UPDATE: Xiaomi Re-added Lite mode feature in latest MIUI 10 update after discontinuing it MIUI 8 & MIUI 9.
So, the smartphones getting even smarter from day-to-day making things easier.
But not for all!!
The other group of people like Your Grand Mother and Grand Fathers, Uneducated or Visually impaired people find it still impossible to use the latest smartphones.
Even though the Android is Easy to use operating system out there, most of the people still find it complex to use.
For such people, Xiaomi’s MIUI has a perfect solution, called Lite Mode.
Lite Mode is a Simplest Interface with large Icons, Bigger Text and Features Exclusively designed for Elder and Visually impaired people.
The initial introduction of Lite mode has some of the limitations like lack of multitasking. But it was improved in consequent versions of MIUI.
In this Guide, we will learn how to enable and use lite mode in Xiaomi Redmi 2, Mi4 or any other device running on Xiaomi MIUI 6 or MIUI 7 operating system.
How to enable lite mode
It is quite simple to enable:
- Go to Settings > Lite Mode
- Tap on toggle to ON
- Click OK to Reboot the device. (If you are using MIUI 10, No reboot needed)
After rebooting, your device will be now in the.
Similarly, to Disable:
- Go to Settings > System Settings > Lite Mode
- Tap on the toggle to OFF and click OK to reboot.
How to use Lite Mode: Tips
So as you enabled Lite mode you can now observe a completely different User Interface With Bigger icons, Larger text.
To make it extremely simpler to use Xiaomi had made some major changes.
For Example, it has disabled Notification bar, Made Settings Menu simpler and designed Calling & Messaging apps exclusively for the lite mode. Even in this mode the device is fully functional and you can access every app without any performance limitations.
We will discuss each aspect in detail below.
Customise Home screen: Add Apps & Contacts
The home screen contains a Weather app, calling and few other important apps, with 6 apps in a grid on each screen. And all the other apps are hidden which you can access by going to ‘Apps’.
To Add more apps to Home screen:
- Go to Apps > Tap on Menu (3 lines icon) > Add apps to Home screen
- Select the apps you want to add and Tap on Add to Home Screen.
To Add Contacts to Home screen:
You can add important contacts so your Grandparents can Quickly make a Call or Message for that contact:
- From the Home screen, Swipe to Left side and Tap on Add.
- Select from existing contacts or create a new contact to add to Home screen.
To Rearrange icons on home screen:
- Go to Settings > Edit Home screen
- Long-press on an icon and drag it to the position you want to move.
- To Remove an app drag to the top.
To Enable Notification Bar:
Go to Settings > General Settings > Notification Shade and turn-on.
Now you can access the notification and Quick toggles as usually by dragging down from the status bar.
Calling and Contacts –Lite Mode
Xiaomi has also designed a custom Phone and Messaging apps for Lite mode.
The Dialler is Quite simple with Big sized numbers and the Phone will speak out the number as you dial.
And also the Contacts are also displayed in larger fonts and you can find the contacts Alphabetically or by searching. Creating a new contact is also quite simple, without clutter and can also set a photograph.
Another interesting feature is, whenever you receive a Phone call, the phone Speaks out the caller name. For example, if you receive a call from contact Home, the phone rings as
“Home, You have an incoming call”
This is really helpful from visually impaired people who cannot read the callers name on the screen.
Messaging – Lite Mode
Another essential thing any use in a phone and Elder people find confusing is the Messaging App.
But in this mode the messaging app is also custom designed and quite useful.
- You may like to Read – How To Use Cortana In Microsoft Edge Browser
Let your mobile read your SMS for you:
Reading a message is quite comfortable with Larger fonts. And even you can have a message read for you. Just open a message and Tap on the message once again, and you hear the message read in a Female voice (Probably in Chinese accent)
So from next time, Enable Lite Mode and Gift it to your grandmother or grandfather. They will surely find it easy to use and love it.
So… what do you think about it? Post your opinions in the comment section below and share the post with your friends on social media.
Hi Susheel
I did not know that there such smartphone could target the elderly and visually impaired individuals who feel left out.
It is great that Xiaomi target these set of awesome people so that they can enjoy the smartphone Era.
