How to remove the black and white screen on Xiaomi: 5 proven ways

The black and white mode on Xiaomi devices is one of the most common problems users face after updating MIUI or accidentally changing settings. This mode (officially called Color Inversion or Monochrome Filter) can be activated both through system settings and due to a graphics driver failure, which in most cases takes less than a minute to turn off, but some users face a situation where standard methods do not work.

In this article, we will analyze all possible causes of the appearance of BB mode on Redmi, POCO, Mi smartphones and Mi TVs, and also provide unique ways to turn off, including hidden settings of the developer and ADB team. Particular attention will be paid to cases when the screen turns black and white after a device drop or an unsuccessful update – additional steps will be required here to diagnose hardware damage.

Why is Xiaomi Black and White Mode Included?

Before we get to the instructions, it is important to understand what triggered the activation of the monochrome filter.

  • πŸ”„ Accidental Enablement through Special Features (most often when pressing hot keys or gestures).
  • πŸ“± Failure after update MIUI, When system settings are reset to factory settings, but filters remain active.
  • πŸ› οΈ Damage to the graphics driver (relevant for Qualcomm Snapdragon devices after firmware custom cores).
  • πŸ’₯ Hardware problems: the drop of the display plume or damage to the matrix (in this case, the BB mode may manifest itself partially, for example, only in the upper half of the screen).
  • πŸ‘“ Read mode in some models (for example, Xiaomi Mi) A3 or POCO F3), which by default uses a gray color scheme.

If the screen has turned black and white after physical impact (hit, fall, moisture), first check the operation of the sensor and camera - in case of hardware damage, the monochrome filter is often accompanied by other artifacts (strips, flickering).

πŸ“Š How often do you encounter screen problems on Xiaomi?
Never.
Rarely (once a year)
Sometimes (once every six months)
Constantly.

Method 1: Disconnection through β€œSpecial Opportunities”

In 90% of cases, black and white is enabled through special settings to turn it off:

  1. Open the Settings app (cog icon).
  2. Go to the Special Features section (some firmware may refer to Universal Access).
  3. Select Color Correction or Color Filters.
  4. Turn off the switch next to Monochrome or Shades of Grey.

If there is no Color Correction, try an alternative path:

  • πŸ” Go to Settings. β†’ Screen.
  • 🎨 Select Color Mode and set Standard or Saturated.

Check if the energy saving mode is activated

Make sure the device is not overheated (temperatures above 45Β°C may block the change of settings)

Disable all third-party apps to customize the screen (like Night Shift or Blue Light Filter)

Try restarting the device before changing your settings.-->

⚠️ Note: On some devices (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro), Color correction is hidden behind an additional menu. If it is not in the main settings, try searching for the color query in the settings».

Method 2: Hot keys and gestures

Xiaomi lets you turn on and off color filters with keyboard or gesture combinations. If the screen turns black and white after accidentally pressing, try:

  • πŸ”‘ On a smartphone: Press the Volume up at the same time + Power for 3 seconds (works on the MIUI 12–14).
  • πŸ‘† Gesture: Swipe three fingers down the screen (if Accessibility Shortcut is enabled).
  • πŸ“Ί On Mi. TV: Press and hold the Menu. + OK remotely within 5 seconds.

If the gestures don’t work, check their settings:

  1. Go to Settings β†’ Special Opportunities β†’ Special Opportunities Label.
  2. Make sure that there is a tick next to the Color Correction.
What to do if the gestures don’t work?
If the keyboard shortcuts don't work, your firmware may have disabled Accessibility Shortcut. To turn it on: 1. Go to Settings β†’ System β†’ Additional β†’ Special Opportunities β†’ Special Opportunity Plugins. 2. Activate the switch next to the Special Opportunity Shortcut. 3. Reboot the device. After that, try reusing the hotkeys.

Method 3: Reset screen settings (without data loss)

If standard methods don't work, try resetting your screen to factory settings, and it won't affect your files or apps, but it will return all display settings to default:

  1. Open Settings β†’ System β†’ Resetting settings.
  2. Select Reset screen settings (or Reset display settings).
  3. Confirm the action by entering the lock password (if necessary).
  4. Reset the device.

