This guide will list the steps to force a 120HZ refresh rate on any Android device. Having a high refresh was once considered a luxury and was a USP of high-end flagship devices. The mid-tier devices usually had a 90Hz rate whereas for the budget tier, it was capped at 60Hz. However, all that has now been drastically changed, and for good!
One could now find even the low-end devices housing the 120Hz rate, thereby making it quite easy for users who want a smooth usage experience but at the same time don’t want to shell out many bucks. With that said, many OEMs still haven’t given out complete control over this functionality to the end users.
They would either auto-implement the dynamic refresh rate wherein it will implement the rate that it deems fit depending on the current app you are using or the task that you are carrying out or it will simply just give the option to select both the extreme limits- 60 and 120 and nothing in between, Moreover, in some cases, even if you get the option to choose 120Hz, the system tends to bring it down to a lower limit if it finds that the OS no longer requires that extreme limit.
While on paper it might sound like a great move, however, that’s just taking the controls away from the users. After all, they very well know the pros and cons and the task that they are carrying out and keeping those points in mind only they decided to settle with this limit. So in this guide, we will list out the steps to force a 120HZ refresh rate on an Android device. Follow along.
How to Force 120Hz Refresh Rate on any Android Device
- To begin with, download and extract the Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC. This is the official ADB binaries provided by Google and is required to execute ADB Commands.
- Next up, enable USB Debugging on your device. This is required so that your PC can identify the connected device in ADB Mode. So refer to our detailed guide to enable it right away.
- Now head over to the platform-tools folder address bar, type in CMD, and hit Enter. This will launch Command Prompt inside platform tools and will act as our working directory.
- Then type in the below command and make sure that you are getting a serial ID. If not, then try out the USB fixes mentioned in this guide and only then proceed with the next step.
adb devices
- After that, type in the following command and make sure that your device name or codename is being shown in the CMD window. If that is not the case, then try re-establishing ADB.
adb shell
- Finally, type in the below two commands [one after the other] to force the 120Hz refresh rate on your Android device
settings put system min_refresh_rate 120.0 settings put system peak_refresh_rate 120.0
Forcing 120Hz: A Worthy Trade-off?
By default, the OS automatically decides the best refresh rate depending on the task that you are currently carrying out. For instance, if you are simply, scrolling through the chats, then the refresh rate will automatically trickle down to around 60Hz. On the other hand, if you are carrying out a graphics-intensive task, such as playing games, then the system will demand more refresh rate and the OS will respect that request, thereby increasing it all the way up to 120Hz.
In most cases, this should be your go-to approach. This is because it could prove to be the best scenario when it comes to efficient utilization of the battery. However, for some users, they wish to get the most out of your device. Their justification is simple- since they are using a device that supports 120Hz, why not make full utilization of the same all the time.
So whether they are playing games or simply browsing the web, they will get the same level of fluidity, even though some might argue that it is just not required in the case of the latter. The major drawback with this approach is the fact that the device battery drain will be at an all-time high.
So if that’s not an issue from your end and you prefer a smooth UI/UX over additional drainage of the battery, then the aforementioned workaround is suited just for you. So do give it a try and enjoy the best usage experience on your device, across all the tasks that you carry out. On that note, we round off the guide on how you could force a 120Hz refresh rate on your Android device. All your queries pertaining to the aforementioned tweak are welcomed in the comments section.
