How to speed up Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus: from cleaning cache to replacing firmware

Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus (codename vince) is still a popular budget smartphone due to reliable hardware: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 3-4 GB of RAM and a capacious battery of 4000 mAh. But over the years, even this centenarian begins to slow down — applications open for a long time, animation twitches, and the system hangs for 5-10 seconds. MIUI, background processes and outdated settings.

In this article, 10 proven ways to get your Redmi 5 Plus back on track, from basic (cleaning cache, turning off animations) to radical (replacing firmware with custom). All methods are tested on current versions of MIUI 12-14 and adapted to the model. No universal “advice for all Xiaomi” – only specific actions with the hardware limitations of vince.

Warn right away: if your smartphone boots for longer than 2 minutes or overheats for simple tasks (for example, messengers), the problem may lie in the wear of the battery or thermopast.

1.Diagnosis: Why is the Redmi 5 Plus slowing down?

Before optimizing the system, you need to understand the source of the brakes. The Redmi 5 Plus has typical bottlenecks:

• 🔋 Worn-out battery (capacity below 70% of nominal value) → processor trottling (reduces frequency) even at 30% charge.
• 🗑️ Scored memory (less than 1 GB of free space) → The system uses a swap file in internal memory, which is 10 times slower than RAM.
• 🤖 Background processes MIUI (e.g. com.miui.analytics) → eat up to 30% CPU down-to-earth.
• 🔄 Outdated firmware (MIUI Global or Chinese older than 2021) → No optimizations for modern applications.

To identify the problem, do 3 quick tests:

1. Check battery status: ##4636## → Battery → Wear rate: Up to 20%. If higher, a replacement is required.
2. Run Settings → About Phone → Memory status. If < 1.5 GB is free, clean the cache (see section 2).
3. Install the Simple App Launcher and check how many apps hang in the background. More than 15? disable autoboot (Section 3).

⚠️ Attention: If in Settings → Special opportunities → The battery status you see is the message "Battery needs maintenance," software optimization is meaningless. First replace the battery (original artifact. MB11), Then go back to this instruction.

System Cleanup: Cache, Garbage and Unnecessary Files

The first step to speed up is freeing up memory. On the Redmi 5 Plus with a 32/64GB drive, even 5GB of free space may not be enough to run smoothly. MIUI is actively using the app cache, which grows to gigabytes over time.

How to clean:

• 🧹 App cache: Settings → Annexes → Application management → select the application → Clear the cache. Use Settings for mass cleaning. → Memory. → Clear the cache.
• 🗑️ Garbage files: Install Files by Google → Cleanup → Make room. Delete: Old APK-Files (.apk) Duplicate photos/video Uploads older than 3 months
• 📂 Systemic debris MIUI: Enter in ##4636## → Warehouse → Clear the data (delete temporary update files).

Important: Don’t use cleaners like Clean Master or CCleaner, which often delete critical MIUI files, causing crashes. For deep cleaning, it’s better to manually check folders through Solid Explorer (gives access to system directories without root).

3. MIUI optimization: disabling background processes

MIUI is known for its “care” for the user – in the background, analytics services, updates and even advertising modules are constantly working. On the Redmi 5 Plus with 3 GB of RAM, this is critical: the system spends up to 1 GB of memory on unnecessary processes, leaving applications with crumbs.

What can be turned off without consequences:

• 📊 Analytics MIUI: Settings → Confidentiality → Special permits → Usage analysis → Turn it off.
• 🔄 Auto-Update Apps: Google Play → Settings → Auto-update of applications → Choose "Never».
• 📱 Background activity of applications: Settings → Battery and productivity → Battery management → Choice of applications → For all applications, select “Limit background activity».
• 🚫 Advertising services: Settings → Annexes → Application management → three-point → Show system-based → Find com.miui.systemAdSolution and disable it.

For advanced users: If you have root access, remove the following system applications (not critical to work) via Titanium Backup or ADB:

com.miui.analytics


com.xiaomi.ab




com.miui.bugreport




com.xiaomi.joyose

⚠️ Note: Disabling system services without root may cause disruptions to Themes, Xiaomi Cloud or App Store. Before making changes, back up through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

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If after disabling background processes, notifications from messengers stopped coming, add them to the exceptions: → Annexes → Application management → [messenger] → Battery → No restrictions.

4. Customization of animation and visual effects

MIUI defaults to smooth transition animations that look beautiful but slow down on a weak Snapdragon 625 processor, and disabling or accelerating these effects will increase responsiveness by 15-20%.

Method 1: Through Developer Settings (without root):

1. Activate Developer Mode: Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times).
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and change: Window animation scale → Disable or 0.5x Click on animation scale → Disable or 0.5x Duration of animation → Disable

Method 2: Through ADB (for Advanced):

If the developer menu is not available (for example, on Chinese firmware), use the following commands:

adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0.5


adb shell settings put global transition_animation_scale 0.5




adb shell settings put global animator_duration_scale 0.5

Method 3: Light launcher:

Replace the standard MIUI Launcher launcher with a Nova Launcher or Lawnchair.They consume fewer resources and allow you to disable animations separately for the desktop.

5. Update of firmware: official and custom options

Outdated firmware is one of the main reasons for brakes.The Redmi 5 Plus officially supports upgrades to MIUI 12.5 (Android 10), but many users remain on older versions for fear of resets or bugs.Meanwhile, fresh builds contain optimizations for modern applications and fix memory leaks.

Official firmware:

• 🌍 Global stable: The safest option. Download from the official website (select the one) vince_global).
• 🇨🇳 Chinese stable: Updated more often but without Google services, suitable if you use alternative stores (for example, APKMirror).
• 🧪 Beta version MIUI: Risky – possible bugs, but sometimes contains optimizations that are not in a stable branch.

Custom firmware (requires an unlocked bootloader):

How to update:

1. Make a backup through Settings → Additional → Backup or TWRP.
2. Download the firmware and place it in the root of the memory (/sdcard).
3. For official firmware: Settings → About phone → System update → three points → Select a firmware file.
4. For custom: boot to TWRP, make Wipe → Advanced Wipe (select Dalvik, Cache, System), then Install and specify the firmware file.

⚠️ Note: When transitioning from MIUI 11 on MIUI 12+ You may need a complete reset (data loss!). Before updating, check compatibility on the Xiaomi.EU forum.

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Castom firmware based on Android 11+ (for example, Pixel Experience) give an increase in performance up to 30% due to the lack of background services MIUI, but branded features like “Read Mode” or “Double applications” are lost.

Radical methods: iron discharge and replacement

If the software methods have not helped, extreme measures remain:

• 🔄 Hard Reset: Deletes all data, returns the phone to factory status. Helps if the brakes are caused by viruses or update curves. How to: Turn off the phone. + Volume Up before the Mi logo appears. From the Recovery menu, select Wipe Data. → Wipe All Data.

Battery replacement

MB11

Replacement of thermopaste

Snapdragon 625

Increase RAM through swap

Swap File Creator

swapfile

When to sell your phone:

If after all the manipulations Redmi 5 Plus continues to slow down in basic tasks (calls, instant messengers), it may be time to consider upgrading. Modern applications (for example, Instagram or TikTok) are optimized for processors is not weaker than Snapdragon 660.

• Redmi Note 10 (Snapdragon 678) is 2 times faster in multitasking.
• POCO M4 Pro (Dimensity 810) – support for 5G and 90 Hz screen.