How to turn on the backlight on your Xiaomi phone: a complete guide to all types of backlighting

The backlight on Xiaomi smartphones is not only an aesthetic element, but also an important feature that affects the usability of the device. Depending on the model and version of MIUI, you can adjust the screen lighting, touch buttons, cameras, notifications or even the hidden mode "Ambient Display", which is activated when you receive new messages. However, many users face problems: where to look for these settings, why the backlight does not work after an update, or how to return factory settings.

In this article, we will analyze all possible ways to include backlight on Xiaomi, Redmi and other phones. POCO, including models with AMOLED-screens (where the Always-On Display function is available) and devices with IPS-We will focus on hidden settings that are not displayed in the standard menu, as well as common errors that may cause the backlight to fail. If you are looking for a solution for a particular model, use an article search (Ctrl).+F) with the name of the smartphone (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro)+ or POCO X5 Pro).

1. Screen illumination: brightness adjustment and adaptive settings

The basic lighting of the screen is configured through the Quick Settings Panel or the Settings → Display section. However, there are nuances: on new versions of MIUI 14/15, the adaptive brightness algorithm has been reworked to take into account not only lighting, but also the color temperature of the ambient environment, which can lead to unexpected darkening of the screen in warm-light rooms.

To manually calibrate the lighting:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Display. → Brightness.
• 🔄 Turn off the adaptive brightness slider if you want a fixed value.
• ☀️ For fine-tuning, turn on Reading mode (in the same section) – it reduces the blue component of the backlight, reducing the load on the eyes.
• 🔍 If the screen is too dim even at maximum, check the Contrast setting (available on the screen). AMOLED-display).

Important: On some models (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Ultra or Redmi K60 Pro) the Display menu → The Automatic Color Temperature option is additionally hidden. Disabling it can return the "natural" backlight if the screen appeared yellowish.

⚠️ Note: If after the update MIUI You can flash the backlight or you can change spontaneously, reset the display to the factory settings. → The phone. → Resetting settings → Reset the display settings. It won't delete your data, but it will return the brightness, color profile and refresh rate to default values".

2. Always-On Display (AOD): How to turn on the constant lighting AMOLED-screen

The Always-On Display feature (AOD) Available only on Xiaomi smartphones with AMOLED- or OLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T Pro, Redmi K50 Ultra, POCO F5 Pro) It allows you to display time, date, notifications and even user text on the screen off with minimal charge consumption. AOD It may be shut down due to battery savings.

To activate the AOD:

1. Go to Settings → Display → Always-On Display.
2. Select the display style (e.g., “Digital Watch” or “Analogue Watch”).
3. Set the schedule: "Always", "on schedule" or "When climbing".
4. Enable the "Show notifications" option if you want to see new message icons.

Make sure your smartphone screen is — AMOLED|Turn off battery super-saving modes|Update. MIUI last-minute|Check that the feature is not blocked by corporate policy (for work phones)-->

Hidden Opportunity: Some firmware (e.g. MIUI 14 for POCO F4 GT) has a hidden item in the AOD menu called "Additional Styles." To unlock it, tap the current watch style three times, and an extended gallery with animations and themes from the community will open.

3. Touch buttons backlight (navigation panel)

On Xiaomi smartphones with physical or touch buttons (such as the Redmi 9A or POCO M3), the backlights of the Back, Home and Recent keys can be turned off by default. In new models (starting with the Redmi Note 11), touch buttons are replaced with gesture controls, but backlighting can still be emulated.

Instructions for setting:

• 🔘 For physical buttons: go to Settings → Display. → Navigation buttons → Brighten the buttons and select "Always" or "Only when touched".
• 👆 For gesture control: activate Settings → Special facilities → Sign illumination (available on the MIUI 13+).
• 🎨 To change the color of the backlight, set a theme that supports button customization (for example, "MIUI Dark or Pixel Experience from GetApps).

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If the button highlighting doesn’t work after the update, try resetting Launcher. To do this, press the empty area on the home screen → Home screen settings → Reset settings.

POCO problem: On some POCO devices (e.g., POCO X3 NFC), the button highlighting may conflict with the Game Turbo function. If the buttons are not highlighted in games, turn off Game Turbo in the settings or add the game to exceptions.

