Modern smartphones from Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO are equipped with advanced vision protection systems that automatically adjust the color temperature of the screen, a feature often called “night mode” or “read mode”, designed to reduce eye strain in the dark, but there are situations when the yellowish shade of the display interferes with graphics or simply annoys the user with its unnatural appearance.
Device owners often confuse the different types of blue light filters, as the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS may have different implementations, and sometimes the mode turns on on itself due to a scheduler failure or the activation of Read 3.0. Understanding the differences between these settings is the first step to solving the problem.
In this article, we will take a closer look at all possible ways to force the warm tones on the screen to be turned off, and you will learn how to manage system schedulers, disable automation, and fix software failures that impose undesirable display parameters.
Differences between Night Mode and Reading Mode
Before you look for a switch, it’s important to understand what mechanism is coloring your screen yellow. There are two main tools in the Xiaomi ecosystem: the classic Night Mode and the more aggressive Reading Mode. The former only shifts the white balance slightly, mimicking the warm light of the lamp, while the latter can completely redraw the interface, making it black and white or textured.
Users often fall into the trap of trying to turn off one feature and activating another.System priority is higher in the read mode, so its settings can overlap with standard screen settings.If you removed the tick in one menu but color reproduction is not restored, check the second settings section.
- 🌙 Night mode: soft yellow filter, switched on on by sunset schedule or manually.
- 📖 Reading mode: imitating electronic paper, often making the screen monochrome.
- ⚙️ Control: are in different subsections of the menu "Screen».
The special attention should be paid to Reading 3.0, which appeared in updated versions of firmware. It uses AI algorithms to adapt content, but often works incorrectly in third-party applications.
⚠️ Note: If you are working with photos or editing videos, both modes should be turned off as they distort the real colors of the image, which will lead to errors in retouching.
Understanding these differences will save you time when setting up, and don’t rely on automatic system recommendations alone, especially if your biorhythms don’t match the standard sunset and sunrise schedule your smartphone uses.
Disconnection through the main screen settings
The most obvious and most commonly used method of deactivating a heat filter is in the main display settings menu, which may vary slightly depending on the version of the MIUI shell or HyperOS, but the logic remains the same: you need to open the Settings app and find the section responsible for visualization.
☑️ Checking screen settings
In the list that opens, look for Read Mode or Night Mode. In newer versions of the software, these settings are often grouped together. If you see an active switch next to Read Mode, just click on it to turn it to Off. This action will instantly return the cold tones of the screen.
Sometimes the system will suggest you choose the degree of application of the filter, whether it's for the whole system or just for certain applications. Make sure you check the settings globally, not just for a particular launcher. If the color slider moves into the warm zone, return it to the neutral position.
For accurate access, use the following algorithm:
- Run Settings.
- Go to the Screen (or “Screen and Brightness”) section.
- Find the Reading Mode tab.
- Deactivate the main switch.
If the screen is yellow after this action, it may be deeper in automation or third-party applications, and standard settings are just the first line of defense against unwanted color schemes.
Set up the scheduler and automation
A common reason for suddenly turning on the yellow filter is an activated scheduler. A smartphone can automatically turn on eye protection mode at a certain time or when it is dark, determined by geolocation. To remove this dependence, you need to go to the settings of the mode itself.
Inside the Night Mode or Read Mode menu, find Schedule, where you can choose between Sunset and Dawn or Time. If you choose automatic switching, the system will ignore your manual shutdown until the next cycle occurs, switch to No, or turn off the scheduler completely.
If the phone detects that the sun has set at your point of stay, it can activate the filter even without a strict schedule, disabling location access for system screen services or manually selecting a time zone can help if the automation is not working properly.
In some cases, resetting the scheduler settings helps:
- 📅 Go to the mode settings.
- 🔄 Change the time of inclusion to random.
- 💾 Save and turn off the mode completely.
- ✅ Try turning off the filter again.
Make sure that the Digital Well-Being section doesn’t set limits that can force the theme or screen filter to change at a given time for “sleeping,” a separate mechanism that sometimes conflicts with native display settings.
Resolving conflicts with the function of “Dark theme”
MIUI and HyperOS interfaces have a deep integration between dark theme and night mode. In some scenarios, activating a dark theme automatically pulls up the warm screen filter, especially if the Adaptive Mode option is enabled, which creates the illusion that the night mode does not turn off.
