How to return the standard font on the Xiaomi smartphone: all working ways

You turned on a Xiaomi phone and found that the font became unreadable, too large or completely gone? This problem most often occurs after updating MIUI, installing custom themes or crashing the system. 80% of the time, you can return the source font in 5 minutes — without complex manipulation and loss of data. But if the changes affected system files, you need deeper actions, including resetting or working through ADB.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to restore fonts on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO – from basic settings to technical solutions for power users. All instructions are relevant for MIUI 12-14 (including global and Chinese versions) and tested on Xiaomi 13/14, Redmi Note 12 and POCO F5. If your case is unique, at the end of the article you will find an FAQ with answers to rare questions.

1. Check the basic font settings

Before you start taking drastic measures, make sure that the problem is not in the standard settings of the system, and users often accidentally change the size or style of the font without even noticing it.

Open the Settings → Screen and check the following settings:

• 📏 Font size: Move the slider to the value of "Standard" (usually the middle position).
• 🎨 Font style: Select the default or Mi Sans option (for global firmware).
• 🔍 Text Contrast: Disable if the function is active – it may distort the display.

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If you have unfamiliar names on the Font Style menu (like Roboto Thin or Google Sans), you have a custom theme on your phone and you need to remove it (see Section 2).

After the changes, restart the device — sometimes the settings are only applied after the reboot. If the font does not recover, move to the next method.

2. Removal of custom themes and fonts

One of the most common scenarios is installing themes from the Mi Theme Store that change the fonts at the system level, and even after deleting the theme, the font can remain changed. Here's how to fix this:

1. Open the Themes app (Themes).
2. Go to the section My topics → Established.
3. Find an active theme and click Remove (or Reset).
4. Return to Settings → Screen → Font Style and select “Default”.

If the theme is not deleted or the font remains changed, try forcibly reset the theme settings:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Find Themes and select Warehouse → Clear the data.
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.

3. Resetting screen settings to factory

If previous methods failed, the problem may lie in corrupted display settings, in which case a partial reset that does not affect user data (photos, contacts, applications) will help.

Follow the following steps:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 5-7 times on the MIUI version to activate the developer mode (if not already activated).
3. Return to the main settings and go to Additional → Reset settings.
4. Select Reset screen settings (or Reset display settings).
5. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot.

Make sure your phone is 50%+ charged.

Save important screen settings (screenshot)

Disable the lock with a pattern lock (if any)

Close all applications

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Important: Some firmware (e.g., Chinese versions of MIUI) may not have the option of "Reset Screen Settings" in which case use full reset (section 4) or ADB method (section 5).

4. Complete reset (Hard Reset)

If the font disappeared after a system update or unofficial firmware installation, a complete reset may be required.This method removes all data from the device, so use it only as a last resort.

Instructions for resetting via menu:

1. Make a backup of your data (via Settings → Google → Backup or Mi Cloud).
2. Open Settings → Additional → Resetting settings.
3. Select Erase All Data (or Restore Factory Settings).
4. Enter a password (if required) and confirm the action.

If the phone is not turned on or the menu is not available, reset via Recovery Mode:

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. In the Recovery menu, select Wipe Data → Wipe All Data (manage by volume buttons, confirm by power button).
4. After reset, select Reboot.

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Complete reset deletes all data, including accounts, photos and apps, and only use this method if other methods have not worked.

⚠️ Note: On devices with a locked bootloader (Xiaomi blocks it by default), a reset via Recovery may require you to enter a Mi Account!

5. Font recovery via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods do not work, and you do not want to reset, you can try to restore system fonts through ADB. This method requires a computer and basic knowledge of working with the command line.

What you need:

• 💻 Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).
• 📥 Installed drivers ADB Fastboot (you can download from the site) XDA Developers).
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 taps → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to the computer and allow debugging (a request will appear on the smartphone screen).
2. Open the command line (or Terminal) and type:

adb shell


su




mount -o rw,remount /system




rm -rf /system/fonts/custom




reboot

If the commands are executed without errors, the phone will restart with the restored fonts. If a Permission denied error appears, then you do not have root rights, in which case only a reset or firmware will help.

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Before working with ADB, check if the device is recognized by the adb device command. If not, install the drivers or try another cable.

6. Flashing through Fastboot (extreme case)

If none of these methods work, you have to reflash the phone through Fastboot, which is a radical solution that will bring the device back to factory status, but it will require you to download the official firmware and work with the computer.

Step-by-step:

1. Download the official firmware for your model from the Miui Download website (choose the Fastboot version).
2. Unpack the archive in a folder on your computer (for example, C:\miui_fastboot).
3. Turn off your phone and press the Power button + Volume down to log into Fastboot Mode.
4. Connect the device to the computer and launch the file flash_all.bat (for Windows or flash_all.sh (for macOS/Linux).
5. Wait for the process to be completed (10-15 minutes) and the automatic reboot.

Once you flash it, it's like new, with a standard font and a clean system. Remember to restore the data from the backup.

⚠️ Note: Fastboot Flashing deletes all data, including internal memory (userdata).If the phone had important files that are not stored in the cloud, it will be impossible to restore them!

Comparison of font restoration methods

FAQ: Frequent questions about font restoration on Xiaomi