Where to get a black list of contacts in Xiaomi: the full guide

The modern rhythm of life dictates its rules, and phone calls often become not only a way of communication, but also a source of irritation. Spam calls, intrusive advertising or calls from unwanted interlocutors can spoil the mood and disrupt the workflow. Xiaomi smartphone owners, working on the shells of MIUI or the new HyperOS, have powerful built-in tools to protect against such intrusions, but finding them the first time can be difficult.

The question of where the blacklist of contacts is on the Xiaomi is a regular one, as the interface of the system is constantly changing. The standard "calling" hides these functions in non-obvious places, and sometimes access to them requires the activation of additional software. Understanding the structure of the menu will allow you to quickly isolate intrusive subscribers and regain your peace of mind.

In this article, we will take a look at how to manage locks, look at the features of different versions of firmware, and learn how to use system protections effectively. The blacklist on Chinese brand devices is not just a list of banned numbers, but part of a comprehensive security system. Let's figure out how to make this tool work for you.

Use of the built-in Security application

The main tool for filtering incoming calls and messages on Xiaomi smartphones is the system application Security. This is where, in the depth of the menu, the functionality is hidden, which in other operating systems is often brought to the surface. To get started, you need to find an icon with a green shield on your desktop or in the Tools folder.

After you start the app, look at the top of the screen where the tabs or tool icons are located. You are interested in a section that may be called Antispam or have a shield icon with a crossed circle. In some versions of MIUI, this item is hidden inside the Settings menu of the security application itself, which often confuses beginners.

• 🛡️ Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the Security app to access settings.
• 📞 Select “Block” or “Antispam” in the settings menu that opens.
• 📋 Go to the Blacklist section where all blocked numbers are displayed.
• ➕ Use the Add button to enter a new number manually or select from a call history.

Importantly, the functionality of this section depends on the region chosen in the phone settings. If you are in the Russia region, the filtering capabilities may differ from the China or India region. System blockers work at the kernel level, so they are more efficient than third-party applications, consuming less battery life.

⚠️ Note: When you reset your phone to a factory setting, all the numbers stored in the blacklist will be deleted. It is recommended to back up your settings via Mi Cloud or Google account before radical action.

The Security app interface is constantly updated, and the location of items can change. If you do not find the right item right away, try searching inside the security application itself - it often helps you get to your target faster than manually wandering through the menu.

Blocking through a standard call

The fastest way to blacklist a number is to do it directly from a call history or a phone book, which doesn't require you to go deep into the system settings and takes only a few seconds, and is ideal for situations where you need to block a call you just got.

Open the Phone app and go to the History tab. Find the number you want to lock. On some versions of the MIUI shell, just tap the arrow next to the number or pinch it with your finger for a couple of seconds to call the context menu.

In the menu that opens, select “Block” or “Block”; the system may request confirmation of the action or offer to send a spam complaint as well; once confirmed, calls from this number will stop coming, and the caller will hear beeps or resets, depending on the operator’s settings.

If you want to manage a list through the call interface, click on the three dots in the upper right corner (menu) and select "Blocking Settings" or "Antispam", which gives you access to the full list of prohibited contacts and behavior settings for incoming calls.

• 📞 Open your call history and find the right contact.
• 🖱️ Click on the information icon (i) or make a long press on the number.
• 🚫 Select the “Block” option in the action menu that appears.
• ⚙️ To set the rules go to the call menu → Settings → Lockdown.

It’s worth mentioning that the standard call on global firmware (Global ROM) and Chinese (China ROM) versions can look different. Global versions more often use the Google Phone interface, where the lock logic is also present, but the paths to it may differ. In Google Dialer, you click on the number, then three dots in the corner and select “Block/Report Spam”.

Configure the rules of blocking and filters

Simply adding a number to a blacklist is just a basic level of protection, and Xiaomi’s system allows you to set up complex filtering rules that automatically screen out entire categories of calls, especially when it comes to dealing with collector robots and marketing services.

In the lock settings section (via Security → Antispam → Settings), you will find the "Blocking Rules" option, where you can activate the "Block Unknown Numbers" function. Be careful: turning on this option will result in people whose numbers are not in your phone book, including couriers or taxi drivers, being unable to reach you.

