Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face aggressive system optimization that forcibly closes the background processes to save battery power, leading to important notifications from messengers, banking applications or trackers arriving late, and sometimes not reaching the user at all, the solution to this problem is setting up the so-called “white list” or exceptions to launch.
In this article, we will discuss how to add the right programs to the exception list so that they always remain active in the memory of the device. You will learn about the intricacies of MIUI Optimizer and the new HyperOS mechanisms that control the background activity of the software. Competent setting of these parameters will allow you to be always connected without sacrificing the autonomy of the gadget in critical situations.
Before we make any changes, it’s important to understand that the Chinese-made Android shell has deep roots in energy saving, and simply turning on notifications is often not enough, and you need to approach the issue in a comprehensive manner, covering multiple levels of settings, from basic battery settings to hidden engineering menus.
⚠️ Note: Adding more apps to the whitelist could lead to faster battery discharge as the system stops restricting their background activity.
Why you need a white list of applications Xiaomi
The main function of the whitelist is to force the selected processes to be stored in RAM. The standard MIUI algorithm assumes that if a user has folded an application and does not use it for a few minutes, it should be “freezed” or completely closed. This is normal for games and video players, but for instant messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp, this is fatal.
When an application is on the exception list, the operating system ignores standard memory cleanup rules, which ensures that background services are running continuously, especially for enterprise customers, email agents and smart home systems that need to respond to commands instantly.
In addition, some users use this feature for streaming music or navigation so that tracks do not break off, and the route does not change when switching to other tasks. It is important to note that in different versions of the firmware, the names of menu items may differ, but the essence remains the same – creating priority for a particular software.
- 📱 Messengers: instant messaging without having to open the app.
- 📧 Workmail: Real-time synchronization of emails for important work chats.
- 🎵 Music and podcasts: uninterrupted audio playback in the background.
- 🏠 Smart home: stable operation of servers for managing household appliances.
⚠️ Note: Do not add heavy games or video editing apps to the exceptions unless there is an urgent need for this, as they can “eat” resources even in a folded state.
It’s also worth mentioning that on current versions of Android 12, 13 and 14, the memory management mechanisms have become even stricter, so creating the right work profile for each important application becomes not just a desirable, but a must-have after buying a new smartphone.
Setting up battery limitations for applications
The first and most important step is to change the energy policy of a particular application, which is what most often blocks programs from running in the background, so you need to find the application you want in the installed list and change its energy consumption profile.
To do this, go to the Settings menu and find the App section. In some versions of the shell, this item may be called All Apps. Find the program you want to add to your priority ones, such as your main messenger. Click on the app name to open the page of its detailed settings.
In the menu that opens, select Activity Control or Battery (name depends on the version of MIUI) and the default is "Battery" or "Charge Savings," and you need to change that to "No Limits," which allows the application to use the CPU and network without system constraints.
Once this setting is changed, the system can issue a warning that this action may reduce battery life, which is a standard warning that must be confirmed by clicking OK. Now the application is of high priority, but a few more steps need to be taken to fully guarantee operation.
⚠️ Warning: If the application still crashes after activating the “No Limits” mode, check if there is a third-party memory cleaner or antivirus installed on the phone, which can block processes regardless of the system settings.
It is important to understand the difference between a simple running application and an application with extended rights. No restrictions mode removes software locks, but does not guarantee that the system will not unload the process from memory if there is a lack of free RAM resources.
Fixing applications in the menu of running tasks
The second layer of protection is the visual fixation of the application in the multitasking menu, which tells the system that the application is important to the user right now and should not be closed when cleaning the memory with the “Close All” button.
Open the menu of running apps by swiping from the bottom up and holding your finger (or clicking the navigation button), find the card of the desired application, press and hold your finger on the application card, or find the lock/eye icon (depending on the version of MIUI).
Once you click on the lock icon, the app card will have a closed lock symbol, which means that the app is locked. Now, even if you click the cross to clean all other programs, this program will remain in memory.
- 🔒 Cleaning protection: the application will not close during mass memory cleanup.
- 🚀 Quick Start: The program is always in a “warm” start.
- 🔋 Priority Memory: The system tries not to unload the process first.
It's worth noting that the number of applications that can be locked in this way is limited, and typically the system allows you to keep 3 to 5 of these "protected" programs open, and if you try to lock in more, the oldest of the protected ones can be unlocked automatically.
☑️ Checking the application settings
This is particularly effective when combined with the previous one, where we let the application run without battery constraints, and then we fix it visually in the controller, and dual protection greatly improves the chances of stable operation.
Using Auto Start for Continuous Startup
The third critical parameter is autorun permission, and many users don’t know that Xiaomi doesn’t allow apps to run on their own after a phone restarts or is forced to close the phone unless that permission is given manually.
To set up autostart, go to Settings → Applications → Permissions → Autostart. Here you will see a list of all installed programs. Find the desired application and activate the switch opposite it.
Turning on the autostart ensures that the app’s services are up and running immediately after the smartphone is turned on, which is critical for alarm clocks, reminders and, of course, messengers. Without this permission, the app will “dormant” and only be able to wake it up manually.
| Parameter | Where to find out. | Value for whitelist | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery | Settings → Applications → Battery | No restrictions. | Removes limits on background activity |
| Auto-start | Settings → Applications → Permissions | Included. | Launches the application after restarting |
| Task lock | Menu of running applications | Locked. | Protects against memory cleansing |
| Notifications | Settings → Notifications | Important | Priority display of notices |
Note that in some firmware versions, the autorun menu may be hidden or put into a separate Security app. If you can't find this item in the basic settings, open the System Security app (green zipper icon) and find the Permissions → Autorun section.
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If you can’t find the “Start” item in the permissions menu, search the phone’s settings by entering the word “autostart” or “autostart” in the search bar.
The combined use of all three methods (battery, locking, auto-start) creates the very white list that is necessary for stable operation, neglecting any of these items can nullify all efforts.
Additional Notification and Network settings
Even with the right battery setup and auto-start, notifications may not arrive due to network constraints. MIUI has a sleep mode traffic saving feature that shuts down the internet for background applications.
To fix this, go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Network Access (or find this in the specific application settings). Make sure that an important application is allowed network access for both mobile data and Wi-Fi.
It’s also worth checking the settings of the notifications themselves. Go to Settings → Notifications → Notifications → Managing Notifications, select an app and make sure the Important Notifications slider is on.This marks notifications as priority and they’ll show up even in Do Not Disturb mode.
Newer versions of HyperOS have introduced Advanced Notifications, which allows you to customize the display style and sounds for each message type separately. Don't ignore these settings, as they have higher priority than standard system aerials.
- 🌐 Network access: Allow background data transfer.
- 🔔 Important Notifications: Enable Priority Display Mode.
- 📶 Wi-Fi Assistant: Turn off traffic savings for instant messengers.
Another nuance is Do Not Disturb or Sleep mode, and make sure that your important apps are added to exceptions in these modes, otherwise the phone will block sound and vibration even if the app is working correctly.
⚠️ Warning: In Flight mode or at a very weak signal, the system can forcibly cut off background connections for all applications, regardless of whitelist settings.
These parameters can take less than a minute to verify, but they are often the cause of missing messages, especially for corporate email clients who use push notifications.
Solving problems with MIUI Optimizer and hidden settings
Sometimes standard methods aren't enough, and the MIUI Optimizer comes in, and it's a hidden service that can overwrite user settings if it thinks they're suboptimal. To access advanced settings, you need to activate the developer mode.
Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7-10 times on the MIUI Version (or OS Version) field until the message “You’re a developer” appears. Then go back to the main settings menu, go to Advanced Settings → For Developers.
At the bottom of the list, find Enable MIUI Optimization. Try to switch it. In some cases (especially on older versions of Android), disabling this option solved notification problems, but on newer versions (Android 11+), this item may be hidden or disabling it may disrupt the system.
Risks of disabling MIUI Optimizer
Also on the developer menu, check the settings for "Background Process Limit" and make sure that it has a "Standard Limit" or "No Limits" value, rather than a hard fixation of the number of processes.
If nothing helps, try resetting apps through the App menu → Three dots (top right) → Reset app settings. This will return all permissions to factory permissions and you will have to reconfigure the whitelist, but this often eliminates software conflicts.
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The most reliable way is to combine: "No limits" in the battery + "Stop" + "Fix in tasks." Use the hidden developer settings only as a last resort.