How to Put Your Photo on an Incoming Call to Xiaomi: 5 Ways to Use Pictures

Why Xiaomi doesn’t show a photo when calling – and how to fix it

Are you tired of seeing gray avatars instead of photos of friends when you call Xiaomi? The problem is familiar to many owners of Redmi, Poco or Mi smartphones — even after adding a photo to the contact, it does not appear on the call screen. The reason for this is the feature of the MIUI shell, which by default hides images from the phone book. But there are several working ways to get around this limitation, from standard settings to little-known tricks.

In this article, you will find 5 proven methods for installing photos on calls, including instructions for the latest versions of MIUI 14/15. We will understand why sometimes photos do not appear even after all the manipulations, and what to do if you want to put an animated picture or GIF on an incoming call (spoiler: it is possible, but with reservations).

Method 1: Add a photo through standard Xiaomi contacts

The most obvious but often ignored method is to correctly add a photo through the Contacts app. Many users mistakenly think that it is enough to attach an image to a profile on WhatsApp or Telegram, but MIUI uses its own contact database, which does not sync with instant messengers automatically.

To ensure that the photo is displayed when calling:

• 📱 Open the Contacts app (a icon with a person's silhouette)
• 🔍 Find the right contact in the list or through search
• ✏️ Press the contact. → Edit button (pencil in upper right corner)
• 🖼️ Slip on the camera icon next to the name → Choose a gallery or take a photo
• 📁 Select the image (recommended size — 500×500 px)
• 💾 Save the changes with the button Ready

The important point is that if the contact is saved SIM-You can't add a photo to the card, you can transfer it to the phone's memory. MIUI It can crop images with non-standard proportions (for example, horizontal landscape photos.

⚠️ Attention: After update MIUI before version 14.0.5+ Some users encounter a bug when contact photos are reset.Before updating, back up your contacts via Settings → Google → Backup.

Method 2: Sync with Google Contacts (for Google account holders)

If you use a Google account, there's a more reliable way to link a photo to a contact, through Google Contacts, which works even if standard MIUI settings ignore your images.

Instructions:

1. Open your browser and go to contacts.google.com
2. Sign in with the same account as on your phone.
3. Find the right contact and click on his card.
4. Click on the camera icon in the upper left corner → upload the image
5. On your phone, open Settings → Accounts → Google and enable Contact Synchronization

The advantage of this method is that photos will be displayed not only when calling, but also in other applications (Gmail, Google Meet). However, there is a disadvantage - synchronization can take up to 10 minutes, and sometimes it takes a restart of the phone to make changes take effect.

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If the photo in Google Contacts is not updated on your phone, try manually updating the data: open the Contacts app → click on the three dots in the upper right corner → Update.

Method 3: Using third-party applications to make calls

When standard methods don't work, alternative calling apps come to the rescue.

• 📞 Truecaller – automatically uploads photos from social networks and databases
• 📱 Drupe – allows you to assign any images, including GIF
• 🔄 Sync.ME – synchronize photos from the VK, Facebook, Instagram

For example, in Truecaller, the algorithm works like this:

1. Install the app from Google Play
2. Register and allow access to contacts
3. Open the contact card → click Edit
4. Select Add Photos → Upload Image
5. Make Truecaller the default call app in your phone settings

The downside of this is that applications require extensive permissions (access to contacts, calls, SMS), and if you are concerned about privacy, use them only for individual contacts, not as a primary solution.

Method 4: Manually assigning photos through the file system (for advanced ones)

This is a method that works for those who are willing to dig through system folders. MIUI stores photos of contacts in a hidden directory, and sometimes just put a properly named file in there.

1. Connect your phone to your PC or use a file manager (such as Mi File Explorer)
2. Go to /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.android.providers.contacts/files/
3. Create an image folder (if it is not available)
4. Put a name picture in there {ID_contact}.jpg (recognize) ID You can use the Contact Editor app)
5. Reboot the phone.

This method doesn’t work on all versions of MIUI, but it can help if other methods don’t work, and the key is to not change the other files in this folder to avoid damaging the contact database.

⚠️ Attention: Starting with MIUI 14, Xiaomi has tightened the permissions to access system folders, and if you don't have root permissions, this method may not work. ADB For push files: adb push local_photo.jpg /sdcard/Android/data/com.android.providers.contacts/files/images/

Method 5: Animated photos and GIFs on the call (hidden feature)

Few people know, but MIUI 15 has an experimental support for animated avatars for calls, to activate it:

• 📲 Install. APK-Xiaomi Contacts version (version 15.1.2 or later)
• 🖼️ Prepare. GIF-resolution 500×500 px and weight up to 500 CBB
• 🔧 Enable the Developer Mode (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap)
• 📋 In the developer settings, activate the option Animated Contacts
• 🔄 Reboot the phone and assign it GIF normal-looking

Important limitations:

• ❌ It only works for Xiaomi. 13/14 Redmi Note 12 s MIUI 15
• ❌ Animation is played only at the first call (repeated – static photo)
• ❌ Not all formats GIF Supported (better to use) APNG)

Compatibility table with Xiaomi models

Not all methods work on older or budget models, here is the current compatibility table (as of June 2026):

If your model is not in the table, focus on the MIUI version:

MIUI 15 – All methods are supported except manual file replacement without ADB

MIUI 14 - Possible problems with animated photos

MIUI 13 and older – only standard contacts and Google Contacts work

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even after you set it up properly, the photo may not show.-5 causes and solutions:

1. Photos are cropped or distorted Problem: MIUI automatically crops images to a circular format. Solution: Use square photos with the center of the composition in the center. Optimal size is 512×512 px.
2. Photo is available, but not shown when calling Problem: Call settings disabled image display. Solution: Go to Settings → Apps → Calls → Display contacts and enable the option to Show photos.
3. Photo resets after update Problem: Bug in MIUI 14 when attached images disappear after update. Solution: Before updating, back up through Google Contacts or export contacts to.vcf file.
4. Photos are only displayed in some applications Problem: Contact is duplicated (there are entries in the phone book and the phone book). SIM-Solution: Combine duplicates through Contacts → Management → Connecting contacts.
5. It is not possible to add a photo to the contact with SIM Problem: Contact saved on SIM-Solution: Move the contact to your phone or Google account memory.

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If none of these methods worked, try resetting the Contacts app through Settings → Apps → Contacts → Storage → Clear the data. This will remove all local changes, but return the standard behavior of the system.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions