Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO

Covers MIUI and HyperOS phones. Menu wording differs between MIUI versions and between regions, so expect the path to be one of the two below rather than exactly one.

Developer options

Path A (current global articles): Settings > About phone/tablet > Detailed info and specs > tap the OS or MIUI version multiple times.

Path B (older articles and some builds): Settings > My device > All specs > tap MIUI version seven times > back to Settings > Additional settings > Developer options.

Sources: www.mi.com/global/support/faq/details/KA-168765/ (Path A); www.mi.com/global/support/faq/details/KA-12847/ and KA-42423 (Path B wording: "Settings >> About phone >> Tap on the MIUI version 7 times to enable the Developer options ... Additional settings >> Developer options").

Xiaomi also notes that running the Security app's optimisation can hide the Developer options entry again (KA-168765).

USB debugging

1. Open Developer options.
2. Turn on USB debugging.

Source: www.mi.com/global/support/faq/details/KA-12847/.

Vendor extras

• "USB debugging (Security settings)" - UNVERIFIED. MIUI and HyperOS are widely reported to expose a second developer-options entry with this name, and third-party guides say some ADB operations are refused until it is enabled (and sometimes "Install via USB" as well). No Xiaomi-hosted document describing that toggle was found on 2026-10-12. Xiaomi community posts on Xiaomi's own community site mention it, but those are user-authored threads, not support documentation, so this guide does not present it as an official step.
• What to do anyway: if the computer sees the phone and adb reports the device as device, but a shell command returns a permission error, look in Developer options for an entry whose name contains "Security settings" and enable it, then reconnect. Treat the result as an experiment, not a documented fix.

Windows USB driver

No Xiaomi driver download page was found. Google's OEM driver table points at a MIUI community forum post rather than a driver download, which is not something this project will send users to (checked 2026-10-12: the post itself resolves, but it is a forum thread).

Practical advice: connect the phone and let Windows Update attempt the driver, then check Xiaomi support for a driver or PC-suite package for your model, and if the phone runs Android 11 or newer, use wireless ADB instead of fighting the driver (../manual/04-wireless-adb.md). Xiaomi's own troubleshooting page for "the computer cannot read my phone" tells users to try different cables and ports before anything else (www.mi.com/global/support/faq/details/KA-42423/).

The Google USB driver is not recommended for Xiaomi phones: Google documents it for Google devices and directs other devices to their manufacturers (developer.android.com/studio/run/win-usb, developer.android.com/studio/run/oem-usb).

Sources checked 2026-10-12