How to reduce the screen size on Xiaomi devices: from smartphones to Smart TV

Have you ever encountered a situation where the image on the screen of your Xiaomi goes beyond the boundaries of the display? Or maybe you want to reduce the workspace for comfortable use?

purchased a smartphone with a curved screen and want to hide distortions at the edges;

- use Mi TV with incorrect scaling;

— They want to create a “safe zone” to prevent burnout. OLED-panels;

Connected the device to the monitor with non-standard resolution.

In this article, we'll look at all the ways you can reduce the visible area of the screen, from standard MIUI settings to hidden engineering menus and third-party utilities. It's important to understand that the physical diagonal of the display can't be changed, but you can programmatically adjust the display to make the workspace smaller.

1. Standard scaling settings in MIUI

The safest way is to use built-in zoom features, which are implemented differently at Xiaomi depending on the firmware version and device model.

For smartphones:

1. Go to Settings. → Screen.
2. Select Text and Display Size (or Screen Size in Older Versions)
3. Move the screen size to the left to reduce
4. Click Apply and Confirm Changes

For Mi TVs:

• 📺 Open the Settings. → Screen and sound → Image size
• 🔍 Select Screen Size Mode or 4:3 to Size
• 🎛️ Some models have manual Position and Size configurations available

💡

If after rescaling the interface elements became blurred, try resetting to standard and repeat the procedure with a smaller step of change.

Limitation: It only changes the scale of the interface, not the physical display area. Other ways will be needed to actually reduce the visible diagonal.

2.Use of the “Safe Zone” regime for OLED-screen

On OLED-matrix devices (e.g. Xiaomi 12 Pro, Redmi K50 Pro), you can activate a special mode that reduces the workspace to prevent pixel burnout, a technique that is especially useful for gamers and those who often watch black-barred videos.

Instructions:

1. Activate Developer Mode (7 times click on the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone)
2. Go to Settings → Additional → For Developers
3. Find the option of Secondary Display Simulation or OLED Safe Zone
4. Select 1080p or 720p depending on the desired reduction.

Important: This mode may cause some applications to display incorrectly, especially banking and gaming applications. Check compatibility with your main programs before activating.

3. Configure via the engineering menu (MTK and Qualcomm)

For advanced users, it is possible to change screen settings through the engineering menu, which works on most Xiaomi devices, but requires caution – incorrect settings can lead to the inoperability of the display.

For Qualcomm processors:

Enter the dialer: ##36446337##


Go to the Display → LCD Display section




Change the parameters:




LCD Width (reduce by 50-100 units)




LCD Height (reduce by 100-150 units)




Save the changes and restart the device

For Mediatek processors:

Enter the code ##36446337## or #4636###


Select MTK Settings → Hardware Testing → Display




Change the Resolution settings (reduce both values by 10-15%)




Press Set and confirm.

Make a backup copy of the data

Record the current parameter values

Charge the device at least 50%

Have a charger on hand in case of hanging

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After the changes are applied, the screen can flash or show artifacts, which is normal. If the image is completely lost, wait 5 minutes (the device will automatically reset the settings) or reset via Recovery.

4. Applications for changing screen resolution

If standard methods don't work, you can use third-party utilities.

• 📱 Second Screen: Creates a smaller virtual screen on top of the main screen, supports positioning and transparency.
• 🖥️ Display Changer – allows you to change the resolution and density of pixels (DPI) No root rights. It works on Android 9 and later.
• 🎮 Game Space (built-in to the game) MIUI) — It has a "Safe Zone" option for games, which can be adapted for other tasks.

Instructions for Display Changer:

1. Download the app from Google Play
2. Give permission to change system settings
3. Select Custom resolution and set the value 10-20% less than the current one.
4. Set the density (DPI) in the range of 320-380 for a comfortable display
5. Apply the changes and restart the device

Warning: some banking applications (Sberbank, Tinkoff) may block work on non-standard permits.

5. Change the diagonal on Mi TV via the service menu

For Xiaomi TVs, there is a separate method of reducing the visible area through a service menu, which is useful when connected to projectors or custom monitors.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn off the TV from the remote.
2. Press and hold the Menu + Volume Down buttons on the TV body.
3. Turn on the TV without releasing buttons (after 5-7 seconds, the service menu will appear)
4. Go to the Picture Settings section → Overscan
5. Set the Underscan value in the range of 5-15%
6. Save the settings and restart the TV

For Android TV 11+ models (e.g. Mi TV Q2 75)

• 🔧 Go to Settings. → The device → Screen and sound → Screen size
• 📏 Select Manual Setup and reduce Width and Height values to 5-10%
• 🎯 Use the test pattern for accurate calibration

💡

On Xiaomi TVs, changing the screen size through the service menu is reset after updating the firmware.

6. Hardware methods of reducing the visible area

If the software methods are not suitable, you can consider physical solutions:

• 🖼️ The masking film is a special sticker with opaque stripes around the edges, suitable for smartphones with curved screens (Xiaomi Mix 4, Black Shark 5).
• 📺 TV frames are decorative overlays that visually reduce the workspace. TV Q1E mi TV A2.
• 🔌 HDMI-Scaler is an external device that changes the output resolution before being transmitted to the screen. Cost from 3000.₽, supportive 4K→1080p downscale.

For smartphones, the most practical option is to use high-sided covers, which not only protect the screen, but also visually reduce the workspace by 3-5 mm on each side.

• Spigen Tough Armor (for Xiaomi 13)
• Ringke Fusion-X (for POCO X5 Pro)
• UAG Monarch (for Redmi Note 12)

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Before buying a case, check whether it closes the proximity and illumination sensors - this can lead to incorrect operation of automatic brightness adjustment.

7. Problems and solutions in diagonal reduction

When changing the screen settings, there can be various problems. Let's consider the most common and ways to solve them:

Special attention should be paid OLED-If you use a reduced area for a long time, you may see burnout in unused areas:

• 🔄 Change the reduction zone regularly (once in a week). 2-3 month)
• 🌈 Use dynamic wallpaper with frequent color changes
• 🕒 Limit the time of displaying static items (e.g., navigation bars)

💡

On devices with AMOLED-screens (Xiaomi) 12T, Redmi K60) Reducing the workspace by more than 20% can lead to uneven wear of the matrix.

Frequently asked questions