Best Xiaomi Redmi 4 Tips and Tricks, MIUI Features and Settings

The Xiaomi Redmi 4 has a great build quality, a beautiful design, a 5-inch display and it runs Android Marshmallow based MIUI 8 interface. If you have already used a Xiaomi smartphone, it wouldn’t be very hard to get used to this interface, but for new users, it is going to be confusing because the MIUI is much different from the standard Android interface.

In the guide below, we will be sharing some of the best tips, tricks, and tweaks to make the user experience better for the Xiaomi Redmi 4 users. Check them out below.

Changing the lock screen wallpaper with just a tap

This is a handy feature from MIUI where you just have to tap on this small icon and it will preview a new wallpaper for you, which you can choose to have as the new wallpaper or swipe to the right to check out a new one. It takes all the pictures from the Internet so you don’t have to manually search for any pictures. Also, you can choose which type of wallpapers you want to have on your lock screen.

Add home screens or set default home screen

When you have multiple home screens and there is no app drawer, you would want to have these apps arranged well and have a well-loaded home screen as the default one. To do that, pinch on the screen with three fingers and then, you will find the home screens all at one place. Now, select which one you want to have as the default one, or even add new home screens or remove one.

Reading Mode

This is basically a bluelight filter where you can reduce the amount of blue light that is put out by the phone in dark conditions. The options to set it up are under the Display settings and you can control the intensity of Blue light to cancel, and also schedule it to automatically get activated every night. Furthermore, MIUI gives you the option to choose which apps to have it activated for.

Check connection speed on status bar

Sometimes, we just browse the web and keep wondering why isn’t the page loading. Turns out, it could be your low Internet speed at that point of time. The MIUI here allows you to check the real-time connectivity speed while browsing the web. To have it available on the status bar, you need to go to the Notification and Status bar settings and here, toggle the option “Show connection speed”

How to show your name on Status Bar

Not something you might be fond of but then, if you still want it, go to the same Notifications & Status bar settings and here, there are two options – First one that says “Show carrier name” and it will show it all the time and not just on the lock screen. The second one is the “Edit carrier name” option where you can set the name for the SIM card and it would show up on the status bar.

Change language of the device

Usually, when you set the device up, that is when you select a language for it. But then, most of us go with English because we can figure things out later if we wanted localized text. Now, if you think you want to change the language to something like Hindi, one of the available Indian languages or even something like Portuguese, French or such, you need to go to the Additional settings and there you would find the Language and Input options to select the one.

Change themes

There are two ways to reach the same place to change the themes. Either look for the direct app called Themes where you don’t just see themes, but also find the wallpapers, ringtones, and fonts, or rather go to Settings > and tap on Themes here to choose from one of the pre-loaded themes if you don’t want to search and download for any new ones. Tapping on the “Get more themes for free” option would take you to the same Mi Themes store, anyway.

Have connectivity toggles on the home screen

It is easy to reach the toggles present on the quick settings but then, you might have to pull down the notification panel twice to open the entire section. Rather, if you want to have some quick toggles on the home screen itself, pinch on the home screen and you will be able to select the ones you want to have. They just need a tap or activate or deactivate the function.

Restrict background activities and save battery

There are several ways that you can try and save the battery life of the MIUI phones and one of the important ones is restricting the background activity. That is because the background activity not just keeps your data active but some apps also require your location. To restrict it, go to Settings > Battery and here, tap on “Manage apps battery usage”. Now, the options are there for you to choose.

Prevent accidental touch or dials in pocket

Many times, we see the phones getting heated even when they are in the pocket. One of the reasons for that is the screen getting activated and you not noticing it when there are multiple touches, calls, etc. To prevent that, the MIUI has something called as Pocket Mode that is available under the Lock Screen settings. It will reject any touches if the earpiece area is covered because the sensor is located beside the earpiece and that will keep checking if it is dark, i.e. the phone is in the pocket.