Thanks for sharing
Hi awazie,
Glad to see you here again.
As smartphones are getting smarter day by day, it becomes more and more hard for elder people to use if. And this why they still stick to old Nokia phones.
This feature would be really useful for such people.
Thanks for commenting.
Hi Susheel
I have a Redmi 2 (HM 2 LTE-CU) with MIUI 7.0.11.0
But I do not have the setup menu item "Lite Mode"
Where am I wrong?
Hey Eugene,
Look for it carefully, if you cant find it goto "Additional settings" and other settings, because it may be hidden under other.
If you still cant find it please share the screenshots of "Settings menu", "Additional settings" and "about phone" of your device with me at
susheel@digicular.com so that i can resolve your issue.
Keep visiting
Hey evegeny,
As from the screenshots you sent it seems that it is removed from Chinese build that you are using.
Just connect to internet, goto updater app and check for updates.
If there are any updates available, update and check if lite mode is available.
If you need lite mode anyway download the global miui 7 stable rom and flash it.
To download rom – Goto http://en.miui.com/extra.php?mod=rom/download&mobile=no and select your device (redmi 2) and download the Stable ROM found there.
For a guide on how to flash go to –
http://en.miui.com/a-232.html
It is easy to flash rom and is safe. Do remember to backup all of your important files and data in your phone.
Thank you for your help.
Everything works now. And the problem was really in that "bad" 🙂 Chinese build that did not support Lite Mode.
Best regards
Eugene
Dear Susheel
I've got one more question:
Is it possible to see the photos in the Message (sent via MMS) in full screen? And how to save them into the gallery?
Thank you
Eugen
I am using global stable version.
Still I didn't find the lite mode.
I used to see it in miui 6 version
Please help
Hey srinivas,
Send your device information screenshots of device info and all the settings (incl. Additional settings) to susheel@Digicular.com so I can check what is going wrong.
Hi susheel,
Is this caller name speaker available in the normal mode?
Hi Vishu
No this feature in not available in Normal mode.
It is intended for visually impaired people who are unable to see caller name, thus included only in Lite mode.
Hi, I switched to lite mode and following two become pain areas.
1. No identification of SIM on receiving incoming calls.
2. fairly hard way to look for contact names when dialing (My perception) as compared to normal way of typing in numbers for the alphabets.
Am I missing some setting here? Please Guide.
Regards
Ashish
Hey ashish,there is nothing wrong with your settings.
Things are kept as simple as possible on lite mode, so that there will be no confusion for people to which lite mode is intended.
But it would have been better, if it shows whether the call is for SIM 1 or SIM 2 (I guess that is what you are asking)
Thanks for reading. Have a great day.
how can i change font type in xiaomi redmi hm 2lte-in
You can change the font in MIUI just by going to settings > Font
But if your device is running the later version of MIUI 7.1 ,there is no option to change font from inbuilt settings.
In that case download iFont app and then you can change the font in this app.
Hey, I just got my redmi note 2 this morning then i found the lite mode and switched it on. After that my phone is just showing "mi.com" logo and "… android".Is there anything to solve this issue? Please help
Thank you
Chevel
Hi , i had the same problem with my redmi note 2 .
There are two solutions for this.
Power off the phone. Then press and hold down the power button and the volume up button. Now you will be in the recovery settings . Down in the bottom of the screen it will tell you how to move and select (usually you move with volume keys and you select with power buton) . You will choose english language–>wipe&reset
YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES. IF YOU SELECT THE SECOND CHOICE IT WILL DELETE ALL YOUR DOWNLOADED APPS AND MESSAGES , SETTINGS , CONTACTS , ACCOUNTS BUT NOT YOUR PICTURES . THE SMARTPHONE WILL BE LIKE YOU OPENED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME.
1) you select CLEAR CACHE and then select REBOOT. Android will take some time to load (i mean the …) . Wait for 10 – 15 minutes to load.
2)OR you select WIPE USER DATA and then select REBOOT Android will take some time to load (i mean the …) . Wait for 10 – 15 minutes to load.
