How to find out which application eats the battery on Xiaomi: 7 working ways

Xiaomi’s battery runs out too fast, and you don’t know why? Most often, the blame is on background processes or “gluttonous” applications that consume power in stealth even in standby mode. In this article, we’ll look at all the possible ways to identify such “energy vampires” – from standard MIUI tools to hidden Android features and third-party utilities.

Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi, POCO, Black Shark) are very specific in that their MIUI firmware actively optimizes the background of applications, but sometimes this optimization doesn’t work properly, and some programs continue to eat the battery to bypass the limitations, and we’ll show you how to find and what to do with these intruders.

Important: the methods in this article are relevant for MIUI 12-14 and Android 10-14. On older versions (for example, MIUI 11 or Android 9), some features may be missing or work differently.

1. Standard battery statistics in MIUI

The easiest way to do this is to look at the built-in charge flow statistics, which not only shows the total percentage of consumption, but also details it by application, system processes, and even individual components (screen, Wi-Fi, mobile network).

How to open it:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance.
2. Slip on the consumption schedule (at the top of the screen).
3. Select the period: Last charge or Last 24 hours.

Here you'll see:

• 📊 General discharge graph with notes when the screen was on/off.
• 🔋 List of applications sorted by energy consumption (in % or mAh).
• ⚙️ System processes (e.g., Android System or MIUI Daemon).

Note apps labeled Background Activity or High Flow, which are the first candidates for optimization, for example, if Telegram or VK consume more than 10% of the charge when the screen is off, they should be limited.

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If the Android System is the leader in statistics (over 20–30%), the problem may be the firmware or battery malfunction.

2 Hidden MIUI Tools: "Security" and "Shoot-Up"

MIUI hides some of the battery control tools in the Security menu, and you can see which apps automatically start when you turn on your phone or connect to the network, and which ones are actively using resources in the background.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Go to the Auto Start tab.
3. Sort the list by column Charge consumption (stamp by title).

What to do with the “glutty” apps you find:

• ❌ Turn off autoplay for unnecessary programs (such as games or social networks you rarely use).
• 🔄 Limit background activity: Go back to Application Management, select the app → Charge consumption → Limit background activity.
• 🚫 Freeze system applications (such as Mi Video or Mi Browser) if you do not use them: → Annexes → Delete/disable.

3. ADB-Teams for Advanced Users

If standard methods don't work, you can use the Android debugging bridge (ADB), which requires connecting your phone to your computer, but gives you the most accurate data on battery consumption in real time.

What you need:

Analysis teams:

adb shell dumpsys batterystats --charged

- show statistics from the last charge.

adb shell dumpsys batterystats --checkin

— outputs the data in a format that is easy to analyze (look for lines with "uid": and "power_ma":).

adb shell dumpsys battery set ac 0

- reset the counters (after that you can track the flow from a clean sheet).

Example of inference (simplified):

UID applications can be compared with their names through the command adb shell pm list packages -U. If any application consumes more than 100-150 mAh in the background - this is an excuse to limit it.

Third-party monitoring applications

If you need more visual graphics or notifications about “gluttonous” apps, install one of these apps:

• 📈 AccuBattery — shows detailed statistics on charging cycles, battery wear and energy consumption by application.
• 🔍 BetterBatteryStats is an advanced tool for analyzing partial wakes and background activity.

Example of AccuBattery's work:

Please note:

⚠️ Note: Some battery monitoring applications (e.g, DU Battery Saver consumes a lot of resources. Use only proven utilities from official sources (Google Play or APKMirror).

5. Virus and malware check

Sometimes high battery consumption is caused by hidden miners or spyware that masquerade as legitimate applications, such as in 2023, Trojans were discovered that, under the guise of Google Play Services, were mining cryptocurrency in the background.

How to check:

1. Install an antivirus (such as Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light).
2. Run a deep scan.
3. Check the permissions of suspicious applications in Settings → Apps → Permissions.

Signs of infection:

• 🔥 The phone is getting hot for no apparent reason.
• 📉 Battery goes down in 2-3 hours with minimal use.
• 🚨 In battery statistics, unknown processes appear (e.g. com.android.update or system_update).

If the antivirus has not found anything, but suspicions remain:

⚠️ Attention: Some malware masquerades as system files, in which case only a complete resetting of settings will help (Settings) → The phone. → Resetting settings) or flashing through Fastboot.

6. Analysis through Developer Modes

The developer menu contains tools that help track partial wakes and processor activity, and these data are useful if the battery is running out even in sleep mode.

How to turn on and use:

1. Activate Developer Mode (see ADB section).
2. Go to Settings → Additional settings → For developers.
3. Find options: Activity tracking will show what processes are waking up the phone; process statistics will show how the CPU is loading across applications; Do not turn off the screen will help test the flow rate at constant activity.

What to look for:

• 🔄 High-value Wake Locks processes (e.g. AlarmManager or JobScheduler).
• 📈 Constant activity CPU (10-15 percent more when the screen is off.

Example of normal and abnormal values:

Manual testing and experiments

If the automatic methods did not work, try the exclusion method:

1. Charge your phone to 100% and disconnect from the network.
2. Turn off mobile data and Wi-Fi (leave only basic features).
3. After 2-3 hours, check the battery statistics.
4. Gradually turn on apps and services while watching for changes in flow.

Checklist for the experiment:

Typical results:

• 📵 If the consumption normalized without mobile Internet – the problem in the communication module (try to change the phone). SIM-map or disable VoLTE).
• 📶 If the battery lasts longer without Wi-Fi, it is the background traffic that is to blame (check the router settings or turn off Wi-Fi in sleep mode).

If after all the manipulations the problem remains, the reasons may be hardware:

• 🔋 Battery wear (check in AccuBattery or through code ##4636## → Battery information).
• 🔌 Fault of the power controller (requires diagnosis in the service).

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If after resetting the settings and all optimizations, the battery still discharges in 4-5 hours, the problem is almost certainly in the hardware (battery, motherboard).

FAQ: Frequent questions