Daytime mode on Xiaomi: why you need, how it works and how to customize for yourself

If you own a Xiaomi smartphone, you’ve probably noticed a mysterious “Day Mode” (or Daylight Mode in global firmware) item in your screen settings, which many users confuse with a night mode that dims blue light before bed, or with adaptive brightness that automatically adjusts the backlight. In fact, day mode is a separate feature designed to improve the screen’s perception in bright light. But how does it work, what differs from standard color settings and should it be included? In this article, we’ll go through all the nuances, including the hidden settings that Xiaomi doesn’t show.

It’s worth clarifying: Daytime has nothing to do with reading mode (which makes the screen black and white) or vision protection (blue light filter), its main task is to compensate for the reflections on the screen in sunlight, increasing contrast and color saturation. This is especially true for smartphones with AMOLED-It's a display where you can burn out in bright light, but it's also available on devices with light. IPS-matrices, for example, in the line of Redmi Note or POCO. Next, we’ll explain how daytime affects autonomy, why it’s sometimes better to turn it off, and how to get around limitations. MIUI, If the standard settings do not suit you.

What is the day mode on Xiaomi: a technical explanation

Daylight Mode is a software algorithm that dynamically adjusts the gamut, contrast and color temperature of the screen depending on the level of ambient light. Unlike automatic brightness, which simply increases the backlight, the daytime mode operates at the color level:

• 🔍 Increases the saturation of dark tones so that they do not “merge” with the background in bright light.
• 🎨 Shifts the color temperature towards cold shades (reduces the yellow hue), which improves the readability of the text.
• ⚡ Increases local contrast in the center of the screen where content is usually displayed.
• 📱 Adapts to the type of matrix: AMOLED He's more aggressive than he is. IPS.

It's important to understand that daytime mode does not replace adaptive brightness, but complements it. For example, if you turn on both functions, MIUI will adjust the screen's backlight (brightness) first and then apply color correction (daytime mode), while the algorithm only works at high light levels (usually above 10,000 lux), which corresponds to a sunny day. In cloudy weather or indoors, the function may not activate automatically.

Technically, the daytime mode is implemented at the SurfaceFlinger level, allowing it to bypass the limitations of standard color profiles, which means it can ignore the sRGB or DCI-P3 settings if it deems them insufficient for current conditions, which is why some users notice that when the daytime mode is activated, colors become “unnatural” — this is not a bug, but a feature of the algorithm.

How to turn on and off the day mode on Xiaomi

The daytime mode is dependent on the MIUI version and the smartphone model. In the latest firmware (MIUI 14 and later), the path to settings is as follows:

1. Open the Settings → Screen.
2. Scroll down to the Color and Screen Style block.
3. Slip on the item Day mode (or Daylight Mode in global versions).
4. Activate the switch and select one of the options: 🔄 Automatically (turned on in bright lighting). ☀️ Always on (forced activation).

On some devices (such as the Xiaomi 13 Ultra or Redmi K60 Pro), daytime mode may be hidden in Additional Screen Settings. If you don't find it on the menu, try:

Settings → Special features → Display settings → Daytime mode

The feature may also be absent on budget models (such as the Redmi A2 or POCO C50), where Xiaomi has simplified the firmware. In this case, the alternative would be to manually adjust the color profile in Settings → Screen → Color Style (select Saturated or Automatic).

Going outside in sunny weather

Make sure that the automatic brightness is on

Check if the color on the screen has changed (should get colder)

Open the settings and make sure the day mode is activated-->

Differences between daytime and nighttime and adaptive brightness

Many users confuse daytime mode with other MIUI features associated with the screen.

One important caveat: Day and night cannot work simultaneously, and if you turn on night mode (like after sunset), day mode automatically shuts down even if the light is high, because their goals are contradictory: day mode tends to make the colors cooler and night mode tends to make the colors warmer.

It’s also worth noting that daytime mode doesn’t affect the refresh rate of the screen (e.g. 60Hz or 120Hz).If you notice that after activation of the animations became less smooth, the problem is more likely to be overheating of the processor due to the increased load on the GPU when processing colors.

The impact of daytime on autonomy and productivity

One of the common questions is the effect of daytime on battery life, and there are a few nuances.

