How to set up headphones on Xiaomi: from connectivity to fine-tuning the sound

Xiaomi’s headphones are not just an accessory, but a full-fledged tool for immersing yourself in music, calling, or playing games. However, many users face challenges ranging from lack of sound to poor playback quality. In this article, we’ll look at all the stages of customization, from basic connectivity to advanced features like equalizer and spatial sound.

Feature of Xiaomi devices (including Redmi, POCO Black Shark - its own shell MIUI, It offers unique audio options, like new versions that have support. LDAC It's for wireless headphones and adaptive equalizer, but to take advantage of all the benefits, you need to know where to look for these settings and how to apply them properly.

It is important to understand that the settings may vary depending on the smartphone model and version. MIUI. We will look at universal solutions, and also point out the nuances for specific devices – from the budget Redmi Note to the flagship Xiaomi 14.

1. Headphone connection to Xiaomi: wired vs wireless

The first step is to physically connect the headphones, and there are two scenarios: wired (through 3.5 mm or more). USB-C) and wireless (Bluetooth). Let's look at both.

For wired headphones with a 3.5 mm connector (if you have one on your Xiaomi): just insert the plug into the socket. The smartphone automatically detects the device and switches the audio output. On models without an audio jack (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro) you will need to USB-C → 3.5 mm adapter. Please note: some adapters require additional drivers that are designed to be used in the MIUI Automatically installs the first connection.

With wireless headphones (including Xiaomi AirDots, Redmi Buds and third-party models), the process is more complicated:

• 🔵 Turn the headphones on in pairing mode (usually by pressing the power button on the 3-5 seconds before flashing the indicator).
• 📱 On your smartphone, go to Settings → Bluetooth and activate device search.
• 🔍 Select your headphones from the list. If the model supports fast connectivity (for example, Xiaomi Buds 4 Pro), a pop-up will appear with a suggestion to install the accompanying app.
• 🔄 Confirm the pairing. Some models will need to enter PIN-code (usually 0000 or 1234).

⚠️ Warning: If the headphones are not detectable, check if they are connected to another device (for example, a PC). TWS remember the last connected device and automatically try to connect to it.

Once you've successfully connected, check the sound: run any audio file or video. If there's no sound, go to Settings. → Sound and vibration → Out of sound and select your headphones manually.

2. Basic sound settings in MIUI

Even after successful connectivity, the sound can be quiet, distorted, or imbalanced. MIUI There are several key parameters that should be set up immediately.

Open Settings → Sound and vibration. The following options are available here:

• 🔊 Media volume: regulates the sound level for music and video, POCO F5) There is a separate slider to strengthen the bass.
• 🎧 Sound balance: useful if one earphone sounds louder than the other. Move the slider left/right to adjust.
• 🔇 Do not disturb: Disables notification sounds, but does not affect media playback.
• 🎵 Equalizer: built-in tool for frequency settings. More on this in the next section.

Pay special attention to the item "Output" here you can:

• 🔄 Switch between speaker, headphones and Bluetooth devices.
• 🎯 Activate the Monosound mode (useful for people with hearing impairments).
• 🔊 Enable "Sound amplification" (not available on all models).

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi smartphones (e.g. Redmi 10) automatically activate Smart Assistant when you connect the headphones, which lowers the volume to protect your hearing. → Special facilities → Rumor → Turn off the safe volume.

If the sound has become worse after the changes, try resetting the sound settings to the standard: → Sound and vibration → Resetting the sound settings.

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In the models with MIUI 14 and newer, a quick audio switch has appeared in the notification panel. Swipe down from the top edge of the screen and tap the headphone icon to instantly change the sound source.

Equator and Sound Effects: How to Improve Sound

Built-in equalizer in MIUI It allows you to fine-tune the sound to your preferences. To open it, go to Settings. → Sound and vibration → equalizer.

