How to increase the performance of Xiaomi phone: from basic settings to hidden chips MIUI

Why Xiaomi is starting to slow down and how to fix it

Even Xiaomi’s flagship models start to run slower after a year or two of use – apps open longer, animations β€œpoop”, and the battery goes down in half a day. MIUI, It's a system that actively caches data, runs background processes, and clogs up memory with unnecessary services, and in 80 percent of cases, software can solve the problem without replacing the battery or flashing it.

In this article, we will discuss 10 Proven ways to speed up Xiaomi, from basic (cleaning cache, disabling animations) to advanced (setting the CPU core, optimizing Dalvik cache). 12 Pro+, Poco F5 Xiaomi 13 Ultra with the latest versions MIUI 14/15. Important: Some tricks require unlocking the bootloader or root rights – we’ll mark them separately.

Let’s start with the simplest – diagnosing the current state of the phone.

1. Performance Diagnostics: What Metrics to Check

Before you optimize your phone, you need to understand what's stopping it. Xiaomi has built-in diagnostic tools, but they're hidden in the developer menu.

  1. Go to Settings. β†’ The phone.
  2. Tap 7 times on the MIUI version (you will be notified β€œYou became a developer”).
  3. Go back to the main settings menu and open a new section for developers.

Now check the key indicators:

  • πŸ“Š RAM usage: In Memory, see how much memory applications take up. RAM is up to 70% of the total. If more, background processes overload the system.
  • πŸ”‹ Battery status: c For developers β†’ Battery status check Capacity, if it's below 80 percent factory value, it's time to change battery.
  • πŸš€ CPU boot: Open Activity Monitor (same developer menu) if cores are loaded at 90%+ In simple – the system operates β€œjunk” process.
πŸ“Š How often do you clean your Xiaomi cache?
Once a week.
Once a month
Only when the phone is slowing down.
Never clean.

If you see unknown high-load processes in the activity monitor (e.g., com.miui.analytics or com.xiaomi.midrop), you can turn them off.

⚠️ Note: Do not confuse RAM with free memory. MIUI aggressively caches data, so there may be no free gigabytes β€” that's OK. It's important that the system doesn't kill background applications (like music or a navigator) because of a memory shortage.

2. Cleaning the system: what to remove so as not to harm

The first thing that comes to mind when you're braked is to clear the cache and delete the files that you don't need, but there are pitfalls here, like cleaning the cache. Dalvik/ART This will cause all applications to be reassembled and slowed down temporarily:

β˜‘οΈ What can be removed without risk

Done: 0 / 5

How to clean the cache correctly:

  1. Go to Settings β†’ Applications β†’ Application Management.
  2. Select an app (like YouTube) and click Storage β†’ Clear cache.
  3. For mass cleaning, use the settings β†’ Memory. β†’ Clear (but do not delete application data!).

Pay special attention to the folder MIUI/Backup β€” It's a backup of applications that you can safely uninstall. DCIM/.thumbnails: There are miniatures of photos that take up to 1–2 GB but not used by the system.

Type of fileIs it safe to remove?How to clean up
Cache of user applicationsβœ… Yes.Settings β†’ Applications β†’ Storage β†’ Clean the cache
Cash of system applications⚠️ Partially.Only for unused items (e.g. Mi Video, Mi Music)
Download folderβœ… Yes.File Manager β†’ Downloads β†’ Remove unnecessary
Dalvik/ART cash❌ No.Leads to reassembly of applications and time lags
Folder.thumbnailsβœ… Yes.File manager β†’ DCIM β†’ Delete the hidden folder

A critical mistake many users make is clearing the cache through an engineering menu (#4636##) or apps like CCleaner, which deletes important system files and can lead to a cyclical reboot of the phone.

3. disable MIUI animation and visual effects

Firmware MIUI It's a beautiful but resource-intensive animation that can speed up the interface by 15 to 20 percent, and it can make it easier to switch between screens and effects:

  1. Activate Developer Mode (as in the first section).
  2. Go to Settings. β†’ For developers.
  3. Find the animation block and set the values: The scale of the animation window β†’ Disabled or No Animation Scope of Transition Animation β†’ Duration of animation disabled β†’ 0.5x (minimum)

We also recommend that you disable the effects of the MIUI:

  • 🎨 Go to Settings. β†’ Display. β†’ Lock screen style.
  • πŸ–ΌοΈ Turn off background blur and animation when unlocking.
  • πŸŒ™ In a dark topic, turn off Smooth transitions (saves up to 5% battery life).

