How to completely disable sleep mode on Xiaomi phone: a step-by-step guide

Why Xiaomi Phone Goes Sleepy and How to Fix It

Have you noticed that your Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO screen goes out too quickly? Or do apps fall asleep in the background, interrupting downloads and notifications? Sleep mode is a standard power saving feature, but sometimes it works too aggressively. In this article, we will discuss all the ways to turn it off, from basic settings to hidden settings for power users.

The manufacturer adjusts the screen timeouts and background activity by default to save battery power. However, on MIUI 12-14 (and even on new versions of HyperOS), these settings can be flexibly adjusted. It is important to understand that completely turning off sleep mode will increase battery consumption by 15-30% depending on the model, which is a point that owners of devices with a small battery (for example, Xiaomi 12 Lite or Redmi Note 10).

We tested all the methods on the current firmware in 2026. If your phone runs on Android 10-14, the instructions below will fit with a 95% probability. For older models (for example, Redmi 5 on MIUI 9), some points may be missing - in which case, use alternative methods from the last section of the article.

Method 1: Change the screen shutdown time

The easiest way is to increase the screen backlight timeout, which doesn't completely shut down sleep mode, but makes it less visible, and is suitable for most tasks, like reading, watching videos, or working with documents.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings → Screen.
2. Select the "Sleep" option after (or screen timeout on new versions).
3. Set the maximum value of 30 minutes or Never (if available).
4. Confirm the changes by clicking Ready.

On some models (e.g. POCO F4), this item may be in Settings → Display → Additional. If the option is Never missing, it means that the manufacturer has blocked it for your firmware, move to the next method.

Make sure your phone is over 20% charged.

Close all background applications

Turn off the power saving mode

Check the version. MIUI customized-->

Method 2: Disabling Battery Optimization for Applications

MIUI aggressively lulls apps into the background to save power, leading to notification problems (e.g., no messages on Telegram or WhatsApp) or interruption of downloads, and adding the right programs to the exclusion list.

How to do this:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app you want (like Viber or Google Chrome).
3. Tapping on Battery Optimization (or Auto Run on older versions).
4. Choose Unlimited or Allow Auto Start.
5. Go back and turn on the Block option in the background (if any).

For mass optimisation disabling:

• 🔧 Use the settings. → Battery → Battery mode → Select Performance (increases charge consumption!).
• 📱 Install a third-party app like Greenify (requires root rights for full control).
• ⚙️ Activate Developer Mode (instruction below) for advanced settings.

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If notifications still don't come after the changes, check your Google account sync settings, and sometimes the problem is with the background data for Google Play services that is disabled.

Method 3: Using Developer Mode (for experienced)

Android’s hidden settings allow you to turn off sleep mode at the system level, a technique that requires you to activate Developer Mode, but gives you maximum control over power consumption.

Step 1: Activate the Developer Mode:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Find the MIUI version and tap it 7 times in a row.
3. Enter the screen unlock password (if requested).
4. You will be notified that you have become a developer.

Step 2: Turn off sleep mode:

1. Return to the main Settings menu → Additionally. → For developers.
2. Find the option Do not turn off the screen (or Sleep in English firmware) and turn it on.
3. To disable background optimization, find Background Process Limitation and set Without Limits.
4. Restart your phone to apply the changes.

⚠️ Warning: Activating the Do Not Turn Off screen will keep the display running even when you lock it, and it can cause the matrix to overheat. AMOLED-Use screens (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Ultra) and shorten its lifespan. Use this mode only when connected to charging.

Method 4: Disabling Sleep Mode via ADB (Advanced)

For users who are ready to work with Android Debug Bridge (ADB), there is a way to turn off sleep at the system level, which is the most reliable method, but requires a computer and basic command-line skills.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install ADB Tools on PC.
2. Enable USB debugging in the developer settings (see Method 3).
3. Connect your phone to your computer via USB (select File Transfer mode).
4. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux) in the folder with ADB.
5. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices should appear serial number of your device.
6. Switch to the command to disable sleep mode: adb shell settings put global stay_on_while_plugged_in 3 This command will keep the screen on while charging and from the battery.

To return the standard settings, use:

adb shell settings put global stay_on_while_plugged_in 0

⚠️ Note: Some banking applications (e.g. SberBank Online or Tinkoff) may block work on devices with debugging enabled USB. Before using this method, check the programs critical to you.

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ADB-Teams can circumvent limitations MIUI, But you need to be careful, because the wrong commands can disrupt the system!

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after you turn off sleep, you're going to have a nuanced experience, and you're going to look at the typical situations and how you can fix them.

Problem 1: The screen doesn’t go out, but the apps do.

• 🔄 Check the Battery Optimization settings for each application separately.
• 📵 Turn off the energy saving mode in the notification curtain.
• 🔧 In Developer Mode, find Do Not Save Actions and disable this option.

Problem 2: After the MIUI update, the settings reset.

• 🔄 Repeat the steps from the ways 1-3 — Updates often reset user settings.
• 📱 Check the firmware version in Settings → On HyperOS, the path to settings may be different.
• ⚙️ If you use ADB, Reissue commands again – they are reset by the primajor updates.

Problem 3: The phone overheats after the sleep mode is turned off.

• 🌡️ Install a temperature monitoring app (for example, CPU Monitor).
• ⚡ Connect your phone to charge – this will reduce the load on the battery.
• 🔄 Return Battery Optimization Settings to Standard for Unnecessary Applications.

Alternative methods for older Xiaomi models

If your phone is running MIUI 8-11 or Android 7-9, some of the current settings may not be available.

For MIUI 8-9:

• 🔧 Use the app. MIUI Battery Saver (available in the UK) MIUI Store) for fine-tuning power consumption.
• 📱 Install a third-party launcher (such as Apex Launcher) with a permanent backlight option.
• ⚙️ Activate Developer Mode and manually configure Background Process Limitation.

For Android 7-8:

• 🔄 Use the Keep Screen On app from Google Play – it emulates taps to keep the screen from going out.
• 📵 Turn off all energy saving modes in Settings → Battery.
• 🔧 Check the settings for Special Opportunities → Waiting time (sometimes there are hidden additional options).

Extremely old models (such as Redmi 3S or Mi 4) may require custom Recovery firmware (such as TWRP) and a modified firmware like LineageOS. This is a risky process that requires unlocking the bootloader – look for detailed instructions on the 4PDA or XDA Developers forums.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions