How to change the color of the notification indicator on Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro: all working methods

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro is still one of the brand’s most popular smartphones due to its balanced specs and flexible settings, but even owners of this device face minor inconveniences, such as the inability to change the color of the LED notification indicator through the standard menu. Unlike flagship models, where this option is available out of the box, you will have to use workarounds here.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to change the color of the indicator on the Redmi Note 8 Pro running MIUI 12-14, including hidden settings, ADB commands and third-party utilities. Particular attention will be paid to the nuances that are not covered in the standard instructions: why some colors do not work, how to avoid resetting after the update, and what to do if the indicator stops glowing at all. If you are tired of the monotonous white or blue glow, this guide is for you.

Why Redmi Note 8 Pro can not change the color of the indicator through settings

The reason lies in the hardware and software limitations of the model. Unlike the Redmi Note 9 Pro or POCO X3, where the manufacturer provided flexible backlight settings, the Note 8 Pro uses a simplified version of the LED with a fixed color palette. Xiaomi officially explains this by striving for energy efficiency, but the real reason is the savings on components.

Technically, the indicator supports only 3 base colors:

• 🔵 Blue - Default notifications (SMS, messengers)
• 🟢 Green: Charging the battery
• 🔴 Red: Low battery charge (less than 15%)

Any other shades (yellow, purple, turquoise) can be obtained only through undocumented commands or firmware modification.

In addition, in MIUI 12.5+, Xiaomi removed access to indicator settings even for a limited number of colors, which is due to optimizing the interface and combating “fragmentation” of the user experience.

Method 1: Hidden MIUI settings (without root and ADB)

The safest way is to activate the hidden menu of the indicator settings through the engineering menu, which works on MIUI 11-14, but requires precise execution of the steps. Importantly, this method does not add new colors, but only allows you to choose from the available ones (blue/green/red) for different types of notifications.

Instructions:

1. Open the Phone app and enter the combination: ##6484##.
2. In the menu that appears, select Testing → LED (if there is no item, then your firmware version does not support this path).
3. Slip on LED Setting and in the Notification LED Color list, select one of the available colors.
4. Save the settings and restart the smartphone.

Charge your phone at least 50% | Make a backup of settings | Make sure the indicator is working (check notification) | Disable VPN (may block the engineering menu)

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Limitations of the method:

• ⚠️ It doesn't work on all versions. MIUI (starting MIUI 12.5.3. the engineering menu may be blocked).
• ⚠️ Colors are limited to factory presets.
• ⚠️ After updating the firmware settings can be reset.

Method 2: Color change through ADB (without root)

A more flexible way is to use the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) commands, which allows you to assign any of the 7 available colors for notifications, including yellow and purple, but requires a connection to a computer. This method does not require unlocking the bootloader or obtaining root rights, but is reset after the MIUI update.

What you need:

• 💻 Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux
• 🔌 USB-cable (original, for data transmission)
• 📱 Included debugging by USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap according to the version → return to → For developers → Debugging by USB)
• 🛠️ Utility. ADB (download from the official website)

Step-by-step:

1. Connect the phone to the computer and allow debugging (on the smartphone screen will appear a request).
2. Open the command prompt (Win + R → enter cmd) and go to the folder with ADB:
3. Check the connection of the device:
4. Give a command to change the color (example for red):
5. For other colors, replace ff0000 on: 🟢 Green: 00ff00 🔵 Blue: 0000ff 🟡 Yellow: ffff00 🟣 Purple: ff00ff

Reboot the phone.

adb shell settings put global notification_light_on_ms 500


adb shell settings put global notification_light_off_ms 2000

This sets the duration of the glow (500 ms) and the pause (2000 ms) between blinking.

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⚠️ Attention: Teams ADB temporarily modify system parameters. MIUI If you reset the settings, the color of the indicator will return to factory color. To fix the changes forever, you will need to modify the firmware files (see Method 4).

Method 3: Applications for indicator management (with and without root)

If the first two didn't work or you want more flexibility, you can use third-party utilities. We tested 5 popular apps -- only two showed stable performance on the Redmi Note 8 Pro.

Guidelines for setting up Light Manager (the easiest option):

1. Download the app from Google Play.
2. Open the Notification Light section.
3. Select an app (like WhatsApp) and assign a color.
4. Activate the Enable Light Manager option.
5. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Note: Applications without root rights may conflict with system optimizations MIUI. If after installation the indicator stopped working at all, delete the utility and reset settings through Settings. → Annexes → Application management → [Title of the programme] → Warehouse → Clear the data.

Method 4: Modification of system files (for advanced users)

This is a way of editing firmware files and requires an unlocked bootloader and root rights, and gives you full control of the indicator, including setting up the data. RGB-Colors and animations, but risky: wrong actions can lead to bootloop (a looped download).

What needs to be done:

1. Unlock the bootloader through the official Xiaomi tool (linking to the Mi Account is mandatory!).
2. Install Custom Recovery (TWRP) and get root rights (Magisk).
3. With Root Explorer or MT Manager, open the file:
4. Find a line. <string name="config_notificationLightColor">#FFFFFFFF</string> and replace FFFFFFFF fittingly HEX-colour code, #FF00FF purple).
5. Save the file, set the rights to 644, and restart the phone.

In practice, this is rarely justified – it is easier to buy a smartphone with Always-on Display (for example, POCO F4).