How to speed up Xiaomi: A complete guide to smartphone optimization

Your Xiaomi is slowing down, apps are slowing down, and animations are twitching? That doesn't always mean it's time to buy a new smartphone. 80 percent of the time, slow work can be fixed by software without having to invest in a service center. Even low-end models like the Redmi 9A or POCO M3 can run smoothly when optimized properly.

MIUI performance depends on three key factors: system load, internal memory status, and energy saving settings. We tested all available methods on 15 Xiaomi models (from the 2018 Mi 8 to the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 2023) and selected only those that give real speed gains. In this article, step-by-step instructions explaining why each method works, as well as warnings about possible risks.

1. Diagnostics of the current state of the smartphone

Before you optimize Xiaomi, you need to understand what exactly is holding it back. MIUI has built-in diagnostic tools that will show:

• 📊 CPU Occupation – Which Applications are Loading the System
• 🗄️ Memory state – how much free space is and how it is distributed
• 🔋 Battery consumption – background processes that eat resources

To start the diagnosis:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → All the parameters
2. Tap 5 times on the MIUI version to activate the developer mode
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers
4. Find the CPU Monitor section and turn it on

When activated, the notification panel will display a CPU boot schedule. If it is continuously full by more than 70% without active actions, there is a problem application in the system. On models with a Snapdragon 4xx/6xx processor (for example, Redmi 9, POCO X3), background loading above 50% is already considered critical and requires intervention.

System Cleanup: Cache, Garbage and Unnecessary Files

The most common cause of brakes is overcrowded memory. MIUI actively caches data, and over time temporary files take up gigabytes of space. On the Redmi Note 10 Pro tests, after a year of use, the cache took up 8.3 GB, and the user memory was only 60 percent full.

How to clean the system correctly:

• 🧹 App cache: Settings → Annexes → Application management → Clear the cache (choose one by one or "Clean it all up")
• 🗑️ Garbage files: use the built-in Cleanup app (Broom Icon)
• 📁 Duplicate photo: Gallery → Albums. → Duplicates (function available with MIUI 12.5)
• 🎵 Offline music cache: check the folder /MIUI/sound_recorder via file manager

For deep cleaning, use the combination: first manually delete unnecessary files through Files, then run Cleanup, and at the end restart your smartphone. This will free up to 20-30% of memory on devices with 64/128 GB of storage.

⚠️ Note: Do not use third-party cleaners like Clean Master or CCleaner. MIUI, Xiaomi's built-in tools are enough to clean up safely.

3. Optimization of background processes and autoboot

MIUI is known for aggressive battery optimization, but sometimes it works against performance. Many applications (especially instant messengers and social networks) run in the background and consume resources even when not in use. On the POCO F3 with 8 GB of RAM, background processes took up up up to 3.5 GB of memory in standby mode.

How to limit background activity:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management
2. Select the application → Battery consumption → Limit background activity
3. To completely disable autorun: Settings → Permissions → Autorun and disable unnecessary applications

For advanced users: in developer mode (Settings → Additional → Developers), you can limit the number of background processes. The optimal value for most smartphones is the Standard Limit or Maximum 4 process.

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After changing the background settings, restart your smartphone. Some changes only take effect after the reboot, especially on devices with MediaTek (Helio G-series) processors.

4. Customization of animation and visual effects

MIUI is known for beautiful yet resource-intensive animations. On weak devices (like the Redmi 8A with 2GB of RAM), these effects can eat up to 15% of performance. Turning off or speeding up animations gives a noticeable increase in speed when navigating the system.

How to optimize visual effects:

1. Activate Developer Mode (as in Section 1)
2. Go to Settings → Additional → For Developers
3. Find options: Window animation scale → Animation disabled or 0.5x Transition animation scale → 0.5x Animator duration → Disabled

At the Mi tests A3 (Snapdragon 665) disabling animation reduced the time to open applications by 22% and reduced delays when scrolling by 35%. AMOLED-screens (Mi 11, Redmi) K40) Additional bonus: battery savings of up to 8% by reducing pixel lighting time.

⚠️ Note: On some models (POCO X2, Mi 9T) Turning off animations can cause the screen to blink when switching between applications. 0.5x shutdown.

5. Updating the firmware and core of the system

Often the brakes are caused by software bugs that Xiaomi fixes in new versions of MIUI. For example, MIUI 12.0.8 for the Redmi Note 9 Pro had a critical memory management bug that caused hangings every 10-15 minutes. In version 12.0.11, the problem was fixed.

How to properly update the system:

• 📲 Through OTA: Settings → The phone. → Updating the system
• 💻 Through Mi Flash Tool (for power users): Download the latest stable firmware from the official website ZIP-Archive to the root of the phone memory In System Update, click on three dots → Select a firmware file
• 🔄 Recovery (if the smartphone is not turned on): 1. Turn off the device. 2. Hold the Power. + Volume Up 3. Select "Install" update.zip" 4. Confirm installation