Smartphone owners often face the need to reduce eye strain, especially when using the gadget in low light conditions. The bright white background of the interface can cause significant discomfort, eye pain and even headaches during long reading. That is why a dark topic on Xiaomi becomes not just an aesthetic choice, but an important tool for maintaining vision health.
Xiaomi introduced Dark Mode a few years ago, and it's evolved a lot since then, and if it was just a color invert, now MIUI and the new HyperOS are able to intelligently repaint interfaces to make the image look nice and contrasting, and it's a simple process to turn on, but it has its own nuances, which we'll talk about later.
In this article, we will take a look at all the available ways to activate night mode, from standard system settings to advanced methods through the engineering menu. You will learn how to set up automatic switching on a schedule and what to do if some applications remain bright. Understanding these subtleties will allow you to adapt your smartphone to your individual needs as comfortably as possible.
The benefits of using a dark interface in MIUI and HyperOS
The shift to a dark background has some objective benefits that go beyond simple aesthetics, and it's primarily about reducing energy consumption, especially on devices with a high-powered environment. AMOLED-When the pixel displays black, it actually turns off, which saves a lot of battery power during the day.
Also, using a dark theme reduces the amount of blue light that the display emits, which helps normalize the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, if you're used to using your phone before bedtime, and your eyes are less tired because there's no sharp contrast between a bright screen and a dark environment.
- 🌙 Significant reduction of load on the visual apparatus at night.
- 🔋 Saving battery charge up to 15-20% type-display AMOLED.
- 👁️ Improved readability of text in low artificial light.
However, it’s worth remembering that not all apps support this feature natively. While Xiaomi’s system menus are repainted perfectly, some third-party programs may look incorrect, and this is where the special theme enforcement tools come to the rescue, which we’ll discuss below.
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A dark theme is not only beautiful, but also good for eye health and the autonomy of your smartphone.
Standard activation via control panel and settings
The fastest and most obvious way to change the color scheme of the interface is to use the notification curtain, which means swiping from the top edge of the screen down, and in the quick settings menu that opens, you should find an icon with a crescent image or an "A" in a circle, and clicking on it will instantly switch the system to dark mode.
If the icon isn't on the first page, try swiping left or pressing the edit button (usually three dots or a pencil) to add a switch to the visible area. This is standard practice for the MIUI shell, allowing you to control basic functions in one tap.
A deeper setup is available through the main settings menu, and you need to go to Settings → Screen (or Settings → Wallpaper and personalization in new versions), where you will find the item “Dark Mode”, where you can not only turn it on, but also configure the schedule.
☑️ Checking screen settings
It is important to note that depending on the firmware version (Global, China, EEA), the location of the items may vary slightly. In HyperOS, the logic remained the same, but the visual design of the menu has become more minimal.
Setting up an automatic switching schedule
Manually switching theme every night and morning can get boring, so the developers have provided automation, and you can select the "Schedule" option from the dark mode settings menu, which will save you from having to look for the switch every time.
There are two main automation options: the first is sunset to dawn. The smartphone uses your geolocation and sunrise/sunset time in your region to automatically switch, and this is the most convenient and smart way.
The second option is to set a fixed time, so you can set a specific time, like 21:00 to 7:00, which is useful if you go to bed at the same time, regardless of the time of year.
| Parameter | Description | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Sunset-Dawn | Automatically through the sun. | Best choice for most people |
| Timely. | 20:00 to 08:00 | For a strict day's regime |
| Manually. | Only by click. | For rare use |
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Use the “Down to Dawn” mode to make your phone adapt to the season and your location without any extra settings.
Remember that geolocation requires location permission to work, and without that, your smartphone won't be able to tell when you're sunset.
Forced application of the theme for all applications
Often, there is a situation where the system has gone dark and your favorite apps have remained white, because app developers have to add support for a dark theme separately, but Xiaomi has a hidden feature that allows you to force this mode.
To activate forced application, go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Special Options. At the top of the screen, switch to the Vision tab. Here you need to find the option “Additional Settings” (often hidden in the three-dot menu in the corner of the screen).
In the list that opens, find “Install Dark Mode” (or “Force Dark Mode”). Turn on the switches in front of the apps you want to repaint. The system will try to invert the colors of the program interface.
⚠️ Warning: Forced use of a dark theme can lead to incorrect display of colors in some applications (for example, color inversion in photos or strange artifacts in the interface).
Use this function with caution. If the application becomes unreadable after turning on, just turn off the switchboard for a particular program. This will not damage the system, but will restore comfort of use.
What if the menu of special opportunities is empty?
Using topics for deep customization
The standard dark theme is good, but sometimes you want more. The MIUI Themes store offers thousands of customization options that completely change the way the system looks, some of which are designed specifically for nighttime users.
To find themes, open the Themes app and search for queries like Dark, Black, Night, or OLED, and you’ll see a variety of options that change not only colors, but also icons, fonts, and sounds.
- 🎨 Themes called “Pure Black” are perfect for the AMOLED screen.
- 🌑 Design themes often change the shape of the notification curtain and control panel.
- ⚙️ Some topics require a paid subscription or viewing of advertisements to apply.
When installing a third-party theme, pay attention to compatibility with your version of Android and MIUI. An inappropriate theme can cause launcher or system clock malfunctions.
Solving Common Problems with the Dark Regime
Despite the system’s debugging, users may encounter bugs, such as settings that may be lost after a firmware update, or a dark theme may no longer apply to new installed applications.
If you notice that the background has turned black but the text has remained black (and has become unreadable), try rebooting the device. This often solves problems with caching interface resources, and it is also worth checking for updates for the Theme app itself and system components.
In rare cases, resetting your design settings helps, so you go to the Themes app, open your profile, and select Reset, which will return all colors and fonts to factory values, and then you can try turning on the dark theme again.
⚠️ Note: If after applying the theme, the smartphone screen has gone out or the device has stopped responding to touch, press the power button on the device. 10-15 It's a standard recovery procedure.
Remember that deep customization through third-party launchers or modified themes may conflict with standard dark mode, and in such cases, it is recommended to disable third-party design elements for verification.