Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphone owners often strive to maximize user experience, wanting to make their device unique.One of the most noticeable elements that catches the eye when unlocking the screen is the signatures under app icons on the desktop. Standard white or black text may not match the selected wallpaper, creating visual dissonance or reducing readability.
Fortunately, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS provide flexible tools to change the look of the system, although you won’t find a direct color button in the basic settings. Changing the signature hue requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the themes of design, fonts and system display settings. In this article, we’ll break down all the available methods, from simple settings to advanced tools.
You have to understand that changing the color of your signatures is not just a cosmetic edit, it's a way to improve the ergonomics of your smartphone. The right contrast between text and background reduces eye fatigue. We'll look at safe customization methods that don't require Root rights or violate your device warranty.
Using the Themes app to change style
The easiest and safest way to change the color of the signatures under the icons is to install a third-party theme from the official Themes store. Theme developers often change not only the wallpaper and icons, but also the system fonts, including their color. When applying the theme, the system replaces the standard resource responsible for rendering text on the desktop.
To find the right design, open the Topic app and search for the desired style, enter queries related to the desired style, such as “black text”, “neon” or “minimalism.” Pay attention to the theme preview: if the screenshots show that the captions are different from the standard color, then the theme contains the necessary changes in the system design files.
But there's a big drawback to this method: along with the color of the text, you often change the rest of the visual style of the system, including the settings menu, the notification curtain, and the control panel. If you only need a different signature color and the rest of the interface has to stay stock, this option may be redundant.
When choosing a topic, carefully study other users' reviews. Often people write that the theme "breaks" the display of text in certain applications or makes captions unreadable against a light background. Also, it is worth considering that some paid themes may hide the real color of text in previews, so it is better to start with free options.
Contrast adjustment through system functions
In the MIUI and HyperOS shell display settings, there are features that affect text readability that can indirectly change the perception of signature color, such as contrast enhancement and color inversion modes, which are designed for people with visual disabilities but can be used for customization.
Go to Settings, then select Advanced Settings, and find Special Opportunities. This is where you're interested in Vision. Activating Color Inversion dramatically changes the display of all interface elements, making white text black and vice versa. This is a global change that has affected�smacks the whole system.
A softer option is to use the "Improving Readability" feature or similar contrast settings, if available in your firmware version, which can add a swirl around letters or change the saturation, which visually separates the signature from the background, making its color more pronounced.
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Use the Dark Mode feature in conjunction with a dark topic – this often automatically changes the color of captions to a lighter one for better contrast.
It is worth noting that using visually impaired modes can lead to incorrect display of photos and videos in the gallery or social networks, the colors of the images will be inverted, making viewing content uncomfortable, so this method is only suitable for those who are willing to put up with color distortion to change the color of the text.
Use of third-party fonts
One of the most effective ways to change the color of signatures without changing the subject is to install a special font. In the Xiaomi ecosystem, fonts can contain not only information about the shape of letters, but also data about their color, which allows you to change the shade of text regardless of the rest of the interface elements.
To find these fonts, go back to the Topic app, but switch to the Font tab. In the search bar, type in keywords that describe the desired color, such as "Red font," "Blue text," or "Color font." Many designers create fonts specifically to change the color of the system text.
☑️ Checking font compatibility
Once the font is installed, the system will suggest restarting the device or apply changes instantly. If the font is of high quality, the color of the captions under the icons will change in all menus. However, it is important to check the support for Cyrillic, since many color fonts are created by foreign authors and can incorrectly display Russian letters, replacing them with squares.
⚠️ Attention: Some custom fonts can cause system failures, leading to reboots or a "boot loop" (cyclic reboot).Be sure to enter Recovery mode before installing to reset settings if the phone stops responding.
If the phone is unstable after installing the font, try removing it via Safe Mode or resetting the theme settings to standard ones. Often the problem is solved by returning to the Roboto or MI Sans system font.
Use of third-party launchers
If the built-in MIUI shell tools don’t work, you can install a third-party launcher (a launcher is a program that controls the desktop and app menus). Popular options like Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher or Smart Launcher provide much more options for customizing the look, including the color of the text of the icons.
Once you install the launcher from Google Play and assign it to the primary, go to its settings. Usually the section is called Desktop or Icon & Text. Here you will find the full typography settings: you can choose font size, style and most importantly color. You can specify any shade from the RGB palette.
| Launcher | Flexibility of color setting | Root demand | Russian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Launcher | Tall. | No. | Yes. |
| Microsoft Launcher | Medium | No. | Yes. |
| Smart Launcher 6 | Tall. | No. | Yes. |
| Niagara Launcher | Limited. | No. | Yes. |
Using a third-party launcher gives you full control over the appearance of the desktop, but has its own features. Some features, such as control gestures or integration with Xiaomi system services, may not work correctly or require additional permissions.
Compatibility of gestures
Third-party launchers can consume more battery and RAM than standard shells, which is especially noticeable on entry-level models with a small amount of RAM.
Modification of system files (for advanced)
For users who are not afraid to work with the file system and want to get an absolute result, there is a method of editing the theme system files, which allows you to change the color of signatures globally, without installing third-party launchers and retaining the native shell.
The essence of the method is to decompress the file of the current topic, edit graphic elements (PNG) or XML-Style files and back-assembly of the theme, which requires special utilities on the PC, such as MiThemeTool, and a file manager on a smartphone with access to system partitions.
Example of the path to the theme files (access permissions required)
/data/media/0/MIUI/theme/.miui/
/system/framework/framework-res.apkThe process requires precision: changing one byte in the file structure can cause the theme to stop being used or the system to go into a cyclical reboot. Be sure to back up the data before any manipulations.
⚠️ Note: This method is not recommended for ordinary users, an error when editing system files can lead to the inability to boot the operating system.
If you do decide to do this, look for ready-made modified framework-res.apk files or themes with modified resources on specialized forums such as 4PDA or XDA Developers. Using ready-made builds from trusted authors is safer than self-editing.
Solving problems with the display of text
After changing the theme or font, users may encounter artifacts: text becomes unreadable, merges with the background, or is displayed in squares, often due to a conflict between the font chosen and the system resources of the HyperOS shell.
If the captions are gone or invisible, try changing the wallpaper to more contrasting. Sometimes the problem is not the color of the text, but the automatic color adaptation of the substrate under the icon, which may not work correctly with custom themes. Disabling the Responsive Icons feature in the theme settings can solve the problem.
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In most cases, text color problems are solved by simply returning to the standard font and rebooting the smartphone, which resets the GUI cache.
It’s also worth checking out system updates. Xiaomi regularly releases patches that fix display bugs in new versions of MIUI. If the problem is massive, it may be known to developers, and the solution is already contained in the latest software update.
If nothing works, you can reset your design settings, and in the Themes app, go to your user profile and select the option to restore the standard components, which will return the system to its factory state without deleting personal data.