️ Note: When synchronizing conversation records to cloud storage, make sure you comply with your country's privacy laws.Sharing someone else's voice data without consent may be illegal.

Regular backups are the only way to protect yourself from technical failures: Smartphone flash memory is not eternal, and a sudden failure of the drive can lead to the loss of all data, including conversation archives.

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Automatic synchronization of the folder with records in the cloud is the best way to save the history of negotiations in case of loss or breakage of a smartphone.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)