Xiaomi Mi Note 10 common issues and how to solve them

For a company that is often accused of copying others, Xiaomi, along with its subsidiaries, made a few breakthroughs recently, especially in the mid-range category. One device that stands alone at the moment is the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 with its mind-bending 108 MP main lens. But the camera is not its only quality or selling point.

But you probably know everything about that. The focus of this article issues that the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 has, which are rather seldom and can be ascribed to a bad optimization of MIUI.

If you own this device and have had a certain problem, check our list and you might find the problem that has been bothering you, along with suggestions or solutions for your problem.

Note: All the issues mentioned in this article are individually reported cases, which doesn’t mean any of the problems will occur on other devices. If you’re looking to buy this phone, DO NOT consider these problems.

Table of contents:

1. Camera issues
2. Battery drains quickly
3. The proximity sensor not working properly
4. Ambient Display (Always-on display) not working
5. Themes missing
6. GPS issues
7. No MIUI dialer
8. Touch issues
9. Turbo Charge doesn’t work
10. Important troubleshooting steps for Xiaomi Mi Note 10

1. Camera issues

This device is more than a one-trick pony, but let’s be honest here — if you go for the Xiaomi Note 10, you are probably going for that out-of-this-world 108 MP main camera. Or a whole 5 camera setup on the back.

Once we get this hardware out of the table, we are often left with sub-par software when it comes to Xiaomi. And that seems to be a problem for this handset, as well. There are reports about short white lines in the Viewfinder, focusing issues, and blurry backgrounds.

Now, some of these are easily fixable by updating the firmware. You can also try and reset the cache from the Cam or, even though it’s a bit early, try Google Camera ports.

2. Battery drains quickly on the Xiaomi Note 10

Now, the close second selling point for the Xiaomi Note 10 is its enormous battery capacity, standing at 5260 mAh. This, based on some reports, should allow up to 20+ hours of Screen-on Time (yeah, you read it right).

Of course, once you experience that amazing longevity, you don’t want to see the battery deplete fast. And that’s what some users have experienced, especially after updates.

We can’t say what is exactly causing battery draining, but here are some things to try to mitigate it until updates address it:

• Open Developer options and disable Mobile Data always on.
• Prevent some secondary apps from working in the background.
• Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth overnight.
• Use Greenify or any other third-party application to limit the background processes.
• Update your device or reset the device to factory settings.

3. Proximity sensor not working properly

What is it with Xiaomi devices and proximity sensors? If we put a list of all issues for all recent devices, issues with proximity sensors during phone calls would be at the top.

This includes the Xiaomi Note 10 which seemingly has issues with the proximity sensor on VoIP calls via WhatsApp or other apps.

You can try and calibrate the sensor with the steps below:

1. In the Dialer, type either *#*#6484#*#* or *#*#64663#*#*. That should open the Hardware Test menu (CIT) and open the Proximity sensor.
2. Place your hand on the sensor at the top and then remove it from the sensor.
3. Finally, tap Calibrate and that’s it.

4. Ambient display (Always-On Display) not working

Since this device came out in November 2019, it got MIUI 11 from the box. MIUI 11 comes with a plethora of options, including an Always-On Display which, thanks to the massive implementation of AMOLED screens, really comes in handy.

As the Xiaomi Note 10 comes with an AMOLED screen, Always-On Display is useful, especially since there’s no notification LED. However, some users had issues with Always-On Display. For some, the notifications weren’t showing on the AoD while others weren’t able to use the feature at all.

Here’s how to tackle both of these in a few simple steps:

• Reboot your device.
• Check the schedule under the Display items and try setting it to Always.
• Under the same settings, toggle off the “Turn off when Battery saver is on” option.
• Update the firmware.
• Reset your device to factory settings.

5. Themes missing

The deal with the Themes on Xiaomi devices can be quite confusing, but it’s rather simple once you understand that Themes are region-dependent.

If you don’t have a lot of themes, wallpapers, or other customization features in your region, just switch to a different region. Once you’ve got what you want, switch back to your region.

