How to see the time of use of the Xiaomi phone: hidden MIUI features and export statistics

Monitoring your smartphone has become a necessity for many users. Xiaomi has built in its MIUI shell tools to monitor activity, but they are often hidden in non-obvious menu sections. If you want to know how many hours a day you spend on social networks, games or work — or limit your child’s access to the gadget — this guide will help you understand all the nuances.

The standard statistics in MIUI show not only total usage time, but also app allocation, screen unlocks, and even comparisons to previous days. However, there are limitations to the feature: for example, it is reset after a settings reset or firmware update, and we will tell you how to get around these shortcomings and save data for a long time.

In this article you will find:

• 🔍 Where is the built-in time report in MIUI 12/13/14
• 📊 How to export statistics to a file for analysis
• 👶 Set up parental control for children
• 🔧 Hidden commands for advanced users
• ⚠️ Why data may not match reality

Method 1: Standard statistics in MIUI settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in Time of Use tool, which is available on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones with MIUI 10 and later.

1. Open the Settings app (cog icon).
2. Go to Digital Well-Being and Parental Control (older versions of Screen Time).
3. Slip on the item Toolbar or Usage Statistics.

Here you'll see:

• 📱 Total use time for today/week
• 🔄 The number of screen unlocks (shows how often you pick up your phone)
• 📊 Top applications by activity time
• 📉 Timetable of activity by hour (peak periods)

💡

If the Digital Well-Being section is missing, upgrade MIUI to the latest version or check the firmware region. In the Chinese version (China ROM), the feature may be called Screen Time and require a link to your Mi Account.

Note that the statistics are collected only after the first activation of the function, if you have never visited this section, the data from the past days will not be available, and when you reset the phone to the factory settings, the whole story is erased without the possibility of recovery.

Method 2: Exporting data through Digital Well-being

If you need to save statistics for analysis (for example, for reporting or comparing to other periods), MIUI allows you to export data to a file.

1. Open Settings → Digital Well-Being → Toolbar.
2. In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) and select Data Export.
3. Specify the period (day/week/month) and confirm the export.

The file will be saved as.csv in the Download folder, and it can be opened in Excel, Google Sheets, or any text editor.

Make sure that the Digital Well-Being feature is enabled|Check the space in the memory (file can weigh up to 5 MB)|Sync data with Mi Account for backup|Open the file on PC for easy analysis-->

Exported data can be used to:

• 📈 Graphics in Google Data Studio
• 👨‍💼 Productivity analysis (e.g., time in work applications)
• 👶 Control over the use of the gadget by the child

Once a day.|Once a week.|Only when the battery is down.|Never checked.-->

Method 3: Parental Control for Children

If you want to limit the time a child uses a smartphone, MIUI has a separate tool called Parental Control, which allows you to:

• 🕒 Set limits on apps (e.g. 1 hour per day for gaming)
• 🚫 Block access to certain programs
• 📵 Set up “sleep time” (when the phone cannot be used)
• 📊 View activity reports

To set up:

1. Go to Settings → Digital Well-Being → Parental Controls.
2. Select a child profile (or create a new one).
3. Set a password to protect your settings.
4. Set time and application limits.

⚠️ Attention: Parental controls only work on devices with one user profile. MIUI, restrictions will not apply.

Hidden functions: ADB-team-up

For those who are ready to use the Android debugging bridge (ADB), there is a way to get advanced statistics, including background data. Connect your phone to your PC and follow the commands:

adb shell dumpsys usagestats --help


adb shell dumpsys usagestats stats --days 7

This will provide a detailed report for the past 7 days, including:

• 🖥️ Working hours in foreground/background for each application
• 🔋 Use of battery by process
• 📶 Mobile data activity/Wi-Fi

For convenience, you can redirect the output to the file:

adb shell dumpsys usagestats stats --days 30 > usage_stats.txt

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB requires on-set debugging. USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Tap 7 times, then return to the additional → For developers: Incorrect commands can disrupt the system.

Why can the data be inaccurate?

Users often complain that MIUI statistics do not match the actual usage time.

1. Background activity: Some applications (such as instant messengers) continue to “accumulate” time in the background.
2. Synchronization errors: If the phone is turned off or discharged, data during this period may be lost.
3. Android Limitations: The system does not take into account the time spent in Safe Mode or when connecting to another device via Miracast.
4. Manual time change: If you manually shifted the clock on your phone, the statistics will go wrong.

To improve accuracy:

• 🔄 Update regularly MIUI (In new versions, bugs are fixed with time in mind).
• 📵 Avoid forced closure of applications through Cleanup RAM.
• 🔋 Keep an eye on battery charge (at a discharge below 5%, data may not be stored).

💡

For maximum accuracy, use third-party trackers like ActionDash or Google’s Digital Wellbeing, which take into account the nuances that the built-in MIUI statistics miss.

Third-party applications for detailed analysis

If the built-in MIUI tools aren’t enough, try specialized utilities:

Advantages of third-party solutions:

• 📅 Cross-platform synchronization (data available on all devices).
• 🔔 Flexible notifications (e.g., “You’ve spent 2 hours on TikTok in a row»).
• 📊 Exports to PDF/Excel filtered.

However, note that some features (e.g., application blocking) will require permissions to provide Special Features or Overlay over other windows.

Frequent Questions (FAQ)