Accelerating Games on Xiaomi: How to Overclock FPS and Improve Performance

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO have long earned a reputation for great value for money, but even flagship models sometimes slow down in modern games. The reasons range from aggressive battery optimization in MIUI to factory heat restrictions. Fortunately, there are several ways in the user’s arsenal to speed up games on Xiaomi – from official features like the Game Turbo to hidden settings through ADB and even hardware tricks.

This article isn’t about the magic buttons that will instantly turn your Redmi Note 12 into a gaming monster, but here we’ll break down the working methods to explain why they work, what risks they pose, and how to properly apply them, for example, why disabling MIUI Optimization can help or hurt, or how to make the processor run as fast as possible without overheating, and why some of the “tips” on the Internet are not just useless, but dangerous to your device.

Important: All instructions below are tested on current versions of MIUI 14/15 (including HyperOS) and adapted for Snapdragon and MediaTek chipsets. If you have a Black Shark device (such as Black Shark 5 Pro), some features may be duplicated or missing, which we will mention too.

Xiaomi’s official tools: Game Turbo and Game Center

The first thing to try is built-in game optimization features. Game Turbo (or Game Center in newer versions of MIUI) is Xiaomi’s proprietary performance solution, which automatically allocates resources, blocks notifications, and even offers additional customizations for popular games like PUBG Mobile or Genshin Impact.

How to turn on:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Game Turbo (or Game Center).
• 🔧 Turn on the "Game Optimization" switch».
• 🎮 Add the games to the list via the “Add” button».
• ⚡ Select a performance profile: Balanced, Performance, or Extreme (the latter can increase heating!).

In the new versions of MIUI 15/HyperOS Game Center, it also offers Esport Mode, which turns off background processes and allocates maximum resources to the game. However, beware: this mode can lead to automatic decrease in screen brightness during long sessions due to overheating.

⚠️ Attention: On devices POCO (for example, POCO F5) Game Turbo may be called the Game Turbo POCO Launcher Game Mode and be in a separate app. If you don't find a feature, check the Tools folder in the app menu.

2. Hidden developer settings: overclocking the processor and GPU

If standard tools aren't enough, you have to dig deeper. There are a lot of parameters hidden in MIUI that you can activate through Developer Settings, for example, you can turn off animations, limit background processes, or even force the maximum CPU frequency to be turned on.

How to open the developer settings:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times on the MIUI version (you are a developer!).
3. Return to the main settings menu – a new item “For developers” will appear.

Now let’s move on to the key parameters to speed up games:

• 🚀 Background Process Limitation: Set “No Background Processes” or “Maximum 1 Process” (but this can interfere with messengers!).
• ⚡ Enforcement of use GPU: Enable "Forced Rendering" GPU» (assist 2D-games, but can increase battery consumption).
• 🔄 Disable animations: Set “Animation Scale” on “Off” for all three items (accelerates transitions between applications).
• 🔥 Thermal power limitation: in new versions MIUI There's a "Heat-related performance restriction" item -- you can turn it off, but the risk of overheating will increase.

The most controversial parameter is "Forced Use of 4x MSAA." It improves graphics in games, but it puts a lot of GPU load and can, on the contrary, reduce FPS. Test it separately for each game!

3. ADB-Teams: Lifting the Restrictions MIUI

If you're willing to go further, ADB-The team will allow you to disable hidden restrictions MIUI, This method requires you to connect to a computer, but it gives you a noticeable increase. FPS play.

What you need:

• 💻 Computer with installed ADB Tools.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 📱 Included debugging by USB (developer-setting).

The main commands for acceleration:

adb shell settings put global force_high_performance true # Forced high performance mode


adb shell settings put global force_gpu_rendering true # Forced GPU- rendering




adb shell settings put global hidden_api_policy 1 # Unlock hidden API




adb shell settings put global miui_optimization_disable 1 # Disable optimization MIUI (caution!)

Shutdown miui_optimization_disable It can lead to unstable operation of the system, but in some cases it gives an increase in productivity. 15-20%. Test at your own risk and risk!

⚠️ Note: On HyperOS devices (e.g. Xiaomi) 14) team miui_optimization_disable It may not work or cause errors. Check compatibility on forums like 4PDA.

4.Optimizing cooling: how to avoid trottling

One of the main enemies of performance in games is trottling (automatically reducing the frequency of the processor due to overheating). Xiaomi is especially aggressive in limiting power when heated, so even medium-sized games can start to "lay" in 15-20 minutes.

