How to Put a Black Theme on Xiaomi: 5 Working Ways for MIUI

Dark theme on Xiaomi smartphones not only reduces the load on the eyes in the evening, but also saves battery power on devices with a high-powered smartphone. AMOLED-Despite the apparent simplicity, many users face problems: somewhere the option is hidden in the depths. MIUI, Some of them require additional manipulation, and some models (POCO F1, Redmi Note 8 Pro dark mode does not work correctly with individual applications. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to include a black theme – from standard settings to hidden commands for developers that allow you to forcibly activate the dark interface even on unofficial firmware.

It’s important to understand that MIUI offers two types of dark mode: system (changes only the shell) and global (affects supported applications).We’ll show you how to configure both options, and we’ll also explain why some devices (Redmi 9A, POCO M3) can turn off the dark theme on its own after a reboot. If you use custom firmware like Pixel Experience or LineageOS, at the end of the article you’ll find a separate section with instructions for such cases.

1. Standard method: Enable via MIUI settings

This is the simplest method that works on most Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices with official MIUI 12/13/14 firmware. Suitable for models released after 2019 (Redmi Note 10 Pro, Xiaomi 11T, POCO X3 Pro and later).

Steps for activation:

• 📱 Open the Settings app (cog icon on the home screen).
• 🎨 Go to the Screen section (or Display on some versions).
• 🌙 Find Dark Theme (may be called Dark Theme Mode or Night Mode).
• 🔘 Move the slider to the position On. or select the Auto for automatic switching on schedule.

On some devices (Redmi Note 9, POCO X2), the option may be elsewhere: Settings → Settings → Dark Theme. If you can’t see this item, upgrade MIUI to the latest version – older builds (below MIUI 11) may not have dark mode.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with LCD-screens (e.g. Redmi) 9C, POCO C31) A dark theme doesn't save much battery life, because the backlight works the same regardless of the color of the interface.

2. Set up a schedule for automatic switching

If you don’t feel comfortable turning dark mode on/off manually, MIUI lets you set up automatic switching over time or depending on sunset/dawn.This feature is available on all devices with MIUI 12 and later.

How to set up:

1. Go to the Settings → Screen → Dark theme.
2. Stick to the Schedule (or Automatic Including).
3. Choose one of the options: 🕒 Time – set the hours on/off (for example, from 21:00 to 7:00). 🌅 At sunset/dawn, the mode will sync with your location.

On POCO F3, Xiaomi 12 and other flagships, the option Adaptive backlight is also available, which smoothly adjusts brightness and color temperature depending on the lighting. To activate it, go to Settings → Screen → Adaptive backlight and turn on the slider.

Make sure that the device has the current time and time zone.|Check the location access permission (for Sunset mode")|Turn off the power saving mode (may knock the schedule)-->

3. Forced inclusion of dark theme through developer settings

If the standard method doesn’t work (e.g., on Redmi 8A or POCO M2 Pro with custom firmware), you can try to force activation of dark mode through the Developer Settings. This method is also useful if the system theme does not apply to some applications (e.g., Google Play Store or YouTube).

Instructions:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tam the MIUI Version 7 times in a row until you become a developer!

Settings

For developers

Forced to use a dark topic

Override force-dark

Restart the device to apply the changes.

This method causes MIUI to emulate dark mode even for applications that do not support it. However, be careful: some programs (such as banking) may not display correctly. On the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and other flagships with MIUI 14, this option may not be available - instead, use the Color Scheme in the developer settings.

4.Using ADB to force dark theme inclusion

If previous methods didn’t work (e.g., on Redmi 7 with MIUI 10 or on devices with damaged firmware), you can use ADB, the Android debugging tool, which requires connecting your phone to your computer, but is guaranteed to work on 90% of Xiaomi devices.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install Platform Tools (includes ADB) on your PC.
2. Turn on USB Debugging on your phone: Go to Settings → For developers. Activate the USB Debugging slider.

Connect your phone to your computer through USB-cable (use the original cable for connection stability).

