How to speed up Xiaomi: radical system optimization

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a situation where once-fast machine starts to work slower. It is a natural process of aging software and accumulation of system debris that requires intervention. Modern shells MIUI and HyperOS are rich in features, but without proper configuration can consume excess resources.

There are many myths that you need to install dubious accelerator apps from third-party stores to speed up your gadget. In fact, such programs are more likely to harm than help by shutting down system processes that immediately start again, consuming battery power. In this guide, we will only look at proven methods available in hidden menus and standard settings that actually affect the performance of the device.

Before we get to the complex manipulations, we need to assess the current state of the system, if the smartphone does not turn on or freezes dead, software cleaning may not help, and deeper intervention will be required, but in 90% of cases the problem is solved by competent optimization of the interface and freeing up RAM.

Analysis of the current state and cleaning of the storage

The first step to speed up Xiaomi is to free up the internal drive. When free disk space falls below 10-15%, the read and write speeds drop dramatically, causing lags even when you open simple menus. The system uses free space for temporary files and caching, and the lack of this buffer leads to friezes.

The built-in Cleanup tool in the Security app works well enough for basic garbage removal. However, for deep cleaning, it is better to manually analyze the folders of messengers, which often store gigabytes of old photos and videos. Particular attention should be paid to the DCIM and Android/media folders, where data from social networks accumulate.

Removing unnecessary applications is another important step, because many of the programs that the manufacturer or operator preinstalled cannot be removed in the standard way, but they can be disabled, which will hide the icon from the menu and prevent the process from running, freeing up RAM.

• 🗑️ Remove rarely used games and heavy apps that you haven’t run for more than a month.
• 📸 Transfer photos and videos to a cloud service or computer, leaving only current pictures on the device.
• 📉 Turn off auto-update apps in the Play Market when using mobile data to avoid background loading.

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Use the Deep Clean feature in the standard Security app, but carefully check the file list before deleting so you don’t lose important documents.

Customize animations and interface for instant response

The visual smoothness of the interface directly affects the subjective perception of smartphone speed. By default, in the MIUI shell, animations are tuned to maximum beauty, which takes a fraction of a second each transition. The reduction in the time of these effects creates an illusion of instantaneous operation of the system.

To access the advanced settings, activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7-10 times on the MIUI Version or OS Version. After a message about activation of the developer mode appears, go back to the main settings menu and select Additional → Advanced Settings → For developers.

⚠️ Attention: There are many critical settings on the developer menu. Do not change settings that you do not know the value of, as this may lead to system instability or data loss.

In the list that opens, look for the section that deals with drawing, and we're interested in three things: "Window animation," "Jump animation," and "Duration of animation." Change their value from 1x to 0.5x, which will remove unnecessary delays when folding and deploying applications, making the interface more responsive.

If you have a device with a small amount of RAM (up to 4 GB), you can limit the number of background processes to 2-3 pieces, which will free up resources for an active application, but can lead to more frequent reboot of background programs such as a navigator or music player.

Managing Autoboot and Background Processes

One of the main reasons Xiaomi starts to slow down some time after switching on is the overactivity of background apps: Social media, news aggregators and stores are constantly trying to update content by consuming CPU time and internet traffic.

Autoboot control allows you to prevent programs from running with the system. Go to Settings → Applications → Permissions → Autorun. Leave only those applications that are critical to you (messengers, calls) on, and other programs, such as games or browsers, do not have to start on their own.

Additionally, you should adjust the charge savings for each application individually. From the Applications menu → All applications, select an unnecessary program, click on Charge Savings and select No Limits for important services only. For the rest, it is better to set “Limit background activity” or even “Limit activity in the background” if the application should not work without your knowledge.

Regularly checking the list of working processes helps to identify “gluttonous” applications. Go to Settings → About Phone → Memory (or use third-party monitoring) to see which program consumes the most resources right now. If you see an unfamiliar process name loading the system, it should be deleted or checked for viruses.

Optimizing Game Performance and Game Turbo

For gamers, the speed of the interface is secondary to the stable FPS and no frame drawdowns. In Xiaomi smartphones, the built-in Game Turbo module (formerly Game Center) is responsible for this.

Add all games you use to the Game Turbo app list. Performance mode can be activated inside the game profile, which speeds up the processor and turns off power saving, and it is also recommended to turn on the "Clear Memory" option before starting to free up maximum RAM.

• 🚀 Activate “No interference” mode to block incoming calls and notifications during the game.
• 🎮 Customize touchscreen sensitivity in your game profile for faster touch response.
• 📉 Turn off automatic brightness during play so that the system does not waste resources on light sensors.

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Game Turbo not only speeds up games, but also redistributes system resources, prioritizing gameplay over background tasks.

Keep in mind that working at maximum power will heat the body, and when the critical temperature is reached, the processor will automatically reset the frequencies (trottling), and the performance will fall, so using an external cooler or removing the case during long sessions can be more effective than any software setting.

Network settings and the impact of the Internet on speed

Users often confuse the slow operation of the smartphone itself with the slow Internet connection speed. If applications load content for a long time, pages do not open, and video is buffered, the problem may not be in the processor, but in network settings or signal.

Check your DNS settings. By default, carriers provide their servers, which can run slowly. In your Wi-Fi or mobile network settings (Settings → Wi-Fi → [Your Network] → DNS settings), you can prescribe fast public DNS addresses, such as from Google (8.8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), which will speed up site opening and server response.

⚠️ Note: Resetting your network settings will delete all stored Wi-Fi passwords and associated Bluetooth devices. Use this method only if other methods have not helped.

If you're using the mobile Internet, try switching network mode. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Choose the type of network preferably 4G or 5G. Sometimes automatic mode "5G/4G/3G/2G" makes the phone constantly look for the best tower, which creates pings and lags. Forced choice 4G Often more stable in areas of uncertain reception.

For Wi-Fi, frequency is an important parameter. If a router supports 5 GHz, be sure to connect to this network, not to 2.4 GHz. The 5 GHz range is less crowded by neighboring networks and provides higher data rates, which is critical for streaming and online gaming.

Radical measures: Resetting and updating the system

When software cleaning and customization optimization fails to deliver the desired result, there are two options: a firmware update or a full reset. Updating to the latest available version of MIUI or HyperOS often contains security and optimization patches that fix known bugs of previous versions.

Check for updates in the Settings → About Phone menu. If the system says you are using the latest version but problems persist, you can try clearing the update cache. To do this, press the volume up button and power button (on the phone turned off) to enter Recovery mode, then select Wipe Data (Warning: this will delete all data) or find the cache clearing option in the recovery menu if it is available without losing data.

The sequence of actions before discharge:


1. Copy all important data on a PC or in the cloud.




2. charge the battery to at least 60%.




3. log out of the Mi Account (Find Device).




4. perform reset via the settings menu.

A full reset to factory settings (Wipe & Reset → Erase all data) puts the phone back in the “out of the box” state, guaranteed to remove all accumulated software debris, conflicting settings and remnants of remote applications, after which the phone works as fast as it can on the first day of purchase.

Remember that after a reset, you should not immediately restore all applications from a backup "wholesale"; it is better to install the necessary programs manually, this will avoid returning old errors and junk files that may have accumulated in the backup over the years of use.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)