How to set a photo on a call on Android Redmi

Smartphone personalization is not just a tribute to fashion, but a way to instantly recognize the caller, even when the device is lying face down or vibrating in your pocket. Owners of line devices Redmi i Xiaomi often face the fact that the standard procedure for installing an avatar on a contact does not work as expected on a “clean” Android.

The problem lies in the deep customization of the system MIUI and the new shell HyperOS, which separate the concepts of “contact photo” in the phone book and “picture when calling” in the system. Many users they believe that it is enough to save the picture in the profile, but the system ignores this action when there is an incoming call due to the peculiarities of the “Phone” application from Google or Xiaomi’s own development.

In this material we will analyze in detail all available ways to solve the problem: from standard settings to using third-party utilities that bypass system restrictions. You will learn why your photo is cropped into a circle and how to make it take up the entire screen.

Why the photo is not displayed on an incoming call

The main cause of the conflict is data desynchronization between different contact stores. The system on smartphones can use several sources at once: the local memory of the phone, and the local memory. When you add an image through one app, the other Phone app may simply not see the file or have limited access to it. Android on smartphones Redmi can use several sources at once: local phone memory, Google Account And MI Cloud. When you add an image through one app, the other Phone app may simply not see the file or have limited access to it.

Another common problem is the display format. Modern dialer interfaces often use small round avatars, while users want to see a full-fledged photo on the entire display. System restrictions interface MIUI by default they hide large images, considering them background, not contact ones.

⚠️ Note: If you are using a third-party theme, it may force your contact photos to be disabled. In this case, return the standard theme to the menu Themes to check the functionality of the function.

It is also worth considering the version of the Contacts application. Some global firmware versions come with Google Dialer pre-installed, which has its own image caching rules. While on Chinese or Russian versions (with Yandex integration), the operating logic may be radically different.

Standard method through the Contacts application

The most obvious method, which is often missed due to inattention to detail, is editing the subscriber card directly in the system phone book. It is important to understand that simply inserting a picture is not enough, you need to make sure that it is associated with the correct type of contact.

Open the application Contact and find the desired subscriber in the list. Click on the edit button (usually a pencil icon). At the bottom of the screen or in the top corner, you will see the current placeholder with your initials. Click on it to open the gallery.

• 📸 Select the "Select from Gallery" option to load the finished photo.
• 🤳 Use the "Take Photo" button to take a photo of the caller right now.
• ✂️ Be sure to adjust the cropping area, as the system automatically crops the image under the circle.

After selecting an image, the system will offer to save the changes. Critical click the “Save” button inside the contacts application, and not just exit the gallery. If a contact is synced with Googlethe update may take several minutes until the data goes to the cloud and comes back with an image tag.

In some versions MIUI after saving, you need to restart the “Phone” application or even the smartphone itself so that the cache is updated. If you did everything correctly, but the avatar does not appear, try clearing the cache of the Contacts application through the smartphone settings.

Setup via Google Contacts and synchronization

For users who prefer the ecosystem Google, the most reliable way is to manage contacts through the web interface or a separate application Google Contacts. This method ensures that the photo will be linked to an account, and not to the local memory of the device, which makes it easier to transfer data to a new phone.

Go to the smartphone settings, section Accounts and synchronization, and select your Google account. Make sure the checkbox next to “Contacts” is active. Then open the application Google Contacts (blue man icon), find the subscriber and add a photo.

Option	Local contact	Google contact	MI Cloud contact
Photo storage	Phone memory	Google Cloud	Xiaomi Servers
Synchronization	No (backup copy only)	Automatic	When Wi-Fi is on
Display on other devices	Only on this Redmi	On all Android	Only on Xiaomi
Risk of data loss	High when resetting	Minimum	Average

The advantage of using Google Contacts is that the duplicate search algorithms work more efficiently here. The system itself will offer to combine cards if it finds matches by phone number, and will transfer the photo to the combined profile.

⚠️ Attention: Menu interfaces and item names may vary slightly depending on the version Android (11, 12, 13, 14) and a specific shell MIUI or HyperOS. Always check the current menu view on your device.

If after synchronization the photo still does not appear on the call screen, check the contact display settings in the Phone application. Sometimes there is a filter “Show only contacts with numbers”, which may conflict with the updated data.

Using third-party applications for calls

When standard methods are exhausted, specialized applications from the store come to the rescue. Play Market. They allow you not only to set a photo, but also to set up unique themes for different groups of contacts, for example, to highlight calls from work in one color, and calls from family in another.

