Screen Rotation on Xiaomi does not work: reasons and ways of solving

Have you taken a Xiaomi smartphone horizontally, but it persists in being vertical? Or has the screen suddenly turned upside down and refuses to return to normal? Autorotation is one of the most common problems on Redmi, POCO and Mi devices, but the good news is that it can be fixed in 90% of cases without going to the service center. In this article, we will examine all possible causes, from trivial settings to hardware malfunctions, and give step-by-step instructions for diagnosis and repair.

First, let's figure out what you're facing, and if the screen doesn't respond to the change in position of the phone at all, that's one thing: if it rotates arbitrarily (like in apps where it's not necessary), or if the turn only works in some programs, that's another thing. It's also important to understand whether the problem occurred after a crash, a system update, or a new application was installed, and these details will significantly narrow down the possible culprits.

We tested the solutions on more than 20 Xiaomi models (from Redmi Note 8 to Xiaomi 13 Ultra) and identified 9 key reasons why auto-turning may not work, some of which are solved in 30 seconds, others will take longer — but you will save on repairs anyway. Let's start with the simplest.

1. Check the basic settings of the autoturn

The first thing to do is make sure that the autorotation function is on the system at all, and on Xiaomi it can be turned off globally or for individual applications, often users accidentally click on the turn lock notification or change the settings in MIUI without even noticing it.

Open the Quick Settings Panel (swipe top-down across the screen) and find the Autoporot icon (usually a circular-arrow phone). If it's illuminated, the function is active. If it's not, tap it once. Then check if it's turned. If there's no icon at all, it's hidden: press a pencil in the top right corner of the panel and add it to the visible elements.

• 📱 Global setting: Settings → Screen. → Autoturn screen (should stand the switch in the position "On.").
• 🔄 Application Exceptions: In the same menu, click Autoturn Exceptions and make sure the programs you want are not added to the blocked list.
• 🔒 Orientation Blocking: Some apps (like YouTube or TikTok) can lock the screen in one position. Try logging out and checking the turn on the home screen.

If the problem persists after turning on the autorotor, we move on to the next step, and on models with MIUI 14 and later, the function may not work properly due to the optimization of power consumption, we will discuss this below.

Failure of orientation sensor (gyroscope/accelometer)

If the settings are fine, but the screen is still not rotating, the orientation sensor is to blame — it consists of a gyroscope and an accelerometer that determines the position of the phone in space. On Xiaomi, these sensors can fail after falls, moisture or simply because of software errors.

To check their performance, use the standard test:

1. Open the Phone app and type ##6484## (some models run #4636##).
2. Select Test hardware or Sensor test (depending on the MIUI version).
3. Find the Accelerometer sensor and Gyroscope sensor.
4. Turn the phone in your hands, the values on the screen should change smoothly. If they freeze at zero or jump chaoticly, the sensor is faulty.

If the test shows an error, try recalibrating the sensors:

• 🔄 Go to Settings. → The phone. → All specifications and tap 5 times on the item Kernel (the message will appear "You are in developer mode").
• 🛠 Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers and find the Calibration sensor.
• 📲 Follow the instructions on the screen (usually put the phone on a flat surface and click "Calibrate").

⚠️ Attention: If calibration didn't help and the sensors still don't respond, the problem could be hardware. On Xiaomi's collapsible models (like the Redmi Note 9), the sensors sometimes move away from the board after a fall.

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Before calibrating the sensors, place the phone on a perfectly flat surface (like a glass table) – this will improve the accuracy of the setting.

3. Conflict with applications or launchers

Sometimes the autorotation stops working because of third-party applications that block the change of orientation.

• 🎮 Gaming launchers (e.g., Xiaomi Game Turbo or POCO Launcher), which capture the screen in portrait mode for convenience.
• 📱 Customized shells (such as Nova Launcher or Action Launcher), where the rotation settings may conflict with system settings.
• 🔒 Security applications (e.g. Clean Master or DU Battery Saver, which optimizes the operation of sensors.

To identify the culprit:

1. Restart your phone in Safe Mode (press the power button → long tap on "Stop" → "Safe Mode"). This mode only runs system applications.
2. Check if the autorotor works, and if so, there's a problem in one of the apps installed.
3. Remove suspicious programs from the last ones installed, and test the turn after each deletion.