Lite Mode

This is a simpler version of the MIUI interface. It offers larger icons, a limited number of things to play around with and it is the best when you don’t want the hassle of several things running in the background. Activating it is quite easy. You need to go to Settings and find Lite Mode with a simple toggle to activate it and this will restart the phone. To deactivate, you need to follow the same steps when you are on the Lite Mode.

One-Handed Mode

It is a small device but sometimes, you might still want it to have everything shrunk and allow you to reach the corners with ease. That’s where the One-Handed Mode comes to use. It will let you make the size of the content smaller, to about 3.5-inch or 4-inch based on your preference. Once you activate it under settings, you need to swipe your finger from the home button to the left or right navigation buttons based on which side you want the smaller content area. To close it, just tap on the empty area on the screen.

Take a screenshot

A very basic tip but it is always a needed one because the first-time smartphone users need some help. One of the ways to take a screenshot on the Redmi 4A is by pressing the volume down and power button together and that is the standard Android function. The screenshot gets saved in the Gallery. Now, there is another way to take a screenshot as well. It is the gesture that you need to activate under Additional settings and once done, you can take a screenshot using a three-finger swipe.

Setup App Lock

Setting up an app lock usually requires a third-party app because Google doesn’t offer any such feature in Android directly. But with MIUI, there is an App lock option. To set it up, you will have to first set a password for security and then, select the apps that you want to be locked and unlock only after the password is entered.

Dual Apps

This feature is what several smartphone brands show as a unique one. But in MIUI, it is just another feature where you can use two accounts for the same app because with Dual apps, you can have two versions of the same app and thus, run two accounts at the same time. How many times have you heard that you can use two WhatsApp accounts in the same phone? This is one of the ways if you have a Xiaomi phone. Just go to Settings > tap on Dual Apps and you can enable the Dual Apps for certain apps that are supported. The second app will have a small indicator to tell you the difference.

Quick Ball

This is a shortcut button that shows up on the screen and whenever tapped, it opens a few quick options and shortcuts so that you don’t have to always go through multiple taps for the same. To set it up, go to Settings > Additional Settings, and then, you will find the Quick Ball option here. Turn it on and you can now select the shortcuts that you want to have in it, and also choose when you want to hide it while using some particular apps. It is quite a handy gesture tool that helps do things quickly.

Child Mode

The Child Mode is a handy one with restrictions placed when your child is using the device. You can set it up by going to Settings and Additional Settings. For setting it up, you need to set a privacy protection password and also have a Mi account added to the device. The Child Mode will let you choose which apps to be shown in that mode. Also, you can choose to restrict any app from sending SMS.

Tapping the home button would take you to the Child Mode where only the apps you allowed are shown. To exit it, there is a direct exit option that you can tap and then enter the privacy protection password. You cannot completely exit from it if you don’t turn it off.

Clean cache to free up space

No matter how much ever the storage space was when you had a new phone, it tends to keep reducing with the files you store. But there are a lot of cache and unnecessary temporary files as well in the system that you can delete and free up space. Here’s how to do that. In the Settings, go to Storage and there, the last option named “Cleaner” is the one you need to tap on. It checks for the system files, logs, and other unnecessary items that are using the storage and lets you choose what are the ones you can choose to delete to free up the storage.

How to perform Virus scan on Redmi 4

Keeping away from malware and viruses is important because your data on the smartphone is at risk if the phone is infected. Xiaomi has its own security app that does the job of protecting the data by scanning for virus and helping you clear it if there is any. To perform a virus scan on your phone, you need to look out for the Security app that is pre-installed on the phone, and then tap on Virus to start the virus scan. It will look into the files, apps, and every folder of the device to see if the Redmi 4 is infected.

How to block phone numbers on Redmi 4

Another help from the MIUI interface is that you get some inbuilt features to block phone numbers in the device. The same is available in the Security app where you can have multiple settings done for the blocked numbers. You can choose some exceptions for particular numbers, and at the same place, you can add phone numbers that you want to block.

Tap on Settings and you will find the filters to block messages, list of contacts you blocked where you can add more numbers, and have exceptions where you can allow calls or messages from specific numbers.