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Seven Hidden Tricks You Didn't Know About Xiaomi's MIUI V5 OS

By Sidney Wong - 24 Mar 2014

Seven Hidden Tips and Tricks You Didn't Know About Xiaomi's MIUI V5

Hidden Features of MIUI V5 

Bought a Redmi or Mi 3 smartphone recently but not quite sure how to maximize it? The MIUI OS powering these devices is brimming with new features that you may not have realized and we've covered them in detail in our our top five features of MIUI and other core features of the MIUI V5 OS

If you thought that's all there is to it, think again. We've compiled some of the lesser known tips and tricks in MIUI that you might find handy when using your Xiaomi phone:

 

1. Switch between Normal Lock Screen and Music Player

The typical home screen of MIUI lets you access the call log (swipe left), camera (swipe up), messages (swipe right) and unlock (swipe down). If you want to listen to music without unlocking the phone, double tap on the centre of the circle (orange glow) and it will switch from the typical lock screen to one with music controls.

The typical lock screen on MIUI. <br> Lock screens will vary according to themes used. The music shortcuts on the lock screen.

 

2. Long Press Back Button as Shortcut to Camera

While some smartphones allow you to unlock straight into the camera app via a dedicated shutter button or on the lock screen, MIUI allows you to unlock to the camera app by long pressing the back button on the lock screen. The option can be enabled in Settings > Buttons > Long Press Back for Camera. 

You can access this via Settings > Buttons > Long Press Back for Camera.

 

3. Long Press Back to Close Current App

Pressing the back button in most Android devices does not close the app; the app simply runs in the background. In MIUI, there is an option for you to close the current app by long pressing the back button. This will prevent apps from running in the background and consuming resources (battery and data).

 

4. Long Press Any Icon in Toggles to Access its Settings

While most, if not all Android devices come with Quick Settings, not all of them support quick access to the individual setting page for the toggle. MIUI lets you long press on any icon in the Toggles to access its setting page. So far, we've tested this feature on the HTC One, LG G2 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and HTC is the only brand out of the three to not support this feature.

 

 

5. Network Speed

Ever wondered how fast your data connection is? MIUI gives you the option to see the connection speed on the status bar at the top. This option can be enabled or disabled via Settings > Notifications > Show Connection Speed.

You can check the speed of your cellular connection ... and Wi-Fi connection.

 

6. Mass Deletion of Apps

Do you find deleting of single apps a little troublesome when you are performing some "housekeeping" on your Xiaomi phone? Don't worry as MIUI allows you to delete multiple apps at one go.

Execute a pinch gesture on the home screen to go to "Edit Mode". Tap (not drag) on the apps that you want to uninstall and they will be directed to the bottom of the screen. Once the apps have transitioned to the bottom of the screen, use a pinch gesture to group them together. Drag the entire stack of apps to the top to uninstall them at one go.

Do a pinch gesture on the apps to stack them together. Drag the stack of apps to the top. The stack of apps will be uninstalled at one go.

 

7. Keep Certain App(s) Running While Closing The Rest

Most Android smartphones allow you to close all the apps running in the background via their own task managers, but none allows you to select particular app(s) to continue running while you end all others. MIUI gives you the freedom to decide which apps to continue running in the background while you close the other apps and processes at one go.

Drag the app down a little to reveal a lock icon. Release it and the lock icon will now appear on the top right corner of the app. Hit the brush icon to clear all the apps. The "locked" app will still run in the background.

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