How to change the screen hertz on Xiaomi: the complete guide

Modern Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones are equipped with advanced displays that can reproduce images with high smoothness. Many users, buying a device with a refresh rate of 90, 120 or even 144 Hz, do not notice the difference immediately, since the system often works automatically. Changing the hertz screen on the shaomi is not just a whim, but a way to adapt the work of the gadget for specific tasks, whether it is saving battery power or maximum responsiveness in games.

Android, which runs MIUI and HyperOS shells, has a flexible frame rate management system, but standard settings menus can hide some options or offer limited choices depending on the device model. Understanding how the refresh rate works will help you get the most out of your smartphone.

In this article, we will take a look at all the available methods for changing display parameters, we will touch on the standard tools, hidden engineering menus and even advanced methods through debugging over USB.

Why Change the Screen Update Frequency

Hertz, or refresh rate, is measured in Hertz (Hz), and shows how many times a second an image on the matrix is updated. 60 Hz has long been the standard value, but modern flagships and mid-range models offer 90, 120 Hz and higher. Increasing this parameter makes interface animations smoother, scrolling through social media is enjoyable, and cursor movement in games is instantaneous.

But there's a downside to this: The display requires more computing power from the GPU and more memory than the GPU, and 120Hz can reduce battery life by up to 15-20% compared to 60Hz, which is why many users are looking for ways to manage this option flexibly.

Changing the hertzovka is relevant in the following situations:

• 🔋 Energy savings: Forced 60Hz switch significantly extends battery life on trips.
• 🎮 Game mode: Some optimized games are more stable at a fixed frequency, excluding micro-freezes.
• 👁️ Comfort of vision: Some users are sensitive to flickering or high smoothness, causing discomfort, and prefer classic 60Hz.

⚠️ Warning: Forced high hertz installation in applications that are not optimized for this can cause sound and video to become out of sync or overheat the device.

Standard settings in MIUI and HyperOS

To start with, the simplest and safest method is that Xiaomi engineers have provided basic screen management functionality in the standard settings menu, and the path to these options may vary slightly depending on the firmware version, but the logic remains the same.

To find the settings you want, go to the Settings menu, then select the Screen (or Screen and Brightness) section. Here you will see Update Frequency. In newer versions of HyperOS, this item may be called Screen Update. The system will offer several options for work.

The following modes are usually available:

• 🔄 By default: the system itself decides when to increase the hertz, based on the content of the screen.
• 🚀 Maximum: The screen is always at its limit (e.g. 120Hz), regardless of the content.
• 🐢 Standard: 60Hz rigid fixation for maximum savings.

Selecting default mode is the most sensible trade-off for everyday use, and MIUI algorithms are smart enough to reduce the frequency of static text reading and increase it when scrolling, but it doesn’t always work perfectly, especially in third-party applications.

Using an engineering menu to fine-tune

If you don't have enough standard options, you can use the hidden engineering menu, which is a powerful tool for diagnosing and finely configuring iron, and be careful: changing unknown parameters in other menu sections can lead to unstable system operation.

To enter the display settings menu, open the Phone app and type ##6484##. The CIT (Customer Integration Test) interface will open. Find the item associated with the display (often called Version or Display, but the name may vary) in some firmware versions, direct access to the herring change is closed from here, but you can check the current settings.

A more advanced method involves using hidden activity of screen settings.

1. Install Activity Launcher from Play Market.
2. In the search inside the application, type “Refresh” or “Frequency”.
3. Find an activity with a name that contains FrameRate or Hz.
4. Run it to open the hidden menu of selecting hertz.

This method allows you to access settings that the manufacturer has hidden from the average user, and you can force a value that is not available in the standard menu.

Configure via USB debugging (ADB)

For users who aren’t afraid of the command line, the most reliable way is to use the ADB debugger (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer, but gives full control over the system flags.

First, activate Developer Mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly press 7-10 times on MIUI Version (or OS Version). Then go to Advanced Settings → Developer and turn on the USB Debugging Toggle.

Once connected to your computer, run a command to view the current display settings. In the terminal, this may look like a system property request. However, direct change of the hertz through one ADB command is impossible without root rights, but you can change the behavior of the system.

A command is often used to reset display settings or force high frequency in games if it is blocked:

adb shell settings put global peak_refresh_rate 120.0

adb shell settings put global min_refresh_rate 120.

Replacing the 120.0 by 60.0 will allow you to lock the frequency. Please note that after the device is restarted, these settings may reset if they were not applied at the system level.

The effect of hertzovka on battery and games

The relationship between refresh rate and power consumption is linear: the more frames per second a processor draws, the more power it consumes. The display is one of the main consumers of power in a smartphone, and its operation at the limit of its capabilities creates a significant load.

In game scenarios, the situation is twofold: on the one hand, high FPS (frames per second) gives an advantage in shooters and racing simulators. On the other hand, if the hardware of the smartphone does not pull a stable 120 FPS, and the screen is set to 120 Hz, you may notice jerks (jitter), since the footage will be displayed unevenly.

The table below shows the approximate effect of screen mode on autonomy depending on the use case:

⚠️ Attention: When playing heavy 3D-games at maximum hertzovka body temperature can reach critical values, which will lead to trottling (reduced processor performance).

💡

Use Do Not Disturb mode along with high hertz during games so that background processes do not cause micro-twitching of the interface.

Solution: The screen does not hold 120 Hz

Often users are faced with a situation where seemingly all settings are set correctly, but the screen still works at 60Hz. This can be caused by several factors: First, many applications (especially video players and some games) have their own limitations and force the screen to switch to standard mode.

Second, Xiaomi has a brightening feature that, when activated in bright light, can temporarily reduce the refresh rate to compensate for the load. It’s also worth checking the settings in the Battery section. If Power Savings mode is enabled, the system will automatically limit the hertz to 60 Hz, ignoring your preferences.

What do you do if nothing helps?

• 🔍 Check apps: Some ‘optimizers’ can block high frequency.
• 🌡️ Temperature: when overheating, the system will reset the settings.
• 🔄 Resetting: Try resetting the screen settings in the Recovery menu.

💡

If the screen resets the hertz in games, check the Game Turbo settings – there may be a limit to save energy.