How to increase the performance of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8

Xiaomi Redmi Note 8, which came to market with Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor, is still popular due to its balanced hardware and affordable price. However, with the release of new versions of the MIUI shell and application updates, owners often notice a decrease in interface response speed, hanging in games and long downloads of programs. It is a natural process of aging of the software part, but it can be significantly slowed or even reversed by applying an integrated approach to optimization.

In this guide, we’ll look at not only standard memory cleaning techniques, but also hidden system settings that allow you to redistribute CPU resources to active tasks. Competent setup will allow your device to work as fast as the first day after purchase, or even faster if you decide on advanced methods of interfering with Android.

Before embarking on radical measures such as data reset or flashing, basic diagnostics and cleaning are necessary. Often the cause of brakes is background processes, crowded cache and aggressive advertising in system applications that consume CPU resources. Deleting the system application msa (MIUI System Ads) can reduce the load on the CPU by up to 15% in idle.

Basic cleaning and disposal of system debris

The first step to speed up the Redmi Note 8 should be a deep cleanup of the file system. Xiaomi’s standard Security app does a good job of surface cleaning, but often leaves behind gigabytes of residual files from remote programs and messenger cache. Using a third-party tool like SD Maid or Files by Google, you can find hidden folders that take up space.

Special attention should be paid to the Download folder and the WhatsApp and Telegram messenger directories, which have been accumulating media files for years. Clogged up almost to the end of the internal memory is the main enemy of the speed of the eMMC flash memory installed in this model. When less than 10% of the space is free, the write speed drops significantly, causing lags throughout the interface.

To manually clean the system cache, it is recommended to go to the Settings → Memory → Cleanup menu. However, a more effective method is to clear the cache of each heavy application separately through the application management menu, which is especially true for browsers and social networks that grow to huge sizes.

• 🗑️ Remove unused apps you haven’t run in the last 3 months.
• 📸 Transfer all photos and videos to a cloud service or computer, freeing up at least 5GB.
• 📱 Disable or remove pre-installed Xiaomi apps you don’t use (Mi Video, Mi Music).
• 🔄 Clear the data of Google Play and Google Play Market services through the application menu.

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Use the “Extended Cleanup” feature in the standard Security app, but read carefully what you are going to delete so as not to lose logins in the applications.

Optimizing the MIUI interface and disabling animations

MIUI is known for its visual richness, but it's the smooth transitions and animations that create the illusion of slow work on mid-range processors. In Redmi Note 8, you can dramatically speed up your perception of system speed by simply reducing the duration of animations or turning them off altogether. This won't increase FPS in games, but the interface will become more responsive.

To access these settings, activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the MIUI version 7 times. Once the "You're a developer" notification appears, go back to the main settings menu, select Additional → For Developers. Find the "Drawing" section and change the animation of windows, transitions and animator duration to 0.5x or 0x.

⚠️ Attention: Complete shutdown of animations (0x) It can make the interface twitchy and less understandable. The optimal value for balancing speed and visual connectivity is to make the interface more jittery. 0.5x.

It is also worth disabling the function "Advanced memory" if it is activated on your version of the software, since on older models, memory virtualization sometimes leads to additional delays when swapping data. In the section for developers, you can also find the item "Background process" - set the limit "No more than 2 processes" if you do not use multitasking actively.

• 🚀 Reduce the scale of animation windows to 0.5x for instantaneous opening of programs.
• ⏱️ Reduce the duration of animation transitions between screens.
• 📉 Turn off the live wallpaper, it consumes up to 20% of resources GPU background.
• 🔍 Remove widgets from the home screen if they update real-time data (news, weather).

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Reducing the scale of animations is the safest and most visible way to visually speed up the work of any Android smartphone without losing data.

Managing Autoboot and Background Processes

One of the main reasons why the Redmi Note 8 starts to slow down over time is that apps autoload uncontrolledly, and many programs enroll themselves in start-up systems to keep them in memory, consume traffic and battery power, and controlling this process is the key to stable operation.

In modern versions of MIUI, autoboot management is hidden in the application menu. Press the icon of any application or go to Settings → Apps → All apps, select the right one and click Autoboot. Leave autoboot only for instant messengers to keep messages from missing, and system services.

The way to check rights: Settings → Applications → Permissions → Auto Run

Also, check the list of special rights applications, some programs require the right to display over other windows or access geolocation constantly, which wakes the processor even in your pocket, and regular audit of such rights helps to extend battery life and reduce the heat of the case.

Optimization of the game through Game Turbo

For gamers using Redmi Note 8, it is critical to properly configure the built-in Game Turbo module, which allows you to redistribute CPU and RAM resources in favor of running the game, limiting the background activities of other applications.

In the Game Turbo settings, you can select a performance profile. For the Snapdragon 665 processor, it is recommended to choose a balance between performance and temperature, since when overheating, the smartphone automatically resets frequencies (trotling), which causes friezes. Enabling No Sound mode and blocking notifications also frees up processor interruptions.

Redmi Note 8 pulls PUBG Mobile or Call of Duty on medium settings, but setting maximum graphics will lead to unstable FPS. It is better to choose low graphics and high framerate (if available) than a beautiful picture with lags.

• 🎮 Add all games to the Security app» → Game Turbo.
• 🌡️ Watch the temperature: if the case is hot, remove the case for better cooling.
• 📉 In the game schedule settings, choose priority FPS, not permission.
• 🚫 Close all background apps before launching a heavy game.

Resetting and radical measures

If software cleaning and customization fails, the most effective but time-consuming method is a full reset to the factory settings (Hard Reset), which accumulates registry errors, library conflicts, and tails from remote programs that cannot be manually cleaned over the years.

Before you reset, make sure to back up your data. Use the built-in Xiaomi Cloud or sync with your Google Account. Once reset, your phone will look like new and your speed will be restored to factory performance. It's important not to restore apps in a bundle from your backup, but to install them again as needed.

⚠️ Warning: Before resetting, make sure that the battery is at least 50-60%. Interrupting the reset process due to battery discharge can cause damage to the bootloader and the need to flash through the computer.

To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. The system will request an unlock password and password from Mi Account to verify identity. The process will take 5 to 15 minutes.

Path to reset: Settings → About phone → Resetting → Erase all data

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After reset, do not install antivirus and accelerators immediately - in MIUI they are often unnecessary load.

Overclocking and advanced settings (For experienced users)

Root-access owners of Redmi Note 8 can go beyond standard settings. Installing custom modules or using CPU frequency control applications allows you to overclock the Snapdragon 665 or undervolt it to reduce heat, but this requires deep knowledge.

One popular method is to change the CPU governor through applications like Kernel Adiutor. Switching the CPU from interactive to performance makes the CPU always run at maximum frequencies, which removes micro-lags, but significantly increases power consumption.

You can also disable unused system services via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which removes bloatware that cannot be removed by standard means, for example, removing Xiaomi analytics services and unnecessary Google Play Services components can free up to 1 GB of RAM.

• ⚙️ To work with frequencies, root rights are required, the receipt of which deprives of guarantees.
• 📉 Undervolting can increase work time, but requires stability testing.
• 💻 Work with ADB Requires connection to the PC and installing drivers.
• 🔒 Beware: Removing system components can make your phone “brick.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)