Xiaomi screen turns off when listening to voice in WhatsApp: reasons and solutions

You listen to a WhatsApp voice message on a Xiaomi smartphone, and suddenly the screen goes out — the sound continues, but the picture disappears? This problem occurs on devices with MIUI 12-14 and is associated with a conflict of energy-saving functions, application optimization or firmware errors. Most often the bug appears on Redmi Note 10/11/12, POCO X3/X4 and Mi 11 Lite models, but can affect any gadgets of the brand.

80% of the time, the fault is the automatic screen shutdown settings or aggressive MIUI optimization that freezes the app while playing audio. Less commonly, the problem is a damaged WhatsApp cache, an outdated version of the messenger or system failures. This article provides a full list of working solutions, from simple to radical, with explanations for beginners and technical details for advanced users.

1. Check the screen shutdown time settings

The first thing to rule out is the underlying reason: screen timeouts. MIUI has separate settings for locking when you're inactive and when you're using apps, and if the screen goes out exactly 15 to 30 seconds after you start playing a voice message, that's the fault.

How to check:

• 🔹 Open the Settings. → Screen. → Sleeping mode.
• 🔹 Set the value of “Never” (or maximum – 10 minutes).
• 🔹 Restart your smartphone and check if the problem persists.

If the screen still goes out, move on to the next step, and it's important that you return the timeout value after the test to keep the battery from landing.

2. disable optimization for WhatsApp

MIUI aggressively saves resources by suspending background processes. For instant messengers, this often causes audio playback failures. The solution is to turn off battery optimization for WhatsApp.

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find WhatsApp in the list and tap it.
3. Select Battery Consumption → No restrictions.
4. Activate the Auto Start option (if any).

For models with MIUI 14, the path may be different: Settings → Battery and Performance → App selection → WhatsApp → No restrictions.

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If after switching off the optimization, the battery began to go down faster, add WhatsApp to the list of “Exceptions” for energy saving mode (Settings → Battery → Power Saving Mode → Exceptions).

3. Clear WhatsApp cache and data

Damaged temporary messenger files can cause conflicts with the system, including spontaneously turning off the screen.Cache cleaning is a safe way to reset the application settings without deleting the chats (if you do not touch the Data).

How to do this:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → WhatsApp → Warehouse.
• 🧹 Click Clear Cache (do not delete Data or you will lose your history!).
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.

If the problem persists, try to delete the data (but pre-back up the chats in WhatsApp Settings → Chat → Backup).

4.Update WhatsApp and MIUI

Screen bugs when playing voice messages are often fixed in new versions of WhatsApp or MIUI. Check the relevance of the software:

For WhatsApp:

• 🛒 Open Google Play → find WhatsApp → Press Update (if the button is active).
• 🌐 If there are no updates, download the latest version from the official website (whatsapp.com/android).

For MIUI:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🔄 Click Check Updates and install available patches.

If the MIUI update weighs >1GB, connect to Wi-Fi and charge your phone to ≥50%.Trumping the process could lead to a device blink!

5. Reset the screen settings to factory

If previous methods failed, the problem may lie in individual display settings (e.g. adaptive brightness, read mode, or Always on Screen) and resetting these settings will return them to default values.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Screen → Additional settings.
2. Click Reset screen settings (or Reset default settings).
3. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

After the reset, check if the problem persists. If so, move on to radical measures.

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Resetting screen settings does not delete personal data (photos, contacts, messages), but resets brightness, color temperature and lock timeout.

6. Check the proximity sensor and proximity sensor

Rarely, it happens that the screen goes out due to a false alarm of the proximity sensor (for example, if it is contaminated or damaged), which is responsible for turning off the display during a call when the phone is held to the ear, and if it does not work correctly, the screen can also dim when playing voice messages.

How to diagnose:

• 📞 Call another phone and hold Xiaomi to your ear – the screen should go out.
• 🔦 Move the device away - the display should catch fire again.
• 🧹 If there is no reaction or it is delayed, wipe the sensor area (top of the screen, next to the speaker) with soft cloth.

For a deep check, use the test menu:

1. In the phone app, type ##6484## (or #0*## for new models).
2. Select the Proximity Sensor and check for your hand’s response.

If the sensor is defective, contact the service center - self-repair can damage the plumes.

7. Radical measures: reset to factory settings

If none of these things work, you'll have to reset your phone completely, and that will delete all the data, but it will return the system to its original state, eliminating the software conflicts.

• 📤 Create a backup through Settings → The phone. → Backup.
• 🔐 Remember the logins/passwords from Google, Mi Account and WhatsApp accounts.
• 📱 Charge the phone before ≥70%.

How to reset:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Choose to erase all data.
3. Confirm the action and wait for the completion (it will take 5-15 minutes).

After resetting, set your phone as new and check WhatsApp. 95% of the time, the problem goes away.

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If the bug returned after a few days, the cause may be a hardware fault (for example, a damaged display plume or power controller).

Comparison of methods: what works more often

As you can see from the table, turning off battery optimization and software updates give you a better balance between efficiency and safety.

FAQ: Frequent questions

If none of the methods worked, the problem could be hardware, such as a power controller malfunction or damage to the display plume, in which case, contact Xiaomi’s authorized service center with a description of symptoms. Indicate that the bug only manifests itself when you play voice messages on WhatsApp, this will help specialists diagnose the cause faster.