How to Change DPI in Any Android Device (No Root)

Jun. 15, 2017



Have you ever come across a situation where the text on your smartphone just seems too big? Or you just prefer to have more data shown on your display? Remember how you could simply change your screen’s resolution on your PC and it would automatically change the text on your screen? The same effect can be achieved by altering the DPI on your Android smartphone. DPI refers to the Density Independence on your device, which is the ratio of your device’s resolution to the display size. Simply put, a higher DPI results in more content being shown on your device. So, without any further ado,here’s how you can change DPI of your Android device:

Changing DPI on Android Nougat or Above (7.0+)

Changing DPI on Android Nougat or Above (7.0+)

Starting with Android Nougat, Google introduced a simple and easy way to alter your device’s DPI, by offering an option in the Android settings itself. You can change your DPI on Android Nougat by following the steps below:

Note:I’ll be using a non-rooted Moto G3 with Android 6.0.1 for this tutorial. This procedure, should, however work on any device with Android 4.1+

  1. If your device is rooted, you’ll be presented with a screen that says that “root access has been granted”, and you can proceed with the seventh step. If your device is not rooted, you’ll be presented with a screen that says that the app could not obtain root access and would require you torun a command via ADBto proceed.

Note– The proceeding steps require you to have ADB and Fastboot and their drivers installed onto your PC or Mac.

  1. First up, head to the“Developer Options”on your device and enable“USB Debugging”.

  2. Now, connect your device to your PC and open up aCommand Prompt or Powershell Windowwith Administrator Privileges.

  3. In the Command Prompt window, first type“adb devices”without the quotes. If the system returns a system value with the list of devices, that means that your device has been successfully connected to the PC with ADB shell. If not, make sure you have the right set of drivers installed. Once your device name appears,type in the following command in the CMD windowand press enter:

adb shell pm grant com.zacharee1.dpichanger android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

  1. The aforementioned command should give the app the permissions it requires. Once done,tap on the arrowon your device to proceed. You’ll be presented with a screen that says that the setup is done. Tap on thetick iconto proceed.

  2. Upon entering the app, you’ll be presented with a screen that displays your device’s current DPI values. Simplyenter the desired DPI valuein that section and tap on“Apply”.

  3. Once you press Apply, your settings will be applied. If successful, you’ll be presented with adialog boxthat will ask you whether you want to continue with the applied settings or reset. Simplytap on OK, and you can witness the changed DPI.

Note:While the DPI is changed in real time, it is still recommended to reboot your device for best results.

See More:10 Cool Android Mods You Should Definitely Use

One could want to change their device’s DPI due to various reasons. While some manufacturers do often offer this feature into their devices as part of their modifications to the source code, the ability to change DPI is not available in stock ROMs before Nougat. Well, thankfully, the aforementioned method to change DPI works like a charm. Well, we hope you were easily able to modify your device’s DPI using this tutorial. However, if you have any doubts, let me know in the comments section below.

This isn’t an interview! Why am I being asked to tell you about myself? :P Well, if you really wanna know, I’m currently trending worldwide on #BeingMirchi. Buy me a beer if you like my work. Cheers!

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