How to change the color of the sim card on Xiaomi: a detailed guide

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphone owners often want to personalize their device’s interface as much as possible. One of the things that might catch your eye is the color of the SIM indicator in the status bar or lock screen. The standard settings for the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS don’t always allow you to flexibly control this setting directly through simple switches, but there are a number of proven methods to achieve the desired result.

Changing the visual style of a SIM card may be necessary not only for aesthetics, but also for convenience. For example, if you use two numbers, color coding will help you instantly distinguish the workline from the personal one when you call or send a message. In this article, we will discuss all the available customization methods, from built-in theme functions to advanced settings through the engineering menu.

It is worth noting that the physical color of the card itself cannot be changed, it is only about the software display of the interface. The setup process depends on the version of the Android operating system and the specific modification of the shell installed on your gadget. In some cases, superuser rights may be required to apply the changes, but we will try to focus on the safe methods available to each user.

Standard personalization capabilities in MIUI and HyperOS

Start with the basic tools that the manufacturer provides. Xiaomi shells are famous for their deep integration of customization functions. In most cases, the color change of communication icons occurs automatically when you change the overall theme of the design. The system tightens the color palette of active interface elements, adapting the status bar icons to the selected style.

To take advantage of this method, you need to go to the Themes app and choose your favorite design. Many users ignore this store, preferring the standard look, but this is where hundreds of icon design options are hidden. Once you install the theme and reboot the device, the color of the SIM card indicators, including signal level and network type (4G, 5G), will change according to the the theme author's concept.

However, if your goal is to change color to separate SIM cards, rather than just make the interface look more beautiful, standard themes may not give you complete control, and in such cases, you should pay attention to the Color Profiles or Read Mode feature, which can globally change the display of colors on the screen, making the indicators less or more saturated, but this affects the entire application.

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Use the Dark Theme feature in conjunction with ordinary light themes – this often inverts icon colors, which can give the desired visual effect without installing third-party software.

Using color profiles for SIM cards

Modern firmware versions have the ability to assign certain colors or labels to different SIM cards, especially for models with support for two physical SIMs or one physical and one eSIM. Although direct configuration of the "color button" may not be, the system allows you to visually differentiate them through call and message settings.

To set up, go to the Settings menu, then select About Phone, or go straight to SIM cards and mobile networks. Here, for each card, you can specify a name that will be displayed in large font, and, in some regions, select a color label from the proposed list. This is especially convenient in the dialing interface, where the active SIM card is highlighted by the selected shade.

If this feature is limited in your region, you can resort to changing the region in the settings. Switching to a region with advanced features (for example, India or Indonesia) will often unlock additional customization options in the SIM card menu. After changing the region, the device will offer a reboot, and new items for visual design may appear in the settings menu.

Customization through the "Themes" app

The most effective way to change the color of SIM icons without getting root rights is to work with the theme components. The theme store at Xiaomi allows you to install not only wallpaper, but also icon packs.

The installation process is as follows:

• 🎨 Open the Topics app and go to the Profile section (the person at the bottom right).
• 📦 Click on "Components" and select "Icons".
• 🔍 Search for Status Bar or Signal to find packages that change the look of a status bar.
• ✅ Download and use your favorite package that is compatible with your version of Android.

It is important to understand that not all themes are compatible with all versions of the system. If after applying the theme icons disappear or become white squares, simply delete the theme through the My Pages menu.

Advanced customization through ADB and engineering menu

For users who are not afraid of the command line, there is the possibility of fine-tuning system parameters through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to change values hidden from the average user, including some aspects of displaying the status bar. First, you need to activate the developer mode by quickly pressing the build number 7 times in the About Phone section.

After the debugging is activated, USB Connect your smartphone to your computer and execute a command to get a list of current settings "color_sim" It may not exist in the public domain, you can experiment with global design settings, for example, changing the system accent color can affect the display of communication elements.

adb shell settings get system accent_color

Using the engineering menu (#6484##) also provides access to hardware tests, but rarely allows you to change the colors of the interface. However, in some older versions of MIUI, you could calibrate the display through the engineering menu, which indirectly affected the perception of colors, including SIM card indicators. Be careful: changing unknown parameters in the engineering menu can lead to unstable operation of the radio module.

Comparison of methods of color change of indicators

To make it easier for you to choose the right method, we have prepared a summary table comparing the available methods in terms of complexity, safety and efficiency, each method has its pros and cons, which should be considered before starting a system modification.

As you can see from the table, for most users, the best solution is to work with themes: it is safe and reversable. Using ADB requires technical literacy, and obtaining root rights (through Magisk) can lead to loss of warranty and the inability to use banking applications without additional disguise.

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The safest and most stable way to change the color of the interface elements is to use official themes from the Xiaomi store, as they are tested for compatibility.

Possible problems and solutions

You may encounter a number of common problems in your design experiments, such as when you install a new theme, the color of the SIM card has changed but the notification or alarm icons have gone missing, indicating that the icon package is not compatible with your version of Android, and the solution is to return to the standard icon set through the themes menu.

Another common situation is the “grid” of settings after the system update. Xiaomi often changes the structure of the theme files in new versions of MIUI or HyperOS, which causes the old modifications to stop working correctly, in which case you need to wait for the release of the updated version of the theme from the developer or temporarily return to the drain design.

Also worth mentioning is the risk of installing themes from third-party sources: Theme files (.mtz) can contain malicious code that steals data or disrupts the system.

⚠️ Note: Only download themes from the official Xiaomi store or verified sources.Installing modified files from unverified Telegram channels can lead to infection of the device.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)