Keyword blocking is also available in SMS. You can set certain phrases specific to advertising mailings and messages containing them will be automatically hidden, which helps keep inbox clean without manually removing debris.

One useful feature is Silence Mode or Do Not Disturb, which can be set to automatically turn on at a certain time, in which calls from authorized contacts can pass, and everyone else can be blocked or simply do not make a sound.

The flexibility of settings allows you to create a personalized filter, for example, you can allow repeated calls from one number for 3 minutes (the “Repeat Calls” feature) to avoid missing an emergency call, even if the number is blocked or hidden.

Working with contacts and groups

Lock management is closely related to the organization of your phone book, and there are nuances of working with contact groups at MIUI and HyperOS that can affect whether a person can reach you.

If you blacklist a contact, it's blocked no matter what group it's in. However, if you use the White List mode (only a select few are allowed), membership in a particular group becomes critical. In the lock settings, you can only allow calls to contacts from the Favorites or Family group.

To edit the priority list, go to the lock settings and find the "Whitelist" option, where you can manually add important numbers that will pass through any filters, even if you have full lock on all incoming ones.

Also, keep in mind sync. If you use Mi Cloud or Google Contacts, changes to the blacklist can sync between devices tied to one account. This is convenient, but requires attention: by deleting a number on one phone, you can unlock it on a tablet or a second smartphone.

• 📇 Use groups to manage access rights quickly.
• 🌟 Add important numbers to Favorites to bypass filters.
• 🔄 Keep track of synchronization between devices in your account.
• 🗑️ Clean the blacklist of old records regularly.

Some users prefer to keep the blacklist blank, relying solely on manual locking of specific numbers as spam arrives, a less automated approach that gives them full control.

Third-party filtering applications

Xiaomi’s built-in tools are good, but sometimes they’re not enough, especially if carrier spam databases aren’t updated quickly, and in such cases, third-party apps from Google Play Market, which specialize in identifying and blocking unwanted calls, come to the rescue.

Popular solutions are GetContact, NumBuster or Truecaller, and these apps use crowdsourcing, which is a database of numbers that users create themselves, and if someone has a number called Spam or Collectors, the app will alert you before you even pick up the phone.

⚠️ Attention: By installing third-party number detectors, you often give your phone book access to app developers, which can lead to a leak of your contacts' private data.

These applications require extensive permissions to run on MIUI, such as accessing contacts, logging calls, displaying on top of other windows, and running in the background. Without these permissions, locking will not work, as Android limits interference with the call process.

Integrating third-party blockers with Xiaomi’s built-in blacklist may not be ideal. Often they create their own lock log that appears on top of the standard caller interface, which can lead to visual conflicts or delays in displaying information about the caller.

💡

If you use a third-party number detector, disable the built-in Number Definer feature in the MIUI call settings to avoid conflicts and double database queries.

However, for active users who are constantly faced with new spam, such applications remain an indispensable tool, they allow not only to block, but also to mark numbers, helping other users of the network.

Frequent problems and their solution

Despite the cleverness of the system, users sometimes face situations where the blacklist stops working correctly, calls pass, SMS arrive, even though the number is allegedly blocked, most often the problem lies in the settings of permissions or energy saving.

MIUI is known for its aggressive memory management, which can kill the process of filtering calls to save battery power, and to avoid this, you need to lock the Security app or Phone in memory, and to do this, open the menu of running applications, press the window of the desired application, and select the lock icon.

Another common problem is conflicts after updating the firmware. After switching to a new version of Android or MIUI, the lock settings may get lost, in which case it is recommended to recheck all items in the Antispam menu and recheck the relevance of the spam number database.

If nothing works, try clearing the Phone and Security app cache, and you can do this in Settings → Apps → All Apps. Find the appropriate app, click Clear, and select Clear Cache (not data to keep your history from going).

💡

Aggressive MIUI energy saving is the main reason for the blacklist failure. Be sure to fix system applications in RAM.

Questions and Answers (FAQ)