Xiaomi entered the digital market with MIUI back in 2010. In the absence of their own phone, they ported MIUI to existing high-end phones, not only centrally, but with the help of skilled programmers around the world. Back then, all versions of MIUI were based on Chinese releases and were packed with goodies like call recording.
MIUI is so popular because it offered features like no other. And it did it with a speed and finesse that the competition couldn't even match. Just as beloved was MIUI's dialer app, which was not only beautiful and well thought out, but also had fantastic features.
The feature in question, call recording. After the beginning of Google's reign, the MIUI dialer was replaced by Google's dialer and there went everything we loved. Plus came the EU GDPR regulation and banned unilateral call recording. But there is a solution that works 100% without any hacking.
True Phone Dialer & Contacts
If you guessed from the title, then yes, the dialer needs to be replaced. Yes, if you haven't heard about it, you can replace Google's dialer and Contacts apps without all the hocus-pocus. A True Phone Dialer & Contacts app can be downloaded officially from the Play Store, not a pitty-putty app from the web. It completely replaces the existing interface and uses its own, with many more features than Google's dialer.
Once you've downloaded and installed the app, find it and open it. In the initial settings you should give it all the rights. Fortunately, the app is fully in English, so everything is clear.
There will be a little snag with MIUI permissions, because it doesn't clearly specify where to set them. It must assume that we know where things are. The easiest way to access it is to long tap on the app icon and select the "App details" menu. Select the Other permissions menu item.
Let everything be nice and green, like in the picture above. When everything is ready, the Dialer opens and is ready to use.
You can also swap the two apps so that each screen has the new one. But here's the main reason why this article was written. Call Answering.
Tap the 3 dots at the bottom right, then select Settings from the pop-up menu. Then select Call screens -> Call recording
Turn it on with the switch in the top right corner, and then "Cause" the legal bean. From here it's just one more step and Call Recording will actually work, it says so. Go to Settings (System) -> More settings -> Utilities -> Downloaded apps -> True Phone
Turn on the Use True Phone switch. And that's it. But it's not over yet. On the Call Recording page, set the recording format to AMR, Sample Rate to 16000 Hz. In the Auto Record menu, select when to start recording automatically. The quality of the call will depend largely on whether you record with your ear to the ear or on speakerphone. In my experience, hands-free and with the speaker set to 50%, both parties will be as intelligible as possible. But of course you can record the conversation either way.
This is just one feature among many. There's also a whole host of settings, looks and features available in the app. It's a free version, but there's the option to add more features for a few blue belly bucks. It's worth it!