• 🔋 Nana AMOLED-In screen mode, battery consumption can be reduced as the algorithm optimizes pixel consumption (e.g., darkening background elements).
• ⚡ Nana IPS-In matrices, on the contrary, it is possible to increase energy consumption by 5-10%, since the backlight works at full power.
• 📉 In the case of GPS (For example, in the navigator, daytime mode can speed up battery discharge, since the processor is additionally loaded with color processing.
• 🎮 In games or when watching videos, the mode has little or no effect on autonomy, but can change color reproduction (for example, make green tones cooler).

In terms of performance, most smartphones (such as Xiaomi 12T or POCO F5) do not cause noticeable lags in daytime. However, on budget models with Snapdragon 4xx or Helio Gxx series processors, there can be slowdowns when you quickly scrolle lists (such as TikTok or Instagram), this is due to the fact that weak chips do not have time to process color correction in real time.

If you notice that after turning on the day mode, the smartphone began to warm up stronger, check:

⚠️ Note: On some devices (e.g. Redmi Note 11 Pro)+) The daytime mode may conflict with the Ultra Battery Saver function. If you turn on both modes at the same time, the screen may start to flicker or spontaneously change brightness.

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If the daytime mode is uncomfortable, but you want better visibility in the sun, try to increase the contrast manually: Settings → Screen → Color style → Saturated. This will give a similar effect without software processing.

Hidden settings of the day mode: how to finely adjust

Xiaomi doesn’t give the user full control over the daytime mode, but there are several ways to customize it:

1. Change of activation threshold: By default, the mode is turned on when illuminated >10 000 lux, but this value can be changed by ADB. To do this, connect your smartphone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell settings put system daylight_activation_lux 15000 Where 15000 — New threshold in the suites (can be set from the 5000 before 30000).
2. Turning off automatic switching: If the mode spontaneously turns on / off, turn off the light sensor: adb shell settings put system daylight_auto_mode 0 After that, the mode will work only in manual mode.
3. Color temperature correction: To make the colors less cold, change the setting: adb shell settings put system daylight_color_temperature 5500 Meaning 5500 It is a neutral white (default — 6500, «cold-colored).

To return to the standard settings, use:

adb shell settings delete system daylight_activation_lux


adb shell settings delete system daylight_auto_mode




adb shell settings delete system daylight_color_temperature

These commands run on MIUI 13/14, but may not be supported on older versions (MIUI 12 and below).

Daytime problems and how to solve them

While useful, daytime routines can cause a number of problems, and here are the most common ways to address them:

• 🔄 Mode spontaneously switches on/off: Reason: light sensor failure Solution: calibrate sensor through engineering menu (##6484## → Sensor Test) or turn off automatic switching (see section above).
• 🎨 Colors look unnatural: Reason: too aggressive color correction. Solution: Reduce color temperature through ADB or manually select the sRGB profile in the screen settings.
• 📵 Screen flickering as you scroll: Reason: refresh rate conflict. Solution: lock 60Hz frequency (Settings) → Screen. → Frequency of update).
• 🔋 Increased battery consumption: the reason: high load on the GPU. Solution: Turn off the mode or use it only when necessary.

If the screen becomes too dark after the day mode is activated (e.g. in the shade), check if it conflicts with Automatic Contrast (Settings → Special Features → Display Settings).

⚠️ Note: On some devices (e.g. Xiaomi) 11T Pro) daytime mode can cause artifacts in the video (strips or blur) when playing content in the video HDR. This is due to a conflict of color profiles. Solution: turn off mode before watching a video or use a third-party player (for example, use a third-party player, VLC).

Alternatives to the day mode: what to use instead

If daytime isn’t right for you, consider alternative ways to improve your screen visibility in the sun:

• ☀️ Manual brightening: B MIUI maximum brightness is limited by default to 80-90%. To remove the restriction, turn on Ultra Bright Mode in the screen settings (available on flagships, for example, Xiaomi 14).
• 🔦 Polarization films: The physical solution is a sticker of anti-reflective film (like Spigen Anti-Glare), which reduces reflections, but can reduce image clarity.
• 📱 Third-party apps: Apps like Lux Auto Brightness or Night Screen allow you to fine-tune color reproduction, but require root rights to work properly.
• 🔧 Color Profile Setting: Manually select the Saturated or Dynamic profile in Settings → Screen. → Color style. It'll have a similar effect without software processing.

For users who are often outdoors, the best solution is a combination of maximum brightness. + This will allow for good visibility without loss of autonomy.

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Daytime is only useful in bright sunlight, and otherwise it can impair color reproduction and increase battery consumption without any apparent benefit.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi's daytime mode