Many owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones are unaware that their device is hidden powerful tool to improve the sound. Built-in equalizer allows you to turn standard music playback into a quality audiophile experience, adapting frequencies to a particular track or genre. However, by default, this feature is often disabled or hidden in the depths of the system menus, which requires the user to be careful when searching.
In this article, we will look at where to find sound settings, how to activate professional presets like Dolby Atmos and Mi Sound Enhancer, and also look at third-party solutions for advanced users. You will learn not only to enable the function, but also to correctly adjust the frequency range to achieve the perfect balance between bass and high frequencies.
Before making any changes, it’s important to understand that the interface of the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS may vary slightly depending on the Android version and device model.However, the logic of the audio subsystem remains the same for the entire brand ecosystem, allowing for a single instruction for most current gadgets.
Search for system sound settings in MIUI and HyperOS
The first step to improving audio is to go to the right settings menu, and the path to that can vary, but most often it's in the multimedia section, and you need to open the Settings app and find the item that's associated with sound and vibration, and in some firmware versions, this section may be simply called "Sound."
Within this menu, you should look for a subsection that is often called "Sound Quality and Effects" or "Sound Effects." This is where the main controls for audio flow are concentrated. If you don't see these options right away, try searching by settings by typing "equalizer" or "Dolby."
- 🎧 Open Settings and go to Sound and Vibration».
- 🔍 Find the item “Sound Quality and Effects” (could be called “Sound Effects»).
- ⚙️ In the menu you can select the desired type of improvement: Mi Sound or Dolby Atmos.
- 🎚️ Activate the Equalizer switch to manually adjust frequencies.
⚠️ Note: On some global versions of Xiaomi firmware, the Sound Quality and Effects section may be hidden or renamed depending on Dolby’s regional licensing restrictions.
Once you log in, you'll see a list of improvements available. The standard graphic equalizer is usually presented as a set of sliders that allow you to adjust the volume of certain frequency bands. It's a basic tool that runs on top of any music playback application.
Activation and configuration of Dolby Atmos and Mi Sound
One of the most powerful features in Xiaomi’s arsenal is Dolby Atmos. It creates a surround sound effect, even if you use conventional stereo headphones. To activate, go to the sound effects menu and find the Dolby Atmos switch. After activation, the system will suggest selecting a profile: “Auto”, “Film”, “Music” or “Voice”.
In parallel with Dolby, Mi Sound Enhancer is often used, which optimizes the output of sound specifically for connected headphones. If you use a wired headset, the system may suggest choosing the type of headphones from the list (for example, "Mi In-Ear Headphones" or "Other"). Choosing the right type allows you to adjust the impedance and frequency response.
For manual fine tuning within these modes, a separate equalizer is often available, which allows you to move the frequency sliders, creating your own soundwriting, for example, for electronic music you can raise low frequencies, and for classical music you can add air in the uppercase.
What is the difference between Dolby Atmos and Mi Sound?
Keep in mind that the simultaneous activation of all effects can lead to sound artifacts or over-processing of the signal, and it is recommended to experiment, including the functions in turn, to understand the effect of each of them on the final sound of your favorite tracks.
Use of Hidden Engineering Sound Menu
For advanced users who don’t have enough standard settings, there is access to a deeper layer of audio configuration, called the engineering menu or test mode, available through a special code in the Phone app. Enter the command ##6484## or ##3646633## (code may vary depending on the device’s processor).
In the Hardware Testing menu that opens, you need to find the audio-related section, most commonly called Audio or Sound, and you can find the Audio Tuner settings, which have speaker gain, microphone settings, and additional equalizer bands that you can't see in the normal interface.
- 📞 Enter the code of the engineering menu in the call app.
- 🔧 Go to the section "Single Test» → «Audio» → «Audio Tuner».
- 🎚️ Find the “Speech” or “Media” tab to adjust the frequencies.
- 💾 Save the changes with the "Set" or "Apply" button».
⚠️ Warning: Changing the parameters in the engineering menu without understanding their purpose can lead to sound distortion, wheezing, or even software failure of the audio driver.
A particularly useful partition here is the volume setting for different use cases, where you can separately raise the volume of media content without affecting the volume of system notifications or calls, and this allows you to bypass the software restrictions set by the manufacturer to protect your hearing.
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Before you change the settings in the engineering menu, make sure to write down or photograph the original values of all sliders, which is the only way to get everything back to the way it was in the case of a failed experiment.
Third-party equalizer apps on Android
If Xiaomi’s built-in tools don’t seem flexible enough, the Android market offers a host of third-party solutions. Equalizer apps run on top of the system’s audio stream, intercepting and processing the signal before being displayed to the speaker, with the leaders in this niche being Poweramp Equalizer, Flat Equalizer, and Bass Booster.
Installing this app gives you access to more professional tools, such as 10-band and 16-band equalizers, virtualization settings, reverberation and compression, many of which have presets for different genres of music, eliminating the need for manual tuning.
It is important to note that some third-party equalizers require special permissions to work. Once installed, the application may ask for permission to "Change System Settings" or access "Special Features." Without these rights, the program will not be able to correctly process sound from other applications.
| Annex | Number of stripes | Root support | Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poweramp Equalizer | 10+ lanes | No. | High compatibility, beautiful interface |
| Flat Equalizer | Up to 16 lanes. | Yes. | Minimalism, low battery consumption |
| Wavelet | parametric | No. | Auto-calibration for the model of headphones |
| Bass Booster | 5 lanes | No. | Low frequency amplification, simplicity |
Using third-party software is especially relevant for older smartphone models where the system equalizer may be missing or not working properly, but it is worth remembering that over-processing in a digital way can lead to digital distortions (clipping) at maximum volume.
☑️ Checking the work of a third-party equalizer
Customization of sound in popular music players
Many users forget that popular music players have their own built-in equalizers, which are more important than system ones. Applications like Spotify, Apple Music, Yandex.Music or local players (AIMP, Poweramp) often ignore system settings using their play engine.
For example, in Spotify, the equalizer is in the application settings under Playback, where you can select presets or adjust frequencies manually, similar to Apple Music, where equalizer settings can duplicate system settings but take priority.
If you use high-quality local files (FLAC, WAV), it makes sense to use a dedicated player with support for external plugins, which will give maximum control over sound. In such players, support for Viper4Android plugins (requires Root rights), which are the “gold standard” of mobile audio settings, is often available.
You should check the settings of each application you use, and if your equalizer is on and your system is on, they can conflict, causing unpleasant artifacts, and you should keep only one source of sound processing active.
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Built-in equalizer of music application (Spotify, Yandex) usually works better and more stable than the system, as it is designed specifically for the coding algorithms of this service.
Solving problems with lack of equalizer
There are times when the user can’t find the equalizer in any of the above places, this can be due to regional firmware (for example, the Chinese version without global services) or a bug in the system. First of all, try to clear the cache of the Settings and Sound application.
It’s also worth checking if the developer feature or special features that can block audio services are disabled, and in rare cases, resetting audio settings to factory values, if such an option is available on the menu, helps.
- 🔄 Restart the device to restart audio services.
- 🗑️ Clear the cache of the Settings app in the Apps section».
- 🌍 Check the region in settings (China, India, Global).
- 📲 Update the Security app and system components through GetApps.
⚠️ Note: If the equalizer is missing after the system update, it may be a bug of a particular version. MIUI. In this case, you should wait for the patch or temporarily use third-party equalizer applications.
As a last resort, if the functionality is critical, you might consider installing global firmware over Chinese, which will bring back all the standard multimedia features, but it is a complex procedure that requires unlocking the bootloader.