How to increase the brightness of the screen on the Xiaomi phone: from basic settings to hidden chips MIUI

Xiaomi's smartphone screen is too dim even at maximum? Or does automatic brightness control work unpredictably, making you squint in the sun? The problem is familiar to many owners of devices on MIUI - from the budget Redmi to the flagship Xiaomi 14. In this article, we will analyze all the ways to increase brightness, from standard settings to hidden functions of the engineering menu and calibration of the light sensor.

It's important to understand that brightness limitations can be software-based (MIUI settings, energy saving) and hardware-based (matrix quality, backlight wear). We tested the solutions on Redmi Note 12 Pro+, POCO F5, Xiaomi 13T and Black Shark 5 — all universal, but some devices will require unique approaches. If after all the manipulations the screen remains dull, at the end of the article you will find a diagnosis of hardware problems.

1. Basic brightness setting in MIUI

To start with the obvious, check if you missed the standard options. In MIUI 14/15, the path to brightness settings depends on the shell version, but the general logic is maintained. Open Settings → Display and note:

• 🔄 Adaptive brightness: If the function is active, the phone adjusts the lighting itself from the light sensor. Turn it off to manually set maximum.
• 🌞 Brightness slider: drag it right to the end. On some models (e.g, POCO X5 Pro) slider is blocked by 80% - we will talk about this further.
• 🌙 Dark theme: In night mode, brightness automatically decreases. Switch to light theme in Settings → Display. → Dark mode.

An important nuance: on devices with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12S Ultra, the maximum brightness in manual mode is often lower than in adaptive settings, due to the algorithms for protecting the matrix from burnout. To get around the restriction, you will have to use an engineering menu (section 4).

⚠️ Note: If after the update MIUI The brightness has dropped to a minimum, check the energy saving settings. Ultra-economic or battery modes forcefully restrict the backlight of the screen. → Battery → Energy saving regimes.

2. Disable brightness restrictions in the developer

MIUI hides some of the brightness functions behind the developer mode to activate it:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 7 times on the MIUI version (you will be notified “You became a developer”).
3. Return to the main settings menu and open Additional → for developers.

Now find the options associated with the display:

• 🔍 Disable auto-brightness – completely blocks adaptive adjustment.
• ☀️ Minimum brightness – set the value closer to 0 so that the slider in the settings works in the full range.
• 📱 Debugging by USB — will be needed ADB (section).

On devices with a Snapdragon processor (such as the POCO F4 GT), the “Force FPS” option may appear in the developer menu – turning it on sometimes resets the brightness restrictions. If there is no option, then your model uses a MediaTek chip (for example, the Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G), where this option is missing.

Activate Developer Mode |Disable Adaptive Brightness |Set Minimum Brightness on 0|Check Power Saving Mode-->

Calibration of the illumination sensor

If the automatic brightness is not working properly (for example, the screen dims in normal light), the problem may be incorrectly calibrating the sensor. MIUI allows you to reset its settings:

1. Open the settings → Display → Adaptive brightness.
2. Slip on the three points in the top right corner and select Reset.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen: the phone will prompt you to point the phone at the light source and in the shadow.

If the reset didn't work, the sensor could be physically damaged (for example, after the phone fell), and you can check its operation using the test code:

##6484##

Once you enter, you'll see the sensor test menu.

• 🌑 0-50 lux - dark room.
• ☀️ 10,000-40,000 lux – bright sunlight.

If the readings do not change when the lighting changes, the sensor is defective - repair is required.

4. Engineering menu: hidden brightness settings

For advanced users, the Engineering Mode provides access to options that are not available in the standard interface.

To get on the menu:

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Enter the code: ##36446337## (for MediaTek) or #4636## (for Snapdragon).
3. Go to the Hardware Testing → Lights section.

Here you will find the parameters:

• 🔦 Max brightness – maximum brightness value (by default it is often 2047, you can increase to 4095).
• 🌓 Backlight dimmer – regulates the smoothness of the backlight change.
• 🔄 Auto Brightness Tuning – Fine Adaptive Brightness Tuning.

Warning: on AMOLED-In the case of screens (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Pro), an increase in Max brightness above 2500 can accelerate the burnout of the matrix.

💡

Changes to the engineering menu are not saved after resetting. If the brightness resets again, repeat the procedure or use the ADB-commands for constant fixation of parameters.

5. ADB-commands for forced brightness increase

If the engineering menu is not available or changes are not saved, ADB (Android Debug Bridge) will help, which requires a PC and enabled debugging over USB.

Steps:

1. Install ADB Tools on your computer.
2. Connect your phone to your PC and type in the command line: adb devices (the name of your device should appear).
3. Grant the rights to change system settings: adb shell pm grant com.android.settings android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
4. Set the maximum brightness (value from the 0 before 255): adb shell settings put system screen_brightness 255

For devices with MIUI 14+, an additional command may be required to disable the restrictions:

adb shell settings put system screen_brightness_mode 0

(where 0 is manual, 1 is automatic).

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Black Shark 4) after use ADB To capture the settings, create a task in Automation (the Tools app from Xiaomi) with the trigger "When booting the system" and the action "Execute the command". ADB».

💡

If ADB doesn’t recognize the device, try reinstalling Xiaomi USB Drivers drivers or using the original cable from the kit. Cheap cables often don’t support data transfer.

6.Brightness issues after MIUI update

MIUI updates often reset the screen settings. If the brightness has decreased after the update, try:

• 🔄 Reset the display settings: Settings → Display. → Resetting settings.
• 📱 Clear the system cache: Settings → Memory. → Clear cache (does not delete user data).
• 🔧 Remove the update: if the problem has appeared after a specific version MIUI, You can go back to the previous one through the settings. → The phone. → Updating the system → Three points. → Select a Service Package.

On the forums, users of the Redmi Note 11 and POCO X4 Pro complain about a brightness bug in MIUI 14.0.4.

1. Turn off adaptive brightness.
2. Reboot the phone.
3. Turn on the adaptive brightness again and perform the calibration (Section 3).

Critical error: on some devices (e.g. Xiaomi 12) after upgrading to Android 13, brightness is blocked at 50%.This is due to an error in the core of the system. The only solution is a rollback on Android 12 or waiting for a patch from Xiaomi.

7. Hardware causes of dim screen

If the software methods did not help, the problem may be in the hardware:

• 💡 Wearing backlights: over time LED-elements lose brightness (typical for devices older than 3 years).
• 🔌 Problems with the plume: after falling or repairing, the plume connecting the display to the board could be damaged.
• 🔋 Failure of the backlight controller: the chip on the motherboard regulates the power of the screen.

Checking hardware faults can be as follows:

1. Connect the phone to charge. If the brightness temporarily increases, the problem is the power controller.
2. Light the flashlight on the screen at an angle, and if the image is barely noticeable, the backlight is faulty.
3. Check the screen on another device (if possible). For example, connect the Redmi Note 10 display to the Redmi Note 9 board — if the problem persists, the matrix is to blame.

Cost of repair:

Important: if the phone is warranty, do not disassemble it yourself! Contact the Xiaomi service center - a dull screen applies to warranty cases, if it is not associated with mechanical damage.

FAQ: Frequent questions about brightness on Xiaomi