How to use the hidden section of home automation control on Xiaomi mobiles

Home automation, or at least the simplest version of it, has become very popular in recent years thanks to Amazon and Google. The popularization of smart speakers has brought smart phone assistants into the home.

Take the MIUI 12 control center to any mobile with this app

With the Mi Control Center application we can have one of the most used MIUI 12 features on any mobile, even if it is not Xiaomi.

Despite that, it was not until Android 11 when we were able to have a section within the operating system to control these devices, although it is true that we had our own apps for each brand.

Android 11 premiered a control panel on the power button, a panel that was in the versions of Google, OPPO, Vivo or Oneplus, but not in Samsung.

Xiaomi has also decided that it is not going to implement it and, like Samsung, has hosted it in the notification curtain. Of course, we have it available on Android 10 with MIUI 12.

How to activate the home automation control section on Xiaomi mobiles

However, contrary to what happens in Samsung, in Xiaomi this function is off by default, and we have to activate it in the settings, following these steps:

• We open the phone settings.
• Let’s go to the Screen section.
• We look for the Control Center and notification bar option.
• We click on Smart Home.
• We select the ecosystem we want.

Here it is important to note that MIUI 12 allows us to select My home as the controller for this section, but not Google Home. That is limited to mobiles that use Android 11 since it is a function designed for that version.

If we activate this option we will have two notification areas, the one on the left that displays the app notifications, and the right that is the control center, in the same way that happens in iOS.

The entry How to use the hidden home automation control section on Xiaomi phones appears first in The Free Android.