Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often experience a device display that goes out at the most inopportune moment, such as reading long articles, viewing recipes in the kitchen or showing presentations. The standard MIUI and HyperOS energy saving settings aggressively darken or turn off the backlight to save battery life, which is not always convenient for the user.
There are several ways to address this, from simple menu settings to hidden system features. Screen timeout is the main setting that regulates the time before going to sleep. However, some scenarios require that this feature be completely disabled or bypassed for specific applications. In this article, we will discuss all available methods that will help you leave the display on.
It is important to understand that the display is constantly running at maximum brightness, significantly increases the energy consumption. AMOLED and IPS matrix consume different amounts of resources, but in both cases the battery will run out faster than usual, so before making changes, it is worth assessing the need for such measures for your current task.
Standard setting of the sleep timer in MIUI
The first thing to start diagnosing and configuring is the basic system settings. In Xiaomi shells, the path to managing latency may vary slightly depending on the Android version and MIUI, but the logic remains the same. You need to find the partition responsible for locking the device.
Usually this is hidden in the screen settings or lock menu. The timer determines how many seconds of inactivity the backlight will go out. The standard set of values is often limited to the range of 15 seconds to 10 minutes. For most everyday tasks, this is enough, but for specific scenarios, time may not be enough.
To change your settings, go to Settings and find the Always On and Lock or just Lock section. Here you will see Sleep Mode or Time Out. Click on it and the system will suggest available time intervals.
It’s worth noting that on some HyperOS models, the interface may be slightly changed, and the item may be called “Autolock.” If you don’t see the menu you want, search for settings by entering the word “sleeping” or “timeout.”
⚠️ Note: Setting a maximum value (10 minutes) does not guarantee that the screen will not go out if aggressive energy saving algorithms are active in the system or a memory cleaner is running.
Use of the “Do Not Turn Off Screen” Mode for Developers
If you don't have a standard 10 minutes and you need the display to burn constantly while you're charging or the app is running, you'll have to use a hidden menu called "Developers" and it contains a lot of technical options, including Stay Awake.
By default, this section is hidden from the eyes of the average user. To activate it, you need to go to Settings → About Phone. Find the MIUI Version or OS Version string and quickly click on it 7-10 times in a row. The system will notify you that you have become a developer.
Once activated, go back to the main settings menu, scroll down to Additional and select Developer For. In the list that opens, look for the option Do not turn off the screen (sometimes called “Do not go to sleep”). Activating this switch will make the screen burn forever while the phone is connected to the charger.
💡
This mode is ideal for using a smartphone as a navigator in a car or an information panel connected to Power Bank.
Using this feature without a charging connection will result in a quick battery drain and possible device overheating.The processor and graphics chip continue to work even if you do nothing that puts a strain on the cooling system.
Blocking Auto-Switch Off in Specific Applications
Often users need to keep the screens on only certain programs, such as readers, navigators or recipe apps, and MIUI and HyperOS have a built-in feature that allows you to manage this behavior without global system changes.
The feature is called “In-app Lock” or can be implemented through “Second Space” and special settings. However, a more versatile way is to use built-in security tools or third-party utilities if built-in options are limited. Newer versions of the shell have an option in the Battery or Apps menu, where you can prohibit background activity and sleep for a particular software.
To set up, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Select the program you want (like Kindle or YouTube). Find the Battery section and set the No Limits mode. This will prevent the system from falling asleep while the app is active.
- 📱 Open the settings of a particular application and find the item “Keep the screen on” if it is supported by the software developer.
- 🔋 Make sure the application has selected “No Limits” in the battery management menu so that the system does not kill the process.
- ⚙️ In some versions MIUI There is a floating window that can prevent the main screen from being blocked under certain conditions.
Not all apps have a built-in ban on. If the built-in tools can not configure, you will have to resort to installing specialized programs from the Google Play Store that emulate clicks or hold wakelock.
Which apps most often require a permanent screen?
Comparison of time-out disabling methods
The right method depends on your goals, and if you just have to read a book for 20 minutes, you'll have to do with standard settings, and if you're using your phone as a stationary monitor or terminal, you'll need more radical measures.
| Method | Need for charging | Impact on the battery | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard timer | No. | Low (screen goes out) | Low. |
| Developer mode | Yes (recommended) | High (constant current) | Medium |
| Third-party annexes | No. | Medium/High | Low. |
| Engineering menu | No. | Critical | Tall. |
As you can see from the table, the developer mode is the most reliable way to keep the screen on, but it requires a network connection. Using third-party apps is a compromise option that allows you to flexibly manage settings without digging deep into the system.
It is important to consider the model of your device. On budget models of Redmi or Poco with less capacious batteries, the constant operation of the screen can lead to a bloating of the battery in the long run due to constant heating.
Third-party solutions and utilities
When system constraints are too many, Google Play apps come to the rescue, and they work by creating a "fake" event that tells the system that the user is active even if he is not touching the screen, which prevents the sleep timer from going off.
One popular solution is to use alarm apps or specialized utilities like "Keep Screen On," which add a button to the notification curtain or a floating widget that enforces wakelock, which allows the screen to burn as long as it needs, without root rights.
Installing these programs requires permissions, allowing the application to access surfaces on top of other windows and allowing it to operate in the background, and without that, the Android could just shut down the process in a few minutes.
☑️ Checking the settings of the blocking application
Keep in mind that some memory cleaners built into Xiaomi can aggressively close such apps, and you’ll have to add them to the exclusion list (“Blocked Apps”) in the multitasking menu by swiping your finger down the app card.
⚠️ Note: Do not install dubious applications called “Screen On” from unknown developers, they may contain ads or miners that will quietly load the processor.
Problems with proximity sensor and autobrightness
Sometimes the screen goes out not because of the timer, but because of the sensors' erroneous readings. The proximity sensor at the top of the screen can react to a security glass, a case, or even a finger if you hold the phone in a certain way, the system thinks the phone is near the ear, and the display is extinguished.
Also, the autobrightness function can play a cruel joke: If the algorithm decides that the lighting has changed, it can dramatically reduce the brightness to a minimum, creating the illusion that the screen has gone out. Check if the "Enhanced Energy Saving" mode is activated, which often forcefully reduces the brightness and accelerates the lock.
You can use an engineering menu to diagnose the proximity sensor. Type ##6484## (CIT) in your phone. Select the Proximity Sensor test and check the screen response to the top of the case, and if the sensor is stuck or contaminated, the screen will go out on its own.
💡
If the screen goes out only in the pocket or when you bring it to the ear, the problem is not the timer, but the proximity sensor or its calibration.
In some cases, disabling the "Remove from pocket" function in lock settings helps, a feature that uses a proximity sensor to prevent accidental taps, but often works incorrectly with thick protective glass.