How to completely remove 4 timers in games on the Xiaomi phone: 5 proven ways

Mobile gaming enthusiasts on Xiaomi smartphones often face an annoying problem: the system automatically interrupts the gameplay every 4 hours, displaying a notification of “rest time”, this restriction is built into the MIUI firmware as part of the Digital Wellbeing feature, which is designed to reduce dependence on gadgets. However, for many users, such interference becomes a real challenge – especially during long online battles or passing difficult levels.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible ways to turn off the 4-hour timer on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO phones, from official settings to hidden technical bypasses. It’s important to understand that the methods differ depending on the version of MIUI (12/13/14/15) and the device model. We’ll also analyze why some solutions stop working after system updates, and what to do in such cases.

We warn you beforehand that some methods require superuser rights (root) or installing third-party applications, which can affect the warranty and security of the device. If you are not ready for radical measures, focus on the first three methods that work without risks.

1. Disable the timer through Digital Wellbeing

The most obvious and safe way to do this is to deactivate the restriction directly in the Digital Wellbeing settings, a technique that is suitable for most MIUI 12-15 devices, but can be hidden on some models for the Chinese market.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Digital Well-Being and Parental Control.
• ⏱️ Go to the Toolbar tab (or Dashboard in new versions).
• 🔍 Find the App Use Timer or Time Limitation section.
• ❌ Turn off the slider next to the option Automatically limit playing time.

If there's no timer, then the time limit is at the parental control level.

1. Return to the main menu of digital well-being.
2. Select Parental Controls and enter PIN-code (default frequency 0000 or 1234).
3. Find the Time Limits section and reset the settings for games.

⚠️ Note: On some firmware (for example, MIUI 14 Global) after the timer is turned off, the system can activate it again after 24 hours, in which case it will be necessary to re-disable or use alternative methods.

2.Reset Digital Wellbeing settings via ADB

If the standard shutdown doesn’t work, you can reset all the limitations of Digital Wellbeing with the help of ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which does not require root rights, but you need a computer with Xiaomi drivers installed and platform-tools tool.

Step-by-step:

1. Download the platform-tools and unpack into any folder.
2. On your phone, activate Developer Mode (7 times click on the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone).
3. Enable USB debugging in Settings → Additional → For developers.
4. Connect your phone to your PC and type in the command line (in the folder with the platform-tools):

adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.guardprovider


adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.midrop

Once you've done the commands, restart the device. This will remove the modules that are responsible for the forced constraints.

⚠️ Note: On some models (POCO F5, Redmi Note 12 Pro+) After this method, you may lose access to the Mi Drop File Transfer function. To return it, you just need to reinstall the application via Google Play.

Install Xiaomi drivers on PC| Download platform-tools|Enable developer mode|Activate debugging over USB|Connect phone with original cable-->

3. Use of third-party launchers

Some users have successfully bypassed the restrictions by replacing the standard MIUI launcher with an alternative one (like Nova Launcher or Hyperion Launcher), which works because Digital Wellbeing only tracks usage times through its native interface.

How to do this:

• 🛒 Install any launcher from Google Play (we recommend Nova Launcher).
• 🔧 Assign it as the default launcher in the application settings.
• 🎮 Run games through a new launcher – the system will not record the time of their use.

The downside of the method is that some MIUI features (like Game Turbo) may not work properly, and Digital Wellbeing will still monitor background activity of games, but without forced closure.

4. editing system files (root required)

For advanced users who are ready to get root rights, there is a radical way - editing MIUI configuration files. This method is guaranteed to remove all restrictions, but can lead to unstable system operation or loss of warranty.

Instructions:

1. Get root access with Magisk (see instructions for your model on 4PDA).
2. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer).
3. Cross the path. /system/etc/security and find the file. digital_wellbeing_config.xml.
4. Open the file and replace the line <game_limit_enabled>true</game_limit_enabled> on <game_limit_enabled>false</game_limit_enabled>.
5. Save the changes, set the rights 644 and restart the device.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 15 (e.g. Xiaomi 14) editing system files can cause a bootloop (loop reboot). TWRP.

5. Bypassing through Game Turbo settings

The Game Turbo feature in MIUI is designed to optimize gameplay, but its settings sometimes conflict with Digital Wellbeing. You can try to disable the integration between these two modules.

How to do this:

• 🎮 Run any game and swipe from top to bottom to open the Game Turbo panel.
• ⚙️ Click on the gear icon (settings) and select Game Turbo Settings.
• 🔄 Find the Sync with Digital Wellbeing option and turn it off.
• 🔄 Also deactivate Game Time Notices.

If there is no synchronization point, try another way:

1. Go to Settings → Special features → Game Turbo settings.
2. Turn off all options related to time control.
3. Reboot the phone.

💡

If after disabling Game Turbo the game started to lag - return the settings back and try the method with ADB from the second section.

What do you do if nothing helps?

If all of these methods do not work, there are two options:

1. Firmware rollback: Some devices (like the Redmi Note 10 Pro) only have the restriction in MIUI 13. You can return MIUI 12.5 via Fastboot, but it's risky and requires experience.
2. Create an additional profile in the settings (System → Multiple Users) and play under it – the Digital Wellbeing restrictions will not apply.

Also, check if there is a limit on the Google Family Link (if the phone is linked to a parent’s account).

• 🔗 Open families.google.com.
• 👤 Select your profile and remove time limits.

💡

On MIUI 14+ devices for the Chinese market (CN ROM), the game time limits are hard-wired into firmware, and the only reliable way is to flash it to the global version (Global ROM).

FAQ: Frequent questions about removing a 4-hour timer