How to disable black and white mode on Xiaomi Redmi 9: all ways + reasons for turning on

Owners of Xiaomi Redmi 9 often face an unexpected problem: the screen of the smartphone suddenly turns black and white, losing all colors. This is not a break in the display, but activation of a special mode that can be activated either by mistake of the user or due to a malfunction in the system. In 90% of cases, the problem is solved in 2-3 minutes, but for this you need to know where to look for settings — and they are hidden in an unobvious way.

In this article, we will look at all the possible reasons for switching to monochrome mode on Redmi 9 (including Redmi 9A/9C/9T models), and provide 5 proven ways to return colors to the screen. From basic settings to hidden MIUI functions, you will find a solution even if standard methods did not work.

Why Redmi 9 is in Black and White: 6 Reasons

The monochrome screen on Xiaomi is not an accident, but the result of one of the system's functions.

• 🎨 The Visually Impaired Mode (aka Color Inversion or Shades of Grey) is activated in special feature settings, often activated randomly via Quick Ball or gestures.
• 🔄 Failure after update MIUI — particularly relevant to firmware MIUI 12.5–14, where the gray-shades function may become stuck after rebooting.
• 📱 Activation through the "Function Lab" - in hidden settings MIUI there is an option of forced monochrome mode to save charge (rare, but occurs).
• 🔋 Energy-saving mode "Ultra" - in some versions of the software it turns off color reproduction to reduce the load on the processor.
• 🛠️ Damage to system files – if the mode is turned on after a phone drop or failed rooting, the fault may be a failure in the system framework-res.apk.
• 👶 Children or pets – a classic situation where the mode is activated by randomly pressing a combination of buttons (e.g. Volume down) + Nutrition).

If the screen turns black and white after falling or getting moisture, the problem may be hardware — damage to the plume of the display or the color controller, in which case none of the software methods will help, and you will need a diagnosis in the service center.

Method 1: Disconnection through "Special Features" (works 80% of the time)

The most common option is to activate Shades of Grey in the visually impaired settings to turn it off:

1. Open Settings (the gear icon on the main screen).
2. Go to the Special Features section (may be called Convenience in some firmware).
3. Select Visibility Improvement → Color filter (or Color Correction).
4. Move the slider Shades of Grey to the off position. or uncheck the tick.
5. Confirm the changes by clicking Ready or Save.

If there is no Color Filter, try an alternative route:

Settings → System → Additional → Special features → Visual settings

Make sure your phone is over 15% charged.

Close all background applications

Disable VPN (can block access to settings)

Check if the "Do Not Disturb" mode is activated"-->

Important! On some versions of MIUI (e.g. 13.0.4 for Redmi 9), the option is hidden deeper. If you don't find it, search the settings (the magnifier icon in the upper right corner) and type in "shades of gray."

⚠️ Warning: If you don't return the colors after you turn off the mode, don't try to reset your settings right away! First, reboot your phone - in 30% of cases, this solves the problem without additional actions.

Method 2: Use Quick Ball (if the mode is activated by gesture)

Xiaomi offers a handy Quick Ball tool, a floating button for quick access to features, and sometimes the black and white mode is activated through it, especially if you use gestures:

• 🖱️ Click on Quick Ball (white circle with dots, usually located at the edge of the screen).
• 🔍 In the menu that appears, find the icon 🌓 (crescent 🎨 (palette).
• 🚫 If the icon is illuminated - tap it to turn off the mode.

If Quick Ball is inactive, turn it on:

Settings → Additional settings → Quick Ball → On.

In older versions of MIUI (up to 12.0), Quick Ball could be called "Floating menu" or "Assistant menu." If you don't find an option, check Settings → System → Gestures.

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If Quick Ball doesn’t respond to taps, try dragging it to another location on the screen – sometimes touch areas are overlapped by other interface elements.

Method 3: Resetting special features settings (if standard methods don't work)

If the previous methods didn’t work, the problem may be a setup conflict, in which case a partial reset will help – it will not affect your data (photos, contacts, messages), but will return all the special features parameters to the factory:

1. Open the Settings. → Special facilities.
2. Scroll down and select Reset Special Opportunity Settings.
3. Confirm the action by entering PIN-code-key.
4. Restart your phone (Power → Reboot).

After you reboot, check if the color has returned. If not, move on to the next method.

⚠️ Note: If after resetting the screen remained black and white, and in the menu Special features option Shades of gray is absent - this may indicate damage to the system file com.android.settings. In this case, only firmware or reset to factory settings will help.

Method 4: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)

If the software methods don’t work, you can use USB debugging and ADB command. This method requires a computer, but it is guaranteed to work even in case of deep system failures.

What you need:

• 💻 Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 USB-Type C Cable (original, undamaged).
• 📥 Google Platform Tools (download from official website).
• 🔧 Included Debugging by USB phone-on.

Step-by-step:

1. Activate USB Debugging: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times) Settings → Additional → For Developers → Debugging by USB (Included)
2. Connect Redmi 9 to your computer and confirm your trust.
3. Open the command prompt (CMD in Windows or Terminal in macOS/Linux) in the folder with Platform Tools.
4. Enter the command to check the connection: adb devices (should appear serial number of your phone).
5. Execute the command to disable gray shades: 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 command, try an alternative command to reset all color filters:

adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer 0

Method 5: Complete resetting of settings (extreme case)

If none of these methods work, you have to reset the phone back to the factory settings, and you delete all the data, so first, you have to:

• 📲 Make a backup copy through Settings → Google → Backup or Mi Cloud Backup.
• 🔐 Remember your Mi Account details (required to unlock after resetting).
• 📞 Extract. SIM-card and memory card (if any).

Resetting instructions:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Erase All Data (or Reset to Factory Settings).
3. Enter. PIN-code and confirm the action.
4. Wait for the process to be completed (5-10 minutes).

Once reset, the phone will reboot and you will see the screen of the initial setup. If the problem was software, colors will return. If not, this indicates a hardware malfunction (damage to the matrix or display controller).

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Before reset, check if your Redmi 9 is linked to your Mi Account. After reset, you may need to enter a login/password to unlock (Mi Cloud Lock function).

Additional tips: how to avoid re-enable black and white mode

To prevent the problem from returning, follow these recommendations:

• 🔒 Turn off Quick Ball if you don’t use it: Settings → Additionally. → Quick Ball → Off.
• 👶 Activate Child Mode if Children Use Phone: Settings → Special facilities → Parental control.
• 🔄 Check the settings after the updates — MIUI Sometimes it drops color reproduction parameters.
• 🛡️ Set a password for settings: Settings → System system → Blocking settings (not available on all firmware).
• 📱 Use a lock button case to avoid accidental pressing.

If black and white is turned on regularly for no apparent reason, it may indicate:

• 🐛 Viral Software – Check your phone with Google Play Protect or Malwarebytes.
• 🔧 Application Conflict – Try to remove recently installed programs.
• 📉 Unstable firmware - update MIUI Up to the latest version or roll back to a stable assembly.

FAQ: Frequent questions about black and white on Redmi 9