How to enable and configure the multitasking menu on Xiaomi: all ways

Xiaomi’s multitasking menu isn’t just a list of newly opened apps, it’s a powerful task management tool that lets you quickly switch between programs, lock important windows, and even share a screen. However, many users face a problem: After updating MIUI or resetting, this feature is lost sight of or not working properly. In this article, we’ll break down all the current ways to enable the multitasking menu on Xiaomi, Redmi, and POCO devices, including hidden settings and alternative methods for older versions of the firmware.

The thing about MIUI is that it regularly changes the menu layout, and what worked on MIUI 12 might not work on MIUI 14, and on some models (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra or POCO F5), the multitasking algorithm is different from the standard one. We tested all the methods on current firmware in 2026 and put together universal solutions that will work for most devices. If your smartphone behaves outside the box, at the end of this article you will find a section with a solution to typical problems.

What is Xiaomi’s Multitasking Menu and Why You Need It

The Multitasking Menu (or Recent Apps) is an Android system tool that displays cards of all recently used apps. On Xiaomi smartphones, it is integrated into the MIUI shell and has advanced features:

• 🔄 Quickly switch between tasks without returning to the home screen.
• 📌 Fixing applications (fixing important windows so they don’t close when cleaning memory).
• 🖥️ Separate screen (multi-window mode for simultaneous work with two applications).
• ⚡ Management RAM (manual background cleaning or blocking automatic optimization).

On newer versions of MIUI (13 and above), the multitasking menu also supports gestures, such as swiping the card up to close the app or down to lock. However, some users note that after updating the firmware, the menu stops opening in the usual way - a notification bar appears instead or nothing happens, this is due to changing gesture settings or turning off system services.

Important: On devices with a MediaTek processor (such as the Redmi Note 12 or POCO M5), the multitasking menu may be slower due to the MIUI optimization features for this chipset, in which case it is recommended to manually limit the background activity of applications in the battery settings.

The standard way to open the multitasking menu

On most Xiaomi smartphones, the multitasking menu opens in one of two ways, depending on the type of navigation you choose:

1. With navigation buttons (three virtual keys at the bottom of the screen): Click on the square button □ (right of the home button").
2. With gestures (full screen navigation): Swipe your finger up from the bottom edge of the screen and hold your finger for 0.5 seconds (don’t let go right away!).

If the menu does not open, check:

• ⚙️ Are system gestures disabled in Settings? → Display. → Navigation through the system.
• 🔄 Is there a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher) that can block standard gestures.
• 📱 Is the child mode activated or the guest mode restricting functionality activated.

How to turn on the multitasking menu if it is missing

If the standard methods didn't work, the multitasking menu could be disabled at the system level. Here's a step-by-step manual for restoring it:

Method 1: Checking the gesture settings

The most common problem is that you're not setting your navigation.

1. Open the Settings → Display.
2. Select System Navigation.
3. Make sure that the MIUI Gestures or Navigation Buttons mode is enabled (depending on your preferences).
4. If you select gesture mode, tap on Additional gesture settings and check if the "Recent App Menu" option is activated.

Open "Settings → Display"

Select "Navigation on the system"

Check the active mode (gestures or buttons)

Reboot the smartphone after the changes-->

Method 2: Resetting the launcher settings

Sometimes the failure occurs due to errors in the standard launcher MIUI Launcher.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the MIUI Launcher (or simply "Luncher").
3. Slip on the Warehouse → Clear the data and confirm the action.
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Warning: After clearing the launcher data, all your widgets and icons will be reset on the home screen.

Method 3: Including through ADB (for power users)

If the multitasking menu is disabled at the system level (for example, after manually editing configuration files), it can be returned using the system. ADB-This is a way for advanced users:

adb shell settings put global enable_recent_apps true

To execute the command:

1. Install ADB Tools on your computer.
2. Enable USB debugging on your smartphone (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version – tap 7 times, then go back to Additional Settings → For Developers → Debugging by USB).
3. Connect the phone to the PC and execute a command in the terminal.

