The black and white screen feature on Xiaomi devices often goes unnoticed, although it is useful in a variety of situations, such as monochrome mode reduces eye strain during long reading, saves battery life on smartphones with a high-performance screen. AMOLED-It's a display, and it even helps you focus by removing distracting colors. TV or Redmi Smart TV This mode can be useful for checking the contrast of the image or creating a retro atmosphere when watching old movies.
Many users mistakenly think that it takes root rights or complex technical manipulation to activate a black and white screen, and in fact, 90 percent of the time, standard system settings are enough, like on smartphones. MIUI, And on TVs running Android TV. In this article, we’ll break down all the working methods, including hidden features for older models, and explain why sometimes the mode doesn’t turn on.
If you want to not just turn on a monochrome filter, but to fully calibrate your image to your needs — for example, for graphics or reading books — at the end of this article you will find tips for adjusting contrast and brightness in black and white. And for those who have experienced problems (the screen itself has switched to monochrome or refuses to return to color mode), we have prepared a separate section with solutions.
1. Black and white screen on Xiaomi smartphones (MIUI 12–14)
On smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO shelled MIUI There's a built-in grayscale filter that converts all colors to shades of gray, and it's enabled through special features and operates at the system level -- that is, it affects all apps, wallpapers and even games.
To activate it:
- Open the Settings. → Special facilities.
- Select the Color Filter option (on some versions) MIUI It can be called color correction).
- Activate the switch and select the shade of gray option.
Important: on some models (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T Or Redmi Note 11) this item may be hidden. If you don't find a Color filter, try searching by settings - type in "color" or "filter».
When activated, the screen will immediately turn black and white, and to return the colors, you just need to turn off the filter in the same way. If you need to switch between modes quickly, add a shortcut to the notification panel:
- Unwrap the notification curtain and click on the icon ⚙️ Edit.
- Find the color filter tile and drag it to the active area.
Check out the MIUI version (Settings → About the phone)
Close all apps (especially games and video players)
Make sure the screen brightness is not at a minimum.
Make a backup copy of the settings (optional)-->
2. monochrome mode on Xiaomi TVs (Mi) TV, Redmi TV)
On Xiaomi TVs, the black and white screen is turned on differently than on smartphones. There is no separate color filter, but there are two working ways: through reading mode (for text) and through manual color temperature adjustment (for full monochrome).
Method 1: Reading mode (for books and documents)
- Open the Reading app or any text file.
- On the remote, press the Menu button. → Screen settings → Reading mode.
- Choose Black and White or Sepia (depending on the model).
This method only works in reading apps and does not affect the video or the main menu.
Method 2: Manual color calibration (full monochrome)
- Go to Settings. → Display and sound → Picture → Additional settings.
- Find the Saturation and Shade points – set both values to 0.
- At Color Temperature, select Cold (this will increase contrast).
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Note: After such changes, the TV can automatically reset when rebooting. To lock in the monochrome mode, save the current profile as a user in the Color Profile menu.
What to do if the color settings are blocked?
3. Hidden methods: ADB and engineering menu
If the standard methods did not work (for example, on older versions). MIUI or custom firmware, you can turn on a black and white screen through ADB-These methods require you to connect to a computer or activate the developer mode.
Method 1: ADB-team MIUI
Connect your smartphone to your PC, install it ADB and execute the command:
adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 1
adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer 0To bring back the colors:
adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 0Method 2: Engineering menu (for TVs)
- On the remote, press sequentially: Menu → Settings → All settings → About the device.
- Find the Build Number and click on it 7 times to unlock the developer mode.
- Go back to Settings → For developers and activate Debugging over USB.
- Connect the TV to your PC and send a command: adb shell am start -n com.android.tv.settings/.device.display.ColorCorrectionActivity
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Warning: The wrong commands on the engineering menu can reset the TV to factory settings or disrupt color reproduction. If you're not sure what you're doing, use the standard methods in the first two sections.
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On smartphones with AMOLED-Black and white screens (such as the Xiaomi 13 Pro or Black Shark 5) reduce power consumption by 15-20%, especially when reading books or working with documents.
4.Why the screen turned black and white and how to bring back the colors
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the Xiaomi screen suddenly goes into monochrome mode without their participation. The reasons can be different from a software failure to hardware problems.
Reason 1: Failure in the settings of special features
If the screen is black and white after the update or reboot, check:
- Open the Settings. → Special facilities → Color filter.
- Make sure the filter is turned off. If the item is inactive, restart the device.
Reason 2: Hardware malfunction (for TVs)
On Mi TVs. TV The monochrome screen may be due to:
- 🔌 Problems with HDMI-Cable (try replacing the cable or port).
- 📺 Matrix malfunctions (if you hear a click when you turn on, but the image remains black and white).
- 🔄 Failure in the power supply (check the indicator - if it flashes red, repairs are required).
Reason 3: Virus or malware
Some apps (especially from third-party sources) may force color filters to be activated to check:
- Run the device in Safe Mode (on smartphones: hold the power button) → Safe regime).
- If the colors are back in Safe Mode, remove the recently installed apps.
| Symptoms. | Probable cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| The screen turned black and white after the device fell | Damage to the display plume | Contact the service center |
| Colors are only lost in certain applications. | Failure in the app's cache | Clear the cache (Settings) → Annexes → Select an application → Warehouse → Clear the cache) |
| Monochrome appears after connecting to another device (for example, when mirroring the screen) | Color profile conflict | Disable mirroring and restart both devices |
| The screen flashes, then turns black and white. | Graphics processor malfunction | Check the heating of the device, if necessary - diagnostics in the service |
5. Contrast adjustment in black and white mode
Simply turning on a monochrome filter is often not enough — to make the text clear and the image comfortable for the eyes, you need to calibrate contrast and brightness, and on smartphones and TVs Xiaomi does this differently.
For smartphones (MIUI):
- Activate the Color Filter (as described in the first section).
- Go to Settings. → Display. → Contrast text and move the slider to 100%.
- B Settings → Display. → Select the color scheme to High contrast.
For TVs (Mi) TV/Redmi TV):
- Enable monochrome mode through color settings (Section 2).
- Go to Settings. → Display and sound → Picture → Image mode.
- Choose Dynamic (increases contrast) or Movie (softens transitions of gray).
- Manually adjust Brightness (45–55%) and Contrast (80–90%).
💡 Reading tip: If you use a black and white screen for books, install a dark theme in the reading app with white text on a black background, which will reduce eye strain and save battery life. AMOLED-display.
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On Xiaomi TVs with OLED-matrix (e.g. Mi) TV Q2) Too high contrast in monochrome mode can cause a screen burn effect. To avoid this, do not leave static images (such as channel logos) on the screen for longer than 10 minutes.
6. Alternative methods: applications and third-party solutions
If you don't like the built-in features of Xiaomi, you can use third-party apps to force black and white. MIUI (13+) Many of these programs require root rights or are restricted.
Smartphone apps:
- 📱 Grayscale Mode (no root, but runs on top of the system interface).
- 🔧 Tasker (allows you to automatically turn on monochrome on schedule).
- 🛠️ Shizuku + AppOps (for advanced users, gives access to hidden settings) MIUI).
For TVs:
Android. TV The choice of applications is limited, but you can try it:
- 📺 Color Filter (from Google Play) TV).
- 🎮 Kodi with color profile setting (suitable for media files).
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Note: Apps from third-party sources (not from Google Play or Mi App Store) may contain malicious code. Before installing, check the reviews and permissions the program requests.
If you use Xiaomi with custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience), black and white mode is enabled via standard Android settings:
- Open the Settings. → Special facilities → Color filter.
- Choose Shades of Grey.
- For quick access, add the tile to the notification panel.
7. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them
When setting up a black and white screen, users often make the same mistakes, and here are the most common ones and ways to prevent them:
Mistake 1: Incorrect color temperature setting
Many people confuse Color Temperature (cold/warm light) with Monochrome Temperature. Setting a cold temperature won't make the screen black and white, it'll only increase the blue hue. To really remove all colors, you have to zero out Saturation and Hue.
Mistake 2: Using a monochrome on the LCD-screen
On TVs and smartphones with LCD-matrices (e.g. Redmi) 9A or Mi TV 4A) Black and white doesn't save any charge, because the backlight works independently of the colors.
Mistake 3: Ignoring Software Updates
On the old versions. MIUI (Below 12) the color filter may not work properly or not at all. Before setting up, check for updates in Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
Mistake 4: Forced inclusion of monochrome through ADB knowledgeless
Some users find commands like adb shell settings put global. accessibility_grayscale_enabled 1, But they may not work for MIUI Always check the relevance of the commands for your firmware version.
Error 5: Configure monochrome through an engineering menu without backup
Changes to the engineering menu are not always reversible. Before experimenting, save the current screen settings (take a picture or write down the values).
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If after turning on the black and white mode on the TV sound disappeared – check whether the mode was activated accidentally AVL (Automatic volume control. Turn it off in Settings. → Sound. → Additional settings.