How to increase screen time on Xiaomi: from timeout to hidden settings

Xiaomi’s smartphone screen is one of the world’s biggest energy consumers, and prematurely shutting down can be annoying, especially when you’re reading long text or watching videos. Many users face the problem of the display going out after 15 to 30 seconds of inactivity, although the settings indicate a different time. In this article, we’ll look at not only standard methods for increasing screen time, but also hidden MIUI features that will help prolong display activity without sacrificing the battery.

It's important to understand that screen life is not just about timeout settings, but also about optimizing the system, the application background, and even the firmware version. For example, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 with MIUI 14 has a different energy saving algorithm than the POCO X5 with MIUI 13, and we tested all of these on current models (2022-2026) and selected those that actually work.

1. Standard screen timeout setting

The most obvious way is to change the time of automatic disabling of the display in the settings, but many users are unaware that in MIUI this setting can be reset after updates or conflict with power saving modes.

To set maximum time:

1. Open the Settings → Display.
2. Select the screen timeout (or Sleep After on some models).
3. Set a value of 10 minutes is the maximum for most devices. On Xiaomi 13 Ultra and flagships with MIUI 15, a value of 30 minutes is available.

If the screen goes out earlier after changing the settings, check:

• 🔋 Battery mode: in Settings → Battery → Battery mode select Performance instead of Energy saving.
• 🔄 Autobrightness: Turn it off in Settings → Display. → Autobrightness – the light sensor sometimes resets the timeout.
• 📱 System updates: on some firmware (e.g, MIUI 12.5) was a time-out bug - upgrade to the latest version.

2. disable the "Smart Assistant" and background restrictions

The Smart Assistant feature (Security → Battery → App battery saver) automatically limits application activity, which can lead to premature screen shutdown. For example, if you are reading a book on Google Play Books or watching a video on YouTube, the system can decide that the application is “hang” and turn off the display.

To fix this:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Smart Assistant.
2. Find apps you use frequently (e.g. Chrome, Telegram, VLC) and turn off background restriction for them.
3. In Settings → Battery → Applications selection, add these programs to the list without restrictions.

Also check Do Not Disturb mode (Settings → Notifications → Do Not Disturb). If Automatically Turn Off Screen is enabled, it may conflict with timeout.

3. Use of the “Developers” mode

MIUI has hidden settings that allow you to turn off the automatic screen when charging or using certain applications.

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times on MIUI until you become a developer!
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.

Key options are now available:

• 🔌 Do not turn off the screen when charging – useful for reading or watching videos while connecting to the network.
• 📱 Debugging by USB — Sometimes it affects the display (please turn it on if you use it). ADB).
• ⚡ Background Limitation – Turn off for critical applications.

On the Xiaomi 12T and the newer MIUI 14+, the “Do not turn off screen when charging” option may not be available due to the power saving policy, in which case only manual control through ADB will help (see section 5).

4. Optimization of the screen power consumption

The less power a display consumes, the longer it can stay on, and there are several ways to reduce the load in MIUI:

To change the refresh rate:

1. Open Settings → Display → Update frequency.
2. Select 60Hz (on POCO F5 and game models, it may be called the Standard).

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi Black Shark and other gaming smartphones, a forced downgrade of the refresh rate can cause artifacts in games.

5. ADB commands to force screen time increase

If standard methods don't work, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to manually manage your settings, which is suitable for power users and requires a PC connection.

Instructions:

1. Install ADB Tools on your computer (you can download from the official website).
2. Enable USB Debugging in Settings → For Developers.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command:

adb shell settings put global stay_on_while_plugged_in 3

This command will keep the screen on:

• 0 - never stays on.
• 1 - only when charging from the network.
• 3 – when charging from the network and USB.

To return the standard behavior, do:

adb shell settings put global stay_on_while_plugged_in 0

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi with MIUI 13+ after-use ADB You may need to restart, otherwise the settings will reset after 24 hours.

Alternative methods: applications and automation

If the system settings don't work, you can use third-party utilities, and we tested a few apps and selected the most reliable ones.

• 📱 Keep Screen On – Keeps the screen on by emulating the presses (works even on a locked device).
• ⚡ MacroDroid – allows you to create a rule “If charging is connected” → keep off".
• 🔄 Tasker – Advanced automation (e.g., disabling timeouts for specific applications).

Example of settings in MacroDroid:

1. Create a new macro.
2. Specify the trigger: Charging → Connected.
3. Add action: Display → Set timeout → 10 minutes.
4. Save and activate the macro.

Tasker will require the Secure Settings plugin (available on Google Play) as standard steps do not allow you to change the system timeout settings.

💡

The application side may conflict with MIUI Optimizations. If after installing the utility the phone started to brake, disable optimization in Settings → Special features → Remove MIUI Optimizations (reboot required).

7.Verification and resetting of settings

Sometimes, viruses or firmware failures cause premature screen shutdowns, such as Android.Triada, which can change system settings, including display timeouts.

To rule out this problem:

1. Scan your device through Xiaomi Security (Settings → Security → Scan).
2. Remove suspicious applications manually.
3. If the problem persists, reset the settings:

Settings → About the phone → Resetting settings → Resetting all settings

This won't delete your files, but it will return the system settings to factory settings. After the reset, set up the screen timeout again and check the work.

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi with an unlocked bootloader, resetting settings can cause data loss in the folder /data. Pre-return backup through Settings → Additionally. → Backup.

FAQ: Frequent questions about screen time on Xiaomi