Here’s how to switch regions on MIUI 11 for the Xiaomi Mi Note 10:

1. Open Settings.
2. Open Additional settings.
3. Choose Region.
4. Select India.

If you can install themes from third-party sources but they won’t stick after a reboot, the problem is in MIUI 11 and it isn’t solved at the time being. Available themes are just not optimized for MIUI 11 and we’ll need to wait until Xiaomi sorts this out.

6. GPS issues on the Xiaomi Note 10

Based on user and reviewer reports, the GPS on the Xiaomi Note 10 is not exactly the industry standard but not all that bad. You can say, just a regular precise GPS. On the other hand, there seems to be a bug with the location services, where GPS won’t work and the Location shortcut is just greyed out.

If you are affected by this, make sure to check for hardware issues by following these steps:

1. Download the GPS Test from the Play Store.
2. Run the 3D Fix test and see whether there are available satellites.
3. If the 3D Fix is green, several satellites are in view and use above 0 and accuracy below 15 meters means that the GPS is working properly.

If GPS is functional, then there’s most certainly a software issue at hand and you can fix it by simply updating firmware. Users reported that newer versions of MIUI 11 (still based on Android 9) fixed the problem.

7. No MIUI dialer

Some people dislike MIUI and its built-in system apps and features and others don’t. Even though it might take some getting used to if you are coming from a close-to-stock Android experience, it has a few nifty features. One of those is Call recording in the MIUI Dialer.

However, since this is against the law in so many countries (recording someone without their consent), Xiaomi started shipping devices with the Google Phone instead. And users are not happy about it.

If you have a Global or EU version of the stock ROM, you can try switching to a Chinese ROM. There’s also an option of unlocking the bootloader and using MIUI EU ROMs (they incorporate the dialer), but that might lead to major issues if you are not sure what you are doing.

8. Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Touch issues

Another thing that divides the opinions of smartphone aficionados is curved or flat screens. The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 comes with a curved screen and, although it is aesthetically pleasing, it can be quite a problem for inexperienced users. And Xiaomi isn’t doing the best job optimizing MIUI for curved screens.

We can’t say that, at this point, there are issues with the screen like ghost touch, but issues with the curved edges are there. The only thing you can do is adapt and wait for updates to sort this out.

9. Turbo Charge doesn’t work

Not only this device has a chunky battery but it comes with the latest 30W Turbo Charge that should charge the 5260 mAh battery in astonishing 65 minutes. The 30W charger comes with a great device, of course.

However, some users are reporting something awry happening during the charging sequence, as the device randomly switches from Turbo to Fast charging (slower one). This happens due to overheating and the phone is programmed to reduce the charging speed to cool down a bit.

So, the best thing to do is to leave your device for some time or even turn on Airplane mode. This will both speed up charging and the device will stay cool.

10. Important troubleshooting steps for Xiaomi Mi Note 10

Boot the device into Safe Mode

1. Turn the device off.
2. Press and hold the Power button and then, once the Xiaomi logo appears, release the Power button and press and hold the Volume Down button.
3. To exit Safe mode, just reboot your device again.

Wipe cache partition

1. Power off your device.
2. Press and hold the Power button + Volume Up until the MI welcome screen appears. Let go of the Power button and keep holding the Volume Up button.
3. Once you get into Recovery mode, use the Volume buttons to get to the Wipe Cache Partition option. Press the Power button to confirm the selection.

Reset the device to Factory Settings

1. Backup all important data to Google Drive, your PC, or external storage.
2. Open Settings.
3. Choose My device.
4. Open Backup & reset.
5. Choose Erase all data (factory reset).
6. Tap Erase all data and confirm the selection when prompted.

Side note: If you find MIUI too much bloated (too many unnecessary system apps), learn how to debloat it and make it both faster and cleaner while significantly improving battery life.

That’s it. Thank you for reading and do be so nice as to suggest some of the problems we skipped in the comments section below.