How to change the type of headphones on Xiaomi: from wired to Bluetooth and back

You've connected your headphones to a Xiaomi smartphone, but your phone persists in not recognizing them correctly? The sound goes through the speaker instead of the headphones, the microphone doesn't work, or the status bar shows the wrong type of device? This problem is familiar to many owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi devices — especially after the MIUI update or when using non-original accessories. In 90% of cases, it's not a hardware failure, but a software error determining the type of device connected.

In this article, you will find all the working ways to change the type of headphones on Xiaomi, from standard MIUI settings to hidden engineering menus and manual editing of configuration files. We will separate wired headphones (3.5 mm, USB-C, Lightning), Bluetooth headsets and hybrid devices (for example, Xiaomi Buds with support for wired mode).

Why Xiaomi is not correctly determining the type of headphones

The problem with Xiaomi’s headphone type recognition is usually due to one of three reasons:

• 🔌 Hardware incompatibility: non-original headphones with non-standard slinging of the connector (especially important for the use of electronic devices). USB-C and 3.5 mm with microphone).
• 🤖 Failure in MIUI: After updating the firmware or resetting the system “forgets” the profiles of connected devices.
• 🔧 Driver conflict: If other headphones of the same type (for example, several Bluetooth headsets) have previously been connected, the system can confuse them.

The error is most often expressed as follows:

• 🎧 The sound goes through the phone's speaker, although the headphones are connected.
• 🎤 The headphone microphone does not work (the built-in microphone of the smartphone is used in calls).
• ⚠️ The status bar displays the icon “earphones”, but there is no sound.
• 🔄 The type of device spontaneously changes (for example, from “wired” to “Bluetooth»).

On devices with MIUI 12–14 The problem is compounded by aggressive power optimization, which can "disable" the drivers of sound devices in the background. 3.5-mm connector (for example, Xiaomi) 12/13 series errors USB-C-headphones meet in 3 more often due to the need for digital signal processing.

Method 1: Resetting the sound settings in MIUI

The easiest and safest method is to reset the audio settings to factory settings, which helps in 60% of cases when the problem is caused by a software failure, not hardware incompatibility.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings. → Sound and vibration.
2. Slip on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Reset.
3. Confirm the action (you may need to enter the unlock password).
4. Reboot your smartphone and reconnect the headphones.

If this method does not work, check if Monozvook mode is activated (in the same audio settings), sometimes MIUI automatically turns it on when a "non-standard" device is detected.

Method 2: Manual switching of headphone type through the engineering menu

If resetting didn’t work, try manually specifying the types of connected devices through Xiaomi’s hidden engineering menu, which works on all Qualcomm-powered devices (including the Snapdragon 4xx/6xx/7xx/8xxx).

Attention: improper actions in the engineering menu can cause malfunctions in the sound system.

⚠️ Warning: Before entering the engineering menu ##36446337##, make sure the headphones are connected. If the menu doesn't open, your model uses a MediaTek processor - see method 4.

Instructions for Qualcomm:

1. Open the Phone app and enter the combination ##36446337##.
2. Go to the Hardware Testing → Audio section.
3. Select Headset Mode and install the correct type: 🎧 Headset – standard headphones with a microphone. 🎵 Headphone – headphones without a microphone. 🔌 USB Audio - for USB-C headphone.

Save the settings and restart the phone.

If the headphone type is lost again after the reboot, try disabling optimization for the Media app (which handles sound processing) in the battery settings.

Method 3: Change the type of Bluetooth headset

For Bluetooth headphones (such as Xiaomi Buds, Redmi AirDots, or third-party), the problem often lies in the wrong connection profile. MIUI can define the headset as a “phone” (HFP) instead of “multimedia” (A2DP), which causes the sound to go with poor quality or only to one headphone.

How to fix it:

1. Open Settings → Connected devices → Bluetooth.
2. Put the badge on. ⚙️ near your headset.
3. Turn off the Calls and Audio option, then turn it on again.
4. In the Profiles section, make sure you are active: 🎶 A2DP (music) 📞 HFP (call-in)

If the headset is defined as "earphones" but the sound only goes to one channel, check the Audio Effects settings in the same Bluetooth menu. Sometimes MIUI forcefully turns on Monosound mode for "compatibility."

Method 4: ADB-commands for forced change of headphone type

If standard methods fail, you can manually reconfigure the sound system via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), a method that is suitable for advanced users and requires connecting the phone to a computer.

You'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with ADB-tools installed.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Tap 7 times, then return to the Additional Settings → For developers).
• 🔌 Connected headphones (wired or Bluetooth).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command line (or Terminal on Mac/Linux).
2. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must display the serial number of your device.
3. Get a list of audio devices: adb shell dumpsys media.audio_flinger Look for lines with headset, headphone or usb_audio.
4. Forced device type (example for wired headphones): adb shell settings put global headset_type 1 Where 1 — type: 0 — phone-phone 1 — headphones 2 — microphone-headset 3 — Bluetooth headphones 4 — USB-C headphones

Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Attention: Infidels ADB-If the sound is completely lost after the commands are executed, reset the phone to the factory settings (with loss of data).

adb shell settings delete global headset_type

This will bring back automatic identification of the type of headphones.-->

Method 5: Checking the hardware compatibility of headphones

If software methods didn't help, the problem may be incompatibility of the headphones with your smartphone.

• 🎧 Headphones with non-standard 3.5 mm sling (for example, some Sony or Bose models use the same equipment). CTIA instead OMTP).
• 🔌 USB-C headphones without Xiaomi support (especially cheap no-name models).
• 🔗 3.5 mm adapters → USB-C chipless (MIUI They may not recognize them as a sound device).

How to check compatibility:

1. Connect your headphones to another device (like a laptop or a smartphone from another brand), and if the problem recurs, the headphones are to blame.
2. Check the connector sling: 🔴 OMTP: Left channel - Contact 1, Right - Contact 2, Earth - Contact 3, Microphone - Contact 4. 🔵 CTIA: Left channel - Contact 1, Right - Contact 2, Microphone - Contact 3, Earth - Contact 4.

Xiaomi

CTIA

OMTP

USB Audio Class 1.0/2.0

If the headphones are incompatible, there are two solutions:

1. Use an adapter with the correct pinning (e.g., OMTP→CTIA).
2. Buy headphones with support for Xiaomi (the description should indicate compatibility with MIUI).

A common mistake of users is to try to “cheat” the system by connecting headphones through a splitter (for example, to simultaneously charge and listen to music). Xiaomi blocks the sound in such cases due to the risk of damage to the port. Use only certified accessories with support for USB-C Audio + Power Delivery.

If neither of these methods worked, there are two options:

1. Reset your phone to factory settings (with data loss).
2. Contact the Xiaomi service center – the problem may be in a damaged audio chip or connector.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions