Why Xiaomi Redmi 5 is warming up: 10 causes of overheating and how to eliminate them

Xiaomi Redmi 5

heat-up

45–50°C

But not always hot body temperatures are a sign of a breakdown, and in this article we will examine the physical and software causes of overheating, learn how to distinguish between normal and critical heat, and give step-by-step recommendations for diagnosing and remediating the problem, focusing on the specifics of Redmi 5 (codenamed rosy), its hardware features and typical "diseases" after 3-5 years of use.

Before you panic, check whether your Redmi 5 is only warming in certain scenarios (like playing games or charging) or constantly, even in standby mode, which will help narrow down the possible causes.

1. Normal temperature vs. overheating: how to distinguish

Any smartphone generates heat when it is running, a physical process involving the processor, battery and other components. For the Xiaomi Redmi 5, normal temperature ranges depend on the load:

• 📱 Standby mode or easy tasks (social networks, instant messengers): 28-35°C.
• 🎮 High definition games or videos: 38-45°C (short-term to 50)°C).
• ⚡ Charging: 35-42°C (especially when using fast charging).
• 🔥 Critical overheating: above 50°C (may result in processor shutdown or trottling).

To measure temperature, use applications such as AIDA64 or CPU Note: Redmi 5’s temperature sensors are located next to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor and battery, and if one of these values is significantly higher than normal, it’s a cause for concern.

Important: The Redmi 5 has passive cooling (no fans), so heat is drained through the body. If the back panel gets hot to the touch, it's not always critical, but it requires observation.

2.The main causes of overheating Redmi 5

Overheating can be caused by both software and hardware factors, and let's look at the most common causes that are specific to this particular model.

High load on the processor

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 in Redmi 5 is an energy-efficient chip, but it tends to heat up when it's under long loads, especially in three scenarios:

• 🎮 Games (PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty, Genshin Impact on Medium Settings).
• 📹 Video recording in 1080p long-term use of the camera.
• 🔄 Background processes (e.g., synchronizing cloud services or cryptomining through malicious applications).

To check the processor boot, open Settings → Battery → Using a battery and seeing which apps consume the most power, if there are unknown services, that's a reason to check your phone for viruses.

Problems with the battery

Redmi 5 is equipped with a lithium-polymer battery capacity of 3300 mAh. Over time, its capacity decreases, and internal resistance increases, which leads to increased heat generation during charging and discharging.

• ⚡ Fast discharge (less than 4-5 hours with active use).
• 🔥 Heating even when charging with the original adapter.
• 📉 Excessive shutdowns at charge level 20-30%.

Check the battery status with the AccuBattery app. If the battery health is below 70%, it is recommended to replace it.

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If the phone is warming up when charging, try using an adapter with less power (e.g., a power adapter, 5V/1A instead 5V/2A). This will reduce the load on the power controller.

Failure of the motherboard or connectors

Over time, Redmi 5 may have problems with:

• 🔌 Charging connector (oxidation or mechanical damage).
• 📶 Communication module (if the phone warms up when using mobile Internet or Wi-Fi).
• 🖥️ Processor contacts (drying thermopaste).

If overheating is accompanied by self-reboots of the screen or loss of the network, this may indicate chip dumping or soldering problems, in which cases diagnostics are required at the service center.

Malware or cryptomining

One of the most insidious reasons is hidden cryptocurrency mining or spyware that uses the resources of the phone in the background.

• 📈 Unexplained high traffic consumption (check in Settings) → SIM cards and mobile networks → Using traffic).
• 🔋 Quick discharge even in standby mode.
• 🔥 Heating for no apparent reason (e.g. at night).

To check, install an antivirus (such as Malwarebytes) and scan the system, and look for unknown applications in the list of installed programs.

3.How to diagnose the cause of overheating

To determine exactly why Xiaomi Redmi 5 is warming up, follow this algorithm:

If the phone is warming up even in safe mode (starts by holding the power button), the problem is most likely hardware (battery, motherboard). If the heat goes away in safe mode, the software is to blame.

It is also useful to conduct a stress test:

1. Install the app CPU Throttling Test.
2. Run the test for 10-15 minutes.
3. If the temperature is above 70°C, and the processor frequency drops – this is a sign of trottling (protective performance decline due to overheating).

4. Software methods for eliminating overheating

If the cause of overheating is software, try the following methods:

Optimization of background processes

V MIUI (Xiaomi firmware has built-in tools to limit application activity:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Management.
2. Select Charge Saving or Balanced mode.
3. Limit AutoRun for Unnecessary Applications in Settings → Annexes → Auto-start.

