Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a situation where messaging or emails don’t appear on a locked screen, which can lead to missing important calls or delaying reactions to breaking news, and the company’s aggressive battery-saving policies in the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS are a problem.
The default system considers inactive applications to be “heavy” for the processor and forces them to stop their background work. Aggressive optimization is useful for autonomy, but harmful for communication. To correct this, the user needs to manually reconfigure several system settings, allowing specific applications to work in the background and wake the screen.
In this article, we’ll take a look at all the nuances of Android setup on Xiaomi devices, learn how to turn off limiters, configure display on a locked screen, and avoid the typical errors that can cause notifications to disappear again after a reboot.
The main reasons for the lack of notifications on the locked screen
Before we get to the settings, it's important to understand the logic of how the system works. MIUI Optimizer is an embedded mechanism that monitors resource consumption. It automatically kills processes that the algorithms think are not being used right now. If you close the chat, the system can think you don't need it anymore and deny it access to the network.
The second reason is Do Not Disturb or the sleep mode on. In these scenarios, the screen goes out and incoming data is stored on a server or in the phone's memory, but not displayed. HyperOS and older versions of MIUI 12-14 have their own security features in the menu, which can also block pop-ups.
⚠️ Note: If you have power saving enabled (battery icon in tray), the system will limit background activity of all applications without exception, even if you have manually set permissions.
Humanity is also important, as when you first set up your phone, many users automatically agree to all of the system’s optimization suggestions without getting too detailed, resulting in important services being blacklisted or restricted.
Configure the display of notifications in the Android system
The first and most obvious step is to check the basic settings of Android itself. Even if Xiaomi’s shell has the right settings, a system ban on the screen blocker will override all changes.
To do this, go to the Settings menu. → Notifications and status bar → Notification settings. This is the key setting "On locked screen." Make sure you select "Show notifications and their contents." If you have the option "Hide content", you will only see the application icon, not the text of the message.
- 📱 Display format: Select whether you want to see a preview message or just the name of the application.
- 🔔 Sound and vibration: check if there is no sound mode in the notification card for important contacts.
- 🚫 Don’t disturb: Make sure this mode isn’t activated permanently in the curtain of quick settings.
Special attention should be paid to the settings of a particular application. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications, find the desired messenger (for example, Telegram or WhatsApp) and select “Notifications”.
Managing Auto Start and Application Background
This is the most critical setup step for Xiaomi owners, and it requires explicit permission to run apps in the background, and without this step, all previous settings may not work, and you'll need a Security app with a shield icon that's pre-installed on every device in the brand.
Open the Security app and find the Permissions section, and here we're interested in three key parameters: "Start," "Other Permissions," and "Battery Savings." For every important messenger, check boxes are required.
☑️ Checklist for permission settings
In AutoStart, find a list of apps and turn on switches opposite the ones you expect to see instant messages, which will allow them to start with the system. Next, go to "Battery Savings" (or "Battery"). For each application, select a No Limits strategy. By default, there is "Battery Savings," which causes the problem.
| Parameter | Where to find out. | Recommended value | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-start | Security → Permits | Included. | The app starts with the phone |
| Background work | Settings → Battery | No restrictions. | The system doesn't "kill" the process |
| Over the other windows. | Settings → Applications | Permitted. | Pop-ups are working |
Also check the "Other permissions" section in the same security menu, often with important items hidden there, such as "Display on a locked screen" or access to contacts that are necessary for calls and messages to work properly.
MIUI Optimizer and Battery Saver
New firmware versions have a separate optimization mechanism that can ignore your manual settings. MIUI Optimizer analyzes usage patterns and can force background processes to be turned off if it thinks you haven't opened an app in a long time.
To get around this limitation, you sometimes need to enable USB debugging and activate the hidden developer menu. However, in most cases, it is easy enough to "fix" the application in memory. Open the menu of running applications (swipe from the bottom up and hold, or menu button), find the window of the desired application and pinch it with your finger.
In the context menu that appears, click on the lock icon. Now, even if you click the "Clear Memory" button (cross or broom), this application will remain hanging in RAM and will continue to receive data, which is the most reliable way to guarantee the delivery of notifications in real time.
Hidden Developer Settings
Setup of pop-up windows and banners
If messages come in but the screen doesn't light up, the problem may be in the notification format. In Android, there's a division into "Silent" and "Important" notifications. Important should wake up the screen and make a sound, quiet should just appear in the curtain.
Go to the settings of a particular application, the Notifications section. Find the categories you are interested in (such as "Personal Messages" or "Groups"). Click on the category text to reveal the detailed menu. Make sure the Pop-up Notification switch is active. It is the one responsible for the appearance of the plaque on top of the locked screen.
- 🔊 Sound: A specific sound file should be selected, not a "No Sound".
- 📢 Status: Make sure you choose “Urgent” or “High Priority".
- 👁 Privacy: Check if content is allowed to be displayed.
For some applications, such as WhatsApp or Viber, the settings inside the program itself may take precedence over system settings: Open the settings inside the messenger, look for the Notifications section and check if the option pop-up notifications or Show on top of other applications is enabled.
⚠️ Note: If you use third-party themes or launchers, they may conflict with the system lock screen. Try temporarily returning the standard theme to eliminate this factor.
Solving problems with specific applications
Different apps use different push notification mechanisms. Social networks like VK or Instagram (Meta’s app) can behave unpredictable due to server locks or regional features, and often require additional setup.
For example, for the correct operation of Telegram on Xiaomi, it is often recommended to select “No restrictions” in the battery settings and be sure to turn on auto-start. WhatsApp is critically important permission to work in the background, since their message delivery mechanism relies on a permanent connection.
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If notifications only come after you open the app, try reinstalling it. When you first install it, the system will request all the necessary permissions again, and you can immediately give full permissions.
For email clients (Gmail, Yandex.Mail), check sync. Go to Settings → Accounts and Sync. Make sure that the right account is in front of the sync checkbox and is not disabled by system restrictions.
Sometimes cleaning up the cache of Google Play helps. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps → Google Play Services → Memory and click Clear. This will reset the push cache, which can set up notification delivery across all apps at once.
Additional settings and resetting notification settings
If none of the above worked, there may have been a system failure in the notification database, so you can try resetting notification settings for all applications at once, and this won't delete your data, but will return all permissions to factory values.
Do this through the Settings menu → Apps → All apps → three dots in the corner → Reset app settings. After that, you will have to reconfigure the permissions for the camera, microphone and, of course, notifications, but this often solves the mysterious problems with “sticking” notification service.
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The integrated approach: a combination of setting the MIUI system constraints, Android resolutions and internal configuration of the application gives 100% result.
It’s also worth checking if you have system updates. In Settings → About your phone, check for the up-to-date version of MIUI or HyperOS. Xiaomi engineers regularly release patches that fix notification bugs.