Owners of modern devices from Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO often face a situation where the color reproduction of the display seems unnatural: either excessively cold, going into blue, or too warm, with a pronounced yellow hue. This is not always a matrix marriage, often it is the factory color settings that the manufacturer chooses for maximum brightness or energy efficiency, forgetting about the reference accuracy.
Quality calibration not only improves visual perception of content, but also reduces eye strain with prolonged use of the gadget. In this article, we will examine all available methods of setting, from the regular tools of the MIUI shell to the deep engineering tests, available only through special codes.
Before you start taking any radical measures, you need to understand what exactly you are not happy with in the current picture: the saturation of the colors, their temperature or perhaps uneven backlighting? Answering these questions will help you choose the right configuration vector and not spoil the factory settings unnecessarily.
⚠️ Note: Making changes to the Engineering Mode may cause the calibration coefficients of the matrix to reset. Take screenshots or write down the initial values before any editing.
Staffing means of setting up the display in MIUI
The first step should always be to check the standard settings, as 90% of the time the problem is solved by changing the color mode. The MIUI shell (and its successor HyperOS) offers flexible tools for basic image correction without using third-party software.
To access the basics, go to Settings → Screen → Color Scheme. Here you will find several preset profiles, each changing the gamma curve and white balance. The standard Vivid mode often spins saturation to maximum, making the colors "acid" and far from reality.
More advanced users will appreciate the availability of sliders for fine tuning. In some models, especially the flagship Xiaomi 13/14 series or Mi 11 Ultra, manual color temperature adjustment is available. By moving the slider from Cold to Warm, you can shift the white balance in the desired direction, bringing it closer to the reference value of 6500K.
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To read the text at night, turn on the "Paper" mode or set the color temperature in the warm spectrum - this significantly reduces the production of melatonin and helps you fall asleep faster.
- 🎨 Standard: the closest to reality profile recommended for photo work.
- 🌈 Vivid: Enhances colors, making them brighter but less accurate.
- 👁️ Eye protection: Software removes the blue spectrum, making the screen yellow.
Using an engineering menu to fine-tune
If standard sliders aren't enough, the engineering menu, a hidden part of the system designed for testing equipment, comes to the rescue through a set of special code in the Phone app. For most Xiaomi devices, the code ##6484## or ##4636### is relevant.
Once you enter the code, you'll see a list of tests, and we're interested in the section that's associated with the display, which might be called Display, Screen, or LCM. It's often a bit of broken pixel testing that's hidden inside of it, but some firmware versions (especially Chinese or global betas) have a Color Calibration tab.
You can see RGB numbers here, which are Red, Green, Blue, and by changing these odds, you can directly affect the signal feed to the matrix, but be careful: in modern versions of Android, access to these settings is often blocked or requires root rights, because improper calibration can lead to image artifacts.
What if the code doesn't work?
It is important to understand the difference between software correction and physical calibration. The engineering menu changes Lookup program tables (LUT), but cannot fix a physical defect in the matrix, such as uneven lighting at the edges of the screen (the flashlight effect).
Application of third-party calibration applications
When built-in tools are scarce, specialized applications from Google Play come into the arena, allowing for deeper customization using algorithms not available in stock firmware. One of the most popular solutions is the Screen Balance app or Blue Light Filter.
These programs run on top of the main interface, overlaying a color filter. While this is not a "real" calibration of the matrix at the hardware level, the visual effect can be very close to what you want. You can customize individual RGB channels with high accuracy by creating your own profile.
Another powerful tool is Test Your Display, which doesn't change the settings of the screen, but it does allow professional diagnostics, and it can test the uniformity of the backlight, viewing angles and color accuracy by comparing the result with reference images.
- 📱 Screen Balance: allows you to fine-tune the shade of white and remove excess blue.
- 🛡️ Test Your Display: a professional tool for diagnosing matrix defects.
- 🎨 Color Calibrator: Requires root rights, but gives access to gamma system files.
⚠️ Note: Apps that require root access to change system calibration files can cause a device to "brick" when an error occurs. Always do a full backup before you get superuser rights.
Update frequency and permission setting
The quality of the picture depends not only on color, but also on the smoothness of movement and clarity of fonts. Modern Xiaomi smartphones are equipped with screens with refresh rates of 90 Hz, 120 Hz and even 144 Hz. Proper setting of this parameter is critical for comfort.
In the Settings → Screen → Update frequency, there are usually three modes available: Standard (60 Hz), Preferred (automatic selection) and Maximum. For maximum smoothness of animations and scrolling tape, choose Maximum mode, although this will increase battery consumption.
You should also pay attention to the screen resolution. In Settings → Screen → Screen resolution, you can choose between High and Standard. High resolution (WQHD+ or 2K) makes fonts and icons sharper, but it loads the GPU.
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The balance between image quality and autonomy is key: 60Hz and standard resolution are better for reading, and maximum for gaming.
| Parameter | Recommended value | Impact on the battery | Effect on the eyes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 Hz frequency | Reading, office. | Low. | Comfortable. |
| 120 Hz frequency | Games, social media | High. | Smooth movement |
| High resolution | Photos, video | Average. | Clear text |
| Dark Mode | Night, saving. | Reduces consumption (AMOLED) | Less fatigue |
Reading modes and vision protection
Long-term interaction with the smartphone inevitably leads to eye fatigue. Xiaomi devices have a set of features called "Vision Protection." In addition to the banal decrease in brightness, there are important settings that affect color perception.
Adaptive Brightness uses a light sensor to automatically adjust the screen. However, the sensor's algorithms are often aggressive, making the screen too dim in low light. It is recommended that you adjust the manual "slider" in the brightness settings to shift the autobrightness curve to a more comfortable zone.
Special attention should be paid to the "Anti-flicker" mode. AMOLED-Some manufacturers use low-frequency pulse-width modulation (PWM), which causes headaches for sensitive people. Turning on this option (if available in your model, for example, in Xiaomi 13 Pro) puts the screen into mode DC Dimming by eliminating harmful flickering.
Paper mode mimics the texture and color of electronic paper, making the image monochrome and adding noise, which is ideal for reading books, but is categorically not suitable for viewing photos or videos due to color distortion.
Diagnostics and elimination of matrix defects
Sometimes users confuse the need for calibration with physical screen defects. Before you turn the settings, perform a visual inspection. Turn on the all-white image at maximum brightness in a dark room.
Pay attention to the angles of the screen. If you see greenish or pinkish ebbs at the edges, this is a feature of AMOLED technology known as the green shift. You can't fix this with calibration, because it's a physical feature of the subpixels being positioned at the viewing angle.
Also check the screen for dead or stuck pixels, and use images (black, red, green, blue, white) to do this. If you find one or two stuck pixels, you can try using fast-changing color generators that sometimes help to "push" the subpixel.