One ​​of the most popular solutions is the application Truecaller or Contacts+ . These apps create their own layer on top of the calling system. After installation, you will need to give them permissions to access your phone and contacts, after which they will offer to import your database and add images.

• 📲 Download the application Truecaller or an analogue from the official store.
• 🔐 Provide all requested permissions for the identification to work correctly.
• 🎨 Go to the contact’s profile inside the application and upload a photo.
• ⚙️ In the application settings, select the “Use as main dialer” option.

The main disadvantage of this approach is the presence of advertising in free versions and the need to keep the application active in the background, which can slightly increase battery consumption. However, the setup functionality personal images here is implemented as flexibly as possible.

Why may third-party dialers not work?

Some manufacturers (including Xiaomi) in new versions of Android limit the ability to replace the standard dialer with a third-party one for security reasons. If the “Default Call Application” item is inactive or reset, the system blocks the replacement. In this case, you will have to use only the built-in tools.

There are also applications that do not replace the dialer, but serve as an add-on for displaying photos. For example, Calls Blacklist or specialized widgets. They work in the background and intercept the incoming call event to show your image on top of the standard screen.

Advanced method: setting a photo to full screen

The standard call interface on Redmi often shows a small round icon, which does not allow you to fully enjoy a high-quality photo. To get around this limitation and make the photo occupy the entire display, you will need to resort to tricks with theme settings or use special software.

One ​​of the effective ways is to install themes that support full-screen avatars. In the store Themes enter the search query “Full screen contact photo” or “Big avatar”. Download the option you like and apply it. Please note that this will change not only the call screen, but also the overall style of the system.

A more radical method involves using an application EXDialer or similar custom sets. These apps allow you to manually customize the incoming call screen layout. You can stretch the photo widget to the entire available area, remove unnecessary buttons and adjust the transparency of the background.

To correctly display the photo on the entire screen without black bars, use images with an aspect ratio of 18:9 or 20:9 that match the resolution of your display.

After setting up the layout in the custom dialer, do not forget to pin it in memory. Go to the battery settings, find the dialer app and set the background activity limit to No Restrictions mode. This will prevent the optimization system from unloading the application from memory MIUI.

Solving cache and display problems

It happens that you did everything correctly, but instead of the contact’s face, a gray silhouette is displayed. This is a classic symptom of corruption in the media scanner cache or the contacts app itself. The system “remembers” the old version of the card without a photo and does not load the new one.

To correct the situation, you need to clear the cache data. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications. Find "Contacts" and "Phone" in the list. For each of them, select item Clear → Clear cache. Do not confuse with “Clear all data”, otherwise you may lose your call history, although the contacts themselves should be saved in the cloud.

If clearing the cache did not help, try to force stop the application. In the same application information menu, click the Stopbutton. After that, open the phone book again and check for photos. The system will be forced to re-read the database again.

⚠️ Attention: Before clearing application data, make sure that your contacts are synchronized with the cloud (Google or Mi Cloud). Otherwise, local recordings may be lost forever.

Another reason is a failure of media services. Try restarting your smartphone in safe mode. If photos are displayed correctly in this mode, then the problem is caused by some third-party application that you recently installed.

How to enter safe mode on Redmi?

Press and hold the power button on the screen. When the “Turn Off” icon appears, press and hold it for a few seconds. You will be prompted to reboot into safe mode. Confirm the action.

Frequent questions and answers (FAQ)

Why is the contact’s photo visible only to me, while the other person sees the standard picture?

This is normal system behavior. The contact's photo is stored locally in your phone book or in your cloud. For your interlocutor to see your photo, you must send it to him via messenger or save your number in his phone with a photo. Synchronization of images between different subscribers does not occur automatically through the network of the cellular operator.

Is it possible to install a video instead of a photo on a call?

It is impossible to install a video on an incoming call using standard means MIUI and Android . This requires special applications from the Play Market, for example Video Live Wallpaper in conjunction with custom dialers, but the stability of their operation is not guaranteed and they can greatly drain the battery.

How to put a common photo on all contacts from a certain group?

Bulk editing of contacts is not directly supported. You will have to use third-party contact managers on your PC or applications like Contacts Optimizerthat allow group assignment of images, but most often this is done manually for each important subscriber.

The photo is reset after rebooting the phone, what's the matter?

Most likely, the contact is saved in the wrong location (for example, on SIM card that does not support image storage, or in a local profile that is reset). Move the contact to your account Google and add a photo there - this will ensure permanent preservation.

Why is the photo cropped into a circle and cannot be made into a square?

The interface design Android i MIUI assumes round avatars for consistency. You can change the shape to a square only by using a special design theme that changes the system styles for displaying interface elements.