Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face intrusive system notifications that the app has been out of use for too long, a feature built into the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS designed to save battery power and RAM by forcibly closing background processes. However, for instant messengers, navigators or smartwatches, this “optimization” becomes a serious problem, as it resets connections and blocks push notifications.
Disabling this mechanism requires understanding the architecture of the Chinese giant’s Android operating system, and standard settings don’t always give full control, so users have to resort to deeper interventions. In this article, we will discuss all available methods: from simple switches in the menu to use. ADB-Teams for Advanced Users.
It's important to note right away that completely shutting down system monitoring can lead to increased battery consumption. Activity control is not just a limitation, it's part of energy management. Before making a global change, consider the need for such action. If your goal is just to customize a particular application, a less radical approach may be needed.
What is Activity Control and Why Turn It Off
By controlling activity in the Xiaomi ecosystem, you mean the set of measures that the operating system takes to manage running processes. When you fold an application, it does not disappear completely, but goes into the background. MIUI algorithms analyze the frequency of use of the program and, if it has not been in focus for a long time, limit its access to the network and the processor.
The main reason users are looking for ways to turn off activity control is because of aggressive energy saving policies: Redmi and Poco smartphones in the budget and mid-range segment often have not the most capacious batteries, so the system tries to extend the time of operation by any means, which leads to the fact that important notifications from Telegram, WhatsApp or banking applications come with a delay or do not arrive at all.
⚠️ Warning: Completely disabling system constraints can cause background applications to consume a significant amount of power, reducing the battery life of the device on the back end. 15-20%.
And then there's the concept of parental control or digital well-being, which also limits the time you use certain applications, which is not system optimization, but a conscious constraint imposed by the user or administrator of the device, and the mechanisms for disabling the two functions are different, and it's important not to confuse energy saving with digital limits.
Customize exceptions to the battery menu
The safest and most recommended way to solve this problem is to create application-specific exceptions. You don't have to turn off the protection for the entire system, just tell the system which programs you can't touch. To do this, go to Settings, then select the App and find All Apps.
In the list of installed programs, find the desired one (for example, messenger). Click on it to open a detailed menu. You are interested in Battery Consumption or Energy Saving. Here, the default option is often "Energy Saving" or "No Limits" (the names may differ in different versions of MIUI). You need to select "No Limits" mode.
Once this setting is changed, the system will no longer force the application process to be terminated, even if it is not in use for a long time. However, new versions of the HyperOS shell have added additional protection. Even with the selected "No Limits" mode, the system can return the standard settings after a few days if it considers that the application consumes too much resources.
- 🔋 Go to the battery settings and make sure that the critical applications are selected mode of operation without restrictions.
- 🔒 Check the application protection settings so that the system does not block their operation in the background.
- 📡 Make sure that the mobile network settings allow data transfer in the background.
You also need to lock the application in memory, open the menu of running applications (swipe up and hold or menu button), find the window of the desired program and press the lock or pull the window down until the lock icon appears, which will signal to the system that this process is important to the user.
☑️ Checklist of battery settings
Using Digital Well-Being and Parental Control
Often, “activity control” is defined as time limits set through Google services or Xiaomi’s built-in features. If your phone blocks apps after a certain time of use, it’s called “Digital Wellbeing,” a tool that helps combat smartphone addiction but can interfere with full-time performance.
To manage these restrictions, open Settings and find Digital Well-Being and Parental Controls, which displays usage statistics and set timers. If an application has an hourglass, the time limit is exhausted, and you can delete that limit by clicking on the cart icon next to the app.
This is even more complicated if a child's profile is activated on the device or if a third-party parental control is installed that requires a password to remove the restrictions, in which case simply switching the settings won't help.
| Type of restriction | Wherever | Difficulty withdrawal | Impact on the system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy conservation | Settings → Battery | Low. | Increases charge consumption |
| Time Limit (Digital Wellbeing) | Settings → Digital well-being | Medium | Blocks launch after limit |
| Parental Control (Family Link) | Separate App/Google Account | High (password needed) | Full access control |
| Second space | Settings → Second Space | Medium | Data and application isolation |
If you forget your password from parental control, it will be extremely difficult to restore access without resetting all your phone settings, so when buying a used device, always check if it is tied to someone else's account with administrator rights.
What to do if you forget your Family Link password?
Disabling System Restrictions through ADB
For advanced users who don’t have enough standard settings, there is a method to disable activity control through ADB debugging, which allows you to interfere with system services that don’t have a graphical user interface, and is especially effective at disabling MIUI Optimization or an aggressive task manager.
To start, you need to activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly press 7 times on the MIUI Version (or OS Version). After that, a new section will appear in the settings menu Additional → For developers. Enable the item “Debugging by USB” there.
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.securitycenter
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.powerkeeperExecuting these commands will disable the security center and the energy store respectively. However, be careful: disabling com.miui.powerkeeper can lead to unstable operation of the system, since this is the core of power management. A safer alternative is to change parameters through commands that do not delete services, but change their behavior.
⚠️ Attention: Use ADB-Introducing the wrong command can lead to a smartphone "fixing" or a cyclical reboot. Always check the syntax of the commands before entering.
Once you've done the commands, it's recommended that you restart the device. If you notice a critical interface error, you can turn it back with the adb shell pm enable command, where you instead substitute the name of the disabled packet. For most users, settings through the menu are enough, without using the command line.
Removal of system applications and services
A radical method of combating intrusive control is to remove or freeze system applications responsible for analytics and advertising, which often initiate activity checks. MIUI This is often the responsibility of the service MSA (MIUI System Ads) and various analytical modules.
Removal by standard means is not possible, so you will have to use it again. ADB Or special uninstallation apps that work through debugging. One of the popular tools is Xiaomi. ADB/Fastboot Tools for PC: The program allows you to safely remove advertising modules without touching critical system components.
- 📦 Removing the com.miui.misys package disables some of the system analytics.
- 📉 Disabling com.miui.analytics stops collecting data about application usage.
- 🚫 Freezing com.miui.securitycore may reduce background checks, but is dangerous for stability.
It's important to understand the difference between deleting and freezing. A frozen app stays in your phone's memory but doesn't start. It can be defrosted at any time if you find problems. Deleting it requires re-installing the firmware or complex manipulations to return it.
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Before removing any system components, make sure to make a full backup of data to your computer or the cloud. Recovering remote system files without flashing is often impossible.
Problems after the update and resetting settings
Users often notice that after updating the Android version or the MIUI/HyperOS shell, all activity control settings are reset to factory ones. This is normal security behavior. The update often changes packet IDs or the logic of how energy saving works, so the old exceptions no longer apply.
If you upgrade and encounter a problem again, don’t rush to reset completely. First, reset the battery menu exceptions for each important application. In some cases, cleaning the Security cache helps. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Security → Memory → Clear the cache.
In extreme cases, when software methods fail and the system continues to aggressively close applications, you might consider installing a global firmware version or custom builds (e.g. Xiaomi.eu) where Chinese restrictions are cut at the system level.
⚠️ Warning: Unlocking the bootloader and installing custom firmware will void the warranty on the device and may make it impossible to use banking applications (NFC, Google Pay without any additional complex settings.
Smartphone stability is a balance between performance and energy savings: completely disabling all security mechanisms will turn your Xiaomi into a device with a fast-setting battery, but with instant notification delivery.
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The optimal solution is not to disable activity control completely, but to correctly configure exceptions for 5-10 key applications, leaving the system to protect the rest of the processes.