Features of the multitasking menu on different versions of MIUI

The manufacturer regularly updates the MIUI interface, and the multitasking menu is no exception. Below is a comparison of functionality in different versions of the firmware:

MIUI 14 also features a Smart Grouping feature, which automatically combines tasks from one application (such as multiple Chrome tabs or chats in Telegram) into one card. To disable this option, go to Settings → Special Features → System Settings → Grouping Recent Applications.

How to set up a multitasking menu for yourself

The standard multitasking menu on Xiaomi can be customized, and here are the basic settings that are available to users:

• 🔧 Number of tasks displayed: 6 cards are displayed by default, but you can increase the limit to 12 through Settings → Display. → Additionally. → Limit of recent annexes.
• 📱 Separate Screen Mode: Hold the app icon in the multitasking menu and select Open in a separate window.
• 🚫 Cleaning lockdown RAM: In Settings → Battery → Battery optimization can add applications to exceptions so they don’t close when memory is cleaned.
• 🎨 Dark Card Theme: Activates automatically when you turn on the dark mode in the system.

On devices with MIUI 13/14, the option "Smooth transition" is also available - animation when you open the multitasking menu.

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Slip the MIUI version 7 times to activate the developer mode.
3. Return to the additional settings → For developers.
4. Find the option to go animation and set a value of 1x (or higher for a smoother effect).

💡

If the multitasking menu is slowing down, try turning off the transition animations in the developer settings, which will speed up card opening, but make the interface less smooth.

Problems with the multitasking menu and their solutions

Even after you set up the multitasking menu correctly, you can still experience failures, and let’s look at typical situations and ways to fix them:

Problem 1: The menu opens, but apps don't show up

If you see a blank screen or a sign saying “No recent apps,” the programs have been opened:

• Check if the power saving mode is on (Settings → Battery) and in this mode the system aggressively closes the background tasks.
• Make sure that there is no restriction in Settings for the problem application. → Annexes → Application management → [name] → Battery.
• Restart your device – sometimes it helps restore the com.miui.home system service.

Problem 2: Multitasking menus are lagging or slowing down

The slowdown may be related to:

• 🗑️ Cache overflow: Clear the launcher cache (Settings) → Annexes → MIUI Launcher → Warehouse → Clear the cache).
• 🔋 Lack of RAM: Close background applications manually or set a limit in Settings → Developer → Limit of background processes.
• 🛠️ Work failure MIUI: Reset your settings through Settings → The phone. → Reset settings (select "Reset interface settings").

⚠️ Note: if the freezes occur after installing custom firmware (for example, Xiaomi.EU), the problem may lie in the incompatibility of the kernel. MIUI.

Problem 3: The separate screen is not working

The split screen function may be disabled at the system level or not supported by your model.

• Keep the app icon in the multitasking menu – if the Open option is not available in a separate window, your device does not support this feature.
• On some models (e.g. Redmi 9A), the separate screen only works with a limited list of applications (e.g. YouTube, Chrome, Files).
• Update your firmware to the latest version – MIUI 14 has expanded the list of supported applications for multiwindow mode.

Alternative ways to manage tasks on Xiaomi

If the standard multitasking menu is not satisfied or is unstable, alternative methods can be used:

• 🤖 Google Assistant: Activate the voice assistant and say, "Open recent apps." This will work even if the system menu is disabled.
• ⚡ Quick gestures: in Settings → Special facilities → Gestures can be configured to open the multitasking menu with a double touch on the back panel (on supported models).
• 📱 Third-party launchers: Nova Launcher, Lawnchair or Hyperion Launcher have their own implementations of the menu of recent apps with advanced settings.
• 🔧 Xposed modules (rooted devices only): Xposed Edge module allows you to configure a swipe multitasking menu call from the edge of the screen.

For users who often work with multiple applications at once, the Floating Windows feature (available on MIUI 12 and above) allows you to open programs in small windows on top of other tasks.

1. Open the Settings. → Special facilities.
2. Choose Floating Windows.
3. Enable the option and add the desired applications to the list of allowed.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi’s multitasking menu