How to return the acceleration of games on Xiaomi: from simple settings to hidden chips MIUI

Your Xiaomi used to fly in games, and now even Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile slow down like a slideshow? Don’t be quick to blame the iron – in 90% of cases, the problem lies in the software limitations of MIUI, background debris or suboptimal GPU settings. Even flagship models like Xiaomi 13 Ultra or POCO F5 eventually begin to “strangle” performance due to aggressive energy saving policies.

In this article, 7 proven ways to get back to speed, from basic (cache cleaning) to advanced (GPU overclocking through the engineering menu).We will analyze why games are laid even on top smartphones, how to get around the limitations of MIUI without root, and what to do if after the update, the FPS fell by 2 times. All instructions are relevant for devices on MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS (including Redmi, POCO and Black Shark).

⚠️ Important: Some methods require activation of the developer mode. → The phone. → Version. MIUI (Press 7 times, do it in advance. Also check the battery power - at a level below 20%, the system automatically reduces performance.

1. disable the "smart" performance restriction in MIUI

MIUI aggressively restricts FPS in games, even if you have a flagship with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.This is done to save charge, but often leads to jerks and freezes. The first thing to do is turn off all automatic "optimizations."

Go to: Settings → Battery and Performance → Performance Mode

Select "Maximum Performance" (or Extreme Performance on POCO/Black Shark), and if you don't have one, your model doesn't support manual control, move on to the next one.

• 🔋 Turn off the “Adaptive Battery” in Settings → Battery → Battery settings: This feature removes background processes, but often blocks gaming as well.
• 🎮 Add the game to "Exceptions": Settings → Annexes → Permits → Auto-Start and Turn on for Your Game.
• ⚡ Turn off "Optimize" MIUI» (Hidden setting: type in the search settings ##4636##, select Battery Information → Turn off "Optimize." MIUI».

⚠️ Note: on the Redmi Note series and budget models (Redmi) 12C, POCO M6) There may be no maximum performance mode, in which case use Game Turbo (see next section).

2. Game Turbo setup: hidden chips for gamers

Game Turbo is Xiaomi's proprietary tool for optimizing games, but by default it works in "sparing" mode.

1. Open Game Turbo (the icon on the desktop or in Settings → More).
2. Select the game from the list (if not, add it manually via +).
3. Activate: 🎯 «Esport regime” (maximum FPS, but warms up). 📊 «Monitor FPS» — to track the framerate in real time. 🔇 «Block notifications" - so that background processes do not interfere with.

Additional settings

"Memory Cleanup Before Launch"

💡 Secret trick: Some firmware has a hidden "Black Shark Mode" to activate it:

adb shell settings put global force_game_mode 1

This command forcibly includes game mode for all applications (ADB and USB debugging enabled are required).

Esports mode activated

FPS monitor on

Notifications in the game are disabled

Cleared memory before launch

Added game to battery exclusions-->

3. GPU overclocking through the engineering menu (without root)

If your Xiaomi is equipped with a Qualcomm chipset (Snapdragon), you can manually increase the frequency of the GPU through the engineering menu, which will increase the FPS by 15-30%, but increases the heat.

Instructions:

1. Install the MTK Engineering Mode app (for MediaTek) or the Qualcomm Mode app (for Snapdragon) from Google Play.
2. Open the menu and go to Hardware Testing → GPU.
3. Find the Governor GPU and Max Frequency GPU options.
4. Install: GPU Governor → “Performance” GPU Max Frequency → maximum value (for example, 840 MHz for Adreno 660).

⚠️ Attention: acceleration GPU Increases the load on the cooling system if the smartphone overheats after the changes (above 50)°C, return the standard settings on the liquid-cooled models (Redmi). 10A, POCO C50) overclocking is not recommended.

💡

After overclocking the GPU, check the temperature in the game using the CPU Monitor app. If the indicator is above 55 ° C, reduce the frequency by 50–100 MHz.

4. Cleaning the system: what to remove so that the games do not slow down

Over time, MIUI accumulates garbage that eats up RAM and slows down games. The usual cleaning of the cache through the settings helps weakly - deep measures are needed.

