Xiaomi screen fades quickly: causes and solutions to the problem

Have you noticed that your Xiaomi screen goes out after a few seconds of inactivity, even though it used to last longer? Or does the display turn off immediately after unlocking, not even allowing you to read the notification? This problem occurs on models from Redmi Note 10 to Xiaomi 13 Ultra, and its causes can be due to software failures and hardware malfunctions.

In 80% of cases, a quick screen shutdown is due to improper timeout settings, application conflicts, or optimizing MIUI power consumption. Less often, physical damage to the proximity sensor or display connector is the fault. In this article, we will analyze all possible causes and give step-by-step instructions for eliminating them, from simple to radical.

Before you take your phone to the service center, try the solutions in our guide, most of which don't require root rights or special knowledge, just follow the instructions, and if the problem is in hardware, we'll tell you how to determine it and what to do next.

1. Check the basic screen settings

To start with, the most obvious is that the screen timeout may have been changed by accident or after the MIUI update. In newer versions of the firmware, sleep settings may be reset or hidden in unexpected menus.

Open Settings → Display and find Sleep Mode (or Screen Time Out in older versions). Here you can select between 15 seconds and 30 minutes. If the value is at a minimum, increase it to 1-2 minutes and check if the problem persists. On some models (for example, POCO F5), this option is duplicated in the Settings → Battery → Power Saving Mode.

Also, look at adaptive lighting, and the Adaptive Display or Auto Brightness function, in some cases, conflicts with sensors and causes the screen to turn off spontaneously.

• 🔹 Go to Settings. → Display. → Automatic brightness.
• 🔹 Turn off the slider or uncheck the tick from "Adaptive Mode».
• 🔹 Manually set the brightness to 50-70% and check the behavior of the screen.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T) Adaptive brightness can cause flickering or premature shutdown of the display due to aggressive optimization MIUI. If the problem disappeared after disabling the function - update the firmware or reset the display settings.

2. Application conflicts and background activity

Applications with aggressive battery optimization or incorrect resolutions often cause premature screen shutdowns, such as messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) or fitness trackers (Mi Fit, Google Fit) can block the display if they are allowed to manage power consumption.

To identify the culprit:

1. Run Safe Mode (hold the power button → long tap on Turn off → Safe Mode) and only system applications work in this mode. If the screen stops dimming, the problem is with third-party software.
2. Return to normal mode and check the permissions of the applications: 📱 Settings → Annexes → Application management → [Select the application] → Permits 🔋 Turn off the “Change System Settings” and “Battery Optimization” permissions for suspicious programs.

Pay special attention to applications that:

• 🔄 Use geolocation in the background (for example, Yandex.Maps, Google Maps).
• 📊 Have access to special features (settings in Settings) → Special opportunities → Service services).
• 🔋 In the battery exclusion list (Settings) → Battery → Optimizing the battery → Annexes).

Turn off adaptive brightness |

Launch safe mode |

Check the permissions of suspicious applications |

Remove newly installed programs |

Update all apps on Google Play-->

3. Resetting display settings and sensor calibration

If the basic settings did not help, the problem may lie in the incorrect calibration of the proximity sensor or a failure in the MIUI. This sensor is responsible for turning off the screen during a call, but sometimes starts to work falsely - for example, when the phone is lying on the table or in your pocket.

To reset the sensor settings:

1. Dial in the phone app: ##6484##


2. Select the "Proximity Sensor Test" option




3. Follow the instructions on the screen (usually cover the sensor with your hand and remove it several times)




4.Reset the device

If the test shows a sensor error (the value of 5.00 cm does not change when covered), the problem may be hardware.

• 🛠️ Check if there is any dirt or damage in the upper frame of the screen (where the sensor is located).
• 📱 Try removing a protective film or cover – they can block the signal.
• 🔧 If the sensor does not respond at all, a diagnosis is required in the service center.

It is also useful to reset the display settings to factory:

1. Go to Settings → System → Resetting → Resetting the display settings.
2. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi) 9A, POCO M3) Resetting the display can result in the return of the factory color scheme. After the procedure, reset the reading mode and color temperature in the Settings menu → Display.

4. Battery optimization and energy saving modes

MIUI is known for aggressive battery optimization, which sometimes leads to premature shutdowns, especially on budget models (Redmi 10A, POCO C40), where the system severely limits background activity.

Check the following parameters:

On models with a Snapdragon 4xx/6xx processor (such as the Redmi Note 11), the battery menu may hide the item "App Background Limitation" from the battery menu, which turns on causes the screen to go out 5-10 seconds after locking, to turn off:

1. Go to Settings. → Battery → Battery settings (⚙️) → Background Limitation for Applications.
2. Disable the function or add the desired applications to the exceptions.

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If after power saving turned off the battery began to sit down faster, turn on the “Balanced” mode and manually add frequently used applications (messengers, navigators) to the optimization exceptions.

5. Update firmware and system reset

If the problem has occurred after updating MIUI or installing custom firmware, the cause may be a software bug. Xiaomi regularly releases patches for such errors, so first of all check the relevance of the firmware:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🔄 Click on “Check Updates” and install the latest version.
• 🔧 If the update is available but not installed, try downloading it manually from en.miui.com and installing it via Settings. → The phone. → Updating the system → Three points (⋮) → Select the update file.

If the update didn’t help, do a soft reset (without deleting data):

1. Go to Settings → System → Resetting → Reset all settings.
2. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot.
3. After reset, reset the screen timeout and app permissions.

In extreme cases, you may need to completely reset to the factory settings.

• 📲 Make a backup of the data through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.
• 🔐 Make sure you know the username and password from your Mi Account (required to unlock after resetting).
• 📝 Write it down. IMEI phone number (dial *#06#).

6. Hardware reasons: when you need to use the service

If all software methods have been tried, but Xiaomi’s screen still goes out too quickly, the problem may be in the hardware.

• 🔌 The screen goes off instantly (less than 1 second) after unlocking.
• 📵 Approximation sensor fails to respond to test (#6484##).
• 🔋 The phone is arbitrarily restarted or turned off when charging is connected.
• 🛠️ Artifacts (strips, flickering) appear on the screen before switching off.

The most common hardware reasons:

If your Xiaomi is still under warranty, do not try to repair it yourself - this will void warranty obligations. Contact the official Xiaomi service center (the list can be found on the mi.com website). The average cost of diagnosis is 500-1000 ₽, warranty repairs are usually free of charge.

⚠️ Attention: On models with AMOLED-screens (Xiaomi 12 Pro, Redmi) K50) Replacing the display on its own can result in the loss of Always-On Display functions or incorrect operation of the light sensor.

7. Additional advice for specific models

Some Xiaomi models have unique features that affect the screen performance.

• Redmi Note 10 Pro/POCO X3 Pro: These devices often have a false proximity sensor trigger due to a tight case. Try using the phone without a case or calibrate the sensor through the engineering menu (#3644633##).

For devices with Always-On Display (AOD) (e.g. Xiaomi 13, Redmi K60), a quick screen shutdown may be due to the feature not working properly.

1. Turn off AOD in Settings → Display → Always-On Display.
2. Clear the cache of the system (Settings → Memory → Clear the cache).
3. Update the firmware to the latest version.

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If your Xiaomi is a Redmi Note or POCO series, check the proximity sensor and case first. 60% of the time, the problem is solved by calibrating or removing accessories.

FAQ: Frequent questions about fast screen shutdown