How to increase the brightness of the active screen on Xiaomi: 7 proven ways

Xiaomi’s smartphone screen is too dim even at maximum settings? Are you tired of squinting in the sun or in brightly lit rooms? The problem of low-lighting is familiar to many owners of devices on MIUI — especially after firmware updates or when using energy-saving modes. In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to increase brightness, including hidden settings, engineering menus and even hardware limitations of different models.

It's important to understand that screen brightness on Xiaomi is not just controlled by a slider in the notification curtain. The manufacturer artificially limits the maximum value to save battery life and extend the life of the matrix. But these restrictions can be circumvented - legally and without harm to the device. We tested all methods on current MIUI 14/15 firmware (including HyperOS) and collected only working solutions.

If you have a Redmi Note 12 or Poco X5 It's a matter of repairs, not software settings, and in those cases, check the integrity of the backlight plume first. And for all the rest of the time, read on, from basic settings to advanced tricks. ADB.

1. Standard brightness settings in MIUI

To start with, most users don't even know that MIUI has two independent brightness regulators: the first is the quick slider in the notification panel, the second is the advanced settings in the display menu. Let's take a look at both.

To open the extended parameters:

1. Go to Settings → Display
2. Slip on the item Brightness (do not drag the slider!)
3. Activate the switch Automatic brightness, then immediately turn it off - this will reset the calibration of the light sensor.
4. Now manually move the slider to the maximum.

Notice the hidden brightness limit of 80-90% of the real maximum of the matrix, which is set for most Xiaomi models (except the flagships of the 13/14 Ultra series).

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If the brightness has dropped after the MIUI update, try calibrating the light sensor: close it with your finger for 5 seconds, then let it go. The system will restart the automatic adjustment service.

• 📱 Quick access: Add a brightness shortcut to the home screen through widgets MIUI
• 🌞 Adaptive brightness: In the same settings, enable Adaptive Mode for smooth adjustment to ambient light
• 🔄 Resetting: If the slider doesn’t respond, reset the display settings in Settings → The phone. → Resetting settings → Resetting display settings

2. Engineering menu: hidden brightness parameters

For advanced users willing to take risks (but without harming the device), there is an engineering menu where you can manually set brightness values above standard limits. Importantly, this method does not work on all models and can reset after rebooting.

Instructions for entry:

1. Open the Phone app


2. Enter the code ##36446337## (or #4636## for older versions)




3. Go to the "Hardware Testing" section → "LCD Testing"




4. Find the Max Brightness parameter and set the value to 255

On some devices (e.g. Redmi Note 11 Pro+), instead of digital values, a scale will be from 0 to 1000, in which case set the value of 1000 for both Brightness Mode and Manual Brightness.

⚠️ Note: Do not change other options in the engineering menu, especially those associated with the Touch Panel or Sensor Calibration.This can lead to sensor malfunction or automatic brightness adjustment.

3. ADB-commands to remove brightness limits

If the engineering menu is not available or does not give the desired result, use the ADB-This method requires you to connect your phone to your computer, but it allows you to slightly increase the brightness without root rights. MIUI 12 and newer.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn on USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (shap 7 times on version, then go back to Additional Settings → For Developers)
2. Connect your phone to your PC and confirm your debugging permission
3. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (Mac/Linux) and type:

adb shell settings put system screen_brightness 255


adb shell settings put system screen_brightness_mode 0

For devices with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T) Add a command to disable automatic adjustment:

adb shell settings put system auto_brightness_adj 0

Install Xiaomi drivers on PC|Download Platform Tools from Google|Enable debugging on USB phone-on|Connect the original USB-cable (not wireless charging)|Check the connection with the team `adb devices`-->

Once you've done the commands, restart the device. Maximum brightness will now be available through the standard slider. To get it back, use:

adb shell settings delete system screen_brightness

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi) 10C, Poco M4 Pro) after use ADB You may reset the light sensor calibration. → Display. → Brightness and manually calibrate the sensor by following the on-screen hints.

4. settings for specific use cases

MIUI has separate brightness profiles for different situations: reading, playing, watching videos, and these settings are often ignored, although they can give you +15-20% brightness at the right time, and we'll figure out where to find them and how to set them up.