What to remove first:

• 🗑️ Google Play Services Cash: Settings → Annexes → Application management → Google Play Services → Memory. → Clear the cache.
• 📱 System log files: use the Files by Google app» → Cleanup → Logs and temporary files.
• 🎵 Music and video caches (if you use Mi Music or Mi Video).
• 🤖 Unnecessary system applications (for advanced ones only!): disable via ADB: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.weather2 adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.video

How to Free Up RAM Before Playing:

1. Close all background applications through Recent → Close everything.
2. Enable “Deep Cleanup” in the Security App (Optimization → Deep Cleanup).
3. Reboot the phone (this resets the core cache).

5. Optimizing graphics settings in games

Many games automatically choose their graphics settings based on the phone’s model rather than its actual capabilities. For example, PUBG Mobile on Xiaomi 12T can set Balanced Settings, although the iron pulls HDR + Ultra.

How to manually adjust graphics for maximum FPS:

• 🎮 PUBG Mobile / Call of Duty: Graphics: Smooth or Balanced.Frame: Extreme (90) FPS) or Ultra (60) FPS). Shadows: Off. Effects: Low.
• 🏰 Genshin Impact: Permission: 720p (even on the flagships!). FPS: 60 (on Snapdragon 8)+ Gen 1 can be tried 90. Particle effects: Low.
• 🏎️ Asphalt 9: Graphics quality: Low. Motion effects: Off. Render resolution: 75%.

💡 Lifehack: In some games (for example, Free Fire) you can force high-level playback FPS It's a config file:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and enable USB Debugging.
2. Use it. MT Manager (file manager with root rights) to open /data/data/com.name/shared_prefs.
3. Find the file with the graphics settings (usually graphics.xml) and change the fps setting to 90 or 120.

💡

Decreasing the resolution in games gives a greater increase in FPS than reducing the details of graphics, for example, switching from 1080p to 720p can increase the framerate by 30-50%.

6. Update of GPU drivers and firmware

Outdated Adreno drivers (for Snapdragon) or Mali drivers (for MediaTek) can cause FPS to drop. Xiaomi rarely updates them via OTA, so sometimes you have to install them manually.

How to update the GPU driver:

1. Check the current driver version: For Adreno: install the “GPU Driver Updater” from the Play Market. For Mali: use the “ARM Mali GPU Info”.

• Adreno: Qualcomm Developer
• Mali: ARM Developer
• Install via TWRP (unlocked bootloader required) or run through Fastboot.

Firmware update:

• 📱 Check the relevance MIUI: Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🔄 If there are no updates, but the game is slowing down after the last update - roll back to the previous version via the Mi Flash Tool.
• 🛠️ For enthusiasts: install custom firmware on the base AOSP (Like Pixel Experience or LineageOS. They're not limited. MIUI give +10-15% productivity.

⚠️ Attention: driver updates GPU manually can lead to loss of warranty and unstable system operation. TWRP.

7 Hardware solutions: when nothing helps

If the software methods did not give a result, the problem may lie in the iron:

• 🔋 Battery worn out (capacity below 70%) → The system is forced to limit performance. Check the battery's health in AccuBattery.
• 🌡️ Overheating due to dried thermopaste (relevant for devices older than 2 years) The solution is to replace the thermopaste in the service center.
• 🖥️ trottling CPU/GPU Due to dust in the cooling system (a common problem with Black Shark and the slugs). POCO F-series).
• 💾 Worn memory (UFS 2.1/2.2 loses speed 100–150 Check the health of the drive through AndroBench.

What to do:

• If the battery is worn out, replace it (cost for Xiaomi – 1,500-3000). ₽).
• If it overheats, use a cooling case (such as Black Shark Cooling Back Clip) or an external cooler.
• If memory is slowing down, try formatting your phone (full reset to Settings → Recovery and Reset).

💡 Extreme method: if your Xiaomi supports overclocking through the kernel (for example, POCO F3 On the Snapdragon 870, you can flash a custom core like FrancoKernel or Kirisakura:

• Control of CPU/GPU frequencies in real time.
• Optimize the task scheduler for games.
• Reduced input delays (important for shooters).

But it requires an unlocked bootloader and firmware knowledge.

FAQ: Frequent questions about speeding up games on Xiaomi