With the release of Android 11, screen recording has become a native feature of any new Android or Android-based smartphone without the need for a third-party app. However, Xiaomi was ahead of that when they added it to their MIUI 8.0 operating system.
That being said, certain older Xiaomi models do not have built-in screen recording. Luckily, there are plenty of third-party screen recording apps that can bridge that gap.
In this article, we’re going to look at how to record the screen of a Xiaomi phone running on MIUI 12.0, MIUI 11.0, and MIUI 10, and older. We’ll also look at which third-party apps you can use as an alternative to the built-in screen recorder, or if your phone doesn’t have native screen recording.
Let’s jump right in!
How to record the screen on Xiaomi
Note: For security and legal reasons, some apps don’t allow you to screen record their content. This may result in your recording having a black video or no audio.
Screen recording on Android 11/MIUI 12.0
- Swipe down to open Control Center
- Swipe down again to access more options
- Tap on ‘Screen recorder’
Screen recording on Android 10/MIUI 12.0
- Swipe down to open Control Center
- Swipe down again to access more options
- Tap on ‘Screen recorder’
Screen recording on Android 10/MIUI 11.0
- Swipe with two fingers to access Quick settings
- Swipe to browse the quick settings
- Tap on ‘Screen recorder’
Screen recording on MIUI 10 and older
- Launch the Screen Recorder app (might be in the ‘Tools’ folder on the Home screen)
- To change the screen recording setting, tap on the Settings icon at the top-right corner of the screen
- To move on to recording, tap on the camera icon at the bottom-right of the screen, which will change to a floating recording widget
- To start recording, tap on ‘Start’ on the widget, which can be dragged anywhere on the screen
- When recording, the widget will fade and display a timestamp
- To stop recording, tap the floating button again
Xiaomi Screen Recorder settings
You can change the following settings of the screen recorder:
Resolution
Resolution refers to how sharp the picture quality is. The higher the resolution, the sharper the video. You have the following screen recording resolutions to choose from:
- 1920×1080
- 1280×720
- 800×480
Video quality
You can choose the quality of the video from 1Mbps to 32Mbps. The higher the Mbps, the higher the video quality. But that also means the file size will be big and may require a reasonable amount of storage space.
Frame rate
How smooth the activity in the screen recording looks depends on the frame rate or how many frames per second it records. The most common frame rate in video recording, in general, is 30fps.
When screen recording on a Xiaomi smartphone, you can choose between the following frame rates:
- 15fps
- 24fps
- 30fps
A low frame rate will make the video look jerky and seem to lag, but it’s ideal for screen capturing long videos with very little on-screen activity because it takes up less space. On the other hand, a high frame rate will make the video look smooth, which is perfect for recording high-speed action such as gaming.
Orientation
The following screen recording orientation options are available:
- Landscape (record horizontally)
- Portrait (record vertically)
- Auto (automatically detect the orientation of the phone and match it)
Sound source
When screen recording using an Android, you have three sound settings to choose from, which are explained below.
- No sound: No audio will be recorded at all, only the video of what’s happening on the screen will be recorded.
- Media sounds: This option records the internal sounds that are coming from the apps on your phone, e.g games, videos, notifications, etc.
- Media sounds and mic: Along with internal sounds, choosing this option allows you to record your own voice, too.
Lock screen to end
This allows you to stop recording by locking the screen.
Show touch gestures
If you want to do a screen recording that teaches someone how to do something on the phone, it’s very useful to have the screen recording highlight all the areas you tap on the screen. Activating this setting allows you to do that.
Visualize navigation buttons
This allows you to show prompts when pressing the Home, Menu, and Back buttons.
Where are the screen recordings on a Xiaomi saved?
DCIM > ScreenRecorder
Gallery > Screen Recorder album
However, videos can be viewed from within the screen recording app (MIUI 10)
Third-party screen recording apps for Xiaomi
If you have an older phone that does not have a built-in screen recorder, then you need to install a third-party screen recording app. There are plenty of options to choose from, each with its own appeal.
Below are some popular screen recording apps you can download:
- DU Recorder
- AZ Screen Recorder
- XRecorder
The good thing about using a third-party app is that it gives you more options when it comes to recording. For example, you can choose a better video quality for the recording, among other things. I some cases, you can also override some of the restrictions that may come with a built-in screen recorder.
Tips for screen recording on your phone
Lock your phone’s orientation
Screen recording captures everything that happens on your phone. So, if your phone changes orientation automatically from portrait to landscape or vice versa, then that will get recorded, too.
It may not seem like a big deal but it can be off-putting to some people to watch a video that constantly flip-flops between portrait and landscape mode unnecessarily.
So, unless you absolutely need the screen to rotate for whatever you’re screen recording, it’s best to lock your phone’s screen orientation to avoid unnecessary and accidental changes to it during recording.
Keep an eye on your storage space
It’s easy to screen record and forget the fact that what you’re doing takes up space on your phone. The longer your screen recording is and the higher its resolution, the more space it will consume on your phone.
So, before you start recording, take a look at how much space you have available on your phone and if it will be enough to accommodate the screen recording you want to capture.
Keep in mind that if you do not have enough memory on your phone, screen recording will not be able to work properly.
Turn on ‘Do Not Disturb’
When screen recording, the last thing you want is to have notifications popping up during your session, especially if they contain confidential content. It’s disruptive, and nobody wants to see it.
To avoid that, switch on the Do Not Disturb option (or something similar on your phone’s OS). That will silence all your apps and prevent them from sending you notifications until you the feature off.
Don’t have too many apps open
Even if you have ‘Do Not Disturb’ turned on, it’s a good idea to close all unnecessary apps when screen recording, besides avoiding annoying notifications during recording. Firstly, screen recording drains the battery. Having many apps run in the background does not help at all.
Secondly, depending on the speed of your phone, having too many apps open may cause it to slow down or lag. That doesn’t make for a good viewing experience, particularly if you want to share your screen recordings on platforms such as YouTube.
Also, if you want to record sound from the microphone, having other apps that use the mic open in the background might interfere with the functionality of the screen recorder.
Ask for consent when screen recording a video call
When you’re doing a screen recording of a video call, the person on the other side of the call will not know that you’re recording the call. However, it’s common courtesy to ask for permission to record the call or notify the other person that the call is being recorded.
In fact, it’s illegal in some places to record a call of any type with someone without letting them know that they’re being recorded. So, make sure you’re not doing anything illegal where you live by screen recording the video call.
Conclusion
Screen recording is very useful for capturing and sharing things such as gameplay, tutorials, video calls and so on. Thankfully, Xiaomi has made it easy to screen record on MIUI devices. And even if your phone doesn’t natively support screen recording, it’s good to know that you have some third-party options available.
Warning!
Screen recording will capture everything you do on your screen without hiding anything. If you use it to record sensitive information, do so at your own risk. However, as mentioned at the beginning, some apps will not allow screen recording for security and copyright reasons.