Modern Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones have high-pixel density displays that allow you to display a huge amount of information. However, standard MIUI or HyperOS interface settings often make controls too large for users with small palms or specific visualization requirements. If you want to shrink the screen on Xiaomi, you do not need to have superuser rights or understand complex code.
There are several safe ways to change the display of content, from regular system settings to using the developer's engineering menu. In this article, we will examine all the methods, including rescaling the screen, adjusting the DPI (dots per inch) and even forcefully changing the resolution of the matrix, you will learn how to make the interface more compact without losing the readability of text.
Before you make any changes, it's important to understand that zooming in affects all applications at once. It's a global setup that changes how the operating system renders buttons, menus and widgets. Be careful when you enter numerical values in hidden menus, because too aggressively zooming in can make text unreadable.
Use of standard scaling settings
The easiest and safest way to reduce interface elements is to use the built-in shell features. In recent versions of MIUI and HyperOS, developers have provided a handy slider that changes the size of fonts and system elements simultaneously, a method that does not require deep immersion in technical settings.
To access this feature, you need to open the main menu and find the Settings app. Then you need to go to the Screen or Screen and Brightness section, where you will see the text and elements size. Here you will see a scale with several divisions. Moving the slider to the left reduces the size of the icons and fonts, creating a smaller screen effect.
It is worth noting that a standard limiter will not reduce elements to the lowest possible values available to the system, which is done to protect users from accidentally setting parameters at which the interface will become unusable, but for most use cases this range is quite sufficient.
- 📱 Open “Settings” and select “Screen” section».
- 🔍 Find the item "Size of text and elements" or "Scale».
- 📉 Move the slider to the left to a comfortable value.
- ✅ Click on “Apply” to save the changes.
⚠️ Warning: If the text becomes too small to read after changing the settings, don’t panic.You can always return the slider to its original position or select the default option from the same settings menu.
Changing the scale through the standard menu primarily affects the system fonts and the size of the icons on the desktop. Some third-party applications may ignore these settings and use their own zoom algorithm, which depends on the screen resolution.
For more advanced users who lacked the standard menu, the DPI (Dots Per Inch) setting is a value that determines the pixel density that the operating system uses to render the interface. Decreasing the DPI number makes the system think that the screen is less dense, and it compresses all the elements.
To access these settings, you need to activate the hidden menu. → About phone and quickly press 7 times on the line "Version" MIUI» or "Version" OS». After the notification “You became a developer” you can proceed to further actions.
The Advanced Settings menu will have a new Developers option, and when you enter it, scroll down to the Drawing or Hardware Acceleration section, and you will find Smallest Width, which is the one that gives you the most noticeable screen shrinkage effect.
The default value varies depending on the model: for the Xiaomi Mi 9, it can be 392 dpi, and for the Redmi Note 10, about 360 dpi. By reducing this number, you reduce the size of all elements. For example, reducing the value by 50-80 units makes the interface much more compact, freeing up space for content in applications.
| Model of the device | Standard DPI | Recommended DPI mine | The effect |
|---|
| Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 | 360 dpi | 320 dpi | Easy compression |
| Xiaomi Mi 11 | 392 dpi | 340 dpi | Optimally. |
| Poco F3 | 392 dpi | 350 dpi | Comfortable. |
| Xiaomi 13 Pro | 480 dpi | 400 dpi | Strong compression |
It is not recommended to lower the DPI below 320, and ideally below 360 for devices with a diagonal of up to 6.5 inches. If the values are too low, the interface can “go”, some buttons will become too small to press with a finger, and in rare cases the system may stop displaying the keyboard correctly.
Another radical way to reduce the number of display elements is to reduce the physical resolution of the matrix. If your Xiaomi supports the resolution change feature (often found in flagship models with AMOLED screens), you can switch from 2400×1080 to 1600×720.
This option is on the Settings path. → Screen. → However, on many Redmi and Poco models, this item is hidden or replaced only by a choice of refresh rate. ADB-Google Play commands or special applications, such as SecondScreen or Resolution Changer.
