Pocophone F1 common issues, and how to solve them

The global market is full of great but pricey devices. And not everyone can afford a device with premium specs for 1000 or so bucks. That’s why the Pocophone F1 came as a surprise. A handset with the flagship CPU and all-around great specs for $300? Well, thanks to Xiaomi, this is a real thing. The Pocophone F1 packs a strong punch for a mid-range device.

But, after the initial well-deserved hype, some issues came to light. The most prominent ones concern the display, but more things deserve a mention. That’s why we prepared a list of all common issues users reported. Will try and give you solutions for these issues, also. In addition, we’ll try to add additional issues or solutions as soon as they pop up.

Table of contents:

1. Multitouch issue
2. Screen bleeding issue
3. Bad brightness display sensor
4. No battery percentage indicator/status bar notifications
5. Battery drainage
6. Lags
7. Camera issue
8. Microphone issue
9. Distorted audio
10. Fingerprint scanner and face unlock issues
11. Android Auto won’t work
12. The phone won’t update

Note: All the issues mentioned in this article are individually reported cases, and they might never occur on other devices. If you’re looking to buy this phone and stumbled upon this article while researching it, DON’T consider these problems.

1: Multitouch issue

This is the first major problem users have run into. The Pocophone F1, like any other modern handset, supports a 10-finger multitouch. However, it seems that’s not the case in practice. Users especially experienced the problem during gaming, in PUBG, and similar games. Either the display touch panel was able to read only a single touch or there was a ghost touch. The latter means that display reactions come with a latency.

Also, the precision of the touch has shown rather lackluster results until today. These are serious problems, but there seems to be a software solution. Follow these steps to try and address the multitouch error on the Pocophone F1:

• Reboot your device.
• Remove the tempered glass.
• Navigate to Settings > Additional settings > Button and gesture shortcuts and disable the Screenshot gesture.
• Run the device in safe mode.
• Update the device.
• Reset the device to factory settings.

2: Screen bleeding issue

In comparison to multitouch issues, this is, sadly, a hardware problem. Namely, some users’ reports state that there’s a case of the LCD screen bleeding. The bottom part of the display panel illuminates and it seems that it’s badly placed.

Since this is a hardware issue on the isolated device, we strongly suggest asking for a replacement or a refund. A repair is also an option, but we advise against it. Just ask for a replacement.

3: Bad brightness display sensor

Bad adaptive light sensor readings are hardly a novelty for Xiaomi. Adaptive brightness is a universal feature that automatically sets the brightness based on the ambient light. As some users stated, this feature is rather erratic on the Poco F1, as the sensor frequently misses the optimal brightness levels. And the brightness either gets too low or too high, respectively.

Now, this can be resolved by some software patches. But, for the time being, until it’s sorted out, we suggest disabling the Automatic brightness and tweaking the display brightness by hand.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Display.
3. Disable Ambient display.

In addition, you can use a third-party app as the main regulator of the ambient brightness sensor.

4: No battery percentage indicator/status bar notifications

This is not a problem per se. This is, sadly, an overlooked option due to a notch status optimization. Users are neither able to see the notification icons in the status bar nor the battery percentage. Until they swipe down the Control center. This is frequently mentioned on various forums, but we suggest sharing your concerns on the official forum.

That way the developers will be able to tweak this and make changes before the next system update comes out.

5: Battery drainage

The Poco F1 comes with a 4000 mAh battery which provides a rather good SoT (Screen-On-Time). However, some users are suspicious about the idle drainage overnight. Namely, some of them lost up to 20% of their battery overnight. While the phone was completely idle.

To make a better in-depth checkup with an advanced tool that requires flashed ROM. To avoid all that fuzz, we’ll hit you up with some general troubleshooting steps. Make sure to try them out and the battery life should get back to normal. Here are the steps:

• Open Developer options and disable Mobile Data always on.
• Prevent some secondary apps from working in the background.
• Disable Wi-Fi overnight.
• Reset the device to factory settings.

6: Lags

It’s unexpected for a device with a Snapdragon 845 to have any visible lags, but that’s where the software comes into play. The reported problems include keyboard delay and lag, and not-so-fluid behavior when scrolling through the app drawer or recent apps.

