You listen to a WhatsApp voice message on your Xiaomi, and your smartphone suddenly makes a notification sound and vibrates — as if the message just came — a problem that many owners of Redmi, POCO and Mi devices are familiar with, even when you have already opened a chat and are actively interacting with the message. What is the reason for this behavior and how to fix it?
It turns out that the fault is not the bug in the messenger itself, but the peculiarities of the MIUI notification system combined with WhatsApp settings. The fact is that Xiaomi aggressively optimizes the background activity of applications, and voice messages on WhatsApp are technically considered “new events” even when played, as a result, the system perceives listening as a repeated notification – and produces a sound with vibration.
In this article, we will take a closer look at all the possible causes of the problem, including hidden MIUI settings, WhatsApp features, and even the hardware nuances of some Xiaomi models. You will learn how to turn off double notifications once and for all – without resetting settings and data loss.
1.Why does Xiaomi play the notification sound when listening to voice?
The root of the problem is how MIUI handles WhatsApp notifications, and when you receive a voice message, the messenger sends two types of notifications:
- 📩 Initial notification – the fact of receipt of the message (acts immediately after sending)
- 🔊 Secondary notification – about voice playback (works when you click on the message)
Xiaomi defaults to distinguish between the two types and treats them as separate events, and as a result, when listening, you hear the notification sound that should have sounded when you receive a message, especially on models with MIUI 12.5+, where the notification system has been significantly redesigned.
Another nuance is the battery optimization policy: MIUI can freeze WhatsApp in the background, which causes the messenger to not process the notification status correctly, and when you open a message, the system wakes up the application, and it re-sends the signal about a new event — which causes a double sound.
2. Communication with notification settings in MIUI
MIUI has a unique notification management mechanism that often conflicts with WhatsApp’s logic, and here are the key settings that affect the problem:
| Setting up | Impact on the problem | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-optimization of the battery | Blocks WhatsApp background activity, causing repeated notifications | Disable for WhatsApp |
| Show notifications in the application settings | If disabled, the system may not handle events correctly. | Included. |
| The sound of notifications on WhatsApp | Conflict with MIUI system sounds | Different from the system. |
| Vibration on notifications | Dubbed by system vibration | Disable on WhatsApp |
Especially insidious is Smart Optimization in Settings → Battery. It automatically restricts application activity, which leads to notification malfunctions, and even if you manually add WhatsApp to exceptions, the system can ignore this after the reboot.
⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi Note 11, POCO X4 Pro after updating to MIUI 14: A bug appears where WhatsApp notification settings are reset after a security update!
3. Step-by-step instructions: how to remove double sound
To get rid of the problem, you need to consistently check and change the settings in three places: in WhatsApp itself, in the MIUI settings and in the battery settings.
Open WhatsApp. → ⋮ → Settings → Notifications
Turn off Vibration for messages and calls
Set a unique notification sound (not “Default”)
Turn off "Show Notifications" for groups (if not necessary)-->
Next, go to the system settings:
- Open Settings → Applications → Application Management
- Find WhatsApp and select Notifications
- Turn off the option to Allow Sound for Message Category
- Turn on Show as a pop-up window (this will prevent duplication)
The final step is to set up the battery:
- Go to Settings → Battery → Selection of applications
- Find WhatsApp and select Without Limits
- Turn off Smart Optimization for this app
💡
If you still have a problem after doing this, try clearing WhatsApp’s cache in Settings → Apps → WhatsApp → Storage.This will reset the temporary notification data without deleting the messages.
4. Specific problems on different Xiaomi models
Some devices have unique bugs associated with notification processing, and here are the most problematic models and their features:
- 📱 Redmi Note 10 Pro: Conflict with Game Turbo, which blocks notifications even in normal mode.Solution - disable Game Turbo in settings or add WhatsApp in exceptions.
- 📱 POCO X3 NFC: Vibration bug that fires twice because of a bug in the vibrator driver. Solution: Update your firmware to the latest version MIUI Or turn off the vibration completely.
- 📱 Mi 11 Ultra: Problem with Dynamic Sound that duplicates system notifications. Solution - disable Settings → Sound. → Dynamic sound.
Redmi Note 12 with MIUI 14.0.4 has a critical bug: the system ignores the notification settings for WhatsApp if the "Do Not Disturb" mode is enabled with exceptions. The only solution at the moment is a full reset or a rollback to MIUI 13.
⚠️ Note: On devices with MediaTek processor (e.g. Redmi) 10C, POCO M4 Pro) HyperEngine may need to be disabled in battery settings as it conflicts with notification processing.
5. Alternative solutions: if nothing helps
If the standard methods don’t work, try these non-obvious methods:
- 🔄 Resetting notification settings: Go to Settings → Notifications → Additionally. → Reset notification settings. This will return all settings to factory settings, but will not affect application data.
- 📥 Installing WhatsApp beta: Sometimes bugs are fixed in test builds earlier than in stable builds. APK from the official Beta Tester website.
- 🛠️ Manual editing of the configuration file: For advanced users, file modification /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db through ADB (root).
The last option is to use automated scripts via Tasker or MacroDroid, which will mute the sound of notifications when WhatsApp is open.
Trigger: Application launched (WhatsApp)
Action: Set the volume of notifications to 0%
Condition: Screen is onHow to roll back MIUI without losing data?
Prevention: How to avoid problems in the future
To prevent the problem from returning after updates or resets, follow these guidelines:
- Check your WhatsApp battery settings regularly – MIUI likes to reset exceptions after updates.
- Don’t use Memory Cleanup manually – it kills WhatsApp’s background processes.
- Update WhatsApp via Google Play, not APK – in official versions, bugs are fixed faster.
- Turn off Adaptive Brightness – it indirectly affects notification processing due to optimizing power consumption.
If you frequently reflash the device, save this settings checklist in notes:
Disable Auto-Optimize Battery for WhatsApp
Prioritize notifications to “maximum”
Check the sound of WhatsApp notifications (should be different from the system)
Turn off vibration in chat settings-->
💡
The most common reason for a problem to come back is the automatic MIUI update, which resets notification settings. Always check WhatsApp settings after installing new firmware versions.