CMD

ADB

adb devices

(The name of your device should appear)

adb shell settings put secure ui_night_mode 2

(This forcibly includes a dark topic)

Reboot the phone.

To cancel the dark topic, use the command:

adb shell settings put secure ui_night_mode 1

where 1 is a light theme, 2 is dark, 0 is following system settings.

⚠️ Note: On devices with a locked boot loader (Redmi Note) 8T, POCO X3 NFC) team ADB It may not work until the Bootloader is unlocked. Some custom firmware (e.g. Havoc) OS) ignore these commands – in this case, use alternative methods from the following section.

5. Alternative methods: topics and third-party applications

If you don’t like the system dark theme (for example, due to incomplete application support), you can use alternative solutions. Xiaomi offers its own Themes app, where you can download completely black designs for the interface.

How to install a dark topic through the Topics app:

• 📲 Open the Themes app (icon with brush).
• 🔍 In the search bar, enter dark or black.
• 🖼️ Choose your favorite theme (such as Pure Black or Pure Black). AMOLED Dark).
• 💾 Click Apply and confirm the download.

For deeper customization, you can use third-party applications:

• 🌓 Dark Mode Settings – allows you to force the dark mode on individual applications.
• 🎭 Substratum - Requires ROOT, It gives you complete control over the system.
• 🔧 Hex Installer – Substratum alternative for devices without ROOT (It doesn't work on all firmware).

The POCO F4 GT and other Xiaomi gaming smartphones also have a built-in Game Turbo that can overlay a dark filter over games and apps. To activate it, go to Settings → Special Features → Color Filter and select Color Inversion or Shades of Grey.

6. Features of a dark theme on custom firmware

If you use an informal firmware (Pixel Experience, LineageOS, ArrowOS), standard MIUI methods will not work, in which case the dark theme is configured via Android system settings.

Instructions for AOSP-firmware (e.g. on the POCO F1 Pixel Experience):

1. Go to Settings → Display.
2. Choose Dark Mode or Color Scheme.
3. Activate the option to Enable Always or set a schedule.

On firmware like Havoc OS or CrDroid, additional settings are also available:

• 🎛️ Settings → Havoc Settings → Interface → Dark Mode – Extended options for dark theme.
• 🔄 Settings → System system → Gestures → QuickSwitch – You can set a gesture to quickly switch themes.

If the dark theme doesn’t apply to system applications (like Settings or Phone), try clearing the cache of the Android System app:

Settings → Applications → Show all applications → Three dots (menu) → Show system → Android System → Storage → Clear cache

💡

On LineageOS firmware, a dark theme may conflict with Magisk modules. If the interface starts to display incorrectly after installing a module (for example, LSposed), try disabling the module or updating it to the latest version.

7. Solving the Dark Theme Problems on Xiaomi

Even after successful activation of dark mode, users often encounter bugs, and here are the most common problems and solutions:

Problem 1: The dark theme resets after the reboot.

• 🔄 Check if there are cache cleaner apps installed (like Clean Master) that can reset settings.
• 🛠️ Update. MIUI until the latest version - in the old builds there was an error with saving the settings of the themes.
• 🔧 If you use Magisk, disable modules related to the theme (e.g. Dark Mode Enabler).

Problem 2: Some applications are still light.

• 📱 For Google apps (YouTube, Chrome) enable dark mode in their settings separately.
• 🔨 Use it. ADB-command to force the inclusion: adb shell am compat enable 11 com.google.android.youtube (replace com.google.android.youtube with the desired application package).
• 🎨 Install an alternative launcher (like Nova Launcher) with support for dark theme.

Problem 3: The screen flashes when switching themes.

• ⚡ Turn off window animation in Settings → For developers → The scale of window animation (off.).
• 🔄 Switch to another theme in the Topic app, then go back to the dark one.
• 🛠️ Reset the settings. MIUI before the factory (pre-return the backup copy!).

💡

If the problem persists after all the manipulations, check firmware integrity. On some devices (Redmi Note 7, POCO F2 Pro) bugs with a dark theme are only fixed by flashing through Fastboot.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the dark topic on Xiaomi