Xiaomi Monochrome Mode: 5 Ways to Enable Black and White Screen (Including Hidden MIUI Settings)

The black and white screen on Xiaomi’s smartphone is not only a tribute to the retro style, but also a useful feature for those who want to reduce eye strain, save battery power or focus on working without distracting colors. Depending on the version of the MIUI (12 to 15) and the device model (Redmi Note 12, Poco X5, Xiaomi 13T, etc.), the ways to activate the monochrome mode can vary from standard settings to hidden commands for developers.

In this article, we will discuss all the current methods for enabling monochrome mode, including little-known tricks for devices without official support for the function. You will learn how to temporarily transfer the screen to grayscale for reading books, how to make black and white mode permanent (including blocking return to colors), and how reading mode differs from a full-fledged monochrome filter.

1. Standard method: "For the visually impaired" mode in MIUI

The easiest method is to use the built-in color correction feature found in all modern versions of MIUI (starting with 12), which is suitable for most models, including Redmi 10/11/12, Xiaomi 12/13/14 and Poco F4/F5.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Special features (or additional settings) → Special Opportunities on Some Firmware).
• 👁️ Select Color Correction (can be called Color Filter or Screen Settings for Visually Impaired People).
• 🔘 Activate the Color Correction switch and select the shades of gray (or Grayscale in English firmware).
• 🎚️ Adjust the filter intensity with a slider (if available).

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Note: On some devices (e.g., Redmi Note 9 Pro with MIUI 13), this mode may conflict with Adaptive Brightness. If the screen starts to flicker after the monochrome filter is turned on, turn off the adaptive lighting in Settings → Display.

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If the Color Correction section is missing, upgrade to the latest version of MIUI. On older versions (below 12.5), this feature may be hidden.

2. Hidden mode: team for developers (no root)

For users who don’t have Color Correction in their settings (often found on the Poco M4 Pro or Black Shark 5), there is an alternative way through the developer menu.This method works on all devices with MIUI 12-15, but requires developer mode pre-activation.

Steps:

1. Activate the Developer Menu: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times in a row) After that, the Settings → Additional Settings will appear in the Developer Item.
2. In the developer menu, find the Simulated Color Space section.
3. Select Monochromacy and confirm the change.

Important: This mode cannot be disabled through standard settings, only by re-selecting the option "Disabled" in the developer menu. On some devices (for example, Xiaomi 11 Lite NE), after activating monochrome mode through the developer, the Always-on Display (AOD) settings may be lost. To return colors, reboot the phone.

3. Monochrome mode via Digital Wellbeing (MIUI 14+)

The latest versions of MIUI (14 and later) have integrated with Digital Wellbeing, which allows you to turn on a black and white screen as part of the Focus Mode function, which is convenient because the monochrome filter automatically turns off on a timer or when certain applications are unlocked.

How to set up:

• 🕒 Go to Settings. → Digital Well-Being and Parental Control.
• 🎯 Select Focus Mode and set up a schedule (or manually activate).
• 🖥️ In the mode settings, find the Color filter option and select Shades of Grey.
• 🔄 Specify applications for which the filter will not apply (e.g. Gallery or Camera).

The advantage of this method is flexibility: you can set up the automatic activation of monochrome mode in business hours (for example, from 9:00 to 18:00) and return colors at the rest of the time. However, on some devices (for example, Redmi K50), this feature can conflict with the Game Turbo, resetting the settings when you start games.

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4 Third-party applications: when MIUI does not have built-in options

If your device (Xiaomi Mi A3, Poco X3 NFC or older models on MIUI 11) does not support monochrome mode at the system level, you can use third-party utilities.

When using Grayscale Mode, note that on Xiaomi with HyperOS (new firmware for 2026 models), the application may require additional permissions in Settings → Applications → Special Access → Display over other apps. Also, some utilities (for example, Tasker) conflict with the Safe Mode MIUI function, which can cause the monochrome filter to reset after rebooting.

⚠️ Note: Applications like Secure Settings or Shizuku can cause com.android.systemui error on firmware MIUI With enhanced protection (e.g., on the Chinese versions of Xiaomi 13 Ultra!

5. Permanent monochrome mode via ADB (for experienced)

If you need to permanently switch the screen to black and white (for example, for testing apps or medical indications), you can use the ADB command. This method works on all Xiaomi devices with Android 8.0 and above, but requires a connection to a computer.

Instructions:

1. Install ADB Tools on your PC and connect your phone in USB Debugging mode (included in the developer menu).
2. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (macOS/Linux) Enter: adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 1 adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer 0 where 0 — It's the code for a monochrome filter.
3. Reboot the device. To get back the colors, replace the 1 with 0 on the first command.

This method irreversibly changes system settings until the next flashing, on some devices (e.g. Black Shark 4 Pro) after application. ADB-Teams may lose access to the Always-on Display settings, so use it only if you are confident in your actions.

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ADB-The method is the only way to make a monochrome regime permanent without root rights. MIUI, color correction (e.g. night light).

6. Features for Poco and Black Shark: Where to look for settings?

Poco and Black Shark devices often have modified firmware where standard paths to monochrome mode are changed.

• 🎮 Black Shark 5/5 Pro: Monochrome mode hidden in Settings → Shark Space → Visual effects. You can also adjust the intensity of the filter for games.
• 🔥 Poco F4/F5 GT: Use the Developer Team (Section) 2), There is no option in Special Opportunities.
• 📱 Poco X3 Pro/X4 GT: Nana MIUI 13 For these models, monochrome mode is enabled only through Digital Wellbeing (section) 3).
• ⚡ Black Shark Helio: There’s a unique Game Grayscale feature here that automatically turns the screen into black and white when games start (configured in Shark Space). → Game settings).

On the Poco M4 Pro 5G and Poco M5 with MIUI 14, a bug may occur in which the monochrome mode spontaneously shuts down after 10-15 minutes. To fix this, turn off MIUI Optimization in the battery settings for the Settings application.

7. Monochrome Mode vs. Reading Mode: What's the Difference?

Many users confuse the monochrome mode with the Reading Mode function in MIUI. Although both options reduce eye strain, they work differently:

If your goal is to minimize blue lighting, combine both modes: turn on Read Mode at full intensity, then activate the monochrome filter. On the Xiaomi 13 Pro and Redmi K60, this gives a “sepia” effect that less tires the eyes with prolonged use.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12S Ultra or Black Shark 6 Pro, using monochrome mode continuously, can cause pixels to wear unevenly (burn-in), as black areas of the screen remain off longer. It is recommended to periodically return color mode for 5-10 minutes.

FAQ: Frequent questions about monochrome mode on Xiaomi