The sudden disappearance of colors from the display of a Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone can cause panic in any user. It seems that the device broke, there was a critical failure of the matrix or a virus damaged system files. However, in the vast majority of cases, the problem lies not in the hardware, but in randomly activated software settings or special energy saving modes.
MIUI and its global version of HyperOS provide a variety of comfort features, including reading, sleeping and vision protection modes, which are the most common causes of monochrome images. In this article, we will explore in detail all possible causes and ways to bring bright colors back to your screen using standard menus and hidden developer tools.
Before you start to do complex manipulations, you should rule out the most obvious scenarios, often users activate black and white without noticing it, or the function is automatically turned on on on a schedule, and understanding the source of the problem is half the success in solving it.
Checking Sleep and Digital Well-Being
The most common reason Xiaomi’s screen turns black and white is because of its Digital Wellbeing feature, which is designed to combat smartphone addiction by making it less attractive to the eye at night or during rest periods, and automatically turns the interface into shades of gray to reduce dopamine response.
To check this, you need to go to the main settings of the device. Find Settings → Digital Well-Being and Parental Control. Within this menu, you should pay attention to the item “Sleep Mode” or “Bedtime”: If this mode is active, it can force the color gamut of the screen at a given time of day.
To turn off the function, find the Sleep Mode switch and deactivate it. It's also worth checking the settings of the mode itself by clicking on the gear or the name of the function. There, the option "Shades of Grey" or "Monochrome Mode" can be activated. Make sure the slider is turned off to return normal color reproduction.
⚠️ Warning: If you have switched on sleep mode but the screen is still colored, check the schedule.Perhaps the feature only activates at certain hours and you just need to wait for that time or change the schedule manually.
Importantly, in some versions of Android, this setting can be duplicated in quick switches. Try hanging down the notification curtain and looking for an icon related to sleep or concentration. Sometimes accidentally tapping in a hurry leads to this restriction being activated.
Disabling reading and vision protection
The second most popular reason for changing color rendering is reading mode. Unlike sleep mode, which makes the screen gray to reduce dependency, reading mode is designed to make text comfortable. It mimics E-Ink electronic paper, removing bright colors and leaving only the contrast of black and white.
You can find this setting by Settings → Screen → Reading Mode. There are several options in this menu: regular, paper and classic. It is the switch to Paper or Classic mode that often leads to complete or partial discoloration of the image.
To turn off the black and white screen, simply turn the master switch to the Off position. If you want to use Read Mode only in certain applications without turning it off completely, select the Select Apps option and remove the ticks from those programs where colors are needed, such as from a gallery or browser.
- 🎨 Color customization: allows you to adjust saturation and heat, which sometimes visually distorts colors.
It's worth mentioning that the read mode can be turned on automatically when certain book-reading apps are launched. If the screen turns black and white in only one particular program, check its internal settings. There may be a separate theme or display mode switch that doesn't depend on the MIUI system settings.
Special Opportunities and Inversion
The Accessibility section contains tools for people with visual impairments, but they are often used by ordinary users for various tasks, but this is where the settings that can dramatically change the appearance of the screen, including color inversion and complete monochromeness, hide.
Go to Settings → Additional Settings → Special Features. Here you are interested in the Vision tab. Carefully review the list of available features. Pay special attention to Color Inversion, Color Correction and Remote Control.
Color correction is for color blind people. If it's activated incorrectly, the screen may fade or lose certain color channels. Select Color correction and make sure it's no or default. Also check if color inversion is enabled, which changes black to white and vice versa.
| Function | Screen impact | Recommended condition |
|---|---|---|
| Color inversion | Changes colors to opposites (negative) | Off. |
| Color correction | Distorting the palette for colorblinds | No/Disconnected |
| Increase | Scaling the image, does not affect the color | By choice. |
| High contrast text | Makes the text bolder and more contrast | Off. |
⚠️ Warning: Be careful when changing the settings of special features. Some of them, such as "Increase", can change the navigation on the screen, and you will need time to get used to the new control.
If you find a feature that you didn’t activate yourself, it may indicate that you accidentally pressed the key combination. Xiaomi often has triple tapping on the screen or simultaneous clamping of the volume buttons to activate certain accessibility features.
Developer mode and simulation of monochrome
For advanced users who have ever included a developer mode, it's worth checking the hidden debugging settings.The Android Engineering Menu contains an interface testing tool that forcibly puts the screen into black and white mode. This is what developers need to check the contrast of elements. UI.
To get to this section, go to Settings path. → About the phone. Find the line "Version." MIUI» or "Version" OS» And press it fast. 7-10 Once in a row, until the message "You became a developer" appears, and then a new item "For developers" will appear in the menu "Additional settings».
Inside the developer menu, scroll down to the "Hardware Rendering Acceleration" or "Monitoring" section, and look for "Simulate Color Space" if it selects "Full Monochrome" or "Monochrome", the screen will be black and white regardless of the other settings.
Path to setup:
Settings → Additional settings → For developers →
Simulation of color space → DisconnectedChange the value to Disabled. The screen should instantly return normal colors. If color space simulation is not available, look for GPU debugging mode or similar options, although they are less likely to directly affect chromaticity.
Third-party annexes and design themes
Don’t discount the impact of third-party software. There are plenty of battery-saving or eye-protection software in the Google Play and GetApps app store that works on top of system settings. Apps like “Twilight,” “Blue Light Filter,” or various “Battery Savers” can have their own filters.
Check the list of installed applications. If you've recently installed a reader, energy saving or launcher, try temporarily removing or disabling them. Often, these programs have permissions on "Above Other Windows," which allows them to block the system's color reproduction with their own filter.
The themes can also be the themes, and some of the themes in the MIUI Themes store, as the author has suggested, can be retro or noir, using black and white wallpaper and icons, which creates the illusion of a broken screen, when in fact it's just a design.
- 🛡️ Antivirus: some features of “vision protection” are built into antivirus systems.
- 🔋 Optimizers: Memory cleaning apps often have an “Ultra Save” mode that turns off colors.
- 🎨 Topics: Change the theme to standard Classic or Default to eliminate visual style.
To diagnose, run your smartphone in Safe Mode, press the turn off button, and when the turn off icon appears on the screen, press and hold it, and the system prompts you to go to Safe Mode, and if the colors are back in this mode, then one of the apps you installed is causing the problem.
☑️ Diagnostics of third-party software
Hardware problems and resetting settings
If none of the software methods worked, and the screen remains black and white even in safe mode or when loading the MIUI logo, it may be a hardware problem, the display plume may have left after a fall, or the matrix itself has been damaged. In rare cases, this can be a sign of a failure of the video controller.
Before you bring your device to the service, try a full Hard Reset. Importantly, this action will delete all your data, so be sure to back up your photos and contacts to the Mi Cloud or your computer.
For reset, go to Settings → The phone. → Resetting settings → Erase all the data. If the screen doesn't respond to touch or you can't see the menu, you can use it_recovery_ Turn off the phone, then press the on and volume button at the same time. In the menu that appears, select Wipe Data.
⚠️ Warning: Resetting will not restore a physically broken screen.If the screen remains gray after resetting and loading the logo (which is usually color), the probability of hardware failure is 99%.
Some Redmi and POCO models have a software bug that is associated with a firmware update, and if the problem occurs immediately after the update, it is worth checking the forums for such complaints, sometimes flashing the device through the computer with the Mi Flash Tool utility helps.