On Mi TVs, the path will be different:

Settings β†’ Device β†’ Reset and Update β†’ Reset image settings

⚠️ Note: On certain devices (e.g, POCO X3 Pro) resetting the screen settings can also return the factory color temperature. If after the procedure the colors seem too cold, adjust the balance in Settings β†’ Screen. β†’ Color temperature.

The deviceThe way to reset the screenNeed a reboot?
Redmi Note 11/12Settings β†’ Screen β†’ Additional β†’ Resetting screen settingsYes.
POCO F4/F5Settings β†’ System β†’ Additional β†’ Resetting display settingsNo.
Mi 11/12/13Settings β†’ Screen β†’ Color mode β†’ ResetYes.
Mi TV 4S/5Settings β†’ Image β†’ Resetting image settingsYes.

Method 4: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)

If black and white mode is not disabled through the interface, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which is suitable for devices with unlocked bootloader or enabled debugging over USB.

First, activate the Developer Mode:

  1. Go to Settings. β†’ The phone.
  2. Click on the MIUI version 7 times until the notification β€œYou became a developer” appears.
  3. Back to Settings β†’ Additionally. β†’ For developers.
  4. Turn on USB debugging.

Now connect the device to the PC and execute the commands:

adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer_enabled 0


adb shell settings put secure accessibility_display_daltonizer 0




adb shell settings put global accessibility_color_correction_mode 0

If the screen remains black and white after the commands are executed, try restarting the device or executing an additional command:

adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.CLOSE_SYSTEM_DIALOGS

πŸ’‘

Before using ADB, make sure that the PC has the latest versions of Google's Mi PC Suite or Platform Tools installed. If commands don't work, try connecting the device in Fastboot mode and running fastboot reboot.

Method 5: Checking for hardware faults

If none of the software methods worked, there's a chance that the black and white screen is caused by a hardware problem.

  • πŸ” Check the display plume: If the screen turns black and white when the device is tilted or after falling, the matrix plume has most likely moved away. POCO M3.
  • 🎯 Artifact Test: Run high-resolution video. If there's a bit of bandwidth or flickering in dynamic scenes, it's a GPU problem.
  • πŸ”‹ Charging check: Connect the device to charge. If the colors are restored, the screen power controller is defective.

For more accurate diagnosis, you can use the test mode:

  1. Turn off the device.
  2. Press Volume Up + Power before the Xiaomi logo appears.
  3. In the recovery menu, select Test Mode (if any).
  4. Conduct a display test (LCD Test).

⚠️ Note: If the screen displays colors normally in test mode, but it stays black and white in normal mode, the problem is with the firmware or drivers.

πŸ’‘

If a hardware malfunction is confirmed, do not try to disassemble the device yourself - in Xiaomi models, the display plumes are extremely fragile and easily break during unprofessional repairs.

Frequently asked questions

Why did the MIUI update turn the screen black and white?
This is a typical problem when upgrading through OTA, when special features settings are reset but filters remain active.Try resetting the screen settings (see Method 3) or rolling back to the previous version of MIUI via Recovery.
On the Mi TV, only some apps (Netflix, YouTube) have black and white screens. What do you do?
This is due to the HDR or Dolby Vision settings. Go to Settings β†’ Image β†’ HDR Mode and select Auto or SDR. Also check the color space settings in the app itself (e.g. YouTube: Settings β†’ Quality β†’ Color Range β†’ Limited).
Can I turn off black and white mode through Safe Mode?
Yes, Safe Mode helps if the problem is caused by a third-party app.To log in to Safe Mode: Turn off the device.Cut down the Power before the Xiaomi logo appears, then let go and immediately press Volume down.Hold on until Safe Mode appears.In Safe Mode, turn off all newly installed screen customization apps (like Night Mode or Blue Light Filter).
After the fall, the screen turned black and white, but the sensor is working. Is it a software or hardware problem?
It's probably hardware. It could have been: damage to the matrix plume (partial loss of color rendering); detachment of the flexible cable contacts (referred to in Redmi Note 8/9); damage to the screen controller (in which case the BL mode may flicker); software methods won't help here, it requires disassembly and diagnostics at the service center.
How to permanently turn off the possibility of black and white mode?
To prevent accidental activation: Disable the Special Opportunity Shortcut in the settings. Remove all third-party color customization apps. ADB Execute the command: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.settings/com.android.settings.accessibility.AccessibilitySettings ⚠️ This will disable access to all special features settings!