Cleaning the background processes on Xiaomi: 7 ways to speed up the phone

Background processes on Xiaomi smartphones are one of the main reasons for slow operation, overheating and fast battery discharge. Even when you are not using the applications actively, they continue to consume the system resources: update data, sync with the cloud or simply “hang” in memory, especially on devices with 4-6 GB of RAM, where every megabyte counts.

Many users mistakenly believe that clicking the “Close All” button on the multitasking menu is enough, but it doesn’t clear the background completely. Moreover, aggressively closing applications manually can even increase battery consumption, as the system will have to restart them. In this article, we will discuss how to properly manage background processes on Xiaomi without harming performance, including hidden MIUI settings and third-party tools.

Why are the background processes slowing down Xiaomi?

Background tasks are an integral part of Android’s work, but on Xiaomi smartphones, their behavior is peculiar due to the MIUI shell.

• 🔄 Automatic sync: Apps like Facebook, Instagram or Telegram are constantly updating data in the background, even if you are not using them.
• 📱 Optimization MIUI: The system decides which processes to freeze, but often makes mistakes, leaving unnecessary ones active.
• 🔋 CPU wake-up: Some applications (such as instant messengers) wake up the processor every few minutes, which eats up to 15% of the charge per hour.
• 🚀 Data caching: Background processes accumulate temporary files that take up memory and slow down the system.

On devices with 4GB of RAM or less (like the Redmi Note 8 or Poco X3), the problem is exacerbated by the fact that the system has to constantly switch between processes, which leads to laggas and hangings. Even on flagships like the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, background tasks can get in the way if there are too many of them.

⚠️ Note: Not all background processes can be safely closed, such as com.android.systemui or com.miui.home, which are responsible for operating the interface, and forced termination will cause a failure.

Method 1: Manually clean through the multitasking menu

The easiest, but least effective, method is to use the standard menu of recent apps, which is suitable for fast memory offloading, but does not remove all background processes:

1. Click on the Multitasking button (square or swipe up with pause on MIUI 14/15).
2. Scroll through the list of open applications left/right.
3. Swipe up close unnecessary programs one at a time (this is better than the “Close All” button).
4. For forced cleaning, click on the icon “Baskbasket” or “Close everything” (depending on the version of MIUI).

This method removes applications from RAM, but many of them will restart immediately (especially messengers and social networks). To check which processes remain active, go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Run.

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If you've cleaned up your multitasking, it's OK, it's OK, it's going to waste resources restarting your frequently used apps, give your smartphone 5-10 minutes to stabilize.

Method 2: Optimization with Security App

Xiaomi smartphones have a built-in tool for managing background processes, the Security app, which allows you not only to clean up memory, but also to set up auto-run applications:

• 🛡️ Open the Security app (Icon with shield).
• 🔍 Go to Optimize or Accelerate (name depends on version) MIUI).
• 📊 Click Clean – This Will Remove Unnecessary Background Tasks and Cache.
• ⚙️ For deep customization, tap Optimization Settings and disable autorun for unnecessary apps.

In AutoRun, you'll see a list of programs that run when you turn on your phone or when you restart, and you'll turn off everything except instant messengers and system utilities, which will reduce the number of background processes by 30 to 40 percent.

Method 3: Using a "Distractless" (DND) mode

Few people know, but the Do Not Disturb mode on Xiaomi not only disables notifications, but also limits the background activity of applications.

1. Open Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Do not disturb.
2. Activate the mode and select Rules Setting.
3. Enable the option to limit background activity (available on MIUI 12 and later).
4. Add exceptions for messengers if you need notifications.

In this mode, apps will not be able to update data in the background, which will reduce the load on the processor and battery. However, note that some features (such as location tracking in Google Maps) may not work properly.

Method 4: Configure the battery for individual applications

MIUI allows you to manually monitor how each application consumes resources in the background, a more accurate method than mass cleaning:

• 🔋 Go to Settings. → Battery and productivity → Battery management.
• 📋 Select an app from the list (or search through search).
• 🔄 Set a Restricted Mode for programs that shouldn’t run in the background (such as games or rarely used utilities).
• ⚡ For critical applications (messengers, navigators) choose No restrictions.

Note the section Abnormal consumption in the battery menu - here MIUI shows applications that consume too much power, most often the culprits are: Facebook, TikTok, UC Browser and some Chinese utilities (for example, Mi Browser or Clean Master).

⚠️ Attention: If you restrict background activity for Google Play Services, push notifications, contact sync and other Google features may stop working.

Method 5: Forced process stops through ADB

For power users, there is a radical method of forced process termination through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which will help to close even those tasks that are not visible in the standard menu.

1. Turn on Developer Mode (7 times tap the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone).
2. Activate Debugging by USB in Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Connect the phone to your PC, open the command line and type: adb shell pm list packages -f | grep "name packet" to find the name of the package of the problem application.
4. Complete the process with the command: adb shell am force-stop com.example.app (replace com.example.app with a real package).

This is useful if the application is stuck and does not respond to standard closing methods, for example, you can force Mi Fit to stop if it is constantly hanging in the processes and drains the battery.

Developer mode is on

USB debugging activated

Installed ADB drivers on PC

Recovery Point (in case of failure)-->

Method 6: Cache and data reset for problem applications

If the background process belongs to a particular application (like Facebook or AliExpress) that is constantly restarting, resetting its cache and data will help.This will not delete the application itself, but will clear all temporary files and settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select a problem app (like Facebook).
3. Click Warehouse and select Clear Cache and Clear Data.
4. Reboot the phone.

After this procedure, the application will work from scratch, without accumulated background tasks.

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Resetting the application is a last resort, and only use it if other methods have not worked, as it removes all the saved settings and files inside the program.

Method 7: Install third-party optimizers (with caution!)

Google Play has a variety of background cleaning applications, such as Greenify, Servicely or Brevent, that are more effective than standard MIUI tools, but have risks:

• ✅ Pros: Deep process cleaning, including system, flexible settings for each application, automatic optimization on schedule.
• ❌ Cons: Require root rights to work properly. MIUI Some optimizers themselves become the source of background activity.

If you decide to use such utilities, choose the proven options:

• 🌿 Greenify Freezes Unnecessary Apps Without Root (but with Restrictions).
• 🔧 Servicely – allows you to disable system services (requires root).
• ⚡ Brevent – blocks background activity through ADB (rootless).

⚠️ Note: Applications such as Clean Master or DU Speed Boosters often cause the brakes themselves, and they aggressively clear the cache, which forces the system to repair it, spending extra resources.

Frequent errors in cleaning background processes

Many Xiaomi users make mistakes that not only don’t help, but also make performance worse.

• 🚫 Constantly pressing “Close everything”: this causes the system to waste resources on re-launching applications.
• 🚫 Disable all background processes: some are needed for stable operation (e.g. com.android.phone for calls).
• 🚫 Use "Tusk killers": they are outdated and interfere with the normal operation of Android 10+.
• 🚫 Clearing the cache of system applications: this can lead to malfunctions MIUI.

Also, don’t blindly trust the advice to “optimize your phone” through the engineering menu (#4636##). Incorrect settings here can lead to loss of communication or overheating.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions