How to return the standard ringtone on Xiaomi smartphone: the complete guide

Are you tired of the intrusive custom ringtone of a call, or have you accidentally deleted the standard ringtone on your Xiaomi? Do you know how to return the call sound that was originally made? This problem is familiar to many owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi smartphones — especially after updating MIUI or resetting. In this article, we will discuss all the ways to return a standard tune, including hidden system files and bypassing the limitations of the shell.

Controlling audio signals on Xiaomi is more difficult than on Android, where the manufacturer often hides system ringtones in protected folders, and the MIUI interface is not always logically organized. We will show you how to find standard tunes even if they do not appear on the list, how to recover deleted files through File Manager, and what to do if all sounds are lost after the update, and also reveal a secret trick with MTZ- themes, which works even on the latest versions of the firmware.

Why are standard tunes missing on Xiaomi?

The problem with the disappearance of factory ringtones on Xiaomi is usually due to one of four reasons: the first and most common is the MIUI update. When you upgrade to a new firmware version, the system can reset user audio settings or move system files elsewhere. For example, after upgrading to MIUI 14, many Redmi Note 11 and POCO X4 Pro users complained that standard tunes disappeared from the selection menu.

The second reason is manual deletion. Users often clean the Ringtones folder through the file manager, unaware that it also stores system sounds. The third problem is resetting to factory settings, which does not always correctly restore media files. And finally, the fourth factor is installing custom themes from the Mi Theme Store that can overwrite standard ringtones.

⚠️ Warning: If you use Xiaomi with an unlocked bootloader and custom firmware (like Pixel Experience), the standard tunes MIUI may not be physically available, in which case they will have to be downloaded separately from the firmware archives.

• 🔄 Update MIUI – Moves or hides system sounds
• 🗑️ File Manager Delete – Users often clear folder /system/media/audio/ringtones
• ⚙️ Resetting – does not always restore media files correctly
• 🎨 Castom themes – can overwrite standard ringtones

Where are the standard tunes stored in MIUI?

Unlike most pure Android smartphones, where the system ringtones are in /system/media/audio/ringtones, Xiaomi is more complex. The MIUI shell distributes audio files across multiple folders, and some of them can be hidden from the user.

1. /system/media/audio/ringtones – standard ringtones (only available from root)
2. /system/media/audio/notifications – notification sounds
3. /system/media/audio/alarms – alarm clocks
4. /miui/ringtone – custom and some system ringtones
5. /data/system/users/0 – audio settings cache (may contain links to deleted files)

On newer versions of MIUI 13/14, some of the system tunes are moved to secure.mtz theme archives, which means that even if you find a melody file in the folder, it may not play without a relevant theme, such as the standard "Mi Mix" ringtone on Xiaomi 13 stored inside the default.mtz theme and not displayed in the selection list if the the theme is not active.

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If you don’t see the /miui/ringtone folder in the file manager, turn on the hidden files in the File Manager settings (three dots → Settings → Show hidden files).

Method 1: Recovery through MIUI settings

The easiest way to get back a standard tune is to use the built-in MIUI tools. This method works on most Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models without having to get root rights or install additional apps.

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the desktop).
2. Go to the section Sound and vibration.
3. Slap on the call melody item.
4. At the top of the screen, select the Local or MIUI tab (the name depends on the firmware version).
5. Scroll down the list – standard tunes are usually at the end called “Default,” “Mi Mix,” or “Standard.”
6. Select the desired melody and press OK.

If standard tunes don’t appear in the list, try resetting the sound settings:

1. In the same Sound and Vibration section, find Reset audio settings (usually at the bottom of the screen).
2. Confirm the reset. The system will return all sound parameters to factory, including the ringtone.

Make sure important notifications don't use custom sounds |Memorize the current alarm melody |Chryse the media volume (reset may change it) |Save custom ringtones to a separate folder-->

⚠️ Warning: On some models (e.g., POCO F3 with MIUI 13), resetting the audio settings may also bring back the factory theme, and if you used a custom theme, you'll have to reset it.

Method 2: Manual copying of system files

If standard tunes are missing from the selection menu but are still physically present in the system, you can manually return them, and this will require a file manager with access to the system folders (for example, the built-in File Manager from Xiaomi or Solid Explorer).

