How to Check How Much Xiaomi Phone Works: A Complete Guide

Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to know the total battery life of the device — whether it is to assess battery wear, check before buying a used phone or just out of curiosity. Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not display this information on the home screen, but it can be obtained in several ways: through hidden menus, engineering codes or specialized applications.

Many users mistakenly confuse uptime with screen-on time, the first showing how many hours the phone has been on since the last reboot or the first launch, and the second showing only the period of active screen use, and in this article we will look at all the current methods, including those that work even on locked devices.

Important: Some methods require developer or unlocked bootloader rights, and if you're not sure what you're doing, use the safe methods in the first section.

1. Check through phone settings (no root)

The easiest way to know when to run is to look at Xiaomi’s standard settings, which require no additional software installation and works on all models starting with MIUI 10.

Open the Settings menu → About the phone. Here you will see a few key settings:

• 📅 Operating time - total time since the last reboot (in DD:Ch:MM format).
• 🔄 Time without recharging - how much has passed since disconnecting from the charger.
• 🔋 Battery status - approximate battery wear may be displayed here (on some models).

Note that if the phone has recently rebooted, the uptime will be reset, and to get the data for the entire life of the phone, you will need alternative methods.

2. Engineering menu: hidden codes for Xiaomi

The manufacturer hides some of the technical information in the engineering menu, access to which is opened through special USSD-These commands work on most models, including the Redmi Note. 10/11/12, POCO X3/X4/X5 and flagship series Xiaomi 12/13/14.

Enter one of the following codes in the Phone application:

#4636## - Main Engineering Menu (Battery Information)
##225## - Alternative code for checking the time of operation (on some firmware)
##6484## - Hardware test (includes data on the processor's running time)

In the menu that opens, look for the Battery Information or Usage Statistics tab, and here you'll find the Uptime line, which is the total time your phone has been running since the last reboot, and some devices also display Total Uptime, which is the total lifetime of your phone.

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If the codes don’t work, try typing them without the * and # characters or use the MTK Engineering Mode app for devices on MediaTek processors.

3. Monitoring applications: AccuBattery, CPU Monitor

The utility side allows you not only to know the time of operation, but also to track the history of use, the temperature of the processor and the battery status.

AccuBattery (free, with premium options):

• 📊 Shows the time of operation on one charge and the history of discharge.
• 🔋 Estimates battery wear by number of charging cycles.
• ⚡ Offers optimal settings to extend battery life.

CPU Monitor (paid, but with trial period):

• ⏱️ Displays the total processor running time (including background tasks).
• 📈 It is a graph of the CPU load and GPU.
• 🔍 Allows you to export logs for analysis.

To obtain accurate data, after installing the application, you need to:

1. Reboot the phone.
2. Give the application all the permissions requested (including access to battery statistics).
3. Wait 24-48 hours to collect enough data.

4. ADB-Teams for Advanced Users

If you’re ready to work with Android Debug Bridge (ADB), you can get the most accurate data about the device’s time, which is suitable for Xiaomi owners with an unlocked bootloader or USB debugging enabled.

Connect the phone to your computer and execute the following commands in the terminal:

adb shell


cat /proc/uptime

The first number in the answer is the kernel's lifetime in seconds. To convert it into a familiar format, use an online calculator or command:

adb shell "echo $(awk '{print int($1/3600) \" hours \" int(($1%3600)/60) \" minutes\"} /proc/uptime"

To get a restart history (if it is maintained by the system), do:

adb shell dumpsys battery

In the conclusion, find the line since last unplugged – this is the time since the last disconnect from charging.

Install Xiaomi drivers on PC|Enable debugging on USB developer-setting|Download the platform ADB from the official Google website|Connect your phone to the original cable-->

5. Check through MIUI Hidden Settings (for older models)

On devices with MIUI 8-11, there was a hidden menu that displayed the phone's time from the moment it first turned on.

1. Open the Settings. → Additionally.
2. Click 5 times in a row on the MIUI version bar until a notification appears to unlock the developer settings.
3. Go back to the main settings menu and open the developer settings.
4. Find MIUI Hidden Settings (may be called Hidden Settings).
5. Go to Battery & Performance section → Uptime.

On the new MIUI 12+ versions, this section has been removed, but similar information can be obtained through MIUI Diagnostics (not available on all models).

adb shell am start -n com.miui.bugreport/.ui.BugReportActivity

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On devices with Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, hidden settings may not be available, in which case use ADB or the engineering menu.

Analysis of system logs (for technical specialists)

The most difficult, but also the most informative, method is to study system logs, which requires root rights or unlocked bootloaders, and logcat skills.

To get the working time from the logs:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and open the ADB terminal.
2. Use the command to save logs: adb logcat -d -f uptime_log.txt
3. Open the file and find lines with the kernel or boot tag.
4. Look for Boot completed in Xms records, which is the boot time you can use to calculate uptime.

To automate the process, you can use a script:

adb shell "dumpsys alarm" | grep "since"

This command will display the last reboot time and the current uptime.

⚠️ Warning: Incorrect logging can cause phone malfunctions.Do not delete or edit system files without backup.

Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

Depending on your goal and your technical skills, there are different ways to check your work time.

For most users, the best solution is a combination of the engineering menu (for the current uptime) and AccuBattery (for the history of use).

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi's working hours

⚠️ Note: On custom firmware devices (such as LineageOS or Pixel Experience), standard uptime verification methods may not work. ADB or specialized applications for modified systems.