How to completely disable the light sensor on Xiaomi smartphones: 5 working methods

The light sensor on Xiaomi smartphones automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen depending on the ambient light. For most users, this is a convenient feature, but some people face incorrect sensor operation: the screen dims in a bright room or blinds in the dark. Others simply prefer manual brightness control for stable display. In this article, we will examine all the ways to turn off the sensor, from standard MIUI settings to hidden commands via ADB.

Xiaomi is often hiding some options in deep menus or blocking them at the firmware level. For example, newer versions of MIUI 14 may not have a direct switch on the sensor, while older models (Redmi Note 8 Pro, POCO F1) may not have a direct switch on the sensor, but they may still be available. We tested all the methods on current devices (2023-2026) and identified those that work independently of the firmware version.

If you want to not just turn off the autobrightness, but completely deactivate the sensor (for example, to save charge or test), methods using ADB or engineering menus will come in handy. But beware: improper actions can lead to malfunctions in the screen. All the instructions below are safe if followed accurately.

1. Standard Auto Brightness Shutdown in MIUI

The easiest way is to deactivate automatic brightness control through settings. This won't physically shut down the sensor itself, but the system will stop using its data. The method works on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones with MIUI 12/13/14.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings → Display.
2. Slip the Brightness slider.
3. Uncheck the box opposite Automatic adjustment (or switch the switch to off position).

After that, the brightness of the screen will be fixed at the current level, but the light sensor will remain active, it can be seen in the list of sensors through an engineering menu or applications like CPU-Z.

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If after turning off the autobrightness, the screen still spontaneously dims, check the settings of the reading or vision protection mode - they can also affect the backlight.

Disconnect the sensor via the engineering menu (MTK and Qualcomm)

The Engineering Menu is a hidden settings section where you can test the hardware components of a smartphone. On Xiaomi devices with MediaTek (Helio G95, Dimensity 700) and Qualcomm (Snapdragon 660/732G/865), the path to the menu is different. Attention: do not change other options in the engineering menu unless you are sure about their purpose!

For MediaTek:

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Enter the combination: ##36446337## (or #4636## on some models).
3. Go to the Hardware Testing → Sensor section.
4. Find the Light Sensor and tap it.
5. Choose Disable or uncheck Enable.

For Qualcomm:

1. Enter the phone: ##4636###.
2. Select Testing → Sensor Test.
3. Find the Light Sensor and turn it off.

Warning: After the sensor is turned off through the engineering menu, some functions (for example, automatically turning on the flashlight at low light) may not work properly.

3.Use ADB to completely disable the sensor

If standard methods don’t work, you can turn off the system-level light sensor using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which is suitable for all Xiaomi models, but requires a connection to a computer.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on MIUI Version. Go back to Settings → Additional → Developer. Activate USB Debugging.

Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.

ADB Tools

cmd

ADB

adb shell settings put system screen_brightness_mode 0

This command turns off the autobrightness. To fully deactivate the sensor, use:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.server.lightsensor

✅ Developer mode is on

✅ Debugging is permitted. USB

✅ Installed drivers Xiaomi on PC

✅ Downloaded. ADB Tools (last version)

✅ The phone is connected by the original cable-->

To get it all back, do this:

adb shell pm enable com.android.server.lightsensor

⚠️ Note: Disconnect the sensor through ADB It can cause a flash of the camera and fingerprint scanner to fail on some models (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro.

4. Disable the sensor through third-party applications

If you don't want to mess with ADB or the engineering menu, you can use specialized applications that allow you to control sensors without manually entering commands.

Top.-3 tested applications:

• 🔧 Sensor Disabler – a simple interface to disable any sensors (requires root rights).
• 📱 QuickShortcutMaker – allows you to create a shortcut for quick access to hidden sensor settings.
• 🛠️ Shizuku + AppOps - an alternative ADB To control sensor resolutions without a PC.

Example of QuickShortcutMaker:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. In the search, type in the Light Sensor.
3. Select Disable action and create a shortcut on the home screen.

⚠️ Note: Apps like Sensor Disabler require root access, which voids Xiaomi’s warranty. Use them only if you understand the risks!

5. Checking the operation of the sensor after disconnection

To make sure that the light sensor is actually deactivated, use one of the methods of checking:

Method 1: Through the CPU-Z application

Method 2: Testing through the Engineering Menu

1. Open the engineering menu (see section 2).
2. Go to the sensor test (Sensor Test).
3. Cover the light sensor (usually located next to the front camera) with your finger – if the values do not change, the sensor is turned off.

Method 3: ADB teams

Do it at the terminal:

adb shell dumpsys sensorservice

In the conclusion, find the Light Sensor block – if it is marked as disabled, everything is done correctly.

If the sensor is still active, try restarting the phone or repeating steps from previous sections.

Possible problems and solutions

When you turn off the light sensor, Xiaomi users often experience side effects, and we've collected the most common ones and ways to eliminate them.

If you have artifacts on the screen or spontaneous reboots after the sensor is turned off, immediately return the settings to their original state!

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On devices with AMOLED-screens (for example, Xiaomi 12 Pro, Redmi) K50) Turning off the light sensor can cause pixels to burn out faster because of fixed brightness.

FAQ: Frequent questions about turning off the light sensor