How to remove the dark mode on Xiaomi Poco X3: a complete guide with pictures and tips

Why Dark Mode May Get In The Way, and When to Turn It Off

The dark theme in Xiaomi Poco X3 has become the standard for many users, saving battery life, reducing eye strain in the evening and looking stylish. However, it is not suitable for everyone. For example, in bright sunlight, a black background can create glare on the screen, making it difficult to read text. And some applications (especially banking or corporate) display the interface incorrectly if the system activates a dark theme.

Another common problem is that it automatically switches modes on a schedule or depending on the time of day. If you notice that the smartphone spontaneously changes the color scheme, this may be due to the MIUI settings or third-party applications like Google Calendar or Digital Wellbeing. In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to turn off dark mode, including hidden options that are not written about in the official documentation.

Before you start settings, make sure your Poco X3 is running the current firmware version. In older MIUI 12 builds and below, some menu items may be missing or called differently. You can upgrade through Settings → About Phone → Update MIUI.

Method 1: Disconnecting through the basic MIUI settings

The most obvious and quickest method is to use a standard settings menu, which works on all versions of the Poco X3 (including the Poco X3 NFC and Poco X3 Pro) unless the device has undergone deep modifications (for example, custom firmware installation).

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the home screen).
2. Go to the Screen section.
3. Slip on the item Dark Mode (in some versions may be called the Color scheme or Dark theme).
4. Move the slider to the off position. or select the option Light.

If the interface is dark after these actions, check the settings of individual applications (for example, YouTube, Telegram or Chrome) - they can ignore the system settings and use their own theme.

Make sure that the slider in the screen settings is in the "Off" position.

Reboot your smartphone

Check the theme in apps (YouTube, Chrome, Telegram)

Update. MIUI, If you are using the old version-->

Method 2: Set up a dark mode schedule

If dark mode is automatically activated at a certain time, the problem lies in the schedule. MIUI allows you to tie the change of the theme to the time of day or sunset / dawn.

Steps:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Screen. → Dark mode.
• 🕒 Tap on the schedule (or automatic switching).
• ❌ Select No or Off to deactivate automatic switching.
• 🔄 If the option is not available, check if the schedule is set in Google Calendar or Digital Wellbeing.

Important: on some Poco X3 firmware, the dark mode schedule may conflict with Read Mode (in screen settings). If the theme changes after switching off the automatic switch, try deactivating this option.

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If you use Google Assistant, check its settings – there may be a function called “Adaptive Brightness” that indirectly affects the color scheme.

Method 3: Reset theme settings to factory

Sometimes dark mode gets stuck due to a failure in the MIUI settings, which can happen after a system update, custom theme installation, or application conflict, in which case resetting the display settings helps.

How to reset:

1. Open the Settings → Screen.
2. Scroll down and select Additional Settings (or Advanced).
3. Find the Reset screen settings item and confirm the action.

This procedure will bring back to factory values not only the color scheme, but also the brightness, screen timeout, font size and other parameters. App data and files will not be affected, but you will have to reconfigure the screen to your preferences.

⚠️ Warning: If the dark mode is activated again after reset, the problem may be in the damaged system files, in which case only a complete reset of the phone to the factory settings (with loss of data) or flashing through the Fastboot will help.

Method 4: Disable Dark Mode through Developer (for Power Users)

If standard methods don't work, you can use the developer mode, which is true for the Poco X3 with unofficial firmware or modified versions of MIUI.

Instructions:

1. Activate Developer Mode by pressing the build number 7 times in Settings → About Phone.
2. Go back to the main settings menu and open a new section for developers.
3. Find the option Forced to Enable a Light Theme (or Override Force-Dark) and activate it.
4. Reset the device.

This method causes the system to ignore the dark mode settings at the kernel level, but it can lead to incorrect display of some applications (such as Instagram or VK) that are optimized only for a dark theme.

Method 5: Using ADB to force shutdown (advanced method)

If all previous methods failed, the last option is to turn off dark mode via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer and basic knowledge of working with the command line.

Step-by-step:

1. Install ADB Tools on PC (you can download from the official Google website).
2. Enable USB debugging on Poco X3 (Settings → For Developers).
3. Connect the phone to your computer and confirm the debugging permission.
4. Open the command prompt (or Terminal on Mac/Linux) and type:

adb shell settings put secure ui_night_mode 1


adb shell settings put secure ui_night_mode 0

The first command turns on dark mode (to check), the second one turns off. If the second command leaves the interface dark, try it too:

adb shell cmd uimode night no

This method works even on custom firmware, where standard settings are used. MIUI But it needs caution: wrong. ADB-Teams can disrupt the system.

⚠️ Attention: After use ADB Some system applications (such as Camera or Gallery) may start to give out errors, in which case cleaning the cache of these applications through Settings will help. → Annexes.

Table: Comparison of methods of disabling dark mode

If you are not sure of your skills, start with the simplest methods (1-2) and move on to the most complex only when necessary. MIUI.

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On the Poco X3 with MIUI 13+ firmware, the dark mode can be controlled by artificial intelligence (MIUI AI), in which case it can be blocked by the system from turning it off through settings. Try adding a light theme to the exceptions in the Special Features → Color filter section.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after turning off the dark mode, Poco X3 users may face a number of problems.

• 🔄 Dark mode returns after the reboot, and it's a conflict with the Digital Wellbeing app or Google Calendar. Solution: Turn off automatic theme switching in these services.
• 📱 Some apps are dark. The reason is that apps use their own theme settings. Solution: Open the settings for each application and manually select a light theme.
• ⚡ After the dark mode is turned off, the battery quickly goes down. AMOLED-screens (like Poco's) X3 Pro) dark theme really saves charge. Solution: reduce the brightness of the screen or activate the energy saving mode.
• 🔧 There is no "Dark Mode" in the settings. Reason: heavily stripped firmware is installed (e.g, MIUI Solution: Update the system or use it ADB.

If none of the methods worked, check your smartphone for viruses (such as Malwarebytes or Avast).Some malware changes system settings, including the color scheme.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions