How to Turn Off the Grey Screen on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

A sudden change in color rendering of the smartphone display to gray or faded tones often comes as an unpleasant surprise to owners of Xiaomi devices. The screen loses its saturation, the pictures become dull, and reading the text causes eye strain. This usually does not indicate a breakdown of the matrix, but is the result of activation of one of the software functions of the MIUI or HyperOS system.

The shell management system offers many options for comfortable use, but sometimes they are turned on accidentally in your pocket or when you carelessly swipe. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to turn off the gray screen on Xiaomi, returning brightness and juiciness of the image. We will look at color profile settings, energy saving modes and special features for reading.

Understanding the causes of this problem will help you quickly resolve it without going to a service center, and most often, just change one setting in the settings menu, and let's study in detail the main scenarios that lead to color reproduction changes and how to solve them.

Analysis of activated color profiles

The first thing to check when grayish is displayed is the color profile settings. In modern Xiaomi smartphones, the screen calibration section is responsible for this, and by default, the device can use a mode that seems less saturated compared to the usual “screaming” colors.

To correct the situation, you need to get into the Settings menu. → Screen. → Colors and contrast. Here's a selection of multiple profiles, each of which handles color gamut differently. If you choose a "Standard" or "Classic" profile, the colors may appear pale.

For maximum brightness and saturation, choose saturated or bright mode, which is the profile most users consider "normal" for OLED and IPS arrays, switching between profiles is instantaneous, allowing you to visually assess the difference.

• 🎨 Saturated: expands the color coverage, making the image as bright and contrasting as possible.
• 🌡️ Standard: Aims for natural color reproduction, but may look faded after bright screens.
• 👓 Reading mode: Special profile that reduces eye strain, often making the screen yellowish or gray.

⚠️ Note: Long-term use of the "Standard" mode on AMOLED-The screens can be visually perceived as a matrix burnout, although in fact it is just a software calibration.

If profile switching didn't help, it might be more in-depth system settings or third-party apps, and check if you have an eye protection app installed from third-party developers that can intercept control of the display.

Disconnecting the energy and paper saving mode

One of the most common reasons for the gray screen is to activate battery saving mode. When the charge level drops below a certain threshold (usually 20% or 10%), the MIUI system automatically goes into energy saving mode, in which the interface becomes black and white or gray to reduce the power consumption of the backlight and processor.

To return the colors, go to Settings → Battery. At the top of the screen you will see the current mode of operation. If you activate the "Energy Saving" or "Ultimate Savings" mode, click on it and select the option "No" or "Balance", this action will instantly restore normal color reproduction.

In addition, some firmware versions have a separate feature called Paper Mode or Paper Text that mimics the look of an e-book. It can also make the screen gray. You can find this option by Settings → Screen → Read Mode. Make sure the switch in this section is off or set to color mode.

Importantly, the ultimate savings mode not only changes colors, but also limits the functionality of the phone, leaving only calls and messages available, and automatically turning on this mode at 10% charge is the standard behavior of the system to extend autonomy in a critical situation.

Setting up the read mode and the blue filter

Reading mode is a useful feature for those who spend a lot of time watching text information, but if it is not properly set up or accidentally activated, it can cause the entire smartphone interface to turn gray or yellow, and unlike saving energy, this mode works constantly until you turn it off.

To manage this function, use the Settings path → Screen. → Read mode. You can not only turn off the function completely, but you can also adjust the settings.

Users often complain that the screen has turned gray after the system update, which is because new versions of HyperOS or MIUI can reset or, conversely, include new visual protection features by default.

• 📖 Full screen mode: makes the entire interface monochrome.
• 📝 App Mode: Changes colors only in selected programs (e.g. browser).
• 🕰️ Schedule: Check your time settings, it is possible that the mode will turn on automatically at night.

If you only use Read Mode for certain applications, make sure that the system interface or launcher is not erased from the exclusion list, in which case only the desktop background, not the entire screen, will become gray.

Checking for special features and inversions

The Special Features section contains a variety of tools for people with disabilities that can dramatically change the display of information. Accidental keystroke or activation through the Quick Settings menu can enable color inversion or monochrome mode.

Follow the Settings → Additional Settings → Special Features. In the Vision or Visual section, look at Color Inversion, Gray Shades, or Color Correction, and if any of these switches are active, the system forces the display to black and white.

It's also worth checking the "Increase" or "Loop" settings, which can sometimes distort colors or apply a gray filter to part of the screen, and turn off these features and return the image to its original state.

Note that some special features may have "hot keys." For example, a quick five-fold press of the power or volume button can activate monochrome mode. Check the settings of fast commands in the same special features section.

Third-party annexes and design themes

Not always because of system settings, but because the Themes store's installed themes may contain bugs or specific settings that make the interface gray, especially for "E-ink" or minimalist designs.

Try temporarily switching to a standard Classic or Default theme, go to the Themes → Profile → Themes and select the classic one. If the colors are back, then the problem was the interface design.

Also, the reason can be blue light filter applications (e.g. Twilight, Blue Light Filter) that the user has installed before, which create a translucent layer on top of the screen that can look like a gray veil. Check the list of installed applications and remove or disable such utilities.

In rare cases, a system launcher malfunctions. Cleaning the Themes and System Launcher app cache through the App menu → All applications can help eliminate the software glitch causing color reproduction changes.

Resetting settings and hardware problems

If none of the software methods worked, there may have been a deep system failure, in which case it is recommended to reset all settings to factory.Be sure to back up important data before doing so, as the process will remove all information from the device.

To reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. This action will return the phone to the “out of the box” state, guaranteed to turn off all hidden filters and erroneous configurations. Once turned on, the phone will look like new.

However, even if the screen remains gray, dull or stained after resetting and setting a standard theme, it may be a physical malfunction, damage to the display plume, problems with the power controller, or degradation of the matrix itself require intervention from specialists.

⚠️ If the gray tint appeared after a phone drop or moisture, software methods will not help - repairs are necessary in an authorized service center.

It is also worth checking whether the display plume has moved away.A careful (no bigotry) tapping on the top of the screen next to the front camera sometimes helps temporarily restore contact if the problem is mechanical plume departure.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

💡

If you switch between modes frequently, add Color Profile and Read Mode shortcuts to the control center for quick access without digging deep into the settings.

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In 95% of cases, the problem of the gray screen is solved by changing the color profile to “saturated” or turning off the energy saving mode.