Black and white screen on Xiaomi when charging: how to turn off forever

Why Xiaomi Smartphone Goes Black and White When Connected to Charging?

You plugged Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO into a charger, and the screen suddenly became monochrome? It's not a breakdown, but a regular MIUI power saving feature that activates when the battery is low, called the "Grayscale mode while charging," and is designed to reduce battery load in critical situations.

The feature appeared in MIUI 12 firmware and is saved in all subsequent versions (including MIUI 14 based on Android 14).

• 🔋 Battery charge drops below 15% (threshold can vary depending on model)
• 🔌 Smartphone is connected to a charger with less power 10W (for example, the weak USB-port)
• 📱 Battery temperature exceeds 40°C or below 0°C

The manufacturer claims that this mode extends battery life by 8-12%, but it causes discomfort to many users, and fortunately, you can turn off the black and white screen in several ways, from standard settings to hidden commands for power users.

Method 1: Disconnect via battery settings (official method)

The easiest way to deactivate monochrome mode is to use the built-in MIUI options. The instructions are suitable for all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models based on MIUI 12-14:

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the home screen).
2. Go to the Battery and Performance section.
3. Select the Battery Settings item.
4. Scroll down and find the option of Black and White screen when charging (or Grayscale mode while charging on English firmware).
5. Move the slider to the off position.

If there is no such item, then your model uses an alternative path:

• 📱 Xiaomi 11/12/13 Series: Settings → Display. → Reading mode → Additionally. → Black and white when charging
• 📱 Redmi Note 10/11/12: Settings → Special facilities → Color filter → Turn off when charging
• 📱 POCO F3/F4/F5: Settings → Battery → Energy saving regimes → Black and white screen

Make sure your battery is above 20% |Use the original charger |Check the temperature of your smartphone (not above 35°C)|Update MIUI to the latest version-->

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi Mi) A1/A2 with pure Android) this option is not in principle. 3 s ADB-team.

Method 2: Using Developer Mode (for Advanced)

If standard settings don’t work, you can turn off the feature via the developer menu, which works on 90% of Xiaomi models, but requires pre-activation of the hidden partition:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Find the MIUI version and tap it 7 times in a row (you will be notified "You became a developer").
3. Go back to the main settings menu and open a new section for developers.
4. Scroll down and find the option to Disable. HW-inscriptions (disable) HW overlays).
5. Activate it, then restart the smartphone.

After the reboot:

1. Return to the settings → Battery → Battery settings.
2. The black and white screen should appear when charging (if it was not previously).
3. Turn it off and restart the device again.

This method is especially relevant for owners of Xiaomi Mi 9, Mi 10 and Redmi K20 Pro, where the feature is hidden by default.

Method 3: ADB-commands to completely disable (100% result)

If previous methods have failed, the most reliable way is to disconnect via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the smartphone to the computer, but is guaranteed to remove the black and white screen on all Xiaomi models, including:

• 📱 Xiaomi 13T/13 Pro (HyperOS)
• 📱 Redmi Note 12 Pro+ (MIUI 14)
• 📱 POCO X5 Pro (Android 13)

Instructions for Windows:

1. Download Platform Tools from the official Android website.
2. Unpack the archive in the root of the C:\platform-tools disk.
3. On your smartphone, activate debugging via USB (Settings → For developers → Debugging via USB).
4. Connect your phone to your PC and select File Transfer mode.
5. Open the command line (Win + R → enter cmd → Enter).
6. Enter the commands in turn: cd C:\platform-tools adb devices adb shell settings put global force_grayscale_while_charging 0
7. Reboot your smartphone.

To check that the team has worked, enter:

adb shell settings get global force_grayscale_while_charging

If 0 is disabled, if 1 is disabled, repeat the command.

⚠️ Note: Some firmware (e.g. HyperOS for Xiaomi) 14) The way to setup has changed. Use the alternative command: adb shell settings put global. battery_saver_constants "grayscale=0"

💡

If ADB does not recognize the device, install the Mi USB Driver and reconnect.

Method 4: Reset the battery settings (if nothing helps)

In rare cases, black and white may be stuck due to a failure in the power saving settings, and resetting the battery settings will help:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Reset App Settings.
3. Confirm the action (this won’t delete your data, but will reset permissions for all applications).
4. Reboot your smartphone.

If the problem persists, perform a partial reset:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Network Reset and Battery.
3. Enter your password (if required) and confirm.

This method helps on Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, Redmi K50 Gaming and other flagships where energy saving works aggressively.

Method 5: Update MIUI (if the feature appears after the update)

Sometimes black and white is activated after the firmware update. For example, in MIUI 14.0.4 for Xiaomi 12T there was an error that caused the function to turn on at any charge level.

1. Check the current version of MIUI in Settings → About Phone.
2. If the version is older than 3 months, update it: 📲 Through OTA: Settings → Updating the system → Check for updates 💻 Manual: download the firmware from the official site and install through the System Update → Three points. → Select a file

Method 4

In versions MIUI 14.0.6+ and HyperOS 1.0+ bug with forced black and white mode eliminated, but on older firmware it can be saved.

💡

If the black and white screen came up after the update, try to roll back to the previous version of MIUI via Fastboot or Recovery first.

What if the screen is black and white even after the function is turned off?

If you have followed all the instructions, but the monochrome mode has not disappeared, the problem may be:

• 🔧 Hardware failure of the matrix (most often on Xiaomi Mi 9) SE Redmi 9 after the crashes).
• 🦠 A virus or malware that blocks color reproduction.
• 🔋 Battery controller malfunctions (relevant for smartphones older than 3 years).

Diagnosis:

1. Launch your smartphone in Safe Mode (hold the power button → long tap on "Switch off" → "Reboot in Safe Mode"). If the colors are back, the third-party app is to blame.
2. Connect to another charger (preferably the original 33W/67W).
3. Check the screen on another device (for example, by connecting to your PC via Miracast).

If the problem is hardware, contact the service center. The average cost of repairing the matrix on Xiaomi is 3000-8000 ₽ (model).

FAQ: Frequent questions about black and white on Xiaomi