Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often experience slowdowns over time, a natural process of cache accumulation, data fragmentation, and increasing application demands on hardware, but the situation is not hopeless, and software can return speed without the need for complex firmware manipulation.
The current MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have a lot of background processes that consume RAM. To make Xiaomi smoother, you need to take a comprehensive approach to optimization, from basic storage cleaning to fine-tuning hidden developer parameters. In this article, we will discuss the most effective methods that actually work on devices of different years of release.
Basic optimization of storage and memory
The first step to speed up is freeing up resources. Xiaomi's built-in Security app can clean the cache, but often leaves a lot of junk. It's recommended to manually check folders in the file manager, especially Download and DCIM sections, by removing old videos and APK installation files.
The internal memory is busy and has a direct impact on the speed of writing and reading data. 10-15% And if you look at the total, it's going to start to run much slower. Use the Cleanup function in the standard application, but don't rely on it alone.
It's also important to manage the autoload of applications. Many programs start with the system and hang in the background, consuming RAM, and turning off unnecessary services will significantly unload the processor.
- 🧹 Remove unused apps through the App Management menu.
- 📸 Transfer photos and videos to cloud storage or to your computer.
- 🚫 Turn off auto-run for social media and gaming in battery settings.
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Use the Memory Compression mode in the Security app if you have a model with a small amount of RAM (4 GB or less) to free up resources for an active task.
Customize animations through the developer menu
The most powerful way to visually speed up the interface is to scale the animations. By default, the system uses a factor of 1.0, which creates smooth but long transitions between windows, and reducing this value makes the system's response almost instantaneous.
To access these settings, activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly press 7 times on the MIUI Version (or OS Version). Once the notification “You became a developer” appears, you can move to fine-tuning.
In the advanced settings, look for the "Developers" section, and we're interested in three things: "Window animation," "Transition animation," and "Duration of animation." Change them from the standard to 0.5 or even 0. If you choose "No animation," the interface will get twitched, so the middle ground is 0.5.
⚠️ Warning: Completely disabling animations (meaning "No animation") can lead to visual artifacts when folding applications, making the interface less pleasing to the eye.
Management of Background Processes and Limitations
Android allows you to limit the background activity of applications, which is especially true for “heavy” programs. The developer menu has a clause “Limit background processes.” The standard value usually allows you to work several applications at the same time, but it can be limited.
However, do not put a hard limit "No background processes", as this will force the system to constantly restart services, which, on the contrary, will increase battery consumption and create a load on the processor. 2-3 The phone is very old if the phone is very old.
Also worth noting is the Memory Extension feature, which is available in newer versions of MIUI and HyperOS. It uses some of the internal memory as virtual RAM. On fast drives, this helps, but on older models it can cause micro-freezes.
- 🔋 Check battery statistics to find parasitic apps.
- 🛑 Forced to stop rarely used heavy applications.
- ⚙️ Experiment with the background limit while monitoring stability.
Comparison of methods of speeding up the operation of the interface
There are many myths about how to make a smartphone fly, some people recommend using third-party launchers, others recommend constantly cleaning the cache, and let's compare the effectiveness of different approaches so that you don't waste time on useless actions.
Using third-party launchers (like Nova Launcher) can really make the system easier by killing the heavy shell of MIUI. However, it will deprive you of some of Xiaomi's branded features and widgets. On the other hand, optimizing the developer's settings is safe and reversible.
| Optimization method | Efficiency | Difficulty | Risks. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animation scale 0.5x | Tall (visually) | Low. | No. |
| Third-party launcher | Medium | Medium | Loss of MIUI function |
| Reset to factory | Maximum | Tall. | Loss of data |
| Clearing the cache through a PC | Low. | Tall. | Possible errors in software |
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The safest and most effective method for everyday use is the combination of cleaning up memory and reducing animations to 0.5.
Use of special acceleration capabilities
There's a hidden feature in Android that can dramatically change touchscreen performance and response speed, called "Enhanced Performance," or related to availability settings, and on some firmware versions, enabling certain accessibility services can actually slow down the phone, so you need to check them.
However, there is a nuance associated with “accelerating rendering with the help of GPU». In the developers menu you can find an item that forcibly uses the graphics processor for rendering 2D-On modern smartphones, it doesn't change much, but on older models with weak elements. CPU may give rise FPS interfaced.
Also worth checking is the screen settings: turning on Classic or Standard mode instead of Saturated mode reduces the load on the display controller. The screen refresh rate should be on Auto or maximum value if the model allows, as 60 Hz can be perceived as lags after 90 or 120 Hz.
- 🎨 Turn off live wallpaper and complex design themes.
- 📉 Make sure that the display settings do not include energy-saving screen modes.
- 🖐 Check the sensitivity of the touch in the settings of additional functions.
⚠️ Attention: "Drawing Acceleration" function GPU» It can increase the battery consumption on 10-15% and cause heating of the body during prolonged use.
Radical measures: discharge and clean installation
If software tweaks didn’t work, the final argument is a complete reset. System errors and update version conflicts accumulated over the years can severely slow down work. Resetting to factory settings (Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset) returns the device to the “out of the box” state.
Before this procedure, make sure to back up important data to the Mi Cloud or your computer. After reset, do not rush to restore all applications at once. Install only the essentials and observe the operation of the system in its pure form.
Clean installation often solves problems with "brakes" after an Android update.The system rearranges the file spreadsheet and deletes any temporary files that may have been corrupted.This is the most reliable way to make Xiaomi smoother if the hardware is working.
☑️ Preparation for full discharge
Impact of System Updates on Performance
Users often complain that the phone has started to perform worse since the upgrade, because newer versions of the OS are optimized for more powerful hardware, but in the first days after installation, the system indexes files and optimizes applications, which can cause temporary lags.
If the phone is old (3-4 years or older), installing the latest available version of Android can be redundant, and in such cases it is sometimes useful to “roll back” to the previous stable version of the firmware through the recovery, although this requires certain skills and unlock the bootloader.
Keep an eye on what versions of software are coming out for your model. Sometimes early builds have bugs that fix security patches. Don't rush to update the day you release, read other users' reviews on forums.