Pay special attention to game accelerators. On Xiaomi, they often block the turn even when the game is closed. Go to Settings → Apps → App Management → Game Turbo and turn off the option of Orientation Fix.

4. Impact of energy saving regimes

Starting with MIUI 12, Xiaomi aggressively optimizes sensor performance in energy saving modes. If you have Super Power Saving or Ultra Battery Mode enabled, auto-rotation can be turned off automatically to save charge.

Check the following settings:

• 🔋 Settings → Battery and performance → Battery Mode – Select Balanced or Performance".
• ⚡ Settings → Battery and performance → Optimization of energy consumption → Find the sensors and turn off optimization.
• 📉 If you are using Xiaomi with MIUI 14+, Go to Settings. → Additionally. → Special facilities → Simplified mode and make sure it is turned off (in it autoturn is blocked by default).

Also check if the Do Not Disturb or In Your Pocket mode is activated (in some firmware they block sensors).

1. Open Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Do not disturb.
2. Make sure the Automatic Rules switch is off.
3. Scroll down and check if there is an active rule in your pocket.

⚠️ Attention: POCO F3 Xiaomi 11T There's a bug where the autorotation turns off when you activate Game mode. To fix, restart your phone or manually turn on the notification curtain.

5. Software failures and system updates

If the problem has occurred after the MIUI update, it is likely that the firmware bug is to blame, especially for models that have received major updates (for example, the transition from MIUI 12 to MIUI 13).

• 🔄 Resetting screen settings: Settings → System system → Resetting settings → Resetting screen settings.
• 📲 Cleaning the system cache: Settings → The phone. → Memory. → Clear cache (does not delete data, but can fix the problem).
• 🔧 Update rollback: If the turn stopped working after the update, try rolling back to the previous version via Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → Three points. → Select the update package (needs a firmware file).

If the crash occurred after manual updates via Fastboot or Recovery, it may not be installed correctly.

1. Download the official firmware for your model from en.miui.com.
2. Rename the file to update.zip and place it in the root of the phone’s memory.
3. Go to Settings → About Phone → System Update → Three Points → Select an Update Pack.
4. Select the update.zip file and wait for the installation to be completed.

For models with an unlocked bootloader, you can try flashing custom recovery (TWRP) and installing clean firmware through it, but this method is only suitable for advanced users.

Download the firmware for your model|Make a backup copy of the data|Charge your phone at least 50 times%|Disable antivirus on PC (if you flash through your computer)|Prepare. USB-cable (preferably original)

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6. Hardware malfunctions: when without repairs can not do

If all the software methods have been tried and the autorotation still doesn't work, the problem is probably hardware.

Independently diagnose hardware malfunction can be according to the following signs:

• 🔍 Visual inspection: Light a flashlight on the top of the screen (where the sensors are located). If you see moisture or corrosion, the problem is clearly hardware.
• 🔊 Rotating sounds: If extraneous sounds are heard inside the phone (such as rattling details), the sensor element may have broken off.
• 🌡 Overheating: If the phone gets very hot when trying to turn the screen, it may indicate a short circuit in the sensor circuit.

If you suspect a hardware malfunction, but do not have experience in electronics repair, it is better to contact the service center. Self-disassembly Xiaomi without special tools can lead to even more serious breakdowns (for example, damage to the screen plume).

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi models with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12 Pro or Redmi K50) The sensor plume is often integrated into the display module, and it will cost you to replace it. 30-50% phone cost, so before repairs assess the feasibility.

7. Features of specific Xiaomi models

Some Xiaomi devices have unique auto-rotation bugs, and here are the most common ones:

For the POCO F1 and Xiaomi Mi A2/A3 (devices running pure Android One), the problem is often solved by installing a security update, which is known for bugs with sensors that are patched only by Google.

If you have a Xiaomi Black Shark (gaming smartphone), check the settings in the Shark Space app. It can block autoturn in non-gaming applications to save resources.

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Before buying used Xiaomi, be sure to check the operation of the sensors through the engineering menu (##6484##).

FAQ: Frequent questions about turning the screen on Xiaomi