Screen flickering on Xiaomi: why it occurs and how to fix the problem

Introduction: Why the screen flickers on Xiaomi devices

Screen flickering on Xiaomi smartphones, tablets or TVs is a common problem that can occur due to software failures or hardware malfunctions. Most often, users experience periodic brightness twitching, flashing when blocking/unlocking or constantly pulsating backlights. In 80% of cases, automatic brightness adjustment is the culprit, but sometimes the root of the evil lies deeper in the display drivers, firmware, or even physical damage to the matrix.

It is important to understand that MIUI (Xiaomi's shell is heavily power-saving algorithms that can conflict with screen settings, such as Adaptive Brightness or Reading Mode, which sometimes fails to produce visual artifacts. TV Fluidity is often associated with incorrect parameters. HDMI-We'll go over all the possible causes and ways to eliminate them, from basic to advanced.

1. Disconnecting automatic brightness control

The most common cause of flickering is adaptive brightness, which tries to adjust to lighting but does so too aggressively. In MIUI, this algorithm works separately from standard Android, so it needs to be deactivated in two places.

How to turn it off:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Display. → Brightness.
• 🔄 Turn off the slider Automatic adjustment (or Adaptive Brightness in global versions).
• 🌓 In some models (Redmi Note 10 Pro, POCO X3) Please check the additional settings section. → Adaptive brightness.
• 🔧 For Mi TVs, TV: Settings → Picture → Brightness → Auto-brightness (turn off).

If the flicker persists, try manually setting the brightness to 50-70% and check the result in 10-15 minutes. Sometimes failures occur due to a conflict with the light sensor, in which case calibration of the sensor will help (more on this below).

Calibration of the light sensor

The light sensor on Xiaomi smartphones can crash after falls, moisture or firmware updates. If the automatic brightness is turned off, but the screen still flickers when the light changes, the sensor requires recalibration.

Instructions for smartphones:

1. Open the engineering menu by typing the combination in the Phone app: ##6484###
2. Select the Ambient Light Sensor.
3. Press Calibrate and follow the instructions on the screen (usually cover the sensor with your hand and wait 10 seconds).
4. Reset the device.

For Mi TVs, the light sensor is not calibrated, but you can reset the image settings to factory settings: Settings → Picture → Reset. If the flicker only appears when viewing through HDMI, the problem may be in the cable or signal source (set-top box, computer).

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On some models (Xiaomi 12T, Redmi K50), the light sensor is located next to the front camera. Wipe it with a soft wipe - dust or contamination can distort the readings.

Check the screen refresh rate (Hz)

Modern Xiaomi smartphones (e.g. POCO F4, Xiaomi 13) support a dynamic refresh rate (60/90/120/144 Hz), which automatically switches to save charge.

How to fix the frequency:

• 🔄 Go to Settings. → Display. → Screen refresh rate.
• 📊 Select a fixed value (for example, 90 Hz instead of Auto).
• 🎮 For gamers: in Settings → Special facilities → Settings for games turn off Frame Frequency Optimization.

On Mi TVs, flickering at 120Hz can be associated with HDMI 2.1 mode.

1. Enter the settings → HDMI → HDMI mode.
2. Switch from Enhanced (improved) to Standard (standard).
3. Disable Dolby Vision or HDR10+ in the picture settings.

4. Update firmware and reset settings

If the flicker appears after the MIUI update or custom firmware installation, the problem may be in the display drivers. Xiaomi regularly releases patches to fix bugs with the screen, so first check the relevance of the software:

• 📲 For smartphones: Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 📺 For TVs: Settings → On TV. → Update of the PO.

If the updates didn’t help, do a soft reset (without deleting data):

Settings → System → Resetting settings → Resetting all settings

For Mi TVs, the reset is done through:

Settings → Device → Reset and Reset → Reset settings

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi 9, POCO M3) reset may cause the bootloader to lock. Before the procedure, check if it is unlocked (in Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI tap 7 times on the core).

5. Checking hardware faults

If the software methods didn’t work, flickering could indicate physical problems:

For self-diagnosis:

1. Connect the device to your computer and check if the screen flickers when you display the image via Miracast or USB-C → HDMI.
2. Try to run your phone in Safe Mode (hold the power button → long tap on "Switch off"). If the flicker is gone, it's third-party software.
3. Check the screen for broken pixels using the Screen Test app.

⚠️ Note: If flickering is accompanied by overheating or self-reboots, immediately stop using the device - this may indicate a short circuit in the matrix power chain.

Check the automatic brightness

Calibrate the light sensor

Record the frequency of the screen refresh

Update the firmware to the latest version

Test it in Safe Mode-->

6. Specific solutions for Mi TVs

Xiaomi TVs have their own nuances related to signal processing, if the screen flickers only when viewed:

• 📺 Check the Settings. → Picture → Mode Pictures. Switch from Dynamic to Standard or Movie.
• 🔌 Turn off Local Dimming (if any) – this feature sometimes causes uneven backlighting.
• 🎮 For gamers: in Settings → HDMI → Play mode, turn off. ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode).
• 🔄 If the flicker appears when switched on HDR, Try to turn off Dolby Vision or lower the brightness HDR in the application settings (for example, in Netflix or YouTube).

On Mi TVs. TV Q2 mi TV A2 flickering at low brightness may be due to the hardware feature of the matrix VA-In this case, only the replacement of the model with the IPS-matrix (e.g. Mi) TV P1).

7. Alternative methods (for advanced users)

If the standard methods did not help, try:

• 🛠️ Firmware rollback: Install an older version MIUI via Fastboot (instructions are available on the forum) XDA Developers).
• 🔧 Change of change DPI: In the engineering menu (#4636##) reduce the Minimum width to 380-400.
• 📱 Removing System Apps: Some Google Play Services Updates Conflict with the MIUI. Remove them through ADB: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.gms Attention: This could disrupt Google services.

For Android TVs, you can try:

1. Install an alternative launcher (e.g., ATV Launcher).
2. Turn off animations through ADB: adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0 adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 0

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If the flickering came after the MIUI update, try rolling back to the previous version via the Mi Flash Tool.This will help in 60% of cases, but requires an unlocked bootloader.

FAQ: Frequent questions about flickering on Xiaomi