Black and White Screen on Xiaomi: How to Turn It On and Why

The black and white screen mode on Xiaomi devices is not only a stylish visual effect, but also a useful feature for saving battery power, reducing eye strain in the dark or testing the display for broken pixels. Many users do not even suspect that their smartphone or Mi TV supports such a mode without installing third-party apps.

In this article, we will discuss all the official and hidden ways to activate monochrome display – from standard MIUI settings to developer commands and engineering menus. You will learn how to turn on a black and white screen on Redmi, POCO, Mi 11/12/13 and other models, as well as on Xiaomi Mi TV and Redmi Smart TV.

Important: Some methods require superuser rights or developer mode activation. If you're a beginner, start with the safe ways in the first sections.

1. Standard method: Shades of Grey filter in MIUI

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in color correction filter available on most Xiaomi devices with MIUI 12 and later.This method does not require root rights and works on all models, including the Redmi Note 10/11/12, POCO X3/X4/X5 and the flagship Mi 13 Ultra or Xiaomi 14.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Special features (or additional features in some versions) MIUI).
• 👁️ Select the Color Filter section (could be called Color Correction or Color Vision).
• 🔧 Activate the Gray Shades Switch (or Monochrome).
• 🎨 Adjust the intensity of the effect with a slider (if available).

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ Works without reboot and administrator rights.
• ✅ You can quickly disable via the notification panel (by adding a shortcut to Quick Settings).
• ✅ Does not affect the performance and compatibility with applications.

⚠️ Note: On some devices with MIUI 13/14 To avoid this, pin the label in the notification bar or use automation through Google Assistant.

Make sure MIUI version is at least 12| Check for "Special features" | Turn off dark theme (it may conflict with the filter) | Take a screenshot of the current screen settings in case of reset.

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2. Developer mode: forced activation of grayscale

If your version of MIUI doesn’t have a grey shade filter, you can force black and white mode through the developer settings, which works on all Android 9 and higher devices, including the Xiaomi Pad 5/6 and POCO F4/F5.

Step-by-step:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Go back to the main settings menu and open a new section for developers.
3. Scroll down to the Hardware Acceleration Visualization block and find the option to Simulate Color Space (or Simulate Color Space in English firmware).
4. Select the value of Monochromacy.
5. Restart the device to apply the changes.

Features of the method:

• 🔧 Requires a reboot, but works more stable than the filter from the MIUI.
• 🛠️ It may conflict with certain games (e.g. Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile will refuse to launch).
• 🔄 To return colors, select Unplugged from the same menu.

Standard filter in MIUI|Developer mode|ADB-team|Apps from Play Market|I haven't tried it yet.-->

3. ADB-Commands: Enable Grayscale without root

For power users who don’t want to dig into the menu, there’s a way to activate black and white mode via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which works on any Xiaomi device with the bootloader unlocked and USB debugging enabled.

Instructions:

1. Install. ADB-PC drivers.
2. Enable USB debugging in the developer settings on your phone.
3. Connect the device to the computer and execute in the command line:

adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 1


adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer 0

Where 0 at the end of the second command means monochrome filter. To return the colors, replace 1 with 0 in the first command.

Warnings:

• 🚨 Some Xiaomi firmwares block changes through ADB. In this case, root will be required.
• 🔌 After the blackout USB-The cable mode is maintained, but may reset after the update MIUI.

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If ADB doesn’t recognize the device, try reinstalling drivers manually through Windows Device Manager by selecting the Xiaomi model from the manufacturer list.

4. Apps from the Play Market: Alternative Solutions

If the built-in methods don't work or you need additional settings (such as hotkeys for quick switching), you can use third-party utilities. We tested 5 popular applications and selected the best ones:

• 🎨 Grayscale Mode is a simple switchboard for switching on/off mode. Works without root, but requires overlay permission.
• 🔍 Color Blindness Simulator - mimics different types of color blindness, including full grayscale.
• 🛠️ Tasker is for advanced users, allowing you to automate the activation of BB mode on a schedule (for example, at night).

How to determine:

1. Download the app from Google Play (links above).
2. Grant permission to Overlay over other apps in Android settings.
3. Activate the filter through the program interface.

⚠️ Note: Overlay applications may conflict with banking programs (e.g. SberBank Online or Tinkoff) due to security policies.

5. Black and white screen on Xiaomi Mi TV and Redmi Smart TV

Xiaomi TVs also support monochrome mode, but the way it is activated is different from smartphones.

• 🎮 Testing the matrix for broken pixels.
• 👓 Reduced eye fatigue during prolonged viewing.
• 📺 Checking the quality of the broadcast in the conditions of poor signal.

Instructions for Mi TV 4/5 and Redmi Smart TV:

1. Open Settings → Picture → Image modes.
2. Select the preset User (Custom).
3. Set the saturation to 0.
4. Save settings as a new profile (e.g., “BB Mode”).

For models with Google TV (e.g. Xiaomi TV A2 43):

1. Go to Settings → Screen and sound → Picture → Additional.
2. Activate the Color Filter and select Shades of Grey.

On Xiaomi TVs with OLED-matrix (for example, Mi TV Q2 55), prolonged use of black and white mode at maximum brightness can accelerate the burnout of pixels.

6. Advanced methods: engineering menu and root

If you need to use black and white mode all the time (for example, to test displays in a service center), you can resort to more radical methods. These methods require an unlocked bootloader and root rights, so they are only suitable for advanced users.

Method 1: Engineering menu (#36446337##)

• 📞 Enter the code on the dial keyboard.
• 🔧 Go to the Display or Screen section.
• 🎛️ Find the Color Mode option and select Grayscale.

Method 2: Edit build.prop:

1. Open /system/build.prop file via Root Explorer.
2. Add a line: persist.sys.sf.color_mode=0.
3. Save the changes and restart the device.

⚠️ Warning: Incorrect editing build.prop can lead to bootloop (locked phone turn on).Before changes, back up through TWRP Or OrangeFox Recovery.

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Use the engineering menu only if you are confident in your actions. Some parameters (such as color calibration) can permanently damage the display matrix.

7. Frequent problems and their solutions

When activating black and white mode, Xiaomi users face typical errors, and we have collected the most common ways to eliminate them:

If your problem is not described above, check:

• 📱 Compatibility of the model with the selected method (see table in section 2).
• 🔄 Availability of updates MIUI (Some bugs are fixed in new versions).
• 🛠️ Conflicts with other filters (e.g. Night Mode or Reading).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions