How to completely disable music muffling when notifying on Xiaomi: 5 proven ways

You listen to your favorite playlist or watch a movie, and suddenly the sound is abruptly muted by another notification on Telegram or WhatsApp. Familiar situation? Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones by default turn down the volume of media when any alerts appear — a feature that should "help" not to miss important messages, but in practice only annoying, especially if you use the device as a music player or connect it to speakers.

In this article, 5 working methods to disable music muting when notified on MIUI 14/15 (including Android 13/14). We will discuss both standard system settings and hidden settings for power users. Importantly, on some models (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12), some of the functions may be hidden - there are separate instructions for them, and you will learn why after the software update, the settings may be reset, and how to avoid this.

Why Xiaomi mutes music when notified: technical reasons

The ducking function is not a bug, but a feature embedded in MIUI firmware, and it works on the principle of "notification priority": the system believes that alerts are more important than background sound, and temporarily reduces its volume by 30-50%.

• 🎵 Sharp volume drops while listening to music or watching videos.
• 🎮 Loss of immersiveness in games, where sound effects “fail” with each message.
• 🔊 Discomfort when using a smartphone as a sound source for speakers or car tape recorders.

At the Android level, this is the parameter. audio_ducking_enabled, And that's what Xiaomi is activating by default, and in fact, in some versions, MIUI (for example, MIUI 13 For the Redmi Note 10) This feature is duplicated in the audio profile settings and special features, which makes it difficult to turn it off:

Interestingly, on some devices (such as the Xiaomi Mi 11 with MIUI 12.5), the function worked correctly – the muting was smooth and almost invisible. But after upgrading to MIUI 14, many users experienced sharp volume spikes that sometimes led to distortion of the sound in the headphones.

Method 1: Disconnect via standard audio settings (MIUI 14/15)

So, to start with, the simplest method that works on most modern Xiaomi devices, which is that you don't need root rights or PC connectivity, it's done in the interface, and it's important that the path to settings may vary slightly depending on the firmware version.

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the desktop).
2. Go to the section Sound and vibration.
3. Switch to the option Additional settings (or in some versions).
4. Find the option to Dim the media at notifications (may be called Reduce the volume of music) and turn off the slider.
5. Restart the device so that the changes take effect.

If you don't have one, don't worry. On some devices (like the Redmi 10C), it's hidden, so try an alternative way:

1. Go to Settings. → Special facilities.
2. Select Sound settings.
3. Deactivate the option to Dim the sound at notifications.

Make sure that the sound settings do not have an active "Mut Media" slider |

Test music playback with notification enabled |

Check if the settings are reset after rebooting |

If it doesn’t help, move on to the next method.-->

Note: On the POCO F4 GT and some other models, this option may be called Ducking audio and is located in the Developer Settings section. To activate it, tap 7 times the build number in Settings → About Phone.

Method 2: Using ADB to deep shut down (no root)

If the standard settings do not help, you will have to resort to ADB-This method works on all Xiaomi devices with Android 10 and later, does not require root rights, but will require a connection to a computer.

You'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows, macOS or Linux.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 📱 Included debugging by USB smartphone.
• 🛠️ Utility. ADB (You can download from the official Android website).

Step-by-step:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (Tap 7 times)
2. Return to Settings → More → For Developers and Enable: Debugging over USB OEM Unlock (if any)

adb devices

(Your device should be displayed).

adb shell settings put global audio_ducking_enabled 0

Reboot your smartphone.

To get it back, use the command:

adb shell settings put global audio_ducking_enabled 1

💡

If the muffling remains after the command is executed, check if it is overset in the player app (for example, Spotify or YouTube Music have their own volume settings when notifying).

Method 3: Set up notifications for individual applications

If you only need to turn off muffling for specific applications (like VK Music or Apple Music), you can set exceptions through the notification menu, which is useful when you don’t want to completely disable the feature, but only adjust it.

How to do this:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the application you want to disable the muffling for (e.g. Spotify).
3. Slip the Notifications.
4. Find the section Sound or Notification Behavior.
5. Turn off the option to Dim the media sound (may be called Reduce the volume of music).
6. Repeat for all the necessary applications.

Some firmware (e.g. MIUI EU) may not have this option, in which case resetting notification settings for the application will help:

1. Go to the notification settings of the selected application.
2. Click Reset settings (or Restore by default).
3. Restart the app.

Note: On the POCO X5 Pro and some other Android 13 models, the notifications may disappear when you reset the notification settings, in which case return the settings manually or restart the device.

Method 4: Using third-party applications (without root)

If the system methods don't work, third-party utilities will come to the rescue. They don't require root rights, but some features may be limited in new versions of Android. We tested 3 apps that actually help:

The most reliable option on the list is SoundAssistant (a Samsung developer, but it works for Xiaomi too).

1. Open the application and provide all the permissions requested.
2. Go to the Individual App Volumes section.
3. Select a player app (such as YouTube).
4. Activate the Ignore notification sounds option.
5. Save the settings and restart the media player.

💡

The side of the application may conflict with the system services MIUI. If after installation there are lags or the sound began to disappear - remove the utility and try another method.

Method 5: Edit system files (root only)

If you have root rights, you can turn off muffling permanently by editing system files, which is the most radical and only suitable for advanced users.

Instructions:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Cross the path: /system/etc/audio_effects.conf or /vendor/etc/audio_effects.conf
3. Find the line: ducking { enabled=true } and replace true with false.
4. Save the file and restart the device.

If the file audio_effects.conf No, try editing:

/system/etc/audio_policy_configuration.xml

Look for options with ducking or audio_ducking.

💡

Before editing system files, back them up! For example, copy them to a folder. /sdcard/Backup/. This will help restore the sound if something goes wrong.

Warning: On Dynamic RAM devices (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra), editing system files can cause memory virtualization to fail, in which case only flashing will help.

What to do if nothing helps: alternative solutions

If all of these methods fail, consider alternatives:

• 🔊 Use Bluetooth Player: Some External Devices (Sony, for example) WH-1000XM5) Ignore the muffling commands from the smartphone.
• 🎧 Get on the hook. AUX: When using wired headphones with a 3.5 mm connector (if any), muffling often does not work.
• 📱 Install custom firmware: LineageOS or Pixel Experience, for example, don’t have this problem.
• 🔇 Turn off notification sounds completely: C Settings → Sound and vibration → Type of vibration and sound, choose No sound.

You can also try resetting the sound settings to factory:

1. Go to Settings → System → Resetting settings.
2. Select Resetting Sound Settings (not to be confused with a full reset!).
3. Confirm the action and restart the device.

If the problem has occurred after the MIUI update, try to roll back to the previous version via the Mi Flash Tool. Downgrade instructions are available on the 4PDA or XDA Developers forums.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the muffling of sound on Xiaomi