Xiaomi’s current MIUI-enclosed smartphones or the new HyperOS offer advanced notification management tools, but sometimes standard settings can be confusing. Constant beeps about the arrival of messages interfere with movies, at important meetings or during sleep, disrupting concentration and peace. Users often look for a way to quickly drown out messages without completely turning off calls or alarms, which requires a spot setting of the system.
In this article, we will take a look at all the methods available to make the process of receiving SMS silent, learn how to manage the system settings of sounds, use built-in silence modes and adjust exceptions for important contacts, while maintaining full control over your device.
Basic settings of system notification sounds
The easiest way to remove sound is to go to the main settings of the system, which adjusts the volume of all types of alerts. On Xiaomi devices, this process is standardized, but has its own features depending on the firmware version, you need to open the settings menu and find the section responsible for the audio of the interface.
Go to Settings and select Sound and Vibration, and it displays sliders for different types of audio, including media, alarms and, most importantly for us, notifications. By moving the Notifications slider to the left, you will completely disable the sound for all applications that use the system's alert channel, including the standard messaging app.
⚠️ Warning: Reducing the volume of notifications in this menu will silence the sounds from all applications, including instant messengers and mail, not just SMS.
For more subtle settings, you can use the extended audio menu. Go to Settings → Sound and Vibration → Additional (if available in your version of MIUI). Here you can select a specific sound file for SMS or set the value "No", which will leave a vibration response, but remove the melody.
Configure the Messages application inside the interface
Often, the global settings of the system are redefined by the individual parameters of the application itself. Xiaomi smartphones preinstalled its own application MIUI Messages (or Google Messages in global versions), which has its own set of rules. To change them, you need to open the program itself to read SMS.
Click on the three dots in the top right corner of the screen or the profile icon to call the menu, and select Settings. Find the Notifications section. This is where the key to solving the problem lies if the system sliders didn't work. Make sure the Sound switch is activated, but clicking on it selects the No Sound or Silent file.
☑️ Checking the application settings
The newer versions of the HyperOS shell may have a slightly different logic, and the system may offer notification categorization, find the Inbox category and click on it, and open a detailed window where you can customize the behavior of the sound, vibration and pop-up separately, making SMS completely invisible and silent, leaving only the icon in the curtain.
Use of Do Not Disturb Mode and Schedules
If you need to temporarily turn off the sound of SMS, for example, during meetings or night rest, the most convenient way to use the mode is “Do not disturb”, which in Xiaomi works much more flexible than a simple silent state, allowing you to create complex activation scenarios, you can activate it through the control center (curtain) or in the audio settings.
Of particular interest are the automatic rules. You can set the phone to go quiet on a schedule. Go to Settings → Sound and vibration → Do not disturb → Add a rule. Here you can set the start and end times, as well as the days of the week when the text will be blocked by force.
Difference between Silence Modes
It is important to set exceptions in this mode correctly. By default, Do Not Disturb can skip calls from favorite contacts, but SMS is often blocked completely. Check the Exceptions section within the mode menu to make sure important messages from banks or delivery services are not missed if it is critical to you.
Managing notifications for specific contacts and groups
Sometimes you want to keep the sound on for everyone but a few intrusive mailings, or you want to silence everyone but your loved ones. Android and MIUI have a system of notification channels and contact groups that allows you to manage this process flexibly, and this is especially true for users who use SMS for two-factor authentication and are afraid to skip the code.
To set up contact exceptions, go to the Contacts or Phone app. Select the number you want, click Change and find the Notification Sound (or SMS Rington) field, where you can set a customized "No Sound" melody specifically for that subscriber, which is a priority over general settings.
- 📱 Open the dialogue with the contact in the Messages app.
- 🔍 Click on the contact name or three dots at the top to enter details.
- 🔇 Select Notifications and set the switch to Off or select a quiet sound.
You can also create contact groups with different audio profiles. Although it's a pure function of Google contacts, you can use tags in Xiaomi. Create a Work group and assign a profile to it if you don't care about working SMS in your spare time, this requires you to prepare a contact list in your Google account.
Comparison of methods of switching off sound
To make it easier for you to choose the right option, we have prepared a comparative table of methods, each of which has its advantages depending on your current situation and the desired outcome.
| Method | Coverage | Difficulty | Reversibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume slider | All applications | Low. | Instant. |
| Application settings | Just texting. | Medium | Permanent. |
| Do Not Disturb mode | Systemic (scheduled) | Tall. | Automatic. |
| Contact setting | One number. | Medium | Permanent. |
As you can see from the table, for a one-time trip to the movies, you better use a slider or a "Do Not Disturb" mode, but if you are annoyed by the constant sound from all SMS in principle, the best solution is to change the settings inside the Messages application itself, which will provide comfort without having to climb the menu every time.
Third-party applications and enhanced capabilities
Standard MIUI functionality is sometimes not enough for users with special needs, and in such cases, Google Play apps come to the rescue that allow complex automations, such as MacroDroid or Tasker, which can turn off the sound of SMS when you connect to a particular Wi-Fi or when you launch a particular application.
Using a third-party message manager is also an effective solution: Applications like Textra or QKSMS have a more clear and detailed notification configuration interface than standard Chinese versions of MIUI Messages. By installing such a message launcher, you have full control over each sneeze of the system.
⚠️ Note: When installing third-party SMS apps, be sure to give them default permission to work, otherwise new messages may not arrive or come with a delay.
However, it is worth remembering that third-party programs consume more battery resources. Xiaomi's built-in tools are optimized better. Before installing additional software, try to twist the settings of the standard application as much as possible using hidden menus.
The solution and nuances of MIUI
Xiaomi users often experience resets after a system upgrade or memory cleanup, which is due to the aggressive operation of MIUI’s energy saving system, which can kill background processes or reset user preferences of sounds to standard ones, and to avoid this, you need to fix the settings.
Go to Settings → Applications → All Applications → Messages. Press Other Permits and make sure that all notification and auto-start options are allowed. Also, from the Activity Control menu, select No Limits. This will prevent system resets.
💡
If the text message is gone by itself, check if the headset or Bluetooth device is connected, and sometimes the phone sends the notification sound to an external device that is not in use or far away.
Another nuance is the design theme: Some third-party themes downloaded from Themes store may have their own audio profiles that overlap the system. If nothing helps, try switching to a standard Classic or Default theme and checking the sound again.
The critical point is to check the type SIM-cards: if you have two SIMs, SMS settings can only apply to one of them (usually the one chosen for the default data transfer), so check the settings for each SIM card separately in the SIM and Mobile Networks menu».
💡
For guaranteed results, combine methods: install “No Sound” in the application and use the “Do Not Disturb” mode on a schedule for night time.