How to permanently disable muffling when notifying on Xiaomi: 5 working ways

You listen to your favorite music or watch a video, and suddenly — the sound is sharply muted due to another notification on WhatsApp, Telegram or VK. This feature of MIUI and HyperOS has annoyed millions of users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO for many years. Fortunately, it can be turned off — and we will tell you how to do it once and for all, without unnecessary dancing with a diamond.

The problem is that by default, the system automatically reduces media volume by 30 to 50 percent when you play the audible notification. The logic of the developers is clear: so you don't miss an important message. But in practice, it looks like a bug, especially if you're using your smartphone as a player or watching a movie. In this article, 5 proven ways to turn off muffling, including hidden settings and workarounds for different versions of the firmware.

Why does Xiaomi mute the sound when notified?

The media notifications feature appeared in MIUI 8 and has since roamed from version to version — including the new HyperOS. Officially, it is called Ducking (from English “squat”, “decrease”) and works on the following principle:

• 🔊 The system detects sound reproduction (music, video, game).
• 📳 A notification with an audible signal (for example, SMS messenger).
• 📉 Media volume automatically decreases by 30-70% (depending on the model and firmware).
• 🔄 After the notification signal ends, the volume is restored.

On paper, this seems logical, but in practice, the muting works even at the lowest volume of notifications, which makes the function useless. Moreover, in some versions of MIUI 12/13, the bug manifests itself even when the notification sound is completely turned off in the settings!

Interestingly, on other brands (Samsung, Google Pixel, Realme) this feature is either missing or works much more neatly, but Xiaomi stubbornly leaves it “by default”, despite years of complaints from users.

Method 1: Disconnect via Sound Settings (MIUI 12–14, HyperOS)

The most obvious and official way is to disable the muffling in the audio settings menu, which unfortunately doesn’t work on all models (for example, on the POCO F3 and Redmi Note 10 Pro, this item may not be available), but it’s worth a try.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings. → Sound and vibration.
2. Scroll down and find the Media or Media Play section.
3. Slip on the item Muffling sound at notifications (or reducing media volume).
4. Switch the slider to the off position.

If there's no such item, don't despair. Some firmwares have it hidden under a different name. For example, on Xiaomi 13 Ultra with HyperOS, the path looks like this: Settings → Sound → Additional → Lower media volume.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi) 9A, POCO X3 NFC) If you turn off this setting, you may lose the YouTube sound when you lock the screen. №3.

Method 2: Use of Do Not Disturb (Backway)

If your firmware doesn't have a direct switch to disable the muffling, you can go another way by setting the "Do Not Disturb" exceptions, which works on all versions of MIUI and HyperOS, but requires manual adjustment.

How does it work? You turn on Do Not Disturb, but you allow media playback, so notifications come in without sound, and the music plays at full volume.

Step-by-step:

1. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Do not disturb.
2. Activate the Do Not Disturb mode (slider at the top).
3. Slip on Permission or Exclusion.
4. Enter Media Playback (or Multimedia Sounds)
5. Turn off all other options (calls, messages, alarms) if you want complete silence.

The downside of this method is that you won't hear the noise of notifications at all (even important ones), but the music and videos will play without being muffled. If you need notifications, but without turning down the volume, read on.

💡

If after turning on "Do Not Disturb" the sound in games disappears, add the application to the exceptions: Settings → Apps → Permissions → Autoplay and turn on the option for the desired game.

Method 3: Disconnect via ADB (for advanced users)

If the first two methods do not work, you will have to use them. ADB-This is the most reliable method, because it changes the system settings at the firmware level. POCO, But it requires a computer connection.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux
• 📱 USB-cable (preferably original)
• 🔧 Included debugging by USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap according to the version)
• 📦 Google's Platform Tools utility

Instructions:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and allow debugging over USB.
2. Open the command line (or Terminal on Mac/Linux) in the platform-tools folder.
3. Enter the command: adb shell settings put global media_ducking_volume 0
4. Reboot your smartphone.

If the team doesn’t work, try an alternative:

adb shell settings put global volume_duck_media false

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware (MIUI 13+) after updating the system of settings ADB To avoid this, follow the command after the muffling is turned off: adb shell cmd. device_config put audio media_ducking_enabled false

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

If you don't want to mess with ADB, you can use third-party utilities.

• 🎵 SoundAssistant (from Samsung, but runs on Xiaomi) – allows you to fine-tune the volume of media and notifications.
• 🔇 Disable Media Ducking (requires) ADB-permissions, but simplifies the process).
• 📱 MacroDroid – Creates an automatic rule that blocks muffling when you start the player.

Let’s look at the example of SoundAssistant:

1. Download the app from Google Play.
2. Open it and provide all the necessary permissions.
3. Go to the Notifications and Multimedia section.
4. Turn off the item Reduce the volume of media at notifications.
5. Save the settings and restart the player.

The downside of this method is that the application has to work in the background, which can slightly increase battery consumption, but you don't need to connect to a PC.

💡

Third-party apps are a good option for those who don’t want to dig into the system settings, but remember that after the MIUI update, they may need to be reconfigured.

Method 5: Manual editing of system files (root only)

If you have a bootloader unlocked and Magisk installed, you can permanently disable the muffling by editing the system file, which is the most radical, but also the most reliable method, after which the muffling will not return even after the updates.

You'll need:

• 📱 Root access (Magisk or SuperSU).
• 📂 File Manager with root support (e.g. Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
• 🔍 Patience – One wrong step can lead to failure.

Instructions:

1. Open the file manager and go to /system/vendor/build.prop or /system/build.prop.
2. Find the line: ro.audio.ducking.enabled=true
3. Replace true with false:
4. Save the file and restart the smartphone.

If you don't have one, add it to the end of the build.prop file manually, and once you reboot, the muffling should disappear forever.

⚠️ Note: Editing system files without a backup can lead to bootloop ( looped boot). TWRP Or OrangeFox!

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after the muffling is turned off, users are faced with nuances.

If none of these methods helped, check:

• 🔄 Is the Power Saving mode on (it can limit the background activity of the player).
• 🎧 Do you use Bluetooth headphones with your own volume settings (e.g. Sony) WH-1000XM5 or AirPods).
• 📱 Are custom audio profiles installed through applications like ViPER4Android.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions