How to remove the recording of calls to Xiaomi at the beginning of the call: all the ways

Have you noticed that your Xiaomi automatically starts recording conversations immediately after dialing?This feature can be useful for saving important conversations, but often causes inconveniences - from unnecessary notifications to filling the device's memory with unnecessary files. In this article, we will discuss why the smartphone turns on the recording at the beginning of the call and how to completely disable it on different models of Redmi, POCO and Mi.

Complicating the problem is that depending on the MIUI version and regional firmware, the path to settings may differ, and some users are faced with a situation where the recording turns on itself after the system update, we tested all the current methods on MIUI 12-14 and collected them in one guide, from standard settings to hidden developer settings.

Why Xiaomi is Automatically Recording Calls

The automatic conversation recording feature appeared in MIUI as part of the Dictophone (or Mi Recorder) service, and can be activated by default in three cases:

• 📱 Regional settings: Firmware for India, China and some Asian countries has the record turned on by default due to local retention laws.
• 🔄 System Update: After Upgrade to MIUI 13/14 Some users have noticed that the function is turned on itself (most often on the Redmi Note). 10/11 and POCO X3/X4).
• 🛠️ Resetting: After resetting to factory parameters, the record can return if you previously disabled it through the ADB or hidden menus.

It is important to understand that recording does not always begin, but only when certain conditions are met: the call goes through the standard Phone application (not WhatsApp or Skype), the conversation length exceeds 5-10 seconds, there is enough free space on the device (less than 1 GB - the recording can be blocked).

Method 1: Disconnection through the settings of "Phone"

The easiest method is to use the built-in phone app options, which works on most devices with MIUI 12-14, but may not be available on older models (Redmi 8 and earlier) or custom firmware.

Instructions:

1. Open the Phone app (the tube icon on the home screen).
2. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner → select Settings.
3. Scroll down to the Recording of Conversations section (or Call Recording in English firmware).
4. Switch the slider Automatic recording to the off position.
5. Additionally, turn off Record Notification if you do not want to see pop-ups.

If you don't have Record Conversations on the menu, your version of MIUI uses a different mechanism. Try the next one.

Make sure you have a standard phone app (not Google Phone)

Check the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version

Close all background apps before changing settings

Restart the phone after disabling the function-->

Method 2: Settings of the Dictator application

On some devices (Mi 11, Redmi K40), recording is not controlled via Phone, but via a separate application called Mi Recorder, which may be hidden in the Tools folder or not on the home screen.

How to find and disable:

1. Open All Apps (swipe up from the bottom of the screen).
2. Find a recorder. If you don't have one, skip this method.
3. In the app, go to Settings (cog in the corner).
4. Select Call Record → Turn off Automatic Recording.
5. Delete all old entries in the My entries section to make room.

Attention! On China ROM, the Dictaphone app can be integrated into Security to find it:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. In the search, enter a recorder or recorder.
3. If the application is found but hidden, turn it on the menu.

Method 3: Disconnection through Application Permissions

If recording continues even after the settings are turned off, the problem may be the permissions the Phone app gives, which works on all versions of MIUI, but requires manual adjustment.

Step-by-step:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the phone (or com.android.dialer) in the list.
3. Select Permissions → Microphone.
4. Set the value to Disable (this will disable access to the microphone during calls).
5. Go back and check Warehouse's permission - if it's on, turn it off (this will prevent records from being saved).

⚠️ Note: Disabling the microphone for the Phone app may cause voice calls to become difficult (e.g., your interlocutor won't hear you). If there is a problem after the changes, return the permissions back and use Method 4.

The alternative is to limit access to recording only, but leave the microphone for calls.

1. In the same permissions of the Phone application, find Special Access.
2. Select Record audio and turn off the slider.

Method 4: Hidden settings for power users (ADB)

If standard methods do not work, the most reliable way remains - to disable the recording through the ADB-This will require you to connect the phone to the computer, but it is guaranteed to remove the function at the system level.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux
• 🔌 Cable USB (original for stable connection)
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB phone-on
• 🛠️ Utility. ADB (You can download from the official Android website)

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode on your phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times).
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect the phone to your computer and select File Transfer mode.
4. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) in the folder with ADB.
5. Enter the commands in turn: adb devices (you should have the name of your device) adb shell settings put global call_recording_enabled 0 adb shell pm revoke com.android.dialer android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO
6. Reboot the phone.

Once these commands are executed, the call recording will be disabled at the system level, and it cannot be turned on back through the standard settings. To return the function, repeat the commands by replacing 0 with 1 and revoke with grant.

💡

If ADB does not recognize the device, try installing Xiaomi drivers from the official website or using the Mi PC Suite program.

How to delete already saved call records

Even after the feature is turned off, there may still be old records on the phone that take up space, and they can be found and deleted in a number of ways.

Where to look:

To completely clear the phone of the records:

1. Use a file manager (such as Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
2. Cross the path. /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/sound_recorder/.
3. Delete the folder. call_rec (It can be hidden – turn on the display of hidden files in the manager settings).
4. Clear the basket.

⚠️ Attention: manually deleting folders may cause a malfunction of the Dictator app. If the recording is turned on again after cleaning, use the following method: ADB-teams from Method 4.

What to do if the call recording turned on itself after the update

Many Xiaomi users are faced with the fact that after upgrading to the new version of MIUI (especially with MIUI 12 on MIUI 13/14), the recording of calls is activated without their knowledge.

How to prevent automatic activation:

• 🔧 Reverse to the old version MIUI (If the update has occurred recently, use Fastboot or Recovery for downgrade.
• 🔒 Block updates for the Phone app: Settings → Annexes → Phone. → Three points. → Disable updates.
• 📵 Turn off automatic update download: Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → Three points. → Settings → Auto-update (Off.).
• 🛡️ Use Magisk modules (for rooted devices) to block the kernel-level recording function.

If a rollback is undesirable, follow the following steps after the update:

1. Reset the settings of the application Phone: Settings → Applications → Phone → Storage → Clear the data.
2. Reapply again ADB-Teams from Method 4.
3. Check for updates to the Dictaphone app in Google Play (if there is one) and turn off auto-update.

💡

After updating MIUI, always check your call recording settings – even if you have disabled it before, the system can return default values.

FAQ: Frequent questions about recording calls to Xiaomi