Sliptime on Xiaomi Mi8: how to turn on Deep Sleep mode and save battery power

Xiaomi Mi8, Released in 2018, it still remains popular with users due to its balanced features and fine-tuning capabilities. One of the hidden features that can significantly extend battery life is Deep Sleep mode (sliptime) - a state of ultra-low power consumption, when the smartphone almost "falls asleep", turning off background processes. Mi8 This option is not always available out of the box: it must be manually activated through system settings, ADB-commands or engineering menus.

In this article, we’ll break down all the working ways to turn on the sliptime, explain why it might not work, and give you recommendations for optimizing battery consumption. It’s important to understand that incorrect activation of the mode can lead to loss of notifications or even system freeze — so follow the instructions carefully. If you use custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience), some steps may differ.

What is Deep Sleep and Why You Need It on Xiaomi Mi8

Deep Sleep is the minimum power state that a smartphone enters when it locks the screen.

  • 🔋 Background application processes are disabled (except system processes)
  • 📵 The operation of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS (if not used)
  • ⚡ Reduces the processor frequency to a minimum
  • 📱 The screen and sensors are completely deactivated.

On the Xiaomi Mi8 with MIUI firmware, the default sliptime is inefficient due to aggressive MIUI optimization, which leaves many processes active. For example, even in lockdown, Google Play Services, Mi Cloud or messengers can continue to work, which eats up to 10-15% of the charge per night. Enabling forced Deep Sleep allows you to reduce this cost by 1-3%.

However, there is a downside: in deep sleep, the smartphone may not receive notifications from messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) or miss calls if they come via VoIP (for example, Viber or Skype), and delays when the screen wakes up - up to 1-2 seconds.

📊 You are using Deep Sleep mode on your Xiaomi?
Yeah, all the time.
Only at night.
I tried it, but I turned it off.
I don't know what it is.
No, you don't.

Check the current status of the sliptime on Xiaomi Mi8

Before you activate Deep Sleep, check how the smartphone behaves in locking.

  1. Install CPU Monitor or BetterBatteryStats from Google Play.

You can also use the built-in MIUI tools:

  1. Check out Deep Sleep Time, and if it's 0 minutes, it's off.

💡

If you have a firmware installed MIUI Global, Deep Sleep data may not be displayed correctly. ADB-team:

adb shell dumpsys power

Method 1: Enabling Sliptime through MIUI settings

The easiest method is to activate the mode through standard settings, which is suitable for most users and does not require root rights.

  1. Open the Settings. → Battery.
  2. Slip on the battery settings (cog icon in the upper right corner).
  3. Select Power Saving Mode.
  4. Activate the option of Deep Sleep.
  5. Turn on the switch automatically when you lock.
What if notifications disappear after switching on the sliptime?
If messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) have stopped sending notifications, add them to exceptions: Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management. Select the desired messenger. Put on the Battery → No restrictions. Activate the AutoRun option. After this notification should recover, but battery consumption will increase slightly (by ~2-3% per night).

Method 2: Activate Deep Sleep with ADB (without root)

If you don't have Deep Sleep in your settings, you can turn it on through ADB, the Android debugging tool, which doesn't require superuser rights, but requires a computer.

Step 1: Preparation

  • 💻 Download and install Platform Tools (includes) ADB).
  • 📱 On your smartphone, activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About the phone, tap 7 times on the version MIUI.
  • 🔧 Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers and enable debugging by USB.