How to watch traffic on Xiaomi: full control of data consumption

Xiaomi’s current MIUI or HyperOS smartphones consume vast amounts of data, often going unnoticed. You may find yourself running out of limited-edition gigabytes in two weeks, even though you haven’t watched high-resolution video. Understanding how to watch traffic on shaomi becomes a critical skill for saving budget and optimizing your device.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the built-in tools that allow you to track your consumption in real time, and you will learn how to identify “gluttonous” applications, block them from accessing the network and set strict limits so that the carrier does not charge extra funds.

The main reason for the sudden disappearance of megabytes is in the background: Social networks, messengers and cloud storage can constantly update content even when the smartphone screen is dead, control over these processes gives you complete control of the device.

Use of the built-in "Security" application

The fastest and most reliable way to know traffic is to use the system utility preinstalled on each Xiaomi device, which combines antivirus, memory cleanup and, importantly for us, network activity monitoring, and it works at the system level, so its data is as accurate as possible and independent of third-party services.

To get started, you need to run the Safety label with a green shield on your desktop. In the program interface, you need to find a section that can be called Traffic or have a graphic icon. If there is no widget on the home screen, click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select the corresponding item in the drop-down menu.

This shows you the general statistics: how many megabytes or gigabytes were spent in the current period. The system automatically sorts applications by the amount of data consumed, allowing you to instantly see the leader by consumption. Often Instagram, TikTok or YouTube are in the top, but sometimes the navigator or game that downloads updates is a surprise.

And it's important to note that in this section, you can see the division between mobile Internet and Wi-Fi, which helps you understand where the overspend is, and if an application consumes a lot of data over Wi-Fi, it's less critical, but it still affects network speed.

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In the application "Security" you can set the date of resetting statistics, so that it coincides with the date of connection of your tariff plan with the operator.

Setting limits and warnings in MIUI

So to be able to get away from the operator's SMS notifications, which are often too late, you have to set up internal restrictions, and the traffic limit is a feature that will force the mobile Internet to shut down when you reach a predetermined threshold, and it's the best protection against accidental debt.

In the traffic management menu, click on the Settings button (usually a gear) where you will need to enter your tariff settings: the total package size and the date of its update, and after saving this data, the system will begin to keep an accurate count.

You can set two types of restrictions: One is a warning when, for example, 80% of a packet is consumed; the other is a complete data shutdown; and the restriction feature for individual applications is also available, which we will talk about below.

• 📉 Warning Threshold: Set the Value 70-80%, to react.
• 🚫 Full limit: bet on 95-98% from your insurance rate.
• 📅 Date of reset: a critical parameter, without it, statistics will accumulate indefinitely.

Don't ignore setting the reset date. If you put the wrong number, the statistics will be incorrect, and the limits may work at the wrong time or not at all.

Detailed analysis of the annexes

So if you look at the application in depth, you can see which application is using the network, and you'll see two things in the list of programs: the amount of data you're using for the current month and the amount you're spending today, and if you click on a particular application, you can see a detailed activity chart.

And you have to pay special attention to background traffic, and many programs continue to load content even when you're not using it, like an email client can upload attachments, and a news feed can update pictures.

Each application has a Background Connection switch in the detailed settings, and if you turn it off, it can only get online when you keep it open on the screen, which drastically reduces battery consumption and traffic.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling background traffic for instant messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) will result in messages not coming until you open the app.

For navigation maps, the background is often unnecessary unless you use the transport tracking feature. check the list and turn off the extra to save resources.

Hidden Traffic Counter and Engineering Menu

Some versions of MIUI firmware have an advanced statistical counter that is hidden from the average user, which shows more detailed information about network connections, including the number of packets transmitted.

You can use the engineering menu code to access the advanced information, but it doesn't work on all Android models and versions. Try typing the code ##4636##. If the menu opens, select "Usage statistics."

This is a time-referenced history of network activity, useful for advanced users who want to find a process that steals traffic at a particular hour of the night, but for most tasks, a standard security application is enough.

The use of third-party meters on Xiaomi is often excessive, as the system itself aggressively unloads processes from memory, which can disrupt the work of external monitoring.

Blocking access to the network for individual programs

If you identify an application that is consuming traffic without your knowledge, you can block it completely, and that doesn't delete the program, but it does deny it any network connections.

In the traffic management section, select the application you want, and there are two switches, Mobile Data and Wi-Fi, and when you turn them off, you isolate the program from the network, and it will continue to work offline.

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Completely locking the network for an application is the best way to stop hidden data transfers if deleting the program is impossible.

This method is often used for games that require the Internet only for the first run, or for old programs that constantly try to send advertising data.

• 🔒 Isolation: The app works but can’t send or receive anything.
• 📉 Savings: eliminates background requests to developer servers.
• ⚙️ Flexibility: Wi-Fi only allowed by banning mobile internet.

Remember that Xiaomi and Google system apps are better not to block completely, as this can disrupt the operation of push notifications and synchronization of contacts.

Resetting statistics and correcting errors

Sometimes traffic data may be displayed incorrectly or accumulated from the previous year, in which case you need to reset the statistics, this action will not delete your personal files, the notes of the flow meters.

To do this, in the Security settings, look for Reset Statistics. Confirm the action. The counters will start counting again from scratch. It is recommended to do this on the day of the new plan.

⚠️ Warning: Before resetting statistics, be sure to take a note or photograph of current readings if you need to report to the corporate department or simply keep history.

If the reset doesn’t help and the meter is “living its life,” try clearing the cache of the Security app itself through the Apps menu in your phone’s settings. In a pinch, updating your system to the latest version of HyperOS can fix counting bugs.

Optimization of background processes

The final step of the setup is to optimize the behavior of the system. Xiaomi has a feature called “Traffic Savings”, which can be activated in general network settings. It compresses data in the browser and limits background synchronization.

It's also worth checking your social media autoplay settings: Disabling automatic video launches on VK, Facebook or Instagram feeds can save up to 40% of traffic per month.

Regular monitoring and proper setup allow you to use the capabilities of your smartphone at full capacity without worrying about unexpected bills from the carrier.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)