How to speed up the smartphone Xiaomi: effective ways

Owning a Xiaomi device often starts with a delight in the ratio of price and performance, but over time, even powerful processors can stop coping with the load. MIUI interface or new HyperOS overgrown with temporary files, background processes begin to consume resources, and visual effects slow down the response of the screen. This is not a reason to buy a new model, since in most cases the problem solves competent software optimization.

There are many hidden controls that allow you to get your gadget back up without using third-party software. We'll look at proven methods that will help you free up RAM, disable extra animation and remove intrusive advertising that slows down the interface. It's important to understand that a comprehensive approach will give you a better result than a one-time cache cleaning.

Before you go for radical measures like resetting, you should try less aggressive methods of setting up the system. Below are specific steps that will help you speed up your smartphone and extend its comfortable life. Even low-end models like the Redmi Note can fly if you configure their software correctly.

Analysis of the causes of slowing down of the system

The first step is to understand it, and most people blame hardware, but it's actually software conflicts and overcrowded storage. The Android operating system, coupled with the MIUI shell, requires free space for virtual memory to function properly. When internal memory is over 90% full, the speed of reading and writing data drops dramatically, causing lags and friezes.

Another factor is the abundance of background applications. Social media, messengers and news aggregators are constantly updating content even when the screen is off. This not only puts the battery down, but also loads the processor, leaving no resources for current tasks. It is also worth mentioning overheating: as the temperature rises, the processor forcibly reduces the clock speed to avoid damage, which instantly affects the speed of operation.

Finally, the update factor is not ignored. Sometimes the new firmware version contains optimization errors that are fixed in subsequent patches. However, the opposite happens: older models do not physically drag the heavy interface of new versions of Android, in which case a rollback to the previous version of the software or installing a custom build can be the only salvation.

Cleaning up memory and removing system debris

The basic but necessary procedure is to free up disk space. The system should have a margin of 10-15% of the total for swaps and temporary files. Xiaomi’s built-in Security app does a good job of surface cleaning, but for deep cleaning, it is better to use manual methods or specialized utilities like Files by Google.

Telegram and WhatsApp have a habit of accumulating media files that weigh gigabytes for years, cleaning the cache inside the settings of these applications is safe and does not delete correspondence, but it makes room much. DCIM/Camera Remove the failed duplicates of photos and videos.

For advanced users, analysis is available via computer. Connect your phone over USB and manually delete folders from long-deleted games, remnants of remote applications in the Android/data directory. Be careful when deleting system files, but cleaning up garbage from third-party software here is completely safe. Regularly checking storage through Settings → Memory will help keep things under control.

⚠️ Attention: When cleaning the folder Android/obb or Android/data Make sure you do not delete files of active games or navigation maps (for example, Yandex.Navigator), otherwise they will have to be downloaded again.

Optimization of the interface and animation MIUI

The visuals of the MIUI and HyperOS shells are beautiful, but they're heavy for weak processors. The fonts, shadows, blur effects, and the complex transitions between windows put a strain on the graphics accelerator. Turning off or speeding up animation is one of the most effective ways to subjectively speed up the phone.

To access hidden settings, activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About phone and quickly click 7 times on the MIUI version field. After that, a new option will appear in the menu "Additional" (or "Advanced Settings"), where you need to find "For developers." Find the section related to animation, and zoom from 1x to 0.5x or completely disable them.

It's also worth rethinking the use of desktop widgets: Heavy weather, news, or currency widgets are constantly updated over the Internet, consuming traffic and CPU resources. If you don't feel critical to seeing information instantly, you'd better remove them or replace them with static shortcuts, which is especially true for Redmi models with a small amount of RAM.

Managing Autoboot and Background Processes

Controlling what runs with your phone is key to speed. MIUI has an aggressive energy management system, but it doesn't always block everything that's superfluous. Go to Settings → Applications → Autostart and leave only messengers and alarms on. The rest can be safely turned off.

You can customize your individual restrictions for each heavy app. From the Security menu or through your battery settings, select a specific app (like Facebook or AliExpress) and set “No restrictions” only if you need fluffs, or “Limit background activity” if the app is rarely needed, which will prevent them from working in the background when you’re not using them.

Remember to check the list of running applications periodically. MIUI has a memory extension feature that takes some of the permanent storage for RAM. On fast drives, this works well, but on older models with slow eMMC memory, turning this feature on can, on the contrary, slow down the system. Try turning it off in the "Advanced" settings and compare the result.

Disabling Advertising in System Applications

One reason Xiaomi’s interface may seem slow is because of MSA (MIUI System Ads) advertising modules, which load banners into standard apps like Explorer, Music, Themes, and even the settings menu, and blocking ads will not only eliminate visual noise, but also reduce the load on the network module and processor.

The easiest way is to turn off msa. Go to Settings → Passwords & Security → Access to Personal Data. Search the msa list and turn off the switch. The system will repeatedly insist on leaving things as they are, ignore this and wait for the timer to expire in 10 seconds, then confirm the disconnection.

You also need to go through the settings of each system application, for example, in Explorer, go to the settings and remove the "Receive recommendations" box. In the Topics app, similarly, turn off the display of ads in the Popular section, which will significantly clean the interface and speed up the opening of standard utilities.

⚠️ Note: After the firmware update, the msa service settings may reset. It is recommended to check this menu item after each major system update.

Use of game mode and performance modes

Xiaomi phones have Game Turbo functionality built in, which not only improves the gaming experience, but can also be useful for heavy tasks. When you add an app to this mode, the system prioritizes its processes, clears memory and prevents background downloads, which gives you an increase in FPS and stability.

The battery settings also have a mode switch: "Savings," "Balanced," and "Performance." Performance mode keeps the processor at high frequencies all the time, which is useful for video rendering or heavy gaming, but heats the device a lot. For an everyday task, it's better to leave "Balanced," but make sure that the "Security" settings don't have an "Energy Saving" mode that artificially strangles the processor.

There is also a hidden Memory Acceleration feature in older versions of MIUI that forcibly closes all background applications when you run a selected program, and can be found in the Security app → Acceleration → Settings (cogs) and enabling this option helps if you have little RAM (3-4 GB).

Radical measures: resetting and reflashing

If software optimization doesn't work, the last resort is a factory reset, which removes all the data, applications and system errors that have accumulated over the years, and make sure to back up important data to the Mi Cloud cloud or your computer before you do it.

To do the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. It takes 10 to 30 minutes. Once turned on, the phone will be like new. Often, this step brings old devices back to life, as it removes deep-seated file and cache conflicts.

adb reboot recovery

For power users, the path is open to install custom firmware (LineageOS, Pixel Experience), which lacks the heavy shell MIUI. Pure Android works much faster and smoother on the same hardware. However, this requires unlocking the bootloader (which takes 7 days to wait) and carries the risk of losing warranty or turning the phone into a brick if errors.