Illumination of notifications (LED-flash-light)

Xiaomi smartphones use two types of notification highlighting: 1 LED-indicator (on older models, such as Redmi 5 Plus) and 2) Software screen illumination (on new devices, where LED In the second case, the screen briefly wakes up to show the notification icon.

How to set up:

• 🔔 For LED: Settings → Notifications → Notification indicator: You can choose a color for different apps (e.g. green for WhatsApp, blue for Telegram).
• 📱 For software illumination: Settings → Screen locking → Illuminate notifications. Enable the option "Blink screen".
• ⏱️ Set the frequency of blinking: "Once", "Repeat" or "Switch off".

MIUI Limitation: In recent firmware versions (MIUI 14+), notification highlighting may not work for some applications (e.g. Viber or Signal).

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select a problem application (such as Viber).
3. Activate the "Stop", "Second Start" and "Show notifications" options.

5 Camera illumination and flashes: unusual uses

Flash on Xiaomi smartphones can work not only as a light source for photos, but also as an emergency flashlight, a call notification or even a music highlight (synchronizing with the rhythm of the music).

Methods of using the flash:

• 🔦 Brightness Adjusted Flashlight: Hold the flashlight button in the notification panel to open the brightness slider (available on the MIUI 12+).
• 🎵 Musical backlighting: Enable music playback, then go to Settings → Sound. → Sound effects → Flashlighting.
• 📞 Flash when calling: Activate in Settings → Special facilities → A flash on a bell.
• 🚨 SOS-signal: Quickly press the power button 5 times - the flash will start flashing in mode SOS (It works even when the screen is locked).

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In the models with AMOLED-screens (e.g. Xiaomi) 12S Ultra) flash can be used to calibrate the camera's white balance. → Additionally. → Calibrate the color and follow the instructions on the screen.

Warning: Frequent flash use in flash mode can overheat the camera module. On some models (e.g. POCO F3), after 10 minutes of continuous operation, the flash automatically shuts off for cooling.

6. Hidden backlighting features: Ambient Display and gestures

In addition to the standard settings, MIUI has hidden backlighting features that are not documented in official manuals. For example, Ambient Display 2.0 (available on Xiaomi 13 and later) can display animations when the phone is lifted or the hand is approached, and the gesture "Double Tap to Wake" includes a double-touch screen lighting.

How to activate hidden functions:

1. Ambient Display 2.0: Settings → Display → Always-On Display → Additional → Enable “Animations When Uplifting” On some firmware, this item appears only after you connect to your Mi Account.
2. The “Raise to Wake Up” gesture: Settings → Display → Awakening gestures → Raise to Wake Up Works only with the gyroscope, so on some models (such as the Redmi 9C) can be turned off.
3. Color backlight temperature: In Developer Mode (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version – tap 7 times) open Developer Settings → Hardware Rendering Acceleration → Simulate Color Space and select “sRGB” for more natural backlighting.

Exclusive for POCO: POCO's MIUI smartphones have a unique "Dynamic Always-On" mode available for POCO, which changes the backlight style depending on the time of day.

1. Go to Settings → Display → Always-On Display.
2. Select the "Dynamic" style (appears after upgrading to MIUI 14.0.4+).
3. Set up the color scheme: "Dark", "Light" or "Auto".

7. Solving the Problem: Why the Backlighting Doesn't Work

If the backlight on your Xiaomi stopped working, the reasons can be as software (failure to work). MIUI), And hardware (damage to the screen plume) and a checklist for diagnostics below:

Critical bug MIUI 15: Some devices (e.g. Xiaomi 13T Pro) will not be able to highlight notifications after upgrading to MIUI 15.0.3, due to an error in the com.android.systemui service.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the System Interface (com.android.systemui).
3. Press "Storage" → "Clear the cache".
4. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Warning: If the backlight of the screen has become uneven (there are "spots" or "burned out" areas), this is a sign of burnout. AMOLED-This is a problem that you can't fix software, you need to change the screen, and to slow down, you need to reduce the display time. AOD Avoid static images at maximum brightness.

FAQ: Frequent questions about backlighting on Xiaomi