Owners of Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones often face a situation where the standard dark interface of the system begins to annoy or simply does not correspond to personal preferences. MIUI And the new HyperOS can default to a dark theme that changes the background of menus, settings and standard apps to black or dark gray. AMOLED-screens, but not all users are comfortable with this color scheme.
You can bring back the classic light interface in a number of ways, from simple menu settings to third-party themes. It is important to understand that changing the background affects not only desktop wallpaper, but also system navigation elements, notification curtain and settings menu. In this article, we will discuss all available methods that will help you make the background white and return the usual look to the operating system.
Before we start making changes, it's worth noting that some system applications can ignore the global theme settings if they're designed with a rigid style attached. However, in most cases, switching to light mode happens instantly after a few simple steps are taken. Let's look at the basic steps to achieve the desired result.
Disabling dark theme in system settings
The most obvious and effective way to get the white back is to turn off the system dark theme, and in the MIUI shell, a separate switch is responsible for this, which often activates automatically at low battery charge or at a user-defined time, and to change this setting, you need to open the main settings menu of your device.
Find a section that might be called "Themes" or "Dark Theme" depending on the firmware version and regional setting. Usually the path is as follows: Settings → Screen → Dark Theme. Here you will see a large switch. If it is active (the slider is shifted to the right and it burns in blue or orange), the system forcibly color the supported interfaces in dark colors.
- 🌑 Click on the Dark Theme switch to deactivate it – the menu background will turn white.
- ⏰ Check your schedule settings: it is possible that the theme will automatically turn on at certain times of the day.
- 🔋 Make sure the “Enable Dark Theme at Low Charge” feature is disabled if it is active.
Once this feature is turned off, the changes should apply to all standard applications such as Explorer, Gallery, Settings and Phone. If the background is white but dark elements are left in some places, you may need to reboot the device or apply a standard theme, as discussed below. It is also important to check if a third-party launcher that has its own design settings is installed.
Change and reset the theme of design in the application “Themes”
If a simple dark theme switch didn’t help and the background stayed black or gray, the problem could be in the set theme. Users often download third-party themes from the GetApps store or Themes, which force the color scheme of the interface to change, ignoring the system settings.
To return to the standard white background, you need to reset the theme to the factory. Open the Themes app on your smartphone. Go to the user profile (usually a little man icon or avatar in the lower right corner) and select My Themes section, where you will see a list of all the designs ever installed.
Find a theme called "Classic," "Standard," or "Untitled" is a standard MIUI theme. Click on it and select "Apply" button. This action will force all system icons, wallpaper, sounds and, most importantly, the white menu background back to factory status.
⚠️ Note: Some custom themes may contain errors in the code, which after removing the white background does not return completely.In such cases, be sure to complete the reset the theme to the standard, as described above, rather than just delete the theme file.
After applying a standard theme, the interface should become light. If you want to use a custom theme but with a white background, read the description of the theme carefully before installing - often developers indicate whether the theme supports light mode or is exceptionally dark.
☑️ Checking the theme settings
Background setting in the browser and system applications
Often users confuse the system theme with the settings of individual applications, particularly browsers. If you have a white background on the phone menu but black in the Mi Browser or Chrome browser, the problem is solved inside the application itself. Browsers have their own night mode settings that can work independently of the system.
In the Mi Browser, you need to click on the menu (three bars or dots), find the icon “Theme” or “Read Mode” and choose a light design option. Similar actions are required for Google Chrome: go to Settings → Theme and select “Light” This will change the background tabs, downloads menu and browser settings to white.
It’s also worth checking the display settings in other system applications, such as Explorer or Manager. In some versions of MIUI, there is a separate option, “Follow System Settings”, which can be turned off. Make sure that every application important to you is light mode.
| Annex | The path to adjustment | Action required |
|---|---|---|
| Mi Browser | Menu → Theme | Choose "Bright" |
| Google Chrome | Settings → Theme | Choose "Bright" |
| Topics (Themes) | Profile → Settings | Turn off Dark Mode. |
| Conductor | Menu → Settings | Display mode: Light |
After changing the settings in each application, it is recommended to close them completely (unload them from RAM) and open again so that the changes take effect. This ensures that cached data about the old theme will not be displayed.
Change the color of the background of the keyboard
The keyboard is worth special attention, as it takes up a significant part of the screen when you type. The standard Gboard or MIUI Keyboard keyboard can also have a dark theme that visually feels like a black background of the phone, which can be changed in the settings of the keyboard itself.
For Gboard, the process is this: open any application that requires text input, click on the gear icon on the keyboard bar. Go to the Theme section and choose any light option or create your theme with a white background. This will instantly change the color of the buttons and the spaces between them.
If you use a standard MIUI keyboard, go to Settings → Additional settings → Language and input → Keyboard management. Select an active keyboard and find the Theme or Design section. There is also a selection of light skins available.
- ⌨️ Open the settings of the active keyboard through the gear icon.
- 🎨 Go to the “Theme” section and choose a light style design.
- 🖼️ If desired, you can set your own photo on the background of the keyboard for uniqueness.
Check if they include an “Adaptive Theme” mode that darkens the background in the evening.
Why does the keyboard remain black?
The problem of inversion of colors and special features
There is a situation where the background becomes negative (white becomes black and black becomes white) throughout the interface, including images and videos. This is not a theme, but an accessibility feature called Color Inversion. It's designed for people with visual impairments, but can be turned on by accident.
To check and disable this feature, go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Special Features. In the list, look for the section related to vision or display. If you see activated Color Inversion or Negative Colors, turn it off immediately.
It's also worth checking the quick settings in the notification curtain, sometimes there's an Inversion button that randomly taps and changes the color of the screen, swipe down to open the control center, and make sure that the button doesn't burn.
⚠️ Attention: Color inversion may be activated by a combination of volume buttons if this option has been pre-installed in the special features menu for quick access.
If the inversions are normal after turning off, but too pale or with a strange hue, check also the Color Mode setting in Settings → Screen → Color Mode. Select Standard or Saturated mode, but not Automatic if it is not working properly.
Using third-party launchers to change backgrounds
If standard MIUI tools fail to achieve a perfect white background or appearance, you can use third-party launchers, which completely replace the desktop, application menus and often system windows.
Popular launchers like Nova Launcher, Microsoft Launcher or Lawnchair allow you to customize the background color of the menu, the transparency of the icons and the overall style. By installing such a launcher from Google Play, you have complete control over the visual component.
In the launcher settings, find the Desktop or Application Menu section, and it will have a Background or Color option. Choose white from the palette. Most launchers also allow you to set a separate image for the app menu, which can be just a white rectangle.
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When installing a third-party launcher, Xiaomi’s system can warn of possible instability.This is a standard Android warning, ignore it if you download the app from the official Google Play store.
However, it is worth considering that third-party launchers can consume more battery life than a standard shell.In addition, some Xiaomi system features, such as gestures or widgets, may not work properly.
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Third-party launchers give maximum flexibility in setting up a white background, but can reduce the performance of the device on older smartphone models.