How to Translate Xiaomi Phone into Tone Mode: A Step-by-Step Guide

Many users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones are wondering how to change the color gamut of the screen to reduce eye strain or just for the sake of aesthetic minimalism.The tone mode, often called reading mode or monochrome mode, allows you to turn a bright image into shades of gray. This not only changes the visual style of the interface, but also helps to focus on the content, removing distracting color elements.

There are several ways to achieve this effect in MIUI and the new HyperOS: You can use built-in features to protect your vision that mute colors, or you can activate full inversion and filtering to produce a deep black and white image. Understanding the differences between these options will allow you to customize the device exactly as you need it in a particular situation.

It's worth noting that moving to monochrome mode is a software solution that doesn't require root rights or complicated firmware, but depending on the version of the operating system, menu items may vary slightly, and in this article we'll look at all the available methods, from simple menu settings to using special features for advanced users.

Using Read Mode for Monochrome Screen

The easiest and safest way to turn Xiaomi’s screen into tone mode is to use the built-in Read Mode feature, originally designed to make books comfortable, but it does a great job of desaturating colors throughout the system, and when activated, the screen becomes warm and dull, and the colors shift toward sepia or pure gray.

To activate this feature, you need to go to the settings section associated with the display, and there you will find a slider that controls color temperature and display mode, and by adjusting it, you can achieve almost complete disappearance of bright colors, leaving only contrasting shadows.

• 📱 Open Settings and go to Screen or Screen Settings.
• 👁️ Find the Read Mode and activate the switch.
• 🎨 Click on the mode name to select Classic or Paper option for maximum effect.
• 🌡️ Use a color temperature slider, shifting it towards warm shades to enhance the effect.

It is important to understand that this method does not make the image completely black and white in a technical sense (as in E-Ink monitors), but visually creates a very similar effect by suppressing the blue spectrum and reducing saturation.

⚠️ Attention: Reading mode can significantly distort the colors of photos and videos. If you plan to view media or edit images, it is better to temporarily disable this feature to see the real color reproduction.

The system also allows you to set up automatic activation on schedule or when you run certain apps, which is handy if you want your Xiaomi to automatically go to tone mode in the evening or when you open a reader.

Customization through special features and inversion

For users who need a more radical color rendering change, there is a method through the Special Features section, which allows for system color inversion, which, when combined with filters, yields a unique tone result, a method often used by people with visual impairments or those who want to achieve an electronic ink style.

The basic idea is to invert colors, then a filter is applied that extinguishes brightness and contrast, leaving only gradations of gray, which creates an effect as close as possible to devices with E-Ink screens. The tuning process requires several consecutive actions in the deep menu of the system.

First, you need to activate high contrast or inversion mode. Depending on the Android version and the MIUI shell, the path may look different, usually hidden settings, accessible through the special features menu.

Then you have to use the color correction function. In the special features menu, there is a section called "Visibility Improvement", where you can choose color correction mode. By selecting "Monochrome" or "Shades of Grey", you force the entire output of the image to black and white.

• ♿ Go to Settings. → Advanced settings → Special facilities.
• 🔍 Find the Vision or Improved Visibility tab.
• 🎨 Activate Color Correction and select Monochrome Mode.
• 🔄 If necessary, enable color inversion to get the effect of ink on paper.

Using this method yields the purest black and white result, but be prepared for the fact that some interface elements may become less distinguishable, as color coding (for example, red notifications or green buttons) will disappear.

Automation through Digital Well-Being

Modern versions of Xiaomi’s shells are closely integrated with Google’s services, including Digital Well-being, which allows you to create scripts that change your phone’s settings depending on the time of day or your actions.

You can set up a Sleep or Focus profile that automatically turns on monochrome mode at a certain time, which helps your brain stop thinking of the screen as a source of entertainment and start treating it as a tool, and when the screen turns gray, the urge to browse through social media feed often disappears.

To set up the automation, you'll need to go to the appropriate settings section and create a new mode. In the mode settings, you can specify which apps will be affected and which screen settings will be applied. Usually, the "Shades of Grey" option is available here, which is activated on a schedule.

This approach allows you to avoid thinking about switching modes manually, the phone will go into a calm tone mode in the evening, and in the morning will return bright colors, which is especially useful for those who suffer from insomnia or want to reduce stress from using gadgets.

Application of design themes and third-party launchers

If systems aren't enough, you can turn to customization, and the theme is a powerful tool in the MIUI ecosystem that can completely change the visual style, including the color scheme of icons and system elements, and there are special black and white themes that create a sense of tone mode.

To find them, you need to open the Themes app and search for queries like "Black & White," "Mono," "Grayscale," or "E-Ink." Many designers create entire packages where each interface element is redrawn in shades of gray, which has a deeper effect than just a filter, because it changes the graphic elements themselves.

In addition to the standard theme store, you can use third-party launchers such as Nova Launcher or Lawnchair. In combination with black and white icon sets, they allow you to create a unique monochrome environment. However, it is worth remembering that the launcher only changes the desktop and application menus, but not the system settings windows.

When installing third-party themes, always pay attention to ratings and reviews. Some themes may only be optimized for certain phone models and appear incorrect on other devices. Check compatibility before installing to avoid font or button display problems.

⚠️ Warning: Third-party themes may consume more CPU resources than the standard interface. If you notice a performance decline or a fast battery drain, it’s best to go back to the standard theme using only the system screen filters.

The effect of tone mode on the battery and OLED screens

The switch to tone mode is often associated with a desire to save battery power. Indeed, on screens like AMOLED and OLED, which are used in many Xiaomi flagships, black means off the pixel. Consequently, the more black on the screen, the less power the display consumes.

However, if you use a simple "shades of gray" filter that simply discolor the image but leaves the background white (light gray), there will be no savings. The white pixel on the OLED screen burns as brightly as possible and consumes the most energy.

E-Ink mode, or deep inversion, where the background turns black and the text turns white (or light gray), can give a noticeable increase in battery life, especially when reading books or articles over time.

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For maximum energy savings on Xiaomi OLED screens, use the bundle: Dark System Theme + Read Mode (shifted to warm colors) + Automatic Brightness. This will reduce display consumption to a minimum.

Also worth mentioning is the life of the matrix: constantly displaying a static white background at high brightness can theoretically lead to uneven pixel burnout over time. Alternating color schemes and using dark tone modes prolongs the life of your smartphone screen.

Solution: If the regime is not working

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the selected settings do not apply or work incorrectly, for example, after the reading mode is turned on, the colors remain bright, or the inversion only works in parts of the applications, this can be due to software errors or limitations of specific versions of Android.

First of all, try rebooting the device. This is a standard but often effective step that allows you to reset temporary errors of display drivers. If the problem is not solved, check if you have bright sun mode or automatic brightness, which can override your manual color reproduction settings.

In some cases, third-party screen control applications installed earlier may cause conflict, remove them and use only the built-in system tools, and make sure that the Developer section does not activate experimental color blindness simulation features that may conflict with the basic settings.

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If the system settings don’t work, try the combination: Dark Theme + Read Mode (maximum) + Blue Filter, which gives you 90% of the desired result without installing any extra software.

In extreme cases, if you want a true monochrome interface at the system level (for example, for people with color blindness), you can use adb commands, but this requires a computer connection and certain technical knowledge.

adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_inversion_enabled 1

This command is forced to enable inversion, but it should be used with caution. For most users, the regular tools described in the previous sections are sufficient.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions