How to set a photo for contact in Xiaomi Redmi 9: 5 ways with pictures

Why can't Redmi 9 add a photo to the contact?

You're trying to personalize your contact on a Xiaomi Redmi 9 phone, but the system stubbornly ignores your attempts to upload a photo? This problem is familiar to many MIUI users - standard firmware limits the size and format of images, and sometimes completely hides the option of adding a photo to the contact menu. In this article, we will analyze all the working methods, from basic settings to workarounds through Google services and third-party applications.

The Redmi 9 (M2003J15SC/M2004C3LG) feature is that the MIUI 12+ can automatically crop photos into a round avatar shape, causing some images to lose quality or be displayed incorrectly. We'll show you how to avoid this and upload the photo in its original form. And if you encounter an error called "failed to update contact," there's a solution section at the end of this article.

Before you start, check:

• 📱 Version. MIUI: Update the system to the latest stable firmware (instructions in the section below).
• 🖼️ Photo format: only.jpg,.png and.webp are supported (max. size - 5 MB).
• 📞 Contact type: Photos can only be added to contacts saved in a Google account or on a Google account. SIM-map (but not all!).

If you’re using Redmi 9A or Redmi 9C, the instructions will be adjusted for the MIUI version – in these models, the Contacts menu may look different, but the logic of the action is the same.

Method 1: Add a photo through the standard “Contacts” app

The most obvious method is to use the built-in Contacts app (an icon with a person's silhouette on a green background). However, there are pitfalls: MIUI sometimes hides the photo editing button if the contact is synchronized with multiple accounts.

1. Open the Contacts app and find the contact you want in the list.
2. Slip on it, then tap on the pencil icon (✏️) top-right.
3. In the edit menu that opens, find the round camera icon. 📷 If you don't have one, see the problem-solving section.
4. Click on the camera icon and select: 📸 Take a photo if you want to take a new image. 🖼️ Gallery – to upload an existing photo. 🎨 Avatar – for selection from standard icons MIUI.

trim him

Ready.

Important! If the contact is synced with Google Account, the changes may not be immediately - wait for sync (usually takes 1-2 minutes). To speed up the process, open Settings → Accounts → Google and manually start sync contacts.

Select an image with a resolution of at least 300×300 pixels

Cut the background so that the face occupies 70% of the frame

Save in JPG format with 80-90% quality

Check that the file is less than 5 MB

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Method 2: Install photos via Google Contacts (web version)

If the standard method didn’t work, try editing the contact via the web version of Google Contacts, which is suitable if your contacts are synced with your Google account (check Settings → Accounts), the advantage of the method is that you can upload photos without cropping in a circle, keeping the original proportions.

Instructions:

1. Open your browser on Redmi 9 (or PC) and go to contacts.google.com.
2. Sign in with the same Google account as you do on your phone.
3. Find the contact you need in the list and click on it.
4. In the upper right corner, click on the pencil icon (✏️) editable.
5. Click on the camera icon 📷 Next to the contact name and upload a photo from the device.
6. Save the changes – the photo syncs with the phone for 5-10 minutes.

💡

If a photo is displayed in Google Contacts and not on your phone, try removing the contact from MIUI and re-sync it from the cloud. Open the Contacts app, find the contact problem, click on “More → Delete,” then update the contact list (pull down).

Method 3: Using the Google Photos app to crop

MIUI often distorts the proportions of photos when cropped under an avatar, and to avoid this, you can pre-prepare the image in Google Photos, the application that is installed on Redmi 9 by default.

1. Open Google Photos and select the image you want to use for contact.
2. Click on the editing icon (📝) and select the "Pruning" tool».
3. Set the 1:1 aspect ratio (square) and trim the photo so that the face or main object is in the center.
4. Save the modified photo (click "Done" → "Save a copy").
5. Now upload this photo to contact via the standard Contacts app (see Method 1).

The advantage of this method is that you control the final result and avoid automatic MIUI trimming. If you need to keep the original proportions (for example, for a rectangular photo), use Method 4 with third-party applications.

Method 4: Third-party applications for flexible photo settings

If you don't like the limitations of MIUI, you can use third-party contact management apps that allow you to:

• 🖼️ Upload photos without cropping in a circle (keeping the original proportions).
• 🔄 Sync your contacts with multiple accounts (not just Google).
• 🎨 Apply filters and effects to photos directly in the app.

The best options for Redmi 9:

• Truecaller, in addition to the number detector, allows you to edit photos of contacts with advanced cropping settings.
• Contacts+ supports cloud sync and flexible avatar settings, plus: you can upload photos in high resolution.
• Simpler Contacts is a minimalist application without advertising, with a convenient photo editor.

Instructions for Truecaller:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Register (you can register through a Google account).
3. Find the contact in the list and tap it.
4. Click on the camera icon 📷 Next to the name and select a photo from the gallery.
5. Edit the photo (trimming, filters) and save the changes.

Method 5: Manual editing via contacts.db (for advanced)

If none of the above methods worked, you can try manually replacing the photo of the contact through system files, which requires root rights or access to ADB, so only for advanced users. Wrong actions can lead to loss of contacts!

Instructions via ADB:

1. Connect Redmi 9 to your PC and enable USB Debugging (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times tap on version, then go back to Settings → Additional → For Developers → Debugging on USB).
2. Download ADB Tools and open the command line in the folder with adb.exe.
3. Enter the command to copy the contact database on your PC: adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db
4. Open the file. contacts2.db via SQLite Browser and find the table raw_contacts.
5. In the field photo_uri or photo_thumb_uri Write down the path to a new photo (pre-upload it to your phone’s memory).
6. Save the changes and return the file back to: adb push contacts2.db /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/
7. Reboot the phone.

💡

This method is risky – if you make a mistake, you can lose all contacts. We recommend you to back up beforehand through Settings → System → Backup or export contacts to a.vcf file.

Addressing common mistakes

If the photo doesn’t install or disappears after the reboot, check out these points:

⚠️ If the contact is only saved on SIM-map, MIUI Transfer the contact to your Google account or phone memory: open the contact → More. → Exports → Google account.

Error 1: “I failed to update my contact”

• 🔌 Check your internet connection – without it, sync with Google doesn’t work.
• 📵 Make sure that contact is not blocked (in some versions) MIUI Blocked contacts cannot be edited).
• 🔄 Reinstall updates for the Contacts app via Google Play.

Error 2: Photo is displayed blurry

• MIUI compresses photos to 96×96 pixels to save space. To avoid this, use Method 3 (Gogle Photos cropping).
• Try uploading a photo with a resolution of 500×500 pixels – this is the optimal size for MIUI.

Error 3: Photos disappear after MIUI update

• This is a well-known problem with MIUI 12.5-14. Solution: export contacts to a.vcf file before upgrading, and import them back after updating.
• Disable optimization for the application Contacts: Settings → Applications → Application Management → Contacts → Battery → No restrictions.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Contacts.
2. Click Warehouse → Clear the data (Warning: This will delete all unsynchronized contacts!).
3. Restart your phone and wait for Google to sync again.

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FAQ: Frequent questions about installing photos on contacts in Redmi 9