Many users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones experience the unpleasant effect of seeing the display start to pulsate or shiver, a phenomenon known as flickering that is not only annoying when viewing content, but can also cause quick eye fatigue and headaches with prolonged use of the device. Most often the problem lies in the software features of the OLED or IPS matrix, but in some cases hardware malfunctions are the culprits.
Before you bring your gadget to the service center, you should try to solve the problem software methods. In the arsenal of shell MIUI and HyperOS there are hidden features and settings to minimize or completely eliminate this defect. Calibration of the display and changing the refresh rate often work wonders, returning comfort when working with a smartphone.
In this article, we will take a look at all the possible causes of artifacts on the screen and offer proven ways to eliminate them. You will learn how to adjust the image parameters correctly, use an engineering menu and determine when a problem requires intervention. 80% of flickering is caused by a low frequency of PWM brightness control, which can be compensated by software.
Causes of the appearance of display flicker
Understanding the nature of the defect is the first step to fixing it. The flickering of the screen on Xiaomi devices is most often associated with backlight brightness control technology. LCD-screens, modern OLED-The panels don't adjust brightness by reducing the voltage, but by turning the pixels on and off very quickly, a process called PWM).
When the brightness is low, the frequency of these switches becomes noticeable to the human eye, which is perceived as trembling or ripples. However, there are other factors that cause the matrix to work unstable, including software failures after an operating system update, driver conflicts or malfunctioning of individual applications.
⚠️ Attention: If flickering is accompanied by colored stripes, color distortion, or occurs only when physically pressed on the screen, this is a sign of hardware failure of the plume or the matrix itself.
It is also worth considering the influence of third-party software. Some "optimizers" or blue-filtered reading apps may conflict with the system settings of the display. In rare cases, the problem lies in the overheating of the processor, which can not cope with rendering graphics, causing artifacts on the screen.
Using the DC Dimming function to eliminate PWM
The most effective software solution for owners OLED-The screen is activated by the mode DC Dimming – This technology replaces pulsed brightness control with a change in the voltage applied to the pixels, which results in the screen stops blinking quickly, making the image stable and pleasing to the eye, especially in the dark.
On Xiaomi smartphones, this feature is often hidden in a special menu. To activate it, you need to perform a series of actions. First, make sure that your version of MIUI supports this option, as in some regions it may not be available by default. If it is not possible to enable it in standard ways, you may need to activate it through the engineering menu.
☑️ Activation. DC Dimming
Once you turn on the mode, you may notice a slight change in color reproduction or a slight noise at low brightnesses, which is a normal feature of DC Dimming on some types of arrays, but the comfort of vision in this case outweighs the minimal loss in image quality.
What to do if DC Dimming is not working?
Update frequency and permission setting
Refresh Rate is a parameter that determines how many times an image is updated per second. Standard values are 60 Hz, 90 Hz or 120 Hz. The mismatch between the frame rate of the application and the refresh rate of the screen can cause visible twitching of the interface. Adaptive frequency tries to adjust to the content, but sometimes works incorrectly.
To fix the flicker, try fixing the refresh rate. In the display settings, select a specific value, such as 60 Hz, and check if the problem has gone away. If the screen is stable at 60 Hz and flickering at 120 Hz, it may be due to an unoptimized driver or overheating of the display controller.
| Parameter | Recommended value | Effect on flickering |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency of update | 60 Hz (fixed) | High (stabilizes work) |
| Screen resolution | Native (Native) | Average (excludes interpolation) |
| Dark subject matter | Included. | Low (reduces the load on pixels) |
| Animation. | 0.5x or Off | Medium (removes visual noise) |
Also worth paying attention to is screen resolution. Using non-standard resolutions or zoom modes can lead to rendering artifacts. Go back to native matrix resolution to eliminate software distortion. From the Settings menu → Screen → Screen resolution, select the option marked as “Recommended”.
Resolving problems with autobrightness and sensors
Automatic brightness control is often a source of problems. The light sensor can misread data, causing the screen to constantly change brightness, which is perceived as flickering, especially in artificial lighting, where the frequency of the lamps flicker can conflict with the algorithms of the smartphone.
To diagnose, turn off the autobrightness and set the level manually, if the pulse is gone, then the problem is in the calibration of the sensor or its contamination, wipe the top of the screen and the area of the dynamic conversational speaker, where the sensor is usually located.
- 🧹 Carefully wipe the area of the light sensor with a soft cloth.
- 🔦 Check the screen under different light sources (sun, incandescent lamp, LED).
- ⚙️ Reset sensor settings through the engineering menu CIT.
- 📱 Turn off the "Auto-Brightness" function in the notification curtain to check.
If manual brightness control solves the problem, but it's not convenient to use it, you can try calibrating the sensor. There are special applications from the Play Market or built-in tests in the Xiaomi engineering menu. Run the Light Sensor test and follow the instructions on the screen to reconfigure the thresholds.
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Turning off autobrightness is the fastest way to diagnose a software conflict of light sensors.
Resetting and system update
Software failures in the Android operating system or the MIUI shell can cause chaotic display behavior, often after a failed update or installation of conflicting applications, in which case a reset or firmware reinstallation helps.
The first step is to update the system to the latest available version. Xiaomi developers regularly release patches that fix display driver errors. Go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI version and check for updates. If you are using an unstable (Beta) version, consider returning to a stable branch.
⚠️ Warning: Before performing a full Hard Reset, be sure to back up important information.The process will remove all files, contacts, and application settings from the device.
If the update doesn't work, do a full reset. It will bring the phone back to factory status by eliminating software conflicts. After the reset, don't rush to install all the apps at once. Check the screen on the clean system. If there's no flicker, install the apps one by one to identify the culprit.
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Use Safe Mode to check, and if there is no flicker in Safe Mode, it means that a third-party app is causing the problem.
Diagnostics of hardware faults
When software methods are exhausted and the screen continues to flicker, there is a high probability of physical failure, which can be damage to the display plume, oxidation of the contacts or degradation of the matrix itself, especially after falls, moisture or a severe overheating of the device.
Notice the pattern of flickering. If it gets worse when you bending the body or tapping the back cover, it's a sure sign of poor plume contact. In some cases, it helps to gently press the display module at the top or bottom, but it's a temporary solution.
- 🔌 Check the charger: cheap power supplies can give a “dirty” current, causing tips on the touchscreen and screen.
- 🌡️ Watch the Temperature: CPU overheating often leads to image artifacts.
- 🔋 Check the status of the battery: bloating the battery can put pressure on the display plume from the inside.
- 💧 Check the contacts: the presence of oxides after moisture requires cleaning in the service.
For accurate diagnosis, you can use the built-in CIT engineering menu. Enter the code ##6484## in the Phone app and select Display or Touch. Tests will help identify broken pixels or areas with impaired color reproduction that are not visible in normal mode.