How to completely disable the background mode on the Xiaomi phone: 5 proven ways

Background processes on Xiaomi smartphones are one of the most controversial features of MIUI. On the one hand, they provide instant app opening and notifications in real time, on the other hand, eat up to 30% of battery life per day and slow down the device by 15-20% when used actively, especially on the budget models of the Redmi Note 12 and POCO X5, where the limited resources of the Snapdragon 685forcedly processor are spent on unnecessary tasks.

In this article, we will not only discuss the standard methods of disabling background mode through settings, but also hidden MIUI functions that are not written about in the official documentation. You will learn how to prohibit auto-run applications, limit background activity for individual programs, and even completely block unnecessary services through ADB. All instructions are relevant to MIUI 14/15 and tested on models 2022-2026.

Why the background mode eats charge and how to check it

Before you turn off background processes, it's important to understand which apps are to blame for battery discharge. Xiaomi has a built-in monitoring tool that shows not only energy consumption, but also the activity time in the background.

Go to Settings → Battery
Tap it on the consumption schedule.
Select the tab Battery Use
Sort the list by column Von

Typical "eaters" of charge in the background:

📱 Social networks (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram) – keep a constant connection to servers for push notifications
📍 Maps and navigation (Google Maps, Yandex.Maps) – update location even when not in use
🎵 Music services (Spotify, Yandex Music) – cache tracks and check playlist updates
🔄 System services (com.miui.analytics, com.xiaomi.ab) – send telemetry to Xiaomi

📊 Which app is most discharged by your Xiaomi in the background?

Social media

Messengers

Navigation

Music services

Systemic processes

Other

Note apps marked “Works in the background for more than 2-3 hours” — these are the main candidates for disconnection. For example, WhatsApp can consume up to 5% charge per hour just due to background chat synchronization, even if you did not open the messenger.

⚠️ Note: Disabling background activity for system applications (com.android.phone, com.miui.home) can cause phone malfunctions.

Method 1: Disabling Auto-Run Applications

The safest way to reduce background activity is to prevent apps from running automatically when you turn on your phone or connect to the Internet. MIUI This is done through a special menu:

Open Settings → Applications → Application Management
Slip on the three dots in the upper right corner and select AutoRun
In the list, tick only critical applications (messengers, banking programs)
For other applications, move the slider to the off position.

After you apply the changes, restart your phone, which will clear the autostart cache and apply new settings, and the effect will be noticeable in a day: battery life will increase by 10-15%, and the speed of opening applications by 20-30%.

🎮 Games (Call of Duty, PUBG, Genshin Impact)

📺 Video services (YouTube, Twitch, Kodi)

🛒 Marketplaces (AliExpress, Wildberries, Ozon)

📊 Analytics (Google Analytics, Firebase)

📱 Social media (except the main messenger)

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It is important to understand that some apps (Viber, Telegram) will stop showing notifications about new messages after you disable autoplay.

In the same Auto Start menu, find the right application
Slip on it and turn on the option to Show notifications
Activate Allow Background Activity (but leave Autostart off)

Method 2: Limit background activity for individual applications

If you don't want to turn off autoplay completely, you can more flexibly adjust the background activity for each application separately, a technique that works for programs you rarely use but want to keep the notifications available.

Instructions:

Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management
Select the desired application from the list
Go to the Battery section.
Activate the option to limit background activity
Enable Battery Optimization (if available)

For maximum effect, we also recommend turning off:

🔔 Show notifications – if the application is not critical
📶 Auto-Update in the Background – to Save Traffic
📍 Access to location in the background – for navigation services

Type of application	Recommended settings	Saving charge
Social media	Limit background + disable auto-update	25%
Messengers	Allow notifications + limit background activity	15%
Games	Disable Autostart + Limit Background	40%
Navigation	Limit background + disable location in background	30%
Music services	Limit background + disable caching	20%

⚠️ Note: Some applications (Google Play Services, Mi Push Service) may stop working properly after the background activity is restricted. If you notice a failure in receiving notifications or working on Google services, return the default settings for these system components.

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After limiting background activity, restart your phone – this will clear the cache of processes and apply the changes to all applications at once.

Method 3: Use of energy saving mode

Xiaomi offers several built-in energy saving modes that automatically limit background activity.

🔋 Balanced mode – moderate background restriction, retains basic notifications
🔋🔋 Super energy saving is a strict restriction, disabling the background for all applications except calls and SMS
🔋🔋🔋 Ultra mode - emergency shutdown of all background processes (the battery is discharged in the 2-3 slower)

To activate the mode:

Open the settings → Battery
Select Power Saving Mode
Set the right level of restrictions
Click Apply and Confirm the Action

For constant charge saving, we recommend setting up automatic switching on at a certain charge level:

In the same menu tap the Power Saving Mode settings
Turn on Automatic Mode.
Set a threshold (for example, 30%)
Choose Balanced or Super Energy Saving

What happens if you use Ultra Mode all the time?

With prolonged use of Ultra mode (more than 2-3 days), you will encounter the following restrictions: 1. Notifications from messengers and social networks will cease to arrive 2. Auto-update applications in the Play Market will turn off 3. Background synchronization of mail and cloud services will stop 4. Some applications (for example, fitness trackers) will cease to collect data 5. Internet speed can be artificially limited by the system This mode is designed for emergency cases when you need to extend the phone’s life before recharging.

Method 4: Disabling background processes via ADB (for advanced)

If standard methods don’t work, you can completely block background activity for unnecessary applications through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the phone to a computer and basic command line knowledge.

Step-by-step:

Turn on Developer Mode on Phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (Tap 7 times)
Activate USB Debugging in Settings → Additional → For Developers
Connect your phone to your PC and confirm your debugging permission
Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux) and type: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.xiaomi.ab (replace com.xiaomi.ab with the desired application package)

List of Xiaomi system applications that can be safely disabled:

📊 com.miui.analytics – Analytics collection (saves up to 5% charge)
🔄 com.xiaomi.ab — AB-Testing (saves up to 3% of charge)
📦 com.miui.hybrid – Hybrid services (saving up to 7% of charge)
🎨 com.miui.bugreport – error reports (saves up to 2% charge)

⚠️ Attention: Do not turn off through ADB System components called Android, Google, miui.system, telephony or bluetooth can cause the phone to fail completely and require flashing.

To return the disabled applications, use the command:

adb shell pm enable com.xiaomi.ab

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Disabling through ADB gives you maximum performance gains (up to 25%), but it requires caution. Always check the name of the packet before turning it off and back up the data.

Method 5: Alternative methods (without root)

If previous methods have not helped or you are looking for a more flexible solution, consider these options:

🛡️ Greenify app allows you to “freeze” unnecessary processes without root rights. After installation, add problematic applications to the list and activate Aggressive Hibernation mode.
⚡ AccuBattery analyzes energy consumption and offers the best settings for each application. In the Battery Health section, you can see which processes drain the battery the most.
🔧 MacroDroid creates automatic rules to turn off the background, for example, you can configure a macro that will limit the background activity of all applications except messengers from 23:00 to 7:00.
📵 Do not disturb mode - in MIUI It not only turns off the sounds, it also pauses background activity for most applications.

For Xiaomi models with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (Xiaomi 13, Redmi K60), the Game Turbo mode is especially effective, which automatically clears the background processes when activated.

Open Settings → Special Opportunities
Choose a Game Turbo
Activate the option of background cleaning when starting games

This solution is suitable for gamers, as it not only speeds up performance in games, but also prevents lags due to background processes.

What to do if after turning off the background, notifications stopped coming

One of the most common problems with back-end activity is missing notifications, especially messengers (WhatsApp, Viber) and email clients, and here's how to return notifications without reversing all settings:

Open the settings of the desired application (Settings → Applications → Application Management → [name])
Go to the Notifications section
Turn on all switches in the On position.
Return to the main settings of the application and activate Allow background activity
Turn off Auto Start only, leaving background activity on

For Telegram and Viber, you need to additionally:

🔔 Enable Display notifications on the lock screen
📌 Activate Priority Notifications in Android Settings
🔄 Disable Battery Optimization for the messenger

If the notifications don’t come, check:

📵 Is the mode activated Do not disturb?
🔕 Notices are disabled in the application itself
📶 Is there a stable Internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile network)
🔄 Does the application need to be updated?

FAQ: Frequent questions about turning off background

❓ Can you completely disable all background processes on Xiaomi?

Technically, yes, but it will cause the phone to fail. Android and MIUI require a minimum set of background services for: Call processing and SMS Mobile Internet and Wi-Fi Synchronization of time and date of Basic Security (Google Play Protect) The maximum that can be done safely - to turn off the background for user applications, leaving system processes intact.

❓ Why After Turning Off the Background, Some Apps Stopped Updating?

Many applications (e.g. Google Play Market, Yandex.Maps) check for updates in the background. After it is turned off: Updates come only when manually running the Cash card application is not updated automatically New versions of programs are installed with a delay Solution: periodically open these applications manually or add them to exceptions in the battery settings.

❓ How to turn off background mode only for individual applications?

For selective shutdown: Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management Select the desired application Go to Battery Activate Background Activity Limit Auto Run (optional) For instant messengers leave on Show notifications so you don’t miss messages.

❓ Does the background blackout affect work? GPS geolocation?

Yes, but not directly. Background processes affect: Accuracy of location - without a GPS background is updated less often Search speed satellites - may increase the time of the first determination of coordinates Navigation applications in the background - Google Maps or Yandex.Navigator can turn off when folding Solution: before using the navigator temporarily allow background activity for mapping services.

❓ Can you roll back changes if your phone gets worse?

Yes, all background settings are reversible. To get it back to the way it was: For standard methods: return sliders to the On position in the battery and autostart settings For ADB: use the adb shell pm enable [packet] For Greenify: remove the app from the "Hibernation" list If you don't remember what settings you changed, reset to factory settings via Settings → About Phone → Reset (data will not be deleted).