If after disabling animations, the interface seems β€œsharp”, return the scale to the 0.5x β€” It is a trade-off between smoothness and productivity.

πŸ’‘

In the models with AMOLED-screens (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi) K60) Turning off animations also reduces the risk of pixel burnout, as static elements are displayed less frequently.

4. Optimization of background processes: what can be turned off

MIUI It runs dozens of background services by default, from analytics to cloud backup, many of which are not needed by most users, but are constantly consuming RAM and battery power:

  • πŸ“Š com.miui.analytics – collection of usage statistics (can be turned off without consequences).
  • πŸ”„ com.xiaomi.midrop – Wi-Fi Direct file transfer service (only required for Mi Drop).
  • ☁️ com.miui.cloudservice – Cloud backup (unless you use Mi Cloud).
  • πŸ“‘ com.miui.daemon – diagnostic service (you can disable, but some error logs may disappear).
  • 🎡 com.miui.player is a standard music player (if you use Spotify or Spotify) VK Music).

How to disable unnecessary services:

  1. Install Activity Launcher from Google Play.
  2. Open it and find it in the list All actions β†’ Settings β†’ Annexes.
  3. Select an unnecessary service (e.g. com.miui.analytics) and click Disable.

⚠️ Warning: Do not disable services called com.android or com.qualcomm, which are system components without which the phone can stop loading).

When you turn off the services, restart your phone. To check the result, open Settings. β†’ Memory. β†’ The use of RAM – free memory should be 10-15% more.

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Disabling background services gives performance up to 25% on budget models (for example, Redmi). 10A POCO M4 Pro), where RAM is only 4 GB.

5. Setup of the processor core and task scheduler

For advanced users, changing the I/O scheduler and setting up the governor kernel can significantly speed up the phone, a method that requires root or custom kernel rights (e.g., FrancoKernel for Snapdragon devices).

How to change the scheduler:

  1. Install the Kernel Adiutor app (root required).
  2. Go to section. CPU and choose Governor.
  3. To balance performance and battery, choose: schedutil is optimal for most tasks. performance is maximum speed (but fast battery discharge). powersave is charge saving (but lags are possible).

I/O Scheduler

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noop

You can also manually limit the maximum CPU frequency if the phone overheats. 778G (POCO X4 Pro) optimal value of 2.2 GHz instead of standard 2.4 GHz.

What happens if you choose the wrong governor?
The wrong choice of scheduler (for example, ondemand on weak processors) can lead to twitching or overheating, in extreme cases, the phone will accidentally reboot at high load.

If you don’t have root, an alternative way is to use performance modes in your home. MIUI:

  • πŸš€ Go to Settings. β†’ Battery β†’ Power regimens.
  • πŸ”‹ Choose Performance (maximum speed) or Balanced (optimum option).
  • ⚑ Turn off optimization. MIUI β€” This removes artificial limitations on background processes.

6.Dalvik cache optimization and memory defragmentation

Dalvik cache is a memory area where optimized versions of apps are stored for quick launch. It gets fragmented over time, causing slowdowns. Cache cleaning and reassembly can speed up the phone, but it needs to be done correctly.

Instructions for devices without root:

  1. Turn off the phone.
  2. Press the Power button + Volume up to enter Recovery.
  3. Select Wipe & Reset β†’ Wipe Cache (not to be confused with Wipe Data!).
  4. Reboot the phone.

Once you restart, the system automatically reassembles the Dalvik cache, and the first application launch will be slower than usual, but then the speed will return to normal.

For root devices:

  • πŸ“± Install. SD Maid or Universal Dalvik Wipe.
  • πŸ”„ Run cleaning of Dalvik cache through the application.
  • πŸ”„ Also perform memory defragmentation (in the SD Maid is a SystemCleaner option).

⚠️ Warning: Do not clean Dalvik cache more than once every 2-3 months. Frequent reassembly reduces the life of flash memory (especially on cheap models with eMMC instead of the same type of memory). UFS).

If the phone gets worse after cleaning the cache, go back to Recovery and select Reboot to System, and the system will recover the cache automatically.

7. Alternative firmware: whether to switch to caste

If all the software methods didn't work, the last option is to install custom firmware.

FirmwarePlusesConsSuitable for
LineageOSPure Android, no Bloatware, frequent updatesNo signature chips. MIUI (For example, Always on Display)Advanced users who want a β€œstock” Android
Pixel ExperienceGoogle Pixel interface, good optimizationSome sensors may not work (e.g. NFC)Fans of β€œclean” Android with chips from Google
Xiaomi.EUMIUI without Chinese software, weekly updatesRequires unlocking the bootloader, possible bugsThose who love MIUI, But he wants to get rid of Bloatware.
ArrowOSLightweight, good performanceFewer functions than in MIUIBudget models (Redmi) 9A, Poco M3)

Before installing custom firmware, consider:

  • πŸ”“ You will need to unlock the bootloader (the process takes up to 72 hours on new models).
  • πŸ“± The warranty on the phone will burn (but it can be restored by returning the official firmware).
  • πŸ”„ Camera bugs are possible, NFC or sensors (check reviews for your model).

If you do, follow the instructions on the forum. XDA Developers or telegram chats about your model, like Poco. F3 There is a separate chat with current firmware and fixes.

8 Hardware Methods: When Software Optimization Does Not Help

If the phone is slowing down even after all the manipulations, the problem may be the hardware, and here are the most common hardware causes and solutions:

  • πŸ”‹ Worn-out battery (capacity) < 70%: results in CPU trottling, battery replacement (Redmi Note 11 costs around 1,500) β‚½).
  • πŸ”₯ CPU overheating: check the heat paste (old models dry it out) The solution is to replace the paste or radiator.
  • πŸ’Ύ Flash memory problems: If the phone is β€œhanging” while reading/writing files, the chip may be worn out eMMC/UFS. The solution is to replace the memory module (expensive, often cheaper to buy a new phone).
  • πŸ“Ά Weak signal: the phone is constantly looking for the network, which is loading the processor.

How to check the condition of iron:

  1. Install. AIDA64 or CPU Throttling Test.
  2. Check the temperature of the processor under load (normal - up to 70).Β°C).
  3. Run a performance test in AnTuTu or Geekbench and compare the results with the benchmarks for your model.

If the tests show a significant performance drop (for example, the Redmi Note 10 Pro gives 300,000 points in AnTuTu instead of 500,000), the hardware is likely to be the problem.

πŸ’‘

On models with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/2 (for example, Xiaomi 12 Pro or Redmi K50 Gaming is a common problem due to poor heat distribution, solution: using a cooling stand or replacing a thermal paste.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions

Can Xiaomi be Speeded Up Without Root?
Yes, most of the methods in this article (cleaning the cache, turning off animations, optimizing background processes) do not require root.
Why did the phone stop after the MIUI update?
New versions MIUI Often contain additional services and analytics that overload the system. Solution: Reverse the previous version through Recovery. or disable new services (e.g., com.miui.hyperos in the Internet). MIUI 15).
Should I turn off MIUI Optimization?
Disabling Optimization MIUI (In battery settings, it can speed up background processes but increase battery consumption by 10-15%, and we recommend turning off only if you are critical, so that applications do not close in the background (for example, for navigator or music).
How to check if the phone is slowing down due to the operator?
Install NetMonster or Network Signal Info and check the signal strength: RSRP below -100 dBm, the signal is weak, the phone spends resources searching for it. 200 MS: network problems are possible. Solution: switch to network problems. 4G instead 5G (If it is unstable, use Wi-Fi.
Which Xiaomi models are most affected by the brakes?
According to statistics, the most common complaints are: Redmi 9A/9C β€” weak-processor + 2 GB of RAM. Poco. M3 β€” Problems with flash memory eMMC. Xiaomi Mi A2/A3 β€” obsolete Snapdragon 660 + No updates.Redmi Note 8 Pro - Mediatek Helio overheating G90T. On these models, we recommend to immediately install lightweight firmware of the ArrowOS type.