Check the theme settings. Go to Settings → Screen → Dark Theme. If it activates the Adapt Interface Elements switch or something similar, try turning it off. It's also worth checking if it's set to automatically switch themes based on the time of day, which is common in custom themes from Themes.
⚠️ Warning: Third-party themes from the Mi Themes store may have their own, hidden color profiles that overlap the system settings. Try temporarily applying the standard Classic theme to check.
If you use Dark Mode constantly, make sure that the developer settings do not activate experimental forced dark theme features that may incorrectly invert colors and add yellowness.The way to these settings: Settings → About Phone → 7 times click on the MIUI version → Advanced Settings → Experimental features.
Sometimes it helps to just restart the interface, not completely shut down the phone, but to reboot the graphics shell if you have one, or to clear the cache of the Themes system application, and it will reset the time conflicts between skins and system color settings.
Third-party applications and access rights
Keep in mind that screen color control can be intercepted by third-party apps: Book readers, self-filtered video players, or battery-saving utilities often take precedence over system settings. Check out the list of recently installed apps, especially those that requested access to Overlay Over Other Windows.
Apps like Twilight, Blue Light Filter, or Battery Savers can create a layer on top of the screen. Even if you turn off the system mode, the app will continue to yellow the screen. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Three dots (top right) → Special features and check who is authorized to overlay.
How do we find the culprit?
Also look for reading apps like Kindle or Google Play Books. their internal settings often have their own "Night Mode" that turns on automatically.It doesn't affect the entire phone, but inside the app will create a yellow background that users sometimes confuse with the system.
For diagnosis, perform the following actions:
- Close all running applications.
- Check the notification panel for active filters.
- Temporarily remove the recently installed screen utilities.
- Check the energy saving settings.
Comparative table of disconnection methods
So for ease of perception, we've systematized the basic methods of solving a problem, and the table shows the scenarios, the most likely causes, and how to fix them, and it helps you navigate quickly if the standard methods don't work.
| Script | Probable cause | Method of decision | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| The screen turns yellow in the evening | Planner active | Turn off “Schedule” in the screen settings | Low. |
| Black and white screen | Reading Mode 3.0 is enabled | Turn off the "Reading Mode" switch | Low. |
| Yellow only in games | Game Turbo or Screen Profile | Check Game Turbo settings and color profiles | Medium |
| Persistent yellow background | Third-party annex | Check overlay rights and running processes | Tall. |
| Failure after update | System error | Resetting screen settings or a complete reset | Tall. |
Use this table as a checklist, and if your case is not listed in the first row, go down the difficulty list, and most often, the problem is solved in the first or second stage, but software failures require more in-depth intervention.
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In 90% of cases, the problem is solved by turning off the scheduler in the Read Mode menu, and don't ignore this item, even if you think the schedule is not set up.
Additional settings and resetting parameters
If none of the above methods worked, it may have accumulated software debris or crashed display configuration files, in which case the effective way is to reset the screen settings to factory values, which will not delete your personal data (photos, contacts), but will return all display parameters to their original state.
To do this, go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Restore and Reset. You don’t have to choose a full phone reset! Look for the option “Reset Wi-Fi, mobile network and Bluetooth settings” or, in some versions of MIUI, a separate button Reset screen settings (if available through an engineering menu or specific codes). However, the most reliable way is to simply find the reset point of all settings, carefully reading the description so as not to lose data.
A more radical but effective method is to use a code to log into the engineering menu. Type ##6484##. From the menu that opens, select Version Information or search for "Display." Here you can check the status of the light sensors. If the light sensor is stuck or shows incorrect values (for example, during the day), the phone will turn on the night mode forcibly.
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Before performing any resets, take screenshots of important settings or take a screen photo to quickly restore the usual brightness and font configuration.
As a last resort, if the problem has occurred after a firmware update, a full reset (Wipe Data) may be required.Be sure to back up in the Mi Cloud or on your computer before that. Often after a clean installation (without restoring backup settings), the problem with the stuck night mode disappears forever.
⚠️ Note: Wipe Data will remove all photos, apps, and contacts from your internal drive. Use this method only if you have an up-to-date backup.