Customized ringtone for contact on Xiaomi: how to set up in 3 minutes

Are you tired of confusing calls from colleagues, relatives and friends? Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi and POCO) have a hidden feature that allows you to assign a unique ringtone for each contact so you immediately know who is calling without looking at the screen. This feature works on all devices with the shell MIUI (versions 12-14) and is relevant for Android 10-14, but many users do not even know it exists.

Unlike the standard change of ringtone for all subscribers, customizing a custom ringtone requires knowing the hidden paths in the menu. Moreover, after the MIUI updates, the location of the options can change - we have taken into account all the nuances and prepared an updated instruction. In this article, we will also discuss how to circumvent the system limitations if the desired contact is not displayed in the list, or how to return the standard sounds if the experiment with the melodies failed.

Why Xiaomi can’t assign a ringtone to contact?

The problem is most often one of three reasons:

• 📱 An outdated version MIUI: firmware MIUI 11 The individual ringtones function is either missing or malfunctioning. Update the system via Settings → The phone. → Update MIUI.
• 🔍 Contact is not saved in the Xiaomi phone book: if the subscriber is added to Google Contacts or SIM-map, the system can ignore settings. Move it to the local ledger.
• 🎵 Manufacturer restrictions: on some models (e.g, POCO F1 or Redmi Note 8 Pro) the feature is disabled due to firmware features.

Another point: if you are using doubles SIM-cards, individual ringtones can only work for the main line. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Choice SIM-default-card.

Preparation: Check the MIUI version and contact settings

Before you assign a unique ringtone, make sure your smartphone is ready for this operation:

1. Update MIUI to the latest version. Go to Settings → About Phone → Update MIUI. If an update is available, install it and restart the device.
2. Check where the contact is saved. Open the Contacts app, find the number you want and click on it. The top of the screen should display the Xiaomi icon (if the contact is saved locally) or Google icon (if it is synced with the account).
3. Download tunes in advance. Standard MIUI ringtones are limited, so it's best to upload your.mp3 or.m4a files to the Ringtones folder on the internal drive.

If the contact is saved in Google Contacts, it can be transferred to the local ledger: open contact → click Edit → select Save to: Device. After that, the individual ringtone function will be available.

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To quickly find the ringtones folder, connect your smartphone to your PC and follow the path Internal Memory → Ringtones. If you don't have the folder, create it manually.

Method 1: Assigning a ringtone through a standard contact menu

This is the simplest method that works on most Xiaomi devices with MIUI 12-14.

1. Open the Contacts app (an icon with a person’s silhouette).
2. Find the right contact and click on it to open the card.
3. In the upper right corner, tap three points (⋮) and select Set the ringtone.
4. In the list that opens, select one of the standard tunes or click Add to upload yours (the file must be in the Ringtones folder).
5. Confirm the choice and save the changes.

If you don't have a Set Rington on the menu, your Xiaomi model doesn't support this feature through standard settings. In this case, go to Method 2.

Method 2: Using the Phone app to assign a tune

On some firmware (e.g. MIUI 13 for Redmi Note 10 Pro), the feature is hidden in the Phone app, not in Contacts.

1. Open the phone application (green handset).
2. Go to the Contacts tab in the lower menu.
3. Find the contact you want and hold your finger for 2-3 seconds until the context menu appears.
4. Choose Edit (the pencil icon).
5. Scroll down to the Rington block and click on it.
6. Select a tune from the list or add yours through Add.

If this didn't work, it could be regional firmware, for example, on China ROM devices, the individual ringtones feature is often disabled, whether it's installing a Global ROM or using third-party applications.

Method 3: Third-party applications for flexible ringtone settings

If the standard methods don't work, Google Play apps will come to the rescue, and we tested a few and picked the best ones:

To assign a ringtone through Ringo (we recommend it for Xiaomi):

1. Install the application and open it.
2. Provide access to contacts and storage.
3. Select a contact from the list.
4. Press Set Ringtone and select the file.
5. Save the changes.

Important: Once you install a third-party app, a standard call to MIUI may be duplicated. To avoid this, turn off the system melody in Settings → Sounds and Vibrations → Call Melody → No Sound.

Problem Solving: Why is the ringtone not used?

If after all the manipulations the individual melody does not work, check the following points:

⚠️ Attention: On devices with Android 12+ and MIUI 13+ A bug may work, in which ringtones are reset after rebooting. The solution is to disable battery optimization for the Contacts app in Settings. → Battery → Optimizing the battery.

• 🔄 Reboot your smartphone: sometimes changes are only applied after a reboot.
• 📁 Check the path to the file: the melody should lie in the internal memory → Ringtones or Inner Memory → Media → Audio → Ringtones.
• 🎧 Turn off "Do Not Disturb": Mode DND It can block individual settings. Check in Settings. → Don't disturb.
• 📞 Reset the settings of the Phone application: go to Settings → Annexes → Application management → Phone. → Warehouse → Drop it.

If the problem persists, try clearing the cache for Contacts and Phone apps:

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Contacts → Storage → Clear cache

How to return a standard ringtone for contact?

If the individual melodies experiment failed, it was easy to return:

1. Open the contact card in the Contacts app.
2. Press three points (⋮) and select Set the ringtone.
3. In the list of tunes, select Default or Standard.
4. Save the changes.

If you’ve used a third-party app (like Ringo), open it and:

1. Find the contact on the list.
2. Click on the current tune.
3. Choose Default or None.

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware MIUI Resetting the ringtone for contact can cause any melody to stop playing for it at all, in which case only a complete reset of the Phone application settings will help (see the instructions above).

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If after resetting the ringtone calls from the contact became silent, check whether the Quiet mode is turned on for it in the notification settings.

FAQ: Frequent questions about custom ringtones on Xiaomi