It is also useful to disable sync for unnecessary accounts (Google, Mi Account) and reduce the refresh rate for widgets.

Update to firmware

Sometimes overheating is caused by firmware bugs. MIUI:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. If an update is available, install it.
3. After the update, perform a cache reset (in Recovery mode, holding the power supply). + Loudness up).

Note: If the phone is warming up after the update, it may not be optimized for the Snapdragon 450, which will help roll back to the previous version (via Fastboot).

Cleaning up viruses and unnecessary applications

Remove suspicious programs and clean the system:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Sort by battery size or consumption.
3. Remove unnecessary applications, especially those with administrator rights.
4. Run a virus scan (for example, via Dr.Web Light).

If you find applications like com.android.system.update or com.qualcomm.thermald with suspicious activity, it could be masked mining.

Reset to factory settings

If nothing helps, do a hard reset:

1. Make a backup copy of the data.
2. Go to Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset → Resetting.
3. Select Delete all data.

After reset, do not restore data from the backup immediately – first check whether the phone is warming up with a clean system.

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If the overheating disappeared after the reset, but returned after the data recovery, the problem is in one of the installed applications or files.

5 Hardware solutions: when without repairs can not do

If the software didn't work, the cause of the overheating was iron, and the problems and the ways to fix them.

Replacement of the battery

The battery in Redmi 5 is one of the most vulnerable spots after 2-3 years of use, and signs that it is time to change the battery are:

• 🔋 Bloating (check if there is a gap between the screen and the frame).
• ⚡ The phone warms up even when charging with the original adapter 5V/2A.
• 📉 Capacity of AccuBattery below 2000 mAh (originally 3300 mAh).

Cost of battery replacement at the service center: 1500-2500 ₽ (You can replace it yourself, but you need a special glue to fix the new battery.

Cleaning from dust and replacement of thermal paste

Over time, the dust clogs the cooling edges (if any) and worsens the heat sink, and Redmi 5 can also dry the thermopaste between the processor and the metal frame.

1. Take the phone apart (you need a suction cup and a plastic mediator).
2. Clean the insides of the dust with compressed air or a soft brush.
3. Apply a new thermal paste (such as Arctic) MX-4) processor.

⚠️ Attention: When disassembling Redmi 5, it is easy to damage the screen plumes or power buttons. If you do not have experience, you should contact the service.

Maternity board repair

If the phone warms up and spontaneously shuts down, it may be due to:

• 🔥 Short circuit in the food chains.
• 🖥️ Chip dumping (for example, Wi-Fi module or charging controller).
• 🔌 Connector malfunction USB-C (oxidize).

Diagnosing these problems requires multimeter and experience in soldering. Average cost of board repair: 3000-6000 ₽.

Problems with the screen or touch screen

Rarely, overheating is associated with a malfunctioning display, for example, if after a fall the phone began to warm up and artifacts appeared on the screen (strips, flickering), this may indicate:

• 📱 Damage to the display plume.
• 🔥 Short circuit in the backlight.

In this case, a replacement screen is required (cost: 4000-7000). ₽).

6.Overheating Prevention: How to Prolong the Life of Redmi 5

To avoid overheating in the future, follow these guidelines:

• 🔋 Use the original power adapter (or certified with similar options: 5V/2A).
• ☀️ Avoid direct sunlight (do not leave your phone on the torpedo of your car).
• 🎮 Limit your time playing (take breaks every 30-40 minutes).
• 📴 Turn off mobile internet and Wi-Fi if you don’t need them.
• 🔄 Update your firmware regularly (but watch for reviews of the new version).
• 🧹 Clean your phone from dust (you can use a can of compressed air to clean the connectors).

It is also useful to calibrate the battery once every 2-3 months:

1. Reduce the phone to 0% (until it turns off).
2. Charge to 100% without interruption.
3. Repeat the cycle 2-3 times.

⚠️ Note: Do not use Redmi 5 at temperatures below 0°C or higher than 40°C – This accelerates battery degradation and can lead to irreversible damage to the board.

Previous article7 Comparison with other Xiaomi models: why the Redmi 5 is warming up more

For clarity, compare Redmi 5 with other popular models Xiaomi in the tendency to overheat:

As you can see, the Redmi 5 warms less than the flagship models, but due to outdated architecture and lack of active cooling, heat problems appear brighter against the background of wear and tear of components.

8. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)