Here are available:

• 🎛️ Presets: Rock, Pop, Classics, and more. Choose the genre you listen to more often.
• 📊 Manual tuning: sliders for frequency adjustment from 60 Hz (bass) to 16 kHz (high frequencies).
• 🔄 3D-sound: creates a surround sound effect (does not work with all headphones).
• 🎧 Adaptive sound: automatically adjusts the equalizer to the genre of music (available on the Internet) MIUI 13 and newer).

For advanced users: if the built-in equalizer is not enough, install third-party applications like Wavelet or Poweramp. Viper4Android and other audio drivers that give more options for customization.

On models with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra), hardware Dolby Atmos is available. → Sound and vibration → Dolby Atmos and offers modes Music, Film and Game.

Choose Presto for your genre of music|

Adjust the basses (no higher) +6 dB to avoid distortion)|

Check the sound on different tracks|

Save the settings as a user profile (if available)-->

4.Setting up the microphone in the headphones for calls

Many users have a problem when the interlocutor does not hear their voice when talking through headphones. TWS-models where the microphone is built into the headphones themselves.

To improve the quality of voice transmission:

1. Open the Settings. → Annexes → Phone. → Permissions and make sure the app has access to the microphone.
2. Go to Settings. → Sound and vibration → Call quality and select HD-voice (if available).
3. For Bluetooth headphones, activate the “Voice Improvement” or “Noise Reduction” mode in their accompanying app (e.g. Mi Earphones).
4. If the problem persists, try turning off Bluetooth and reconnect the headphones.

In the models with MIUI 14, we got the Adaptive Microphone function, which automatically suppresses the noise around us:

1. Open Settings → Special features → Improve the sound.
2. Activate the adaptive microphone switch.
3. Choose the noise reduction level: Low, Medium or High.

⚠️ Attention: Some of them TWS-In headphones (like the Redmi Buds 3 Pro), the microphone only works in the right earpiece. If you talk with your phone in your left ear, the person may hear you worse.

If the communication quality remains poor, check to see if the microphone is blocking your clothes or hair, and make sure the earphones are tightly seated in your ears, which affects your voice.

5. Advanced functions: spatial sound and codecs

Today’s Xiaomi smartphones support advanced audio technology that can dramatically improve sound, and let’s look at the most useful ones.

1. Spatial Audio (Spatial Audio)

Available on flagship models (for example, Xiaomi 14 Pro) and some TWS-headphones (e.g. Xiaomi Buds 4) are included in:

• 🎧 Headphone settings (through their branded app).
• 📱 Settings → Sound and vibration → Spatial sound.

The effect is especially noticeable when watching movies or games - the sound becomes voluminous, as in a cinema.

2. High-quality codecs

For wireless headphones, it is important to choose the right audio codec that determines the quality of sound transmission. MIUI supported:

• 🔹 SBC: basic codec, works with all devices, but with mediocre quality.
• 🔹 AAC: better SBC, Supports most Apple and Android devices.
• 🔹 aptX/aptX HD: High quality, but requires support from headphones (e.g. Sony) WH-1000XM5).
• 🔹 LDAC: Best quality (up to 990 kbps), but high battery consumption.Supported on Xiaomi MIUI 12.5 and newer.

To change the codec:

1. Put your headphones on Bluetooth.
2. Open Settings → Connected devices → Settings (cog next to the headphones) → Sound quality.
3. Choose your preferred codec. If it's not on the list, your headphones don't support it.

Xiaomi. 13T Pro and later, the Low Lag Audio mode is available for gaming, it is enabled in the Bluetooth device settings and reduces the lag to 80 ms.

6. Solving common problems

Even after you've set up the right thing, you can have problems, and we can look at the most common ones and the ways to solve them.

1.The headphones plug in, but no sound.

• 🔇 Check the volume on your smartphone and the headphones themselves (if there are physical buttons).
• 🔄 Switch the output of sound to Settings → Sound and vibration → Sound output.
• 🔌 Reconnect your headphones (for Bluetooth: forget the device and reconnect).
• 📱 Reboot your smartphone – sometimes helps with crashes MIUI.

