Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often experience screens go out too quickly or go into sleep at the wrong time, which can be annoying when reading books, viewing long articles or navigating the settings menu. The MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have several different mechanisms that need to be configured correctly.
Sleep mode can involve both automatic screen locking after downtime and a "Sleep Timer" feature that turns off the phone at night. It is important to understand the difference between a screen lock timer and a system alarm with a shutdown function, since the settings are in different sections of the menu. Incorrectly configuring these parameters leads to a quick battery discharge or, conversely, to the inability to use the gadget at the right time.
In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to control sleep mode, learn how to increase the time before the display is turned off, how to remove an annoying timer and what to do if the settings are not saved, and discuss hidden features that may conflict with your energy saving preferences.
Setting time to automatic locking
The most common scenario is that the screen goes out after 15 or 30 seconds of inactivity. This is standard behavior for saving battery power, but it's easy to change. You need to go to the basic settings of the device and find the partition responsible for the lock screen. The path may vary slightly depending on the version of the shell.
Open the Settings app and scroll through the list to Lock Screen. In some versions of MIUI, this item may be simply called "Screen Lock" or be located inside the General Settings section, where you can find a slider or drop-down time-spaced list.
Choose the right time. There are usually 15 seconds to 10 minutes available. If you choose "No limit" or "No switch off," the screen will burn continuously until you lock the phone with a button. Be careful: this greatly speeds up the wear and tear of the matrix and drains the battery.
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Use Do Not Turn Off mode only when the charger is connected to avoid deep discharge of the lithium polymer battery.
It's worth noting that in some use cases, such as watching YouTube or Netflix videos, the system ignores the sleep timer and keeps the screen active, but in e-book or browser applications, the timer works strictly according to a given algorithm.
Manage the Always On Display and Sleep Mode
Owners of devices with AMOLED-The screens often use the Always on Display feature (AOD), It's a feature that shows time and notifications on the screen that's off, and it's closely related to power saving modes, and it can create the illusion that the phone is awake, when it's actually just a static image.
To control the screen’s standby behavior, go to Settings → Wallpaper and Personalization (or “Always Screen On”). Here you can set up your AOD schedule. If you want the screen to go completely off and go into deep sleep, make sure the AOD function is turned off or set to turn off at night.
- 🌙 Scheduled: The screen with the clock is turned on only at a predetermined time, for example, from 8:00 to 23:00.
- 📱 Touching: AMOLED-The screen only lights up after tapping on it, the rest of the time it is completely black.
- 🔋 Energy savings: The function automatically shuts down if the battery charge drops below 10-15%.
If your goal is to completely turn off any indications in sleep mode, find the “Always on screen” switch and turn it to the “Off” position, which ensures that after the lock timer expires, the screen will go out completely and stop consuming energy to display pixels.
Turning off the sleep timer for apps and games
Special attention should be paid to the situation when the screen goes out while using specific applications, even if the global timer is set to 5 or 10 minutes. In the HyperOS shell and modern versions of MIUI, there is a feature “Advanced Settings” inside the lock menu, which allows you to ignore the sleep timer for selected programs.
To set up, go to Settings → Lock screen → Don’t turn off the screen (or “Sleep Timer”). In the list that opens, you’ll see the apps installed. Activate the switches opposite to those programs that you need to keep the screen on all the time.
⚠️ Note: Activation of this function for heavy 3D-games or a navigator without a connected charger can lead to overheating of the case and accelerated battery degradation.
This setting is especially useful for navigation maps, recipes or workout apps, where constant contact with the screen is not possible, but it must remain active.
Setting up the night mode and alarm clock
Often, by “sleep mode” users mean the function of automatically turning off the phone at night. In Xiaomi smartphones, this is responsible for a built-in alarm clock, which has its own logic, independent of the system settings of the screen.
Open the standard Watch app and go to the Alarm tab. Click on the menu icon (three dots or gear) and select Settings. This is where you find "Sleep Mode" or "Switch off the alarm clock." If you activate the "Switch off the phone" option, the device will restart or turn off at a predetermined time.
| Parameter | Description of action | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Time of inclusion | When the phone turns on in the morning | Set 5 minutes before the alarm clock |
| Time off | When the phone goes to sleep at night | 1 hour after bedtime |
| Repeat. | Days of the week for activation | Only working days or daily |
| Shutdown sound | Audio signal before switching off | Leave it on for a reminder. |
To turn off this mode completely, simply deaktivir the Sleep Mode switch in the alarm settings. After that, the phone will stop spontaneously turning off at night, and you will have to do this manually or rely on an unloading timer.
☑️ Checking sleep settings
Use of the "Do Not Disturb" mode
Another aspect of the smartphone's sleep is the "Do Not Disturb" mode, which does not force the screen to be turned off, but blocks notifications, calls and visuals, creating the feeling of a sleeping device, which many users confuse with a complete lockdown of the system.
You can activate or deactivate this mode through the notification curtain (swipe from top to bottom). Find the moon icon. If it's on, mode is active. For fine-tuning, go to Settings → Sound and vibration → Do not disturb.
You can set a schedule here to automatically go quiet at night. If you want your phone to never ignore calls and messages, make sure the Schedule Switch is off. Also check the exception list so that important contacts can reach you even in silence.
Hidden Mode Settings Do not Disturb
Problems with the proximity sensor and screen quenching
Sometimes users want to turn off screen blackouts, but are faced with a situation where the display turns off on its own while talking or reading.This is often due to a malfunction or contamination of the proximity sensor, which is located at the top of the screen.
If the sensor is covered with a protective glass, a cover, or just contaminated, the system thinks that the phone is held up to the ear, and the screen is extinguished. Wipe the top of the display with a soft cloth. If the problem persists, you can try calibrating the sensor through an engineering menu.
To access the test, open the Phone app and dial ##6484##. From the menu that opens, select Proximity sensor. Follow the on-screen instructions for calibration. If the sensor shows "Near" without obstruction, repairs may be required.
⚠️ Warning: Do not glue the top of the screen with dense stickers or opaque protective glasses with a wide frame - this is guaranteed to lead to false alarm of the sensor and screen quenching.
The Effect of Energy Saving on Sleeping Mode
Aggressive energy saving algorithms in MIUI can force the screen to shut down or limit background activity, which users perceive as sleep. If you have Ultra-Energy Saving or Battery on, the system will tend to turn off the display as soon as possible.
Check the battery settings in Settings → Battery. If you have saved mode activated, try switching to Balanced or Performance mode, which will give the system more freedom in managing screen time.
It’s also worth checking if the “Increased Standby” feature is enabled, which is specifically designed to minimize power consumption when the phone is on the table and may conflict with the user’s desire to keep the screen active.
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The optimal balance between autonomy and comfort is achieved in the “Balanced” Battery mode with individual screen timer settings.