Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often encounter an annoying bug when the popular WhatsApp messenger does not run on the entire screen, but only occupies a small part of the display. This phenomenon, known as a “floating window” or multitasking mode, can be either an accidental activation function or a consequence of a software error in the shell of MIUI or HyperOS.
Making matters worse, the system sometimes “remembers” the wrong display proportions for a particular application, forcing it to run at a reduced scale even after a full device reboot. In this detailed guide, we’ll look at all possible causes, from random touches to hidden developer settings, and provide step-by-step instructions for returning the messenger to full mode.
The reasons for the floating window in MIUI
Xiaomi
The second common cause is the conflict of Android versions and application optimization. After a major firmware update, some programs may not correctly determine the screen resolution, running in compatibility mode. The messenger interface remains functional, but the area of usable space is drastically reduced, making typing and watching media uncomfortable.
⚠️ Note: If you have recently updated your firmware MIUI, The system re-indexes files and optimizes the application cache in the background, which sometimes causes failures in the display of the interface during the first hours after installation.
Also worth considering is the impact of third-party launchers or design themes. Non-standard themes downloaded from Themes store can contain errors in window management scripts, which leads to the forced launch of applications in non-standard resolutions. In rare cases, the culprit is an accelerometer that mistakenly determines the position of the device and changes the orientation or mode of the window.
Basic methods of closing mini windows
The fastest way to get WhatsApp back to full screen is to use standard window controls gestures, hover over the bottom of the floating window, where the thin control bar is located, and usually when you tap on it or snag down lightly, you open a menu with options.
In the menu that appears, you need to select the option “Unfold” or click on the icon depicting two divergent angles. This action will force the application to switch from multitasking mode to the standard full-screen view. If a simple tap does not help, try swiping from the bottom edge of the window up — this also often expands to the full screen.
- 📱 Click on the bottom bar of the window and select “Deploy” in the menu.
- ↔️ Pull around the corners of the window to manually zoom it to the screen boundaries.
- 🔄 Swipe up from the bottom edge of the mini window to activate full screen mode.
- 🚫 Click the cross to close the window and run the application again through the shortcut.
If none of the gestures are responding, maybe the interface is getting stuck, and then you'll need to force the process to stop, press the power button or swipe from the bottom up to call the menu for closing all the apps, find the WhatsApp card and swipe it, and then the restart should go through normal mode.
Set up a full screen mode in the system
Modern versions of MIUI 13/14 and HyperOS have a separate menu to control the behavior of windows. To eliminate software lock full-screen mode, check the display settings. Go to Settings, then select Additional (or "Special features") and find the Full-screen mode subsection.
In the app list that opens, make sure the switch opposite WhatsApp is activated. If the tick is still ticking, but the problem persists, try removing it, restarting the phone and resetting it again, which resets the setting forcing the system to read the app configuration file again and apply the correct resolution.
Special attention should be paid to the Sidebar settings. It is through this tool that often randomly launch applications in the form of widgets. Open Settings → Additional → Sidebar. Check if WhatsApp is added there. If there is one, remove it from the list or turn off the sidebar function itself to avoid accidental activation.
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For quick access to window settings, use the search in the settings menu: type the phrase “Full screen mode” into the search bar on the main settings screen.
Memory management and activity limiter
Xiaomi’s aggressive energy saving system can limit the background activity of the messenger, which in rare cases leads to failures when you open the window. To eliminate this factor, you need to adjust the battery settings. Go to Settings → Apps → All applications, find WhatsApp and go to Activity Control (or “Charge Saving”).
Set a "No Limits" value, which will allow the system to allocate enough RAM to work properly, and it's also worth checking "Outstart" on the same menu, which should be turned on so that the application does not initialize in a stripped-down mode when the system starts.
| Setup parameter | Recommended value | Impact on the problem |
|---|---|---|
| Activity monitoring | No restrictions. | High (prevents sleep applications) |
| Auto-start | Included. | Medium (provides a normal start) |
| Full screen mode | Included. | Critical (directly affects window size) |
| Displaying on top of others | Permitted. | Medium (needed for calls and windows) |
Remember that cleaning memory through the built-in accelerator can also reset window settings. If you are used to constantly "cleaning" RAM, try not to do this during the day and see if the problem with the small window persists.
☑️ Checking WhatsApp settings
Resetting the application settings and cleaning the cache
If the software settings don't work, you may have a temporary interface configuration file damaged, and in this case, it's effective to reset the settings of a particular application, and it's important to understand that cleaning the cache won't delete your correspondence, but it will reset the graphical settings of the windows.
Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → WhatsApp. Click Clean and select Cash. If that didn’t work, you can try a more radical method – Clean Everything (or “Reset”), but make sure to back up your chats in Google Drive before doing so, as this step will delete local login data.
⚠️ Note: Before performing a complete data cleanup ("Reset"), make sure you remember your Google account password and associated phone number, otherwise it may be impossible to restore chat access.
When you reset, it's recommended to restart the phone. WhatsApp can display a white screen for a few seconds when you first start up, which is normal, you're creating new configuration files. Don't try to close and open the app quickly, let the system complete initialization.
Using the Developer Mode to Correct
In the most difficult cases, when standard methods are powerless, you can use the hidden developer menu, which is a setup that forcibly changes the behavior of windows in the Android system. To activate the menu, you need to quickly click 7 times on the build number in the About Phone section.
Once the Developer Menu appears in the basic settings, look for the windows section. We're interested in the option "Forced Activity Resolution" or "Window Scaling." Make sure that there are no boxes limiting applications. It's also useful to reset all developer settings to their original state through the button at the bottom of the screen.
ADB's secretive team
Another useful option on the developer menu is “Do Not Stay Activated.” If it’s on, the system will constantly recreate application windows, which can lead to positioning bugs. Make sure that this switch is off (inactive).
Alternative solutions and software updates
Often the problem is that the messenger version is incompatible with the current firmware version. Go to Google Play or GetApps and check for updates for WhatsApp. Developers regularly release patches that fix display bugs on specific Xiaomi models.
If the problem has occurred after the system update, it makes sense to check for new security patches for the smartphone itself. Go to Settings → About the phone and click on the logo of the system version. Sometimes it takes several days to wait for a hot patch from the manufacturer.
- 🔄 Update WhatsApp through the official app store.
- 📲 Check for system updates MIUI/HyperOS.
- 🗑️ Remove and install WhatsApp again (with pre-backup).
- 🌐 Try using the WhatsApp Business version to test your hypothesis.
In extreme cases, if nothing helps, you can install an alternative version of the messenger, for example, WhatsApp Business. It uses the same accounts (when moving the number), but has independent files of interface settings, which often bypasses the bugs of the main application.
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Comprehensive approach: most often the problem is solved by a combination of setting up “Full screen mode” and cleaning the app cache, rather than a complete reset of the phone.