2.The sound is interrupted or distorted

• 📶 If you have a Bluetooth problem, make sure there is no interference (e.g., a running microwave or Wi-Fi router at 2.4GHz).
• 🔋 Check the charge of the headphones – at a low level of the battery, the sound quality can deteriorate.
• 🎛️ Reset the equalizer settings to standard.
• 🔄 Change the audio codec to SBC (The most stable, though not the highest quality).

3.The microphone doesn't work in the headphones

• 🎤 Make sure the microphone is not contaminated or closed.
• 📱 In the call settings (Phone) → Three points. → Settings → Sound) Select Headphones as the microphone source.
• 🔄 Turn off the noise reduction function in the headphone settings (sometimes it suppresses the voice too).

4.The wireless headphones are discharged quickly

• 🔋 Turn it off. LDAC or aptX, they consume more energy.
• 🎧 In the headphone settings, turn off "Always on" (if any).
• 📱 V MIUI Turn off Adaptive Bluetooth (Settings) → Bluetooth → Additionally).

⚠️ Note: If after the update MIUI lost sound in the headphones, try resetting the network settings: → System system → Resetting settings → Reset the network settings. This will delete all the stored Bluetooth devices, so they will have to be reconnected.

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If the problem persists after all the manipulations, check the headphones on another device, possibly a malfunction in the headphones themselves, not in the smartphone.

7. Optimization for Games and Video

For gamers and movie lovers, Xiaomi has special settings that will improve the experience.

For games:

• 🎮 Enable "Game Mode" (Settings) → Special facilities → Game mode. This reduces the latency of sound.
• 🔊 In audio settings, activate Low audio latency (available for some Bluetooth headphones).
• 🎧 Use wired headphones for minimal latency (especially important for shooters).

For the video:

• 🎥 Turn on Dolby Atmos or Spatial Sound for surround effect.
• 🔊 In the YouTube or Netflix app, select High in the quality settings.
• 📱 B Settings → Screen. → Resolution and refresh rate set maximum frequency for smoothness.

On models POCO Black Shark has an optional "Game Turbo Mode" that optimizes performance and sound, and it's swiped on both sides of the screen or through the notification panel.

If you’re watching a video through Bluetooth headphones and notice the sound and image being out of sync, try:

1. Switch to codec. SBC or AAC.
2. In the video player settings, find the option to synchronize the sound and adjust the delay manually.
3. Close background applications that can load the processor.

8.According applications for Xiaomi headphones

For full work with branded headphones Xiaomi (for example, Buds 4 Pro, FlipBuds Pro) is recommended to install the official application Mi Earphones (formerly Xiaomi Earphones). It is available in Google Play and offers advanced features:

The main features of the application:

• 🎛️ Customization of control: assign actions to touch (for example, double touch to skip the track).
• 🔋 Battery monitoring: displays the charge of headphones and case in real time.
• 🎧 Noise reduction adjustment: level adjustment ANC (Active noise cancellation).
• 🔊 Pressurization test: checks whether the headphones in the ears are sitting correctly.
• 🔄 Firmware Update: Set the Latest Improvements for Headphones.

Other headphone models (e.g. Redmi Buds 3 Lite) may require Xiaomi Wear or Xiaomi Bluetooth Audio.

If you use third-party headphones (such as Sony or Sony) JBL), You can install their proprietary applications. They often offer more flexible customizations than standard tools. MIUI.

⚠️ Note: Some features in Mi Earphones (e.g., Game Mode) only work with certain smartphone models, LDAC It is only supported on Snapdragon devices. 8xx and MIUI 12.5+.

If the app doesn’t find your headphones, make sure that:

• Headphones are connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth.
• Geolocation is enabled (some functions require it to work).
• The app has been updated to the latest version.

FAQ: Frequent questions about setting up headphones on Xiaomi