Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often experience a display that lights up without the user’s knowledge, which can be due to lifting the device, receiving notifications or special widgets, which not only distracts from important tasks, but also significantly reduces the battery life of the gadget.
MIUI and the new HyperOS shell offer many ways to personalize, but sometimes excessive functionality interferes with comfortable use. In this article, we will discuss all possible causes of spontaneous display activation and provide step-by-step instructions for eliminating them.
First, you need to figure out which mechanism is activating your screen, and most often the culprit is the "Raise to turn on" or lock setting, and understanding the source of the problem is half the solution to quickly regain control of the device.
Managing the function "Raise to enable"
The most common reason why the screen lights up on Xiaomi smartphones is the built-in activation feature when the device is lifted. The system's algorithms read data from the gyroscope and accelerometer, interpreting the change of position as a wake-up call. This is convenient for quick access, but annoying if the phone is lying on a table next to the keyboard.
To disable this option, you'll need to go to the system settings menu. The interface may vary slightly depending on the firmware version, but the logic remains the same for all models. Find the section responsible for locking the screen where the basic parameters of interaction with the display are hidden.
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If you can’t find the item you want on the menu, use the search bar at the top of the Settings screen and enter the “raise” request.
Once the function is turned off, the screen will stop responding to movement in space, which will immediately reduce the number of false lights, but it is worth remembering that the light sensor can still activate the backlight when incoming calls, if the phone is held to the ear.
- 📱 Open the Settings app on your smartphone.
- 🔒 Go to Always On and Lock (or simply “Screen Lock” section»).
- 🚫 Find the “Raise to Turn” switch and put it in an inactive state.
- ✅ Check the result by putting the phone on the table and slightly lifting its edge.
Set up notifications and lock screen
The second most popular reason for display activation is incoming notifications from apps. Messengers, social networks and email clients can wake the phone even when it is in your pocket or bag. In the Android system, which runs MIUI, a separate mechanism for displaying content on a locked screen is responsible for this.
The user can flexibly configure which apps have the right to wake up the device, for example, it is important to receive call notifications, but it is not necessary that the screen light up when receiving a promotional letter or a notification from the game.
To access these settings, you need to enter the notification management menu, and here you will see a list of all installed applications, carefully study it and turn off priority display for those programs that do not require your immediate attention.
- 🔔 Go to Settings and select Notifications and Status bar.
- 📲 Click on “Notification Format” or “Notifications on the Lock Screen».
- 🙅♂️ Disable the option to Show Notification Content for Unimportant Applications.
- ⚙️ Alternatively, use the Settings path → Passwords and security → Confidentiality for data concealment.
Disable Always On Display and Widgets
The feature is Always on Display (AOD) It is designed to display the time and date on the off screen, taking advantage of the advantages of the AMOLED-However, on some Redmi models and POCO This function may not work properly, causing periodic bright glow of the entire screen instead of dim indications.
In addition, widgets on the desktop or lock screen can initiate data updates, which leads to a short-term backlighting, especially with weather, news or currency widgets that require a constant connection to the server.
If you don't need to see time on a black screen, you should deactivate it completely, which not only eliminates unnecessary awakenings, but also saves up to 1-2% of battery life per day, which in terms of a month gives a tangible result.
Why does AOD flash sometimes?
To turn off, go to the appropriate settings section, where you can not only turn off the function, but also set a schedule for its operation, for example, activate only during the day or at certain hours.
- 🕒 Open Settings and find the Always On screen and lock section.
- 🌑 Click on the "Always on screen" option».
- ❌ Transfer the main switch to the off position.
- 📅 Optionally set the schedule if you want to use the feature only at certain times.
Problem with proximity sensor and pocket
One of the most unpleasant situations is a pocket awakening, where the phone, when closed in a pocket or bag, constantly lights up and heats up, and this is the responsibility of the proximity sensor, which should lock the screen when an object is in close proximity.
If the sensor is contaminated, covered with a low-quality protective glass or has a software failure, it stops reading the distance correctly, as a result, the system “thinks” that the phone is lying on the table, and allows the screen to turn on from accidental touches of the fabric.
⚠️ Warning: If the screen is turned on in your pocket, it may lead to unintentional calls to contacts or sending voice messages. be sure to check the cleanliness of the top of the screen.
There is a special mode in the pocket in MIUI settings that uses machine learning algorithms to prevent false positives. Make sure this feature is activated, as it is the last barrier to protection against chaotic inclusions.
☑️ Diagnostics of the proximity sensor
To check the sensor, you can use the engineering menu or special applications from the Google Play store. If the hardware is good, but the problem persists, you may need to calibrate through the service code.
Impact of Third-Party Apps and Themes
The impact of third-party software should not be discounted: memory cleanup applications, antiviruses or custom launchers can have their own screen permissions, often granting these rights themselves without realizing the consequences.
Especially aggressive in this regard are various “smart” themes downloaded from the Themes store. They can contain scripts that force the display to be awakened to show animations or advertising. Standard themes from Xiaomi do not have such drawbacks.
If the problem occurs after installing a new app, try removing it or revoking the rights to display over other windows.This often solves the problem of spontaneous inclusions without having to reset settings.
| Type of application | Probability of influence | Action. |
|---|---|---|
| Official MIUI themes | Low. | Not required |
| Third-party launchers | Medium | Check the permits |
| Cleaning applications | Tall. | Remove or adjust |
| Fitness trackers | Medium | Turn off sync. |
Additional energy saving settings
HyperOS and newer versions of MIUI have added advanced battery settings that may conflict with user preferences, with energy saving modes sometimes forcibly turning off the screen and then immediately turning it on to check background processes.
You should check your application-specific optimization settings, and if you let the system manage the background activity on its own, it can behave in an unpredictable way, and manually specify which programs are allowed to run in the background.
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Manual control of application background activity gives a more predictable result than automatic power saving modes.
Also worth noting is the Notification Backlight feature, which can be activated in special features, which makes the screen blink or light up when a call arrives, even if the phone is flipped over.
- 🔋 Go to Settings. → Battery.
- ⚙️ Click on the gear in the upper right corner to access additional options.
- 📉 Check the Power Saving Mode settings and turn off aggressive optimization.
- 🛑 In the section "Special. capabilities" disable "Flash at notifications" if it is not needed.
Diagnostics and resetting of settings
If none of the above methods worked, it may have accumulated software debris or crashed configuration files, in which case the effective solution may be to reset the system settings, but not completely reset to factory settings with deletion of data.
There is a safe way to reset only the interface and lock settings, which can be done through the settings recovery menu or by deleting the configuration file that controls the screen, but this step requires caution.
⚠️ Warning: Before any manipulation of system files or resetting settings, be sure to back up important data in the cloud or on your computer.
In extreme cases, if the problem is hardware (such as sticking a power button or a plume), no software methods will help, and in such a situation, you will need to contact an authorized Xiaomi service center to diagnose the hardware part.