1. Open File Manager and enable the display of hidden files (settings → show hidden files).
2. Go to /miui/ringtone. If the folder is not available, check /system/media/audio/ringtones (root rights required).
3. Find files with the.ogg extension or.mp3, which are the standard tunes, usually called mi_mix.ogg, standard.ogg, over_the_horizon.ogg.
4. Copy the files you want to use to /Ringtones folder on internal storage (create it if it doesn’t exist).
5. Reboot your smartphone and check the list of tunes in the settings.

If /system/media/audio is not available, you can try extracting system ringtones from the firmware archive:

• 📱 Download the official firmware for your model from the Xiaomi Firmware website.
• 📂 Unpack the archive and search for the file system.new.dat.br (or system.img).
• 🔍 Use the MIUI Dat Extractor tool to extract files from the image.
• 🎵 Copy the tunes from /system/media/audio/ringtones to the /Ringtones folder on your phone.

Method 3: Using MTZ-theme for sound recovery

Starting with MIUI 12, standard ringtone tunes are stored inside the.mtz file format, which means that even if you copy audio files to the /Ringtones folder, they may not appear in the selection menu without an active theme. To return factory ringtone, you need to set a standard MIUI theme:

1. Open the Themes app (brush icon on your desktop).
2. Go to My Topics → by default.
3. Click Apply. The system will restore the standard sounds, icons and fonts.
4. After applying the theme, check the list of tunes in Settings → Sound and vibration → Call melody.

If the standard theme doesn’t help, try downloading the official Mi Mix or Standard theme from the Mi Theme Store:

1. In the Topic app, go to the Online tab.
2. In the search, type Mi Mix or Default.
3. Download and apply the theme you found. It should contain the original ringtone.

⚠️ Warning: Some custom themes from the Mi Theme Store may contain viruses or adware. Install only high-rated (4.5+ stars) and high-download themes (100K+).

Method 4: Reset to factory settings (extreme case)

If none of the previous methods worked, the last option is a complete reset, which will return all system files, including standard tunes, but delete all user data.

• 📱 Contacts – sync with Google Account or export to file VCF.
• 📷 Photos and videos – copy to PC or cloud (Google Photos, Mi Cloud).
• 🎵 Custom Ringtones – save the /Ringtones folder to an external medium.
• 🔑 Wi-Fi passwords – Write down or use an export application (e.g., WiFi Key Recovery).

Resetting instructions:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select to erase all data (reset to factory).
3. Enter the password (if installed) and confirm the action.
4. After the reboot, set up your smartphone as new.
5. Check for standard tunes in Settings → Sound and vibration.

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Resetting to factory settings deletes all data, including apps, accounts and media files. Use this method only if other methods have not worked and you have a backup.

⚠️ Warning: Some Xiaomi models (e.g., Redmi Note 9 Pro with MIUI 12.5) may require re-assignment of the Mi Account after reset. Make sure to remember the username and password, otherwise you risk locking the device!

Problem Solving: The melody is not set or played

Sometimes even after the standard files are restored, the ringtone is not installed or played back.

Problem 1: The melody is not on the list.

Reason: The file is unsupported or is in the wrong folder.

Decision:

• Make sure the file has an extension of.mp3,.ogg, or.m4a.
• Check that the file is in /Ringtones (not in /Notifications or /Alarms).
• Rename the file to Latin (e.g. standard.mp3 instead of standard.mp3).

Problem 2: The melody is set, but not played when the call is made

Reason: A damaged file or conflict with a caller app (e.g., Truecaller or Google Phone).

Decision:

• Check the file on another device to see if it is playing.
• Disable third-party applications for calling in Settings → Apps → Permissions → Phone.
• Reset the settings of the Phone application (Settings → Applications → Phone → Storage → Reset).

Problem 3: After the MIUI update, all the sounds are gone

Reason: The new firmware version uses a different audio file format or path to them.

Decision:

• Set a standard MIUI theme (see Method 3).
• Download the firmware archive for your model and extract sounds from system.new.dat.br.
• Contact Xiaomi for support via Mi Community – sometimes they post patches for sound issues.

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If the notifications are gone after the update, but the ringtone is working, check the settings in Settings → Sound and Vibration → Notifications. The system may have dropped the volume or turned off the vibration.

FAQ: Frequent questions about standard tunes on Xiaomi