Risks of changing permits
When you change the resolution through third-party utilities without root rights, the settings may reset after the reboot.In addition, some system applications may not scale correctly if the new resolution is not multiple of standard values, which will lead to black bars or distortions. Use of the ADB (Android Debug Bridge requires you to connect your smartphone to your computer. USB And if you install drivers, you can type a command to force a resolution change, which gives you full control over the pixel density, but you need to be careful. 1080x2340 Return to factory permit through ADB It's important to understand that changing the resolution affects font clarity. On low-pixel density screens, when resolution decreases, text can become grainy and less readable. 💻 Connect your phone to a PC with installed ADB. 🔌 Allow debugging on USB developer-menu. ⌨️ Enter a command to change permission or DPI. 🔄 Restart the device to apply changes. ⚠️ Attention: When in use ADB-When you need to change the resolution, make sure you know the native resolution of your screen.Inputting incorrect proportions can cause the image to crop or become unusable, requiring a reset via Recovery. In addition to global scaling, screen size perception is influenced by the selected font. MIUI We have our own shop of themes and fonts, where you can find smaller, narrower fonts, and replacing the standard typeface with a thinner typeface reduces the visual space that you can use. Go to the Topics app, select the Fonts tab, and look for options marked "Thin" or "Narrow." Once you install this typeface, the interface will look lighter and more compact, even if the physical dimensions of the elements remain the same. This is especially true for news feeds and messengers. Also, in screen settings, you can separately adjust the font size, without touching the icon size. This allows you to fine-tune the balance: make the text readable, but not occupying a half-screen, while leaving the control buttons compact. The combination of reduced DPI and standard font size can often have better characters than the ones, which can be supported by the text. In such cases, it is better to return to the system font or choose an analogue from a proven manufacturer, for example, Roboto or Open Sans. One-hand mode and floating window If your goal is to reduce the screen not for the sake of aesthetics or the amount of information, but for the sake of convenience of controlling one-handed, you will be suitable for special navigation modes. Xiaomi has a functionality "One-hand mode", which compresses the active window of the application to the size of a small rectangle in the corner of the screen. You can activate this mode via the "Additional functions" menu or swipe on the lower bar of navigation (if gesture control with additional actions is enabled, this does not change the interface on the top of the screen, there is a large window). You can run the app in a small floating window that can be adjusted in size, and this is convenient for multitasking, where you have to keep your calculator or notes open on top of the main application without taking up the entire display. To turn on one-handed mode, go to Settings. → Additional functions → One-hand mode. You can choose the compression side and activation method (home swipe or bottom swipe) this is a temporary solution that doesn't require changing system files. 🖐️ Activate “One Hand Mode” in additional features. 📐 Use a swipe on the lower navigation lane to compress. 🪟 Customize the size of floating windows for multitasking. ⚙️ Turn off the mode when returning to full use. ⚠️ Note: In one-hand mode, some interface elements may overlap or become unclickable if the application is not adapted to work in a reduced window.Be prepared to deploy the application to a full screen for complex actions. Return to factory display settings if experiments with DPI, And the way that you can use the screen, the resolution and the fonts, you have to know how to get back to the original state, and the easiest way to do that is to reset the screen through the menu if you still have access to it. If the interface has gone out of sight, you will need to reset the settings through the developer menu. The developer menu often has a button to reset the settings or the ability to manually return the value of Minimum width to the factory setting. If you don't remember the original value, you can find it online on your smartphone model or reset the entire developer settings, as a last resort, if the changes were made through the Internet. ADB If the phone does not load normally or the sensor does not respond to invisible buttons, you may need to completely reset your data via Recovery Mode. 💡Remember the reference value DPI before the changes, it's the only guaranteed way to get things back to normal quickly if the experiment fails. ADB, If the screen is not responding, you can use the command adb shell wm size reset and adb shell wm density reset. These commands force the resolution and density of the pixels to the values sewn into the firmware manufacturer. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) Is it safe to change? DPI Xiaomi? Yes, change. DPI It's a software setup, and the only risk is that you can set a value that makes the interface uncomfortable or that some elements go off the screen. In this case, resetting the settings or entering the correct value will help. DPI If you zoom in on the desktop, the desktop grid might not fit all the widgets and icons, and the system would automatically remove those that didn't fit into the new grid. They're not gone forever -- you can find them in the general application list or in the folder "Not hosted" (if supported by the launcher). Does the screen shrinkage affect the battery? The scaling change itself (DPI) It has almost no effect on battery consumption. However, if you reduce the physical resolution of the screen (e.g., with FullHD)+ before HD+), I'm not sure if I can get the GPU load down, which can have a positive effect on the autonomy of the device. DPI? The exact current value can be seen in the Developer menu under Minimum Width. You can also use system informant applications such as Device Info. HW or AIDA64, They're showing the current density of the pixels in real time. DPI after system update? In most cases, firmware update MIUI HyperOS resets the developer’s settings, including DPI, So after a major system update, you'll probably have to repeat the setup procedure.