How to improve the performance of the Xiaomi Redmi phone: an expert guide

Redmi smartphones have long proven to be affordable, with great value for money. But over time, even the most powerful processor can stumble on simple tasks and MIUI can slow down, not necessarily a sign of a breakdown; most often, the cause lies in software accumulations that inevitably arise when you use a gadget.

Owners of devices often face the fact that after a year or a half of operation, the phone begins to “dull”, open applications for a long time or spontaneously close background processes. System optimization is not a one-time promotion, but a set of measures that allow you to extend the life of the device without the need to replace it. In this article, we will discuss specific steps that will help restore your Xiaomi to its former friction.

Before we go to radical methods like factory resets, we should try less aggressive methods: they are safe, they do not require special knowledge and take a minimum of time, the main thing is to understand which processes are really loading the system and which can be safely turned off.

Memory Cleansing and Background Process Management

The first thing that affects the speed of any Android smartphone, including Redmi, is the amount of internal memory and the number of applications running. When free disk space reaches a critical point, the system has no place to place temporary cache files, which causes interface lags, you need to regularly free up space by removing unnecessary photos, videos and duplicate applications.

The built-in security utility in the MIUI shell has powerful cleaning functionality, but it doesn’t always remove everything that’s superfluous. It’s recommended to manually go through folders with a cache of messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp, as they can take up gigabytes of space. It’s also worth checking the Downloads section, which often accumulates APK installation files that are no longer needed.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete system files from folders called Android, Data or Obb unless you are 100% sure of their purpose.

For deeper cleaning, you can use developer mode to limit the number of background processes, which will free up RAM for active tasks, but be careful: too tight a restriction can cause notifications to stop coming on time, and applications to restart every time you switch.

Regularly restarting the device also helps to reset accumulated errors in RAM, which many users ignore by keeping the phone asleep for weeks, and rebooting at least once a week allows the system to re-allocate resources and close down “hang” services.

Disabling system advertising and unnecessary services

One of the features of MIUI is that it has built-in advertising that not only annoys but consumes CPU resources and Internet traffic. MSA (MIUI System Ads) ad modules run in the background, collecting data and loading banners. Disabling these services is the first step to improving interface responsiveness.

To remove ads, you need to go to the settings and find the password and security option, then the access to data option, and you need to turn off the Internet for suspicious system applications like msa, miui.daemon or getapps if you don't use them, and this will prevent them from being active without risking system stability.

• 📉 Disable recommendation services in the Explorer and Music app so they don’t load content without demand.
• 🚫 In your Mi Account settings, remove the tick from the “Receive recommendations” item to reduce network activity.
• ⚙️ In the Security app, go to the scanner settings and turn off Get Updates, which will speed up the run of the check.

In addition to advertising, you should pay attention to unnecessary visuals. Transition animations, while making the interface smooth, on budget models Redmi can create the illusion of slow work. In the menu "Developers" you can change the scale of the animation from 1x to 0.5x or completely disable it, which will create a sense of instant response to your actions.

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To enter the developer menu, go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the build number (MIUI Version) 7 times.

It's also a good idea to disable Memory Extension if it's active by default on your model. This technology uses some of the internal memory as virtual RAM. On fast drives, this works well, but on older or cheaper eMMC models, this swapping can, on the contrary, reduce overall system performance.

Setting up the display and graphics for speed

The graphical interface is something that the user interacts with all the time. The load on the GPU (graphics processing unit) directly affects the smoothness of list scrolling and window opening. There are several settings in Xiaomi smartphones that allow you to reduce the load on the video core without critically damaging visual quality.

First of all, check the refresh rate of the screen. If your Redmi supports 90 Hz or 120 Hz, but is battery-operated in saving mode, the system can force the lower hertz. Make sure that the screen section selects a standard or maximum value, as low frame rate is often perceived as laxity.

Using live wallpaper or widgets with constant content updates (such as animation weather) on the home screen creates a constant background load, replacing them with static, dark images significantly reduces the CPU’s resource consumption when unlocking the device.

Redmi has Game Turbo mode for gaming tasks, and when set up correctly, it can redistribute resources to the game by disabling notifications and background downloads. However, don’t overuse the maximum graphics settings in heavy games if the device gets hot, because trottling will kill performance faster than reducing texture quality.

Working with applications and autoloading

The Chinese version of the MIUI shell, and sometimes the global version, tends to aggressively store applications in memory, but many programs try to start themselves at the start of the system. Autoboot control is an important step in optimization. The fewer programs start with the phone, the faster it will turn on and the more free memory will be available to the user.

Go to the app settings and find the AutoRun section, where you should leave only messengers on if you want instant messaging. Social networks, stores, and news aggregators can be launched on demand when you open their icon yourself.

• 🔋 Limit background activity for rarely used applications via Battery» → «Saving energy» → «Background constraints».
• 🗑️ Remove unused apps completely, rather than just erase their label from your desktop.
• 🔄 Update apps regularly through Google Play, as newer versions often include code optimization.

Heavy apps like Facebook or Instagram deserve special attention, known for their unoptimized code and high resource consumption. Consider using their lightweight versions (Lite) or web versions through a browser, which will significantly unload the system.

It's also worth checking the permissions of the applications. Often programs request access to geolocation, microphone or contacts without needing. GPS-A module with a background application can not only land the battery, but also create task queues for the processor, causing micro-latency in other operations.

Hidden settings and developer mode

For advanced users, Android provides access to hidden menus where you can fine-tune the behavior of the system. In Xiaomi, these settings are located in the “Developers” section, activation of this menu is done by clicking seven times on the build number in the “About Phone” section.

One of the most useful features is resizing the minimum width (DPI), which makes interface elements smaller but puts more information on the screen, but making fonts unreadable too much can make fonts unreadable and increasing them slow down the rendering of the interface.

⚠️ Attention: The developer menu has a "Do not turn off the screen" option when connecting the charger. Make sure it is turned off, otherwise the screen may burn all night, which will cause the matrix to burn out and overheat.

Another important parameter is the limitation of background processes: the default is “No Limits”, but you can choose “No More than 2-3 processes”, which will make the system more tightly control memory by closing old applications. This is useful for devices with low RAM (3-4 GB), but on powerful models can disrupt multitasking.

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Using the developer mode allows you to access debugging tools that can significantly speed up the interface response, but require caution when changing parameters.

Also in this menu you can include forced hardware acceleration rendering GPU. This will force the phone to use a graphics card to render. 2D-Elements that can improve performance in older apps, but on modern versions of Android, this option is often already activated by default.

System update and resetting

Xiaomi regularly releases security updates and optimization patches for its devices. Ignoring updates can cause the phone to run on a less efficient version of the software. You can check for updates through Settings → About Phone → MIUI version.

But there are times when the upgrade slows down the old device, where experts recommend waiting for the patch to come out or, if the phone is already slow, resetting completely to factory settings, a “nuclear” method that removes all the debris that has accumulated over the years.

Settings → About the phone → Reset settings → Erase all data

Before you reset, make sure to back up your important data in the Mi Cloud or on your computer. Once reset, the phone will look like new, and you can configure it clean by installing only the really necessary apps. This often works wonders with the performance of devices that are already 2-3 years old.

If even after the reset and clean installation, the problem persists, it may be the wear and tear of the physical memory storage device or the degradation of the battery, which can not produce the right current under load, in which case software methods will not help, and it is worth considering replacing the battery or the device itself.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)