How to remove a dark theme on your phone Xiaomi: 5 working ways

Why Xiaomi automatically turns on a dark theme and how to fix it

Dark mode on Xiaomi smartphones has become standard with the release of MIUI 10, but not all users like it. Most often, the problem occurs after a firmware update, when the system itself switches to dark — even if you did not want to. The reasons can be different, from a failure in settings to an automatic schedule that is activated by time of day or light level.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible ways to turn off dark theme on Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO phones, from basic settings to reset system configurations, and focus on cases where standard methods don’t work (e.g., if the theme switch button is inactive or settings are reset after a reboot).

Important: the instructions are valid for MIUI 12, MIUI 13 and MIUI 14 (including global and Chinese versions).If you have older firmware (e.g. MIUI 9 or MIUI 11), some menu items may differ, which we will mention as well.

Method 1: Turning off the dark theme through basic settings

The easiest method is to use built-in MIUI options. It works on 90% of devices unless the system has been heavily modified (for example, after root rights or custom firmware).

To remove the dark mode:

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the home screen).
2. Go to the Screen section (or the Display on some models).
3. Slip on the item Dark Mode (or Dark Theme).
4. Move the slider to the off position. or select the Light option.

If the topic has not changed after these actions, check:

• 🔄 Automatic schedule: the same menu can be on Schedule or Automatic (time or light sensor.
• 📱 Launcher apps: Some shells (like Nova Launcher) have their own theme settings.
• 🔧 Energy saving: in the mode of ultra-saving or superbattery MIUI Sometimes forced to include dark design.

Automatic schedule in screen settings|Launcher settings (if third-party is used)|Energy saving regime|System updates (possible bugs in the current version) MIUI)-->

On some models (such as Xiaomi 12T or POCO F4), the path to the theme settings may be different. If you don't find Dark Mode in the Screen section, try:

1. Open Settings → Themes.
2. Tapping on the current topic (usually displayed as Default or MIUI).
3. Select the option of Light in the Color scheme section.

💡

If some apps (like Google Chrome or Telegram) remain dark after disabling a dark theme, check their settings separately – many programs have their own theme switch.

Method 2: Reset theme settings to factory

If the dark mode turns on on its own after rebooting or changing other parameters, the system settings of the theme may have gone wrong, in which case resetting the configuration without losing data will help.

How to reset the theme settings:

1. Go to Settings → Themes.
2. In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) and select Resetting Settings.
3. Confirm the action. The phone will reboot and the theme will return to factory settings (light default).

This method is also useful if:

• 🎨 You installed custom themes from the Mi Theme Store and they conflict with system settings.
• 🔄 After updating MIUI The dark topic began to be arbitrarily included.
• ⚙️ The Dark Mode menu has no slider or is inactive.

⚠️ Warning: Resetting theme settings does not affect user data (photos, contacts, messages), but will return to standard wallpaper, fonts and icons. If you used paid themes, they will have to be downloaded again.

Method 3: Disable dark theme through Developer Mode

If standard methods don’t work, you can try disabling the dark theme through the hidden MIUI settings, which requires activation of Developer Mode, but doesn’t need root rights.

Instructions:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Tap 7 times on MIUI Version (you will be notified "You are a developer").

Settings

Additional → For Developers

Forced to include a dark topic

Override force-dark

turn off

Reboot the phone.

This parameter is responsible for forcing dark design to be applied to all applications, even if they do not support it natively, and disabling it often solves the problem of gray interfaces in programs that do not have their own theme switch.

⚠️ Note: Not all items in the table may be present in your version. MIUI. Change only those settings that are directly related to the topic. Accidental inclusion of other options (for example, Do not block background processes) can lead to increased battery consumption.

Through basic settings |Reset theme settings |Developer Mode |Another method |Nothing helped-->

Method 4: Completely reset (if nothing helps)

In rare cases, a dark topic is imprinted so deeply into the system that none of the above methods work.

• 🔄 Failed update MIUI (Especially with the missing versions, for example, MIUI 12 straight on MIUI 14).
• 🛠️ Installation of custom firmware or modified themes.
• 🤖 Misfunction of the service miui.themes (responsible for the design of the system).

In this situation, you only have to completely reset your settings to factory settings. This is a radical method, but it is guaranteed to return the phone to its original state. Before reset, make sure to back up your data via Settings → About Phone → Backup or Mi Cloud, otherwise you will lose photos, messages and installed apps.

How to perform the reset:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select Reset all settings (not to be confused with Network Reset or Password Reset).
3. Enter. PIN-code or pattern lock for confirmation.
4. Wait until the process is complete (the phone will reboot several times).

After discharge:

• 📱 The phone will turn on with factory settings (light theme by default).
• 🔧 You will need to reconfigure Wi-Fi, Mi Account and other settings.
• 📁 Restore data from backup (but not theme settings!).

⚠️ Note: If the dark theme reappears after the reset, the problem may be a hardware failure (for example, a malfunction of the light sensor) or damage to the system partition.

Method 5: Manually delete theme files (for advanced users)

This method is suitable for those who are ready to work with system files and have experience with ADB or root-access file managers, and it will help if a dark theme is stuck due to corrupt configuration files.

To delete files, the topics will need:

• 📱 Phone with unlocked bootloader and root rights (or access to the bootloader) ADB).
• 💻 Computer with installed Xiaomi drivers and tool ADB (For example, Google’s Platform Tools).
• 🔍 File Manager with access to system folders (e.g. Root Explorer or Mixplorer).

Instructions via ADB:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and activate USB Debugging in the developer settings.
2. Open the command line in the folder with ADB and perform: adb shell su rm -rf /data/system/theme/* rm -rf /data/system/miui_theme* reboot
3. After the reboot, the theme will reset to standard.

Alternative method (via file manager):

1. Open Root Explorer and go to /data/system/.
2. Delete files and folders that start with: theme_ miui_theme_ dark_mode_

Reset the device.

⚠️ Note: Deleting system files without a backup can cause your phone to fail. If you are not sure about your actions, contact a specialist. Also note that after such manipulations, Mi Anti-Rollback protection, which locks the device, can work.

More tips: how to prevent the automatic inclusion of dark theme

To prevent the dark mode from turning on on its own, follow these recommendations:

• 🕒 Turn off the automatic schedule: even if you set a light theme manually, check if the schedule option is activated in the screen settings.
• 🌓 Check the settings for Digital Well-Being: in Settings → Digital well-being → Sleep mode can be a reference to the time of the day.
• 🔋 Configure energy saving modes: in Settings → Battery → Disable the option Dark theme in saving mode.
• 📱 Update the firmware: in older versions MIUI There were bugs with automatic theme change. → The phone. → Updating the system.

If you are using POCO Launcher or other alternative shells, go to their settings and turn off the System Theme Sync option. Some launchers ignore the MIUI global settings.

💡

The most reliable way to avoid spontaneously turning on a dark theme is to turn off all automatic triggers (scheduling, sensors, energy saving) and manually set a light theme in the screen settings.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the dark topic on Xiaomi