How to turn off black and white on Xiaomi: all ways to MIUI 14/15

The black and white screen on Xiaomi’s smartphone is a common problem that users face after accidentally turning on a special mode or system failure. This monochrome filter can be activated through availability settings, after a device falls, or even due to a bug in the MIUI firmware. In most cases, you can return colors to the screen in a few seconds, but some situations require deeper manipulation.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to disable black and white on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO, from basic settings to hidden commands for power users. The instructions are tested on the latest versions of MIUI 14/15 and Android 13/14, but they’ll work for older models too. If your smartphone is stuck in monochrome mode after an upgrade or mechanical damage, here’s the solution.

Why the screen turned black and white: the main reasons

Before we move on to fixing it, it’s important to understand what caused the problem, and Xiaomi’s smartphones may have black and white mode for several reasons:

• 🔧 Random activation in availability settings (Color correction or Gradation of Grey mode")
• 📱 System failure after update MIUI or reset
• 💥 Fall or impact that damages the display plume (in which case the colors may partially disappear)
• 🔄 Application conflict, especially if the problem was installed before the program to save power
• 🛠️ Incorrect developer settings (for example, enabled color blindness simulation)

In 80% of cases, the problem is software and solved through the settings menu. If the screen has turned black and white after physical exposure (impact, moisture), most likely, you will need a diagnosis in the service center - self-intervention can aggravate the breakdown.

Method 1: Disconnect via availability settings (fastest)

If black and white comes after accidentally tapping, first check the accessibility section. MIUI has a built-in color correction feature that is often enabled via hotkeys or gestures.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Special Features (or “Additional Features”)
2. Go to the Color and Movement section → Color correction
3. Turn off Gray Grading Slider or Monochrome Mode
4. If you have a button Reset settings – press it

On some models (Xiaomi 12/13, Redmi Note 11/12), the path may be slightly different: Settings → Screen → Color Mode → Turn off Gradation Gray.

⚠️ Attention: POCO F4/F5 And some other models, the function might be called Color Inversion, and turn it off if the monochrome mode doesn't disappear after the gray gradation is reset.

Method 2: Hot keys and gestures (if settings don't open)

If the screen is black and white and you can't find the right partition in the settings, try using hot combinations. MIUI has hidden gestures for quick switching on/off special modes:

• 👆 Triple touch with three fingers on the screen (activates/deactivates color correction)
• 🔘 Press the power button. + Volume increase by 5 seconds (on some models resets the display settings)
• 📱 Shake your phone (if Quick Ball is enabled in gesture settings)

If these combinations don’t work, try a different approach:

1. Unlock your phone and swipe down to open the notification bar.
2. Find the color correction icon (usually looks like a round palette) and tap it.
3. If there is no icon, swipe down twice to open the full panel.

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On Xiaomi 14 and new models, the Quick Settings Panel can be edited. Add the Color Correction button to quickly disable monochrome mode in the future: Settings → Notification Panel → Edit icons

Method 3: Reset display settings (if standard methods don't help)

When black and white is not switched off through the menu, the next step is to reset the screen, which will return all display settings to factory settings, but will not affect personal data.

How to do this:

1. Open Settings → System and device → More
2. Choose Settings Reset (not to be confused with a full phone reset!)
3. Tap Reset screen settings or Reset availability settings
4. Confirm the action and restart the phone

On some firmware (MIUI 13 and older), this item may be here: Settings → About Phone → Resetting → Reset the interface settings.

⚠️ Note: If after reset, the screen is not black and white, but with the wrong color reproduction (for example, green or red), this may indicate damage to the matrix plume.

Method 4: Use ADB-Teams (for experienced users)

If none of the previous methods worked and black and white mode remained, you can try disabling it via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires a computer and basic command-line knowledge.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install Platform Tools (the official tool from Google)
2. Enable USB Debugging on your phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (Tap 7 times to become a developer), then Settings → Additional → For Developers → Debugging over USB
3. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux) in the folder with the platform-tools
4. Enter the command to check the connection: adb devices (the name of your device should appear)
5. Execute the command to disable gray gradation: adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 0
6. Reboot your phone: adb reboot

If the screen is black and white after the reboot, try the additional command:

adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer 0

Method 5: Hardware reset (if nothing helps)

When all software methods are exhausted and the screen is still black and white, there is a hard reset, which will remove all data from the phone, so use this method only as a last resort.

How to reset:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power Button + Volume Up for 10-15 seconds at the same time until the Mi logo appears.
3. In the Recovery Mode, select Wipe Data (use volume buttons for navigation and power button for confirmation)
4. Confirm the action by selecting Yes
5. After reset, select Reboot to reboot.

On the newer models (Xiaomi 13/14, Redmi Note 12), the recovery menu may look different. If you see a Fastboot instead of Recovery, then the wrong buttons are pressed - try the Power + Volume Reduction combination.

⚠️ Warning: After a hard reset, the phone will require you to enter a Mi Account if the binding was previously enabled. If you do not remember the password, it will be impossible to unlock the device without contacting the Xiaomi service center.

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Before resetting, try connecting your phone to another device via Mi Share or Bluetooth to save important files. Some models (POCO X5, Redmi 12) are capable of transmitting data even in black and white.

Additional checks: when the screen is black and white

If none of these methods worked, the problem could be hardware.

• 🔌 Connect your phone to an external monitor USB-C → HDMI (If the external screen is normal, the matrix or plume is faulty.
• 📸 Take a screenshot (click the power supply) + Turn down the volume and check it on another device. If the screenshot is colored, the display is a problem.
• 🔦 Put a flashlight on the screen at an angle, and if you see colors at a certain angle, you've got a damaged polarization layer of the matrix.
• 🔄 Fastboot (only for power users!) Sometimes it helps to flash it to the same version. MIUI

On Xiaomi forums, users often confuse black and white with a bit matrix, the main difference is that when the software crashes, screenshots and videos are saved in color, and when the hardware breaks, they are monochrome.

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The Xiaomi 12S Ultra and other flagships have hidden screen diagnostics. To run it, type in the phone dial code ##6484## (MTK chips) or ##4636## (Snapdragon). In the test menu, select Display Test to check for color rendering.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the black and white screen on Xiaomi