How to Force 90Hz/120Hz Refresh Rate in Any Phone (2025 Working Guide)

If you want a smoother display experience, you can force 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate on almost any Android phone using built-in system options, developer settings, hidden menus, and ADB commands. Many brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, and Vivo limit the refresh rate to save battery, but in 2025 you can manually override these limits. This guide explains how to enable and force 90Hz/120Hz refresh rate using safe and tested methods.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. What is Refresh Rate?
3. Benefits of Forcing 90Hz/120Hz
4. Method 1: Check Phone Support
5. Method 2: Force High Refresh Rate Using Developer Options
6. Method 3: Brand-Specific Tricks
7. Method 4: Force High Refresh Rate Using ADB Commands
8. Method 5: Use Third-Party Apps
9. Does It Affect Battery Life?
10. Final Words

1. Introduction

High refresh rate displays have become standard in modern smartphones. Whether you own a mid-range or flagship device, running your phone at 90Hz or 120Hz greatly enhances the smoothness of animations and scrolling. However, many phones switch between 60Hz and 90/120Hz automatically, which leads to inconsistent performance.

The good news is that you can force your phone to stay on 90Hz or 120Hz permanently. This guide shows you multiple working methods to achieve this on any Android device in 2025.

2. What is Refresh Rate?

The refresh rate indicates how many times the screen updates per second. Higher refresh rates result in smoother visuals. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• 60Hz – Standard refresh rate
• 90Hz – Noticeably smoother
• 120Hz – Extremely smooth
• 144Hz+ – Ultra smooth (mostly gaming phones)

Higher refresh rates improve scrolling smoothness, animations, gaming response, and overall UI fluidity.

3. Benefits of Forcing 90Hz/120Hz

If your phone keeps switching between refresh rates, forcing a higher rate ensures:

• Consistent smooth animations
• Super-fluid scrolling
• Better gaming experience
• More responsive touch interactions
• A flagship-like experience

This guide works for Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Vivo, iQOO, Poco, Nothing, Motorola, and more.

4. Method 1: Check If Your Phone Supports High Refresh Rate

Before forcing high refresh rates, confirm whether your device supports them:

Go to: Settings → Display → Refresh Rate / Motion Smoothness

If you see options like 90Hz, 120Hz, or 144Hz, your hardware supports it. If the option is missing, you can still force it using ADB commands later.

5. Method 2: Force 90Hz/120Hz Using Developer Options

This is the easiest method and works on most phones.

Step 1: Enable Developer Options

1. Open Settings
2. Go to About Phone
3. Tap Build Number seven times

Developer Options will be enabled.

Step 2: Enable “Force Peak Refresh Rate”

Go to:

Settings → Developer Options → Force peak refresh rate

This forces the highest refresh rate everywhere.

Brands supported:

• Xiaomi / Redmi / Poco
• Realme
• Oppo
• Vivo / iQOO
• Motorola
• Nothing Phone

6. Method 3: Brand-Specific Refresh Rate Tricks

Samsung (One UI 5/6/7)

Samsung restricts certain apps from running at 120Hz. Use these steps:

1. Go to Settings → Display → Motion Smoothness
2. Select Adaptive
3. Enable Developer Options → Show refresh rate
4. Enable full-screen mode for all apps:
   • Settings → Display → Full-Screen Apps

Xiaomi / Redmi / Poco

Go to:

Settings → Display → Refresh Rate → 120Hz

If apps still run at 60Hz, enable these in Developer Options:

• Force peak refresh rate
• Disable HW overlays

Realme / Oppo (ColorOS 14/15)

• Enable High Refresh Rate
• Enable Force Peak Refresh Rate
• Disable Adaptive Refresh Rate

Vivo / iQOO (Funtouch OS 14/15)

1. Set Display Refresh Rate to 120Hz
2. Enable Disable Refresh Rate Throttling in Developer Options

OnePlus / Nothing Phone

Enable:

• High refresh rate
• Disable auto-switching

If it still drops to 60Hz, use ADB commands.

7. Method 4: Force High Refresh Rate Using ADB Commands

For advanced users, ADB provides the strongest method.

Requirements

• Windows or Mac PC
• USB Cable
• ADB Installed
• USB Debugging Enabled

Force 120Hz

adb shell settings put system peak_refresh_rate 120.0
adb shell settings put system min_refresh_rate 120.0

Force 90Hz

adb shell settings put system peak_refresh_rate 90.0
adb shell settings put system min_refresh_rate 90.0

Revert to default

adb shell settings delete system peak_refresh_rate
adb shell settings delete system min_refresh_rate

This works on all Android versions from Android 11 to Android 15.

8. Method 5: Use Third-Party Apps

These apps do not require root and are safe to use.

Refresh Rate Control App

Lets you lock the screen at a specific refresh rate.

SetEdit App

Allows editing system-level refresh rate parameters such as:

• peak_refresh_rate
• min_refresh_rate

Note: Use carefully to avoid incorrect system settings.

9. Does Forcing High Refresh Rate Affect Battery Life?

Yes, forcing 120Hz increases battery usage by around 10–20%. Forcing 90Hz increases it by 5–10%.

To reduce battery drain:

• Use dark mode
• Lower brightness
• Disable background sync
• Use battery saver when needed

10. Final Words

Forcing 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate can make your phone feel dramatically smoother, faster, and more responsive. Whether your phone automatically switches back to 60Hz or limits high refresh rates in certain apps, the methods in this guide—Developer Options, brand-specific tweaks, ADB commands, and third-party apps—give you full control. This 2025 guide ensures consistent, high refresh rate performance across all apps and UI animations.