When the camera is in Xiaomi sleep mode, users are often taken by surprise at the exact moment when you need to instantly capture an important frame. Smartphones of this brand are equipped with an aggressive energy saving system that by default limits the background activity of applications, including the system camera, to save battery power. This leads to the fact that the application can close immediately after launch or not respond to commands from the physical lock buttons of the screen.
Users often confuse the system limitation of background processes with software failure, but in most cases we are talking about the normal operation of the shell MIUI or HyperOS. Understanding the mechanisms of the Android operating system in conjunction with Xiaomi's proprietary add-ons allows you to quickly find a solution to the problem. In this article, we will analyze all possible reasons why the camera goes to sleep, and provide a step-by-step algorithm of actions to fix the problem.
Importantly, ignoring these settings can not only lead to the inability to quickly take a picture, but also to the incorrect operation of third-party applications using the camera module, such as DVRs or video calling programs. Forced disabling battery optimization for the Camera app solves the problem in 90% of cases. Let's take a detailed look at how to do this and what other settings require your attention.
Reasons for the camera to go to sleep
The main reason Xiaomi’s camera stops working or takes a long time to load is the built-in Battery and Performance mechanism.The system analyzes the frequency of application use and, if it considers the program to be infrequently used, automatically limits its ability to save energy. This is especially true for a standard camera application, which the system may perceive as heavy and not always necessary.
Another factor is version conflict or accumulated cache. Temporary files saved to speed up work can become corrupted over time, causing failures when the module is initialized. In such cases, the operating system can force the process to be terminated, putting it into a sleep state or a complete stop to prevent the entire interface from freezing.
⚠️ Warning: Forced shutdown of system processes through an engineering menu or third-party utilities without understanding the consequences can cause the camera module to fail completely before the device restarts.
Also worth considering is the impact of third-party antivirus and memory cleaners, which users often install additionally, which can have their own, more stringent power management rules, interrupting Android system settings, and see the camera’s active process as a threat to autonomy and ruthlessly “sleep” it.
Set up auto-start and background work
The first and most effective step to fix the problem is to manually set the application rights, so you need to allow the camera to run automatically with the system and run in the background without restrictions, go to the settings, find the Applications section, and select All Apps.
In the list, find the standard Camera app (may be called Camera) and click on it to open the control menu. Here you are interested in Starting. Make sure the switch is activated. This will signal to the system that the application is important and should not be heavily optimized.
Next, you need to adjust the battery settings. In the same menu, find Energy Saving or Battery, and the default option is "Energy Saving" or "Smart Constraints," and you need to change that to "No Limits," which removes all blockages to background activity.
☑️ Setup of camera rights
After making changes, it is recommended to restart the smartphone so that the new parameters take effect. MIUI Often requires a restart to apply power policies to system services, if the Xiaomi camera is still behaving unsteadyly after that.--It is also worth checking for system updates.
Resetting the application settings and cleaning the cache
If changing your power settings didn't help, the problem is probably the corrupted temporary files. The accumulated cache may contain erroneous module configuration data, which leads to an instant sleeper when you try to access. Clearing this data is a safe procedure and won't delete your photos.
To do the cleaning, go back to the Camera app management menu as described in the previous section. Select Memory or Storage. There you will see two buttons: Clear cache and Clear all (or Reset) and try to clear only the cache first.
If the problem persists, reset the app completely, and this will return the camera settings (such as resolution, grid, timer) to factory values. Often, it is a failure in the resolution or video recording format configuration that causes a conflict with the driver that puts the camera to sleep.
- 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → All applications.
- 🔍 Find the “Camera” list and click on it.
- 🗑️ Select Memory and click Clear Cache, then Clear Everything».
- 🔄 Restart the device to apply changes.
In some cases, especially on older versions of Android, you may need to remove updates to the camera system component if the problem occurs after a firmware update.However, on modern Xiaomi smartphones, this option is often hidden, and the only option is waiting for a patch from developers.
Verification of permits and access to equipment
Modern versions of MIUI and HyperOS have advanced privacy settings that can block the camera from accessing the necessary resources. If an application is prohibited from using a microphone, geolocation or access to storage, it may not start correctly and go into sleep mode.
Check the Application Permissions section in the general security settings. Make sure the camera is allowed to use the microphone (to record audio video) and access files. Without these rights, the system can consider the application to be faulty and suspend it.
Also worth paying attention to is the memory protection feature. In some use cases, such as split-screen mode, the system may limit the camera's resources. Try closing all background applications and running the camera in a clean environment.
| Parameter | Recommended value | Impact on work |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-start | Included. | Allows the launch with the OS |
| Energy conservation | No restrictions. | Prevents euthanization |
| Access to memory | Permitted. | Photo and video preservation |
| Microphone | Permitted. | Video recording of sound |
Remember that third-party apps like Instagram or Telegram use the camera’s system API, and if the problem is only there, and the standard camera is working normally, then the settings should be changed for the specific social app, not for the system camera.
Updating the system and camera drivers
Often, hardware is unstable due to software errors in the current firmware version. Xiaomi engineers regularly release updates to fix camera driver bugs, especially after new versions of Android. Check for updates in the About Phone menu.
If you’re using a global firmware version, but the problem is only known in the Chinese version, waiting for an update or, at a pinch, flashing to another regional version (which requires unlocking the bootloader) can sometimes help, however, for most users, it’s easy to upgrade to the latest available version of OTA.
⚠️ Warning: Before performing any firmware actions, make sure that the battery is at least 60% in charge to avoid turning off the device at a critical moment.
It's also worth checking out updates for Google Services and Google Cameras if you use them. Sometimes a version conflict between the system camera and Google services causes the module to crash. Update all apps in the Play Market.
Diagnostics of hardware faults
If the software methods did not help and the Xiaomi camera continues to go into sleep mode or give an error “failed to connect to the camera”, it may be a hardware problem: this may be a waste plume, oxidation of contacts after moisture hits or physical damage to the module.
For initial diagnosis, you can use the engineering menu. Type ##6484## on the phone keyboard. In the menu that opens, select the camera test (usually FrontCamera and BackCamera). If the test does not start or the image is black/rickety, the problem is in the hardware.
Also note the heating of the case in the area of the camera module, overheating of the image processor can cause an emergency shutdown of the component to prevent burnout of the matrix, in which case you need to let the phone cool down and check the operation.
- 🔧 Check the cleanliness of the lens and no physical damage.
- 🌡️ Pay attention to the heating of the back panel at the top.
- 📉 Test the camera in the engineering menu with code ##6484##.
- 🛠️ If there are errors in the test, contact the service center.
In rare cases, the problem may be due to a poor-quality charger that causes interference in the power circuit. Try to start the camera when running from the battery, turning off the charging to rule out this factor.