How to make a screen black and white on Xiaomi: full instructions

Modern smartphones, especially those from Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO, feature bright and rich displays that catch the eye. However, the overly colorful interface often causes digital addiction, forcing users to spend more time on social networks and games than planned. Shifting the screen to gray is a proven psychological trick that helps reduce the brain’s dopamine response to notifications and apps.

In addition, the black and white regime on AMOLED-In this article, we will discuss all the available ways to change color on Xiaomi devices, from built-in system functions to advanced methods through the use of the system. ADB.

Consider both standard tools and hidden settings that will help you make the Android interface monochrome, a solution ideal for those who want to minimize distraction or just prefer a strict minimalist design.

Using the “Sleep” mode in Xiaomi settings

The easiest and safest way to turn your Xiaomi into a monochrome device is to use the built-in Digital Well-Being feature.In the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS, this tool is called Sleep Mode or Sleep Time, and it automatically translates the screen to grayscale on a schedule.

To activate this option, you need to go to the system settings. Find Settings → Digital Well-Being and Parental Controls → Sleep Mode. Here you can adjust the start and end times of the mode. When the mode is active, the entire interface, including wallpaper and apps, will turn black and white.

Importantly, this method works software-free and doesn't require superuser rights, and it's ideal for those who want to limit screen brightness only at night to keep melatonin production from being disrupted.

⚠️ Note: In some versions of the firmware MIUI The sleep mode feature can be hidden or renamed. If you didn't find it on the path indicated, try searching by settings by typing in the "sleep" query».

The advantage of the standard method is its stability, because it controls the switching of color profiles, which eliminates conflicts with other applications, but if you want a permanent black and white screen at any time of the day, this method will require manually adjusting the time frame for the whole day.

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Use Do Not Disturb mode in conjunction with sleep to completely isolate yourself from digital noise at night.

Customization through “Advanced settings” and special features

If you don't like standard sleep, you can go to the special features section. Many Xiaomi and Redmi devices have "UI Simplification" or color correction settings that allow you to invert colors or remove saturation.

Go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Special Features → Vision tab. Here, you should look for Color Correction or Color Mode. In some cases, activating Monochrome Mode or selecting a Gray profile in this section forcibly changes the color reproduction of the entire display.

And you should also pay attention to the color inversion feature, which, although it makes the screen negative, when combined with certain theme settings, can have an interesting effect, similar to electronic ink, but for pure grayscale, it is better to use color filters.

• 🔍 Find the Color Correction item in the Special Opportunities section.
• 🎨 Select the “Shades of Grey” or “Monochrome” mode».
• 🔄 Make sure the switch is activated and applied to the entire screen.

Note that the layout of these menus may vary depending on the Android version and shell. On older versions of MIUI, these settings may have been deeper in the developer menu, but in modern builds they have been shared to improve the availability of the interface.

Using a Developer Mode for Forced Grayscale

The most flexible tool for fine-tuning the system is the developer menu, and this is where the forced color scheme simulation mode lurks, which allows Android to be black and white globally, regardless of the theme or time of day.

First, activate the hidden menu. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7-10 times on either MIUI Version or HyperOS Version. After you have become a developer, you can go to the settings.

You'll find a section on the developer menu that's related to hardware acceleration or rendering. Look for Simulate color space. In the drop-down list, select Monochromia. The screen will instantly turn black and white.

This method is considered the most reliable for continuous operation in black and white mode, it does not depend on the work of third-party applications and downloads with the system. However, it is worth remembering that the developer menu contains many critical settings, changing which can affect the stability of the smartphone.

⚠️ Note: While in the developer menu, do not change the interface zoom settings or refresh rate unless you are sure of their value. UI.

Application of third-party applications for color filtering

If system methods seem too complex or inaccessible to you, applications from the Google Play Store will come to the rescue. There are many utilities that create a translucent filter on top of the interface that mimics a black and white image.

One of the most popular solutions is Greyscale or Dayscale, which is a layer of dimming and desaturation, and once you install it, you'll need permission to display it on top of other windows.

The main advantage of third-party solutions is the availability of timers and automatic profiles. For example, you can set the application so that it only turns on black and white when you run certain apps like Instagram or TikTok, leaving the gallery and YouTube in color.

Using third-party software requires attention to permissions. The app will see what you are doing on the screen, so choose only proven programs with high ratings and a lot of downloads.

Advanced Method: Activation through ADB commands

For users who aren’t afraid of the command line, there’s a method of activating the hidden system flag via USB debugging, which allows you to turn on monochrome mode where there are no standard switches, and works on most Android devices.

You'll need a computer, USB-cable and installed drivers ADB. After connecting the smartphone and enabling debugging USB In the developer menu, run a command to change the global accessibility variable.

adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_inversion_enabled 1

However, a more accurate command to turn on a monochromia simulation (if supported by a driver) looks different.

adb shell cmd overlay enable android.overlay.colorfilter.grayscale

If overlay is not supported, you can try to force the color filter to be enabled through the availability settings:

adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 1


adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer 0

Here, the 0-valued daltonizer is usually monochrome, and it's the most technically pure method, because it doesn't require any unnecessary applications to be installed and it works at the system level.

⚠️ Attention: Before use ADB Make sure to back up important data. Mistyling commands into system settings can cause the interface to work in an unstable way.

The effect of black and white on perception and battery

Switching to a monochrome interface isn't just a visual experiment. Psychologists argue that the lack of bright color stimuli reduces dopamine production, making smartphone use less "tightening," and you start to see the phone as a tool rather than a source of entertainment.

On the technical side, on AMOLED screens, which are equipped with flagships Xiaomi and POCO, black means off the pixel. If your theme and wallpaper is predominantly dark, and the interface is translated into black and white, power consumption can be reduced by 10-15%.

However, if you use a light theme, the difference in energy consumption will be minimal, since the pixels will still have to glow white or gray, but the decrease in brightness in the eyes will be noticeable immediately.

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Black and white mode works most effectively in conjunction with the dark theme of design, providing maximum energy savings on the design of the system. AMOLED-display.

Many users have noted that after a few days in grayscale mode, it is unusual to return to bright colors, the interface seems too shouty and aggressive, which confirms the effectiveness of the method in the fight against digital addiction.

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