Many Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone users face an obsessive desire by AI algorithms to "improve" reality, often leading to unnatural shades in photos and videos. The standard white autobalance (AWB) in the MIUI or HyperOS shell often leans toward warm, yellowish tones, trying to smooth out contrasts, but losing the detail and naturalness of the color.
Turning off auto color temperature correction completely may be necessary for professional photography, blog content creation, or simply to capture the moment exactly as you see it. In this article, we will examine not only the standard methods of setting through the Camera application, but also the deeper technical solutions available to advanced users.
It is worth noting that in most modern mobile operating systems, including Android, it is impossible to completely remove color processing software without using third-party software. However, competent configuration of exposure parameters and the use of specialized modes allow you to reduce the interference of algorithms to an absolute minimum, providing almost “raw” results.
Why Xiaomi is distorting colors and what is AWB
The phenomenon of white paper on a smartphone screen looking yellow or blue is related to the work of the algorithm Auto White Balance. The camera evaluates the scene, tries to find a neutral gray object and adjusts the color temperature to suit it. The problem of budget and mid-budget sensors Xiaomi often lies in aggressive software processing, which is designed to hide the shortcomings of the matrix.
In mixed lighting conditions, such as when incandescent and daylight are combined from a window, the system can "panic" and produce color artifacts. MIUI Camera often over-subordinates with saturation, making the greens too bright and the sky unnaturally blue, which annoys many photographers.
⚠️ Warning: An aggressive white balance can significantly distort the colors of products when shooting for marketplaces, which will lead to the return of products by customers.
To understand the process, you need to consider that the image sensor receives raw data, which then passes through the ISP (Image Signal Processor), and that is where the manufacturer's software comes into play, which "draws" the image according to its own, and disabling this step is the key to obtaining an honest image.
Basic White Balance Setting in the Camera App
The first and easiest step that is available to every Xiaomi smartphone owner is to manually adjust the settings directly in the shooting interface. You don’t need root rights or a computer connection, standard functionality is enough.
Open the Camera app and go to Pro mode, which is where your settings are prioritized over the automatic algorithms. Find the option marked WB (White Balance) and the default AWB.
Clicking on the WB icon will show a slider or set of presets (Lamp, Daylight, Cloudy, etc.) for maximum control, select manual mode (usually indicated by the sun icon or degrees Kelvin). By moving the slider, you can manually set the color temperature from 2000K to 8000K.
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Use a sheet of white paper in front of the lens when setting up the WB to visually determine when the color will turn neutral grey, with no shades of yellow or blue.
It is important to note that even in Pro mode, some Xiaomi models can apply light post-processing if filters or beauty effects are enabled.
- 📸 Open the Camera app and select the “Profi” mode».
- 🎛️ Press the badge. WB access to white balance settings.
- 🌡️ Switch to manual mode and set the desired temperature in Kelvins.
- 🚫 Turn off all filters and face enhancement modes.
Using Google Camera (GCam) for pure color
One of the most effective ways to get around the limitations of Xiaomi's regular camera is to install a ported version of Google Camera (GCam).Google's image-processing algorithms are famous for their naturalness and less aggressive approach to white balance.
GCam settings often have a setting that allows you to more accurately control temperature ranges, and using configuration files (.xml) for a particular model of your smartphone allows you to activate hidden sensor functions that are not available in the standard application.
Where can I find a suitable GCam?
After installing the application, go to the settings and find the section related to color or AWB. In some assemblies, you can force a priority to a certain range of light, which actually turns off the “floating” autobalance, fixing color reproduction.
| Parameter | Xiaomi's state camera | Google Camera (GCam) | The result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWB aggression | Tall. | Moderate. | More natural colors |
| Temperature monitoring | Limited. | Expanded | Accurate settings under the stage |
| Noise suppression | Adaptive. | Preservation of texture | |
| Processing speed | Fast. | Medium/slow | Quality is more important than speed |
Shooting in RAW and professional applications
If your goal is to get an image completely devoid of digital white balance processing, the only correct solution is to shoot in RAW (DNG) format. RAW files contain raw data from the matrix, maintaining the original white balance at the time of shooting.
To do this, you can use both the Pro mode in the regular camera (selecting the RAW format in the settings), and third-party applications such as Open Camera or Manual Camera: RAW. In Open Camera, for example, you can select the Camera2 API in the API settings and forcefully disable various scenes and effects.
When shooting in RAW, the white balance is fixed by metadata, but when post-processing in Lightroom or Snapseed, you can change it without losing quality, effectively ignoring how the camera "saw" the scene in the first place, which gives you maximum creative freedom.
⚠️ Attention: Files RAW occupy 10-15 more space on the disk than JPEG. Make sure you have enough free memory before the start of the shooting session.
The use of third-party software also allows you to block automatic exposure correction (AE-lock), which in conjunction with manual WB gives full control over the exposure of the frame, excluding any surprises from the system.
- 💾 Enable the save format DNG/RAW camera-setting.
- 📱 Install the Open Camera app for advanced control.
- 🔒 Use the lock. AE/AF parameterize.
- 🎨 Handle it. RAW-Files in editors for final color correction.
Engineering Menu and Hidden Settings (CIT)
For advanced users, you can access the Xiaomi engineering menu through a special code. Entering the code ##6484## in the phone app opens the CIT (Customer Information Test) menu, where you can check the performance of the sensors.
While direct shutdown of AWB through this menu on global firmware is often blocked, you can calibrate the sensor here or reset the camera to factory settings if the problem is caused by a software glitch.In some cases, rebooting the camera module through this menu helps reset the "stuck" white balance algorithm.
☑️ Actions in the Engineering Menu
Be very careful when changing any parameters in the engineering menu, as incorrect actions can lead to improper operation of the equipment.
Addressing color issues with ADB (for experts)
The deepest level of access to Android settings is through the use of USB debugging and the command line ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to change system settings that are not available through a regular interface.
To start, you need to activate the developer mode (7 times click on the build number in About Phone) and enable USB Debugging. Then, by connecting the smartphone to the PC, you can reset the camera settings with the command, although directly disabling AWB requires specific flags in the firmware.
adb shell settings put global camera_sound_effects_enabled 0The above command turns off camera sounds, but white balance often requires CPU-specific adb shell setprop commands. For example, Snapdragon has utilities to change ISP settings, but using them can lead to the device building up when errors occur.
⚠️ Attention: Use ADB commands to change the system properties of the camera can lead to unstable operation of the camera application or complete failure of the module!
If you are not an experienced developer or modder, it is better to limit yourself to the methods of setting up through the application or using third-party software, as the risk of damaging the system is too great.
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The safest and most effective way to gain control of white balance is to use RAW mode in combination with manual WB setup in the Profi app.