Hey Susheel, when lite mode is on, is there any other way to access "Settings" to edit the home screen? The issue i have with my redmi note 2 is, the Settings and Apps are inaccessible now. :s.
After i added a few more new apps shortcuts, these two buttons are sort of pushed to a new page where i dont have access.
I used the lite version on my redmi note 2 prime and the phone requested to reboot. After that the phone just shows the "mi.com" logo and "android". Even after 30 minutes nothing happens. What is the solution?
Hi , i had the same problem with my redmi note 2 .
There are two solutions for this.
Power off the phone. Then press and hold down the power button and the volume up button. Now you will be in the recovery settings . Down in the bottom of the screen it will tell you how to move and select (usually you move with volume keys and you select with power buton) . You will choose english language–>wipe&reset
YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES. IF YOU SELECT THE SECOND CHOICE IT WILL DELETE ALL YOUR DOWNLOADED APPS AND MESSAGES , SETTINGS , CONTACTS , ACCOUNTS BUT NOT YOUR PICTURES . THE SMARTPHONE WILL BE LIKE YOU OPENED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME.
1) you select CLEAR CACHE and then select REBOOT. Android will take some time to load (i mean the …) . Wait for 10 – 15 minutes to load.
2)OR you select WIPE USER DATA and then select REBOOT Android will take some time to load (i mean the …) . Wait for 10 – 15 minutes to load.
Hi Susheel,
I have upgraded my MI Note 4g to miui7, after upgrading I am not able to share any files through shareit or superbeam app. Could you please help me out with this.
Well, that is due to the In-built security app in MIUI 7.
Just open Security app > Permissions > Permissions> Shareit
And make sure that following permissions are allowed (green tick mark)- GPS, Modify System settings, change wifi connectivity, change bluetooth connectivity, Home screen shortcuts
If that doesn't work, try again by giving other permissions.
Hope it helps.
Cheers
Susheel karam
Hi susheel,
i m using redmi 1s. after upgrade to 7.1 i am unable to get system settings from lite mode.i cannot able to switch standard mode every time it crashes ..help me on thuis regard..i dont want lite mode now…..
Hi susheel,
i m using redmi 1s. after upgrade to 7.1 i am unable to get system settings from lite mode.i cannot able to switch standard mode every time it crashes ..help me on thuis regard..i dont want lite mode now…..
Hai,
I had mi note 3 mi 7,version Nd how I replied in notification bar to general message like what message come to sim
Sathish
Dear Sushil, I have followed the suggested steps but I am unable to access any details on MI4. I can see only a blank white screen. Please help
Can you explain me what you actually looking for ?
Please explain your problem in detail.
hey sushil, i just entered the lite mode and in settings i selected youth lite and from then it is showing nothing on my home screen except signal range and time.
please let me know how to get out of this ?>
I get my xiaomi in problem the power doesn't work properly then I follow this way and the result is good … This is useful and easy to be followed .
Thank you
Gandung prakuza
Hi Susheel
When my phone reboot, it took so long. I've waited almost 9 hour or more. How do I make it faster? Can we cancel the reboot process and just go back to the MIUI?
Hi Susheel
When my phone reboot, it took so long. I've waited almost 9 hour or more. How do I make it faster? Can we cancel the reboot process and just go back to the MIUI?
Hi Susheel,
I want to buy a Xiaomi for my mum. Can I add whatsapp icon on homescreen?
If yes 1.Can I see the badge (number of new whatsapp messages)?
If yes 2.Do I have a notification center (just swiping down) to see all new whatsapp messages?
Thanks in advance
Hi Moe,
Thanks for reading.
Yes, you can add any app to the home screen as you need. And
1) No, you can’t see notification count badge on WhatsApp icon.
2) Yes, you can access the notifications by swiping from the top. But you can turn it ON or OFF in Lite mode settings.
Hope it helps
Susheel Karam
Hi. I dont see any lite mode options on settings. How can i find it?
Im on miui 10 now, xiaomi redmi note 5.
Thanks
Hey Fah,
Lite mode has been discontinued in later versions of MIUI. But you can download Jeejen launcher which is same as Lite mode.
Download the Jeejen launcher from here.
hope it helps.