These can be assigned to the multitouch problem as well, but we still suggest some software-related troubleshooting steps. Just in case. Here’s what you need to do:

• Clear the cache from the app which freezes the most.
• Disable apps from working in the background. Greenify should serve the purpose.
• Update your device for a possible update fix.
• Reset app preferences.
• Wipe the cache partition.
• Reset your device to factory settings.

7: Camera issue

There’s a good reason why a lot of knowledgeable users try to port the Google Cam on lots of Xiaomi devices. The hardware isn’t bad for the price tag, but the software optimization often lacks some depth. For example, the photos a rear camera makes are too warm in comparison to some other similar models. Also, the portrait mode isn’t exactly good. Luckily, the developer promised fixes in the upcoming updates.

Besides that, some users reported crashes and blue dots in the camera interface. This isn’t something serious and can be dealt with the following steps:

• Boot into Safe mode and test the camera.
• Clear Camera app’s data.
• Update the device.
• Reset the device to factory settings.

8: Microphone issue

Good microphone performance is of the utmost importance. Most of the users are satisfied with the mic sound input the Poco F1 makes. However, some of them had various problems with sound distortion while talking on the phone.

Here’s how to address some of the microphone issues on Poco F1:

• Make sure there’s no debris filling in the mic compartment.
• Enable Microphone permission for all associated apps.
• Reset Apps preferences.
• Use a third-party app to configure the microphone.

9: Distorted audio

In comparison to some other entries on this list, this is quite a prominent problem. Lots of sound issues appeared while gaming and on the 3.5-inch headphones, but even the built-in speakers are either too low on volume or too loud. In addition, there’s a metallic, muffled, and distorted sound output bothering some users.

These are already being worked on by the developers, as we find out on the official support forum. However, until the finite resolution comes, you can try some of these steps to resolve sound issues in Pocophone F1:

• Disable absolute volume in Developer options. Open System settings > About phone and tap 7 times on the Build number to unlock Developer options. Once you can access them, toggle “Disable Absolute volume” on.
• If sound issues emerge in video streaming apps (e.g. YouTube), reset the app to factory settings and try again.
• Use medical alcohol and cloth to clear the mic and speaker. After that, you can use compressed air to remove all debris.
• Boot your device in Safe mode and test the speaker both with media files and in calls.
• Perform a factory reset.

10: Fingerprint scanner and face unlock issues

With Pocophone F1, Xiaomi went a step further in the biometric security measures with the implementation of IR scanning for a more advanced Face unlock. In addition, there’s also a good old fingerprint reader, which is, just like all other Xiaomi handsets, quite fast. But, users have had some issues with one or another, as the setup and usage are not as seamless as advertised.

Of course, these are isolated cases, but we still advise contacting support. But, before that, give a try to these workarounds before sending your device for a replacement:

• Re-configure the fingerprint and set a new Face Unlock.
• Try booting into Safe mode and, if the fingerprint and IR scanner perform better, uninstall all recently installed apps.
• Remove the tempered glass or cases which may cover the fingerprint scanner.
• Clean the fingerprint sensor from debris and greasy dirt with a wet cloth.
• Reset your phone to factory values. On most occasions, we suggest restoring your device from a backup afterward. In this case, we suggest starting clean.

11: Android Auto won’t work

Android Auto is an important piece of the Android ecosystem and an irreplaceable feature for lots of users who value Android features on their car’s board computer. Especially Maps, Waze, calls, and multimedia playback. However, it seems that some users weren’t able to connect and configure Android Auto when pairing the car system and the Pocophone F1.

This can be a dealbreaker for so many users who chose the Pocophone F1 as their daily driver. Nonetheless, until the official patch addresses this, you can try these steps and, hopefully, make it work:

• Reinstall the Android Auto app on the Pocaphone F1.
• Allow all permissions to Android Auto.
• Allow USB debugging in the Developer options.

12: The phone won’t update

Finally, we have mentioned a system update as a viable solution for many aches the Pocaphone F1 has. However, it’s hard to resolve software issues if you’re unable to download updates in the first place.

There are a dozen reports about update errors. Some say that they have available updates while others haven’t got a single update notification. Either way, here are some steps you can try out to get the latest update for the Poco F1:

• Restart your device.
• Reset Network settings.
• Open Developer Options and disable Auto-update and check for updates manually.
• Reset the Pocophone F1 to factory settings.

With that said, we can conclude this article. In case you have any problems we forgot about, suggestions, or alternative solutions make sure to tell us in the comments section below.

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in September 2018. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.