Modern Xiaomi smartphones running MIUI or HyperOS have powerful hardware, but over time, even flagship models can experience slowdowns, often due to the accumulation of system debris, memory fragmentation or background processes that consume CPU resources. Users often notice that the interface begins to slow down and applications open longer than usual.
There are many software methods to get your device back to its original sharpness without having to flash or replace it. System optimization starts with analyzing settings that may not be set up for maximum speed by default. In this article, we’ll look at proven ways to help you significantly improve system response.
It's worth noting that smartphone performance is not just about the amount of free memory you have, but also about the correctness of your background services. Competent animation settings and application power management are key here. Next, we'll move on to the concrete steps to speed up your device.
Cleaning system storage and application cache
The first thing you need to do to make it faster is to free up the internal space, and when the storage is over 85-90% full, the file system is slower because of fragmentation, and the system junk file is constantly accumulating, especially if you're actively using instant messengers and social networks.
The built-in Security app offers basic cleaning, but for deep analysis, you'd better use manual methods. Go to the storage settings and analyze which folders take up the most space. Often it's a video service cache or old messaging files.
- 🗑️ Remove unused apps that you haven’t run for more than a month.
- 📸 Move heavy photos and videos to cloud storage or to your computer.
- 🔄 Clear the browser and social media cache through the app management menu.
Special attention should be paid to the Download folder and attachments to Telegram or WhatsApp, which automatically save all received media files, which can take up gigabytes of useless space, and regular cleaning of these directories is the key to stable file system operation.
Managing Autoboot and Background Processes
Many apps tend to start right after the smartphone is turned on and continue to run in the background, consuming RAM and CPU resources. There is a built-in control mechanism in the MIUI shell that allows you to tightly limit. Disabling excess activity is one of the most effective ways to increase FPS in games and switching speeds between programs.
To access the advanced settings, activate the developer menu. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the MIUI version seven times. After that, the “For Developers” option will appear in the “Additional” section.
⚠️ Warning: Do not disable system services whose names contain "System", "Google" or "Xiaomi" unless you are sure of their purpose.
In the developer menu, look for a section called Statistics or Running Services, and you can see how much resources each application is using right now, and if you see a program that you're not using but is active, limit its background activity.
☑️ Optimization of background processes
Also, check the battery settings for each particular application. From the Apps menu, select the program you want, go to Activity Control and select No Limits mode for messengers only, and set Energy Savings for the rest, which will prevent them from running constantly in the background.
Customization of animations and interface for speed
Visual smoothness is often perceived as speed, but complex transition animations take time to render. Decreasing the duration or completely disabling animations makes the system response instantaneous, and this is especially true for mid- and low-end models.
In the Developer Menu, find three parameters related to the scale of the animation: Windows Animation, Transition Animation, and Animator Duration, set to 1x by default.
| Parameter | Standard value | Recommended value | The effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Window animation | 1x | 0.5x or Retraction. | Acceleration of opening/closing windows |
| Animation of transitions | 1x | 0.5x or Retraction. | Quick switching between screens |
| Duration of the animator | 1x | 0.5x or Retraction. | Accelerating action within applications |
| Background process | Standard. | No more than 2. | RAM release |
Changing these settings doesn't affect functionality, but it changes the subjective perception of speed. The smartphone starts flying. If you like the visuals, try 0.5x, which is the middle ground between speed and beauty.
The secret function of MIUI
Disabling Advertising and System Recommendations
One of the reasons for the slowdown is the constant loading of advertising modules and recommendations in system applications. MSA (MIUI System Ads) and other components collect data and show content, loading the network and processor, disabling these functions is a mandatory step to improve performance.
To start, turn off personalized ads. Go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Access to Personal Data. Go to msa and turn off the slider. The system will ask you to wait 10 seconds, then confirm the action.
- 📢 Turn off “Receive References” in the Security app (click on the gear).
- 📁 Remove recommendations in “Conductor” through the menu of the settings of the application.
- 🔒 Turn off the “Carousel Content” service in the lock screen settings.
Also worth checking is the settings of system applications like Music, Video, and Browser, each with a settings section that includes items related to getting news and recommendations, and turning them off will not only make it faster, but also make it more comfortable to use your phone.
⚠️ Note: After updating the firmware, some ad settings may reset. It is recommended to check these points after each major system update.
Expanding RAM and managing virtual RAM
Newer versions of HyperOS and MIUI have added a feature called Memory Extension, which allows you to reserve some of the permanent storage for RAM, which can help if you have a lot of heavy applications open at the same time, but there's a caveat: the speed of internal flash memory is lower than that of real RAM.
If your smartphone has 8 GB of RAM or more, you can turn off the extension to reduce the wear of the drive. If the memory is 4-6 GB, enabling this feature can improve multitasking. You can set it up in the Settings menu → Additional → Expansion of memory.
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For maximum performance in games, use Game Turbo mode, which not only blocks notifications, but also redistributes CPU resources in favor of running the game, disabling background processes.
It's worth noting that using virtual memory doesn't increase the physical speed of the processor, it just keeps more applications in the background without rebooting them. For everyday tasks, this may be invisible, but with active multitasking, the effect is palpable.
Resetting and radical measures
If software optimization didn’t produce the desired results, it may have accumulated critical errors or conflicts after many updates, in which case the most effective solution is a complete factory reset, which returns the smartphone to the state “out of the box”.
Data formatting deletes all user files, accounts and applications. Before starting the procedure, be sure to back up important data in the Mi Cloud cloud or on your computer.
Settings → About the phone → Reset settings → Erase all dataAfter reset, don't restore all applications from the backup at once. Set only the minimum you need and watch the system work. Often the brakes are caused by "heavy" or poorly optimized third-party applications that you installed earlier.
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Full reset (Factory Reset) is the most effective way to programmatically restore the speed of the smartphone, if it is used for more than 2-3 years without reinstalling the system.