How to make a black and white screen on Xiaomi Redmi: 5 working ways

The black and white screen mode on Xiaomi Redmi is not only a stylish visual effect, but also a useful feature for reducing eye strain, saving battery power or testing color profiles. Many users do not even realize that their smartphone supports such a mode without installing third-party applications. In this article, we will discuss all the official and hidden ways to activate gray gradation, including methods for different versions of MIUI (12 to 14), and also tell you how to return colors if something goes wrong.

It's important to understand that the black and white screen can work differently depending on the Redmi model: on some devices it will be a full monochrome mode with shades of gray, on others it will be just turning off the color palette while maintaining brightness. We have tested all methods on the Redmi Note 10 Pro, Redmi 9T and POCO X3 Pro, so the instructions are relevant for most modern devices of the brand. If your model is older than 2019, some features may be missing, we will also warn you about this in advance.

Before you go to the settings, make sure your smartphone is updated to the latest firmware. In older MIUI builds (such as 11 and below), black and white mode may not work correctly or even be available. Check the version in the Settings menu → About Phone → MIUI version.

1. Standard method: Gradation of gray mode in settings

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in MIUI feature, which is available on most Xiaomi Redmi devices starting in 2020, which does not require superuser rights (root) and works even on blocked downloaders.

To activate the black and white screen:

• 📱 Open Settings and go to Special Features (on some firmware it may be called Universal Access).
• 🔍 Scroll down to the Vision block and select Color filter or Color correction.
• 🎨 Turn on the Grade of Grey (or Monochrome) switch, and the screen will turn black and white.
• ⚙️ If necessary, adjust the intensity of the effect with a slider (not available on all models).

This method works on Redmi Note 11/12, Redmi 10, POCO F4 and other modern devices. On older devices (for example, Redmi 7 or Redmi Note 8), the item may be missing, in which case move on to the following methods.

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If the screen becomes too dark after activating the mode, try to increase the brightness manually or turn off automatic adjustment in the display settings.

2. Hidden function: developer mode and color blindness simulation

MIUI has a hidden option that is originally designed to test the interface for color blindness, but it can also be used to create a black and white screen, which requires activation of the developer mode, but does not affect the warranty.

Step-by-step:

1. Activate the Developer Mode: 🔧 Go to Settings. → The phone. 🔄 Press 7 times in a row on the item Version MIUI, until you have become a developer, you have become a developer!.

For developers

Simulation of flower space

Simulate color space

Monochrome

Monochromacy

This method works on all devices with MIUI 12+, including Redmi K40, Redmi Note 10S and POCO M4 Pro. The main advantage of the method is the ability to quickly turn off the mode without rebooting.

3.Through Digital Wellbeing: Limiting Colors to Save Battery

The MIUI's Digital Wellbeing feature not only tracks smartphone usage times, but also adjusts visual constraints, and one of the hidden modes is forced gray gradation for all apps.

How to turn on:

• 🛡️ Open the Settings. → Digital Well-Being and Parental Control.
• ⏱️ Go to the Tools tab (or Dashboard).
• 🔄 Activate Shades of Grey (may be called Black and White Mode).
• ⏰ If you wish, set an automatic shutdown timer (for example, overnight).

This method is suitable for Redmi 9, Redmi Note 9 Pro and other models with MIUI 13/14. the Main plus is the ability to tie the mode to the schedule (for example, turn it on from 22:00 to 7:00 for a comfortable sleep).

Savings in battery charge|Reducing the burden on the eyes|Interface testing|Just for the sake of interest.|Another option-->

4.With ADB: Forced Activation for Power Users

If standard methods don’t work, you can turn on the gray gradation via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires a computer and basic command line knowledge, but gives 100% results on any Xiaomi Redmi model.

Instructions:

1. 💻 Install. ADB-Drivers on PC and enable Debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → For developers).
2. 🔌 Connect your smartphone to your computer and type 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 — This is the meaning of monochrome regime.
3. 🔄 Reset the device. Once turned on, the screen will turn black and white.

To return the colors, run the same command, but with the parameter. accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 0. This method works even on Redmi. 5 Redmi Note 7, where there are no built-in options.

Install drivers ADB PC-only|Enable debugging on USB phone-on|Connect your phone to the original cable|Check the connection with the adb device command-->

Third-party applications: an alternative for older models

If your Xiaomi Redmi is released before 2019 (like the Redmi 6 or Redmi Note 5), standard methods may not work, in which case the Gray Scale Mode app or Night Mode from Google Play will help.

Recommended programmes:

Note that third-party applications may conflict with MIUI system settings. If after installation the screen began to flicker or artifacts appeared, delete the program and use one of the official methods.

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Apps from Google Play are the most versatile way for older models, but they may consume an extra battery due to running in the background.

Possible problems and solutions

When activating black and white mode, users of Xiaomi Redmi sometimes encounter bugs, and here are the most common ones and ways to fix them:

Problem 1: The screen became too dark after turning on the gray gradation.

⚠️ Attention: This is due to automatic dimming in monochrome mode.Solution: manually set the brightness to maximum in the notification curtain or turn off adaptive brightness in Settings → Display.

Problem 2: The mode turns on, but after a few minutes the colors return.

• 🔄 Check if gray gradation conflicts with Reading or Vision Protection in the display settings.
• 📵 Turn off all automatic modes (for example, Dark Theme on schedule).

Problem 3: There is no Gradation of Grey on the Redmi with MIUI 11.

⚠️ Warning: On older firmware, this mode may be called Color Blindness or Color Blindness Filter. Try upgrading to a new system. MIUI 12+ or use ADB-section 4.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the black and white screen on Xiaomi