For reading and surfing the web:

• 📖 Open the Settings. → Display. → Reading mode
• 🎨 Choose Color Temperature (warm tones reduce eye strain but reduce perceived brightness)
• ☀️ Activate Auto Brightness for Reading Mode and set the slider to maximum

For games and videos:

• 🎮 B Settings → Special facilities → Improvements for games include Enhanced graphics
• 📺 In the YouTube or Netflix app, go to the player settings and select HDR (if maintained)
• 🔋 Turn off energy saving in games in Settings → Battery → Battery settings

Games | View video | Reading and web | Photography and video shooting | Working with documents-->

For Black Shark devices, there is an optional Shark Space menu where you can turn on Ludicrous Display mode, which gives +10% to brightness due to increased power consumption. Find it in the notification curtain or through a long press on the game icon.

5.Brightness issues after MIUI updates

Many users complain that after upgrading to MIUI 14/15 or HyperOS, the screen became dimmer, due to new energy saving algorithms and changed color profiles.

Method 1: Resetting the display settings

Go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Display Settings Reset. This will return factory brightness, contrast and color profile. After reset, be sure to recalibrate the light sensor.

Method 2: Reverse firmware (for experienced)

If the problem occurs after a specific update (e.g., from MIUI 13.0.5 to 13.0.6), you can return the previous version via Fastboot.

1. Download the necessary firmware from the Xiaomi Firmware website
2. Unpack the archive and connect the phone to your PC in Fastboot mode (clip Volume Down + Power)
3. The command is: fastboot flash system.img

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Before rolling back the firmware make a backup through Mi Cloud or TWRP. Return data after a downgrade without a backup is impossible!

Method 3: Manual editing of configuration files

For root-right users, you can manually change brightness files in the /sys/class/backlight. Find the file. max_brightness and replace the value with 255 (or 2047 some AMOLED-Be careful: incorrect values can lead to flickering of the screen.

6. Hardware limitations and matrices features

It's not always a software problem that low brightness is a problem, and different Xiaomi models use different types of matrices with fixed brightness limits.

• Xiaomi 13 Pro: AMOLED, 1900nt (real maximum)
• Redmi Note 11: AMOLED, 1200 nt (but software limited to 800 nt)
• Poco M5: IPS LCD, 500 nt (no hardware limitations)

To find out the real characteristics of your screen:

1. Install Display Tester or AIDA64 from Google Play
2. Run the brightness test – the application will show the current and maximum value in the threads
3. Compare with the official specifications on Xiaomi’s website

If your device is less than 70% of the declared brightness, it may indicate:

• 🔋 Wear backlights (typical for devices older than 3 years)
• 🔌 Problems with plume (after falls or repairs)
• 🛠️ Incorrect firmware (for example, global instead of Chinese firmware)

⚠️ Attention: On devices with LTPO-displays (Xiaomi) 12S Ultra, 13 Pro) brightness is dynamically adjusted depending on the content. If the screen dims when viewing dark scenes, that's normal technology behavior, not a malfunction.

7. Alternative solutions: from filters to screen replacement

If all software methods are exhausted, and the brightness still does not suit, consider alternative options:

Film solutions:

• 🔦 Anti-glare films with a transmittance of 95%+ (For example, Spigen Glas.tR EZ Fit)
• 🌈 Polarization filters to improve contrast in the sun
• 🔆 Magnifying glass with backlight (for reading small text)

Software utilities:

• 📱 Lux Auto Brightness – an alternative to standard automatic adjustment
• 🎨 Screen Filter – allows you to fine-tune the brightness below the system minimum
• 🔧 Kernel Adiutor (requires root) – to control the backlight voltage

Extreme measures:

• 🔧 Replacing the screen with a higher brightness model (e.g., with the Redmi Note 10 (450nt) on the Note 11 Pro)+ (1,200 nt))
• 🔋 Replacement of the backlight plume (relevant in case of physical damage)
• 🛠️ Firmware custom core with modified display drivers

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Before buying a screen replacement, check its model through the Mi Parts app or by marking on the original display.A mismatched matrix may not only fail to solve the brightness problem, but also cause image artifacts.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi screen brightness