How to remove animation windows on Xiaomi: 5 ways to MIUI 12-14

Why Xiaomi’s Windows Animation is Irritating to Users

Animations of window transitions in MIUI are one of the most controversial features of firmware. On the one hand, smooth effects make the interface visually attractive, especially on flagship models like Xiaomi 13 Ultra or POCO F5 Pro. On the other hand, they slow down the system, eat up the CPU resources and discharge the battery 5-15% faster (according to GSMArena tests).

The problem is compounded on budget smartphones (Redmi Note 12, POCO M5), where the weak Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 or Helio G88 chipset barely handles graphics processing. Users complain of slowing down when opening apps, delays when returning to the home screen and even overheating of the case with prolonged use.

Fortunately, Xiaomi provides several ways to disable or speed up these effects, from standard settings to hidden commands for power users. Next, we’ll go through all the methods, including those that work on MIUI 14 with HyperOS (relevant to models from 2023-2026).

Method 1: Disable animations through “Developer Settings”

The easiest and safest method is to use the hidden Developer Menu, which is on all Xiaomi smartphones, but it's hidden by default, to activate it:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times in a row on the MIUI version (you will be notified “You became a developer”).
3. Return to the main settings menu and open a new section for additional settings → For developers.

Now, look for the Windows animation block (or Scale animation in English firmware). Here are three key parameters:

• 🔄 The scale of window animation – responsible for the smoothness of opening / closing applications.
• 🔄 Transition animation scale – regulates the speed of screen changes within applications.
• 🔄 Duration of animation – total duration of all effects.

To completely remove animation, set the Off (or Animation off) value for all three items. If you want to leave minimal effects, select 0.5x, which will speed up the system by 30-40% without completely abandoning visual transitions.

Activate Developer Mode (7 taps according to MIUI)

Reboot the phone after activation

Find the section "For developers" in additional settings

Set all scales of animation to "off." or "0.5x"

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⚠️ Note: On some models (Xiaomi) 12T, Redmi K50) If you turn off animation, you may lose the smoothness of the scroll in Google Chrome or TikTok. 0.5x.

Method 2: Use of the ADB-Teams (for advanced teams)

If the developer menu is not available (for example, on enterprise devices) or you want to apply the settings globally for all smartphone users, ADB (Android Debug Bridge) will help. This method requires connecting the phone to a PC, but gives more control.

You'll need:

• 💻 Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux and installed Xiaomi drivers.
• 📱 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 🔧 Utility. ADB (Download from the official website of Android Developers).

Steps:

1. Turn on USB debugging in the Developer Menu.
2. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
3. Open the command line (or Terminal on Mac) and type:

adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0


adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 0




adb shell settings put global animator_duration_scale 0

To return the animation, replace 0 with 1 (standard speed) or 0.5 (accelerated).

Through the developer menu

With help. ADB-team

I use third-party apps.

I'm not turning off animation.

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Method 3: Third-party applications (without root rights)

If you don't want to dig into the settings or connect your phone to your PC, you can use apps from Google Play.

• 🚀 QuickShortcutMaker – allows you to find hidden settings MIUI, Look for action with the word animation in the title.
• ⚡ Animations Control is a simple slider for adjusting animation speed (requires developer rights).
• 🔧 MIUI Hidden Settings – reveals additional firmware options, including disabling transitions.

Warning: Some apps (like Animations Control Pro) request root access. On Xiaomi, this can lead to loss of warranty and update issues. Use them only if you understand the risks.

Example of QuickShortcutMaker:

1. Open the app and type in the animation search.
2. Select WindowAnimationScale, TransitionAnimationScale.
3. Set a value of 0 for each parameter.

💡

Before using third-party apps, back up your settings through Settings → Additional → Backup. This will help restore the system if something goes wrong.

Method 4: Edit the build.prop file (for experienced)

This method requires root rights and is only suitable for advanced users, and allows you to disable animations at the build.prop system file level, which gives you maximum performance.

Instructions:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer).
2. Go to /system/build.prop.
3. Find the lines: debug.animation.scale=1.0 windows.animation.scale=1.0 transition.animation.scale=1.0
4. Replace 1.0 with 0 and save the file.
5. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Warning: Incorrect editing of build.prop can lead to bootloop ( looped download!

This is the most noticeable performance boost, but the risks are high: on newer models (Xiaomi 14, Redmi Note 13 Pro+), the build.prop file can be protected, and it will require additional software like Magisk to edit it.

Method 5: Reset to factory settings (extreme case)

If the animations are not turned off by any of the above methods, the problem may be a system failure, in which case the phone will help to reset to a factory state, but this will delete all the data, so:

Create a backup of your contacts (via Google Account)

Save photos to the cloud or PC

Write down passwords from Wi-Fi and apps

Make sure the battery is charged >50%

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Resetting instructions:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Choose to erase all data.
3. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot (it will take 5-10 minutes).

After reset, animations will be enabled by default, but you can turn them off through the Developer Settings (see Method 1).

💡

Factory reset should be the last option. 90% of the time, the animation problem is solved by the first 4 methods.

Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

The choice of method depends on your Xiaomi model and level of training. Below is a table with a comparison:

For most users, the best option is a combination of Method 1 (developer settings) and Method 2 (ADB), which gives a stable result without risks.

FAQ: Frequent questions about animations on Xiaomi