How to deal with overheating:

• 🧊 Use a cooling stand (like the Black Shark FunCooler Pro). 5-10°C.
• 🔋 Play when charging -- but only with the original power supply! Cheap charging can increase heat.
• 📉 Reduce the brightness of the screen to 50-60%. The screen is one of the main sources of heat.
• 🔄 Turn it off. 5G/LTE, If you play over Wi-Fi, the modem warms up when you use it.
• 🧹 Clean the charging port and vents (relevant to Black Shark and Black Shark) POCO F-series).

On devices with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/3 (such as Xiaomi 13T Pro or Redmi K60 Ultra), you can try turning off the temperature limit via ADB:

adb shell settings put global thermal_engine_disable true

But remember: this can lead to critical overheating and emergency phone shutdown!

💡

If the game heats up your phone, try lowering your graphics settings in the game (for example, in Call of Duty Mobile, switch from Very High to High), which sometimes gives you a greater increase in FPS than overclocking the processor.

5.Memory Optimization: How to Free RAM for Games

MIUI is known for its RAM gluttony. Even if you have 12GB of RAM, the system can take up to 40-50% of the background processes, leaving games with only a fraction of the resources.

Ways to release RAM:

• 🗑️ Disable unnecessary system applications (e.g. Mi Video, Mi Music, GetApps) via Settings → Annexes → App management. Don't delete them completely - it can lead to errors!
• 🔄 Use the Light versions of apps (e.g. Facebook Lite, Messenger Lite) that take up less memory.
• 🚫 Disable auto-run of unnecessary applications in Settings → Battery → Auto-start.
• 🔧 Enable “Memory Optimization” in the developer settings (the item “Do not save actions»).

For devices with virtual memory (for example, Redmi Note 12 Pro+ with 8+256 GB), you can increase the size of the swap file:

adb shell settings put global swappiness 100


adb shell settings put global vm_pressure_level 100

This will force the system to use internal memory more actively as an additional RAM, but may reduce the life of the drive.

6. Alternative methods: custom firmware and cores

If all of the above methods fail, the last option is to install custom firmware or kernel, which gives you complete control over performance, but deprives you of warranty and can lead to a “brick” of the device.

Popular solutions for Xiaomi:

• 📱 LineageOS or Pixel Experience – “clean” Android without restrictions MIUI.
• ⚡ Castom cores (e.g. FrancoKernel or Kiran Kernel) – allow you to overclock the processor and GPU.
• 🔧 Magisk modules like Game Optimizer or Thermal Engine – fine trolling.

Example of acceleration through the custom core:

1. Install TWRP and custom core (see instructions for your model on XDA Developers).
2. Use an app like Kernel Adiutor or EX Kernel Manager to adjust the frequencies.
3. Increase the maximum CPU/GPU frequency by 10-15% of the standard (no more!).
4. Set thermal limits (increase the trottling threshold to 85-90°C).

⚠️ Attention: Overclocking through custom cores can cause irreversible damage to the processor if you exceed the safe limits.Always check the temperature through AIDA64 or CPU Monitor.

💡

Custom firmware and cores give maximum control over performance, but require experience and lack warranty, and beginners should limit themselves to official methods.

7. Frequent Mistakes and Myths About Accelerating Games on Xiaomi

There are a lot of "advice" on the Internet that not only doesn't help, but also harms the device.

❌ Myth 1: “Switching off” MIUI Optimization speeds up the phone»

Actually, this team (miui_optimization_disable) shut down all optimizations MIUI, including those responsible for smooth interfaces and memory management on weak devices (e.g. Redmi). 9A) This could lead to lags.

❌ Myth 2: “Forced use” GPU speed up all games»

Reality: This setup only helps in 2D-games or applications with simple graphics. 3D-Games (such as Genshin Impact) can be reduced. FPS owing to overload.

❌ Myth 3: “Cooling stickers replace a stand»

Truth: Gel stickers reduce the temperature by 1-3 ° C, while a good stand with a fan - by 8-15 ° C. The difference is critical for devices like the POCO F4 GT, where trottling begins at 45 ° C.

❌ Myth 4: Closing all background apps frees up RAM»

How it works: MIUI manages the memory itself. If you manually close applications, the system will waste resources on rebooting them.

💡

If you're still slowing down after all the manipulations, check it on another device, and it's probably not the phone that's the problem, it's the servers of the game or its optimization, for example, Honkai: Star Rail on the Snapdragon 778G may be slowing down due to poor optimization for this chip.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions