How to set up push notifications on Xiaomi Redmi 9: from unlock to fine-tuning

Xiaomi Redmi 9 is one of the most popular budget smartphones, but its owners often face a problem: apps stop sending notifications, and important messages from messengers or emails go unnoticed. The reason for this is the aggressive optimization of the battery in the MIUI firmware, which by default blocks the background activity of programs. In this article, we will analyze how to correctly enable push notifications on Redmi 9, avoiding typical errors, and customize them to your needs.

The problem isn't with the phone itself, it's with MIUI's power-saving policies: it automatically restricts applications from the background to extend battery life, not just for little-known applications, but for giants like WhatsApp, Telegram, or Gmail. Fortunately, you can fix this manually, without root rights or complicated manipulation, and then you'll find step-by-step instructions for different scenarios, from basic setups to solving problems with specific applications.

Why are there no notifications coming to Xiaomi Redmi 9?

Before you turn on push alerts, it’s important to understand what exactly blocks their delivery. On the Redmi 9 (and other Xiaomi smartphones on MIUI), several mechanisms are responsible for this:

• 🔋 Battery optimization: MIUI by default limits the background activity of applications to save charge, even for system services responsible for push notifications (e.g. Google Play Services).
• 🚫 Manual notification lock: A user could accidentally turn off notifications for a specific application in settings or via a notification swipe.
• 📵 Mobile Internet restrictions/Wi-Fi: Some applications (e.g., instant messengers) don’t work in the background if traffic saving mode is enabled.
• 🔄 Google Play Services malfunctions: This service is responsible for delivering push notifications from most applications, and if it is updated incorrectly or blocked, the alerts will not come.

The most common problem is the first one, MIUI Battery Saver, and even if you manually let an app show notifications, the system can block them from being delivered at the background level, so the solution is to add the programs you want to use to the exception list.

⚠️ Warning! After upgrading MIUI to a new version of the optimization settings, batteries may reset. Check for exceptions after each major update.

Basic notification settings in MIUI

So let's start with the simplest one: check the general notification settings, maybe the alerts are turned off globally or for a particular application.

Open Settings → Notifications and Status bar. Here you will see three key sections:

1. Application Notifications – Manage alerts for each application separately.
2. Notification panel – adjusts the appearance and behavior of the curtain.
3. Other settings – here you can turn on / off sound, vibration or LED indicator.

First, make sure that notifications are not turned off globally:

1. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Application Notifications.
2. Find the desired application (for example, Telegram or VK) in the list and tap it.
3. Make sure the Allow Notifications switch is on (should be blue).
4. Check that the "Importance" section has the "High" or "Mediocre" value selected (below - notifications may not appear on the lock screen).

If notifications are allowed but still don't come, the problem goes deeper, into battery settings or background activity.

Open "Settings → Notifications and Status Bar"

Find the app in the list and enable alerts

Set the importance of notifications on "High"

Check if the sound/vibration is turned off in Other settings"-->

Disabling Battery Optimization for Applications

This is the most critical step. MIUI by default limits the background activity of all applications except system, and to ensure that push notifications work consistently, you need to manually add the desired programs to the exception list.

This can be done in two ways:

Method 1: Through battery settings

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance.
2. Go to Battery Optimization (some versions of MIUI call it Application Power Management).
3. In the upper right corner, click on three dots (⋮) and select "All Apps".
4. Find an app that doesn’t receive notifications (like WhatsApp) and tap it.
5. Select "No Limits" (or "Not Optimize" in older versions of MIUI).

Method 2: Through Auto-Run

Some apps (like instant messengers) require additional permission to auto-start after the phone is restarted, without which they won’t be able to run in the background.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots (⋮) in the upper right corner and select "Stop".
3. Find the right application and turn on the switch for it.

After this manipulation, push notifications should start coming, but if the problem persists, check for another important parameter: background data activity.

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If you don't find an app in the Battery Optimization list, try running it manually first.MIUI sometimes hides programs that were never opened.

Setup background traffic and mobile data

MIUI can block notifications if an application is denied access to the Internet in the background, both mobile traffic and Wi-Fi, and we'll check both.

Allowing background traffic

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the application you want (for example, Viber).
3. Go to the section "Use of data".
4. Make sure both switches are on: 📶 Mobile Data (if you use SIM- Card) 📶 Background Data (most important point!)

Disabling traffic savings

MIUI has a separate mobile traffic saving feature that can block background activity:

1. Go to Settings → Connections and Sharing → Data Use.
2. Click on "Traffic Savings."
3. Make sure the app you want isn't on the restricted list. If you have one, uncheck the box.
4. Check Permissions: In the same app settings, make sure all permissions are enabled (especially "Stop" and "Background Activity").

If you don't get notifications after that, try restarting your phone, and sometimes Google Play Services freezes and requires you to restart.

⚠️ Attention! On some Xiaomi firmware (especially Chinese ones), Google Play Services may be disabled by default, in which case it must be enabled manually in the app settings.

Additional settings for stable notifications

If you’ve followed all the previous steps, but notifications still arrive late or don’t arrive at all, try these advanced methods:

For maximum stability, it is also recommended to disable the “Adaptive Battery” function (if you have one in your version). MIUIIt dynamically restricts background activity, which can interfere with push notifications. You can find it in Settings. → Battery → Battery settings.

Solving Notification Problems in Popular Apps

Some applications require additional settings to make push notifications work properly, and let's look at the most common cases.

WhatsApp and Telegram

It is critical for messengers to allow:

• 🔄 Autorun (see section above).
• 📶 Background data (include in traffic settings).
• 🔔 New Message Alerts (in the settings of the app itself).

In Telegram, check out:

1. Open the app and go to Settings → Notifications and sounds.
2. Make sure that “Notifications” and “Preview Messages” are enabled.
3. In the "Exceptions" section, add important chats so they alert you even in "Do Not Disturb" mode.

VK and Instagram

Social media often suffers from battery optimization, and for them, additionally:

• 🔋 Turn off battery optimization (see Section 3).
• 🔄 Enable "Background Activity" in the application settings.
• 🔔 In VK itself, check that Settings → Notifications are enabled with notifications about messages, likes and comments.

Gmail and other email clients

It's important for the post:

• 📧 Enable "Sync in the background" in your Google account settings.
• 🔄 Add Gmail to Secure Applications (see table above).
• 🔔 Make sure that Gmail itself includes notifications for the right folders (e.g., Inbox).

If you use third-party email clients (like Mail.ru or Yandex Mail), check your sync settings – some apps only update email manually by default.

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It's critical for messengers and social media to turn off battery optimization and allow auto-start, and without that notification, they'll be late or not coming at all.

What do you do if nothing helps?

If you've tried all the ways, but the notifications still don't work, maybe the problem is deeper.

• 🔄 Reset the app settings: Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management. Select the problem app and click Reset (do not delete data!).
• 📲 Update firmware: Sometimes notification bugs are fixed in newer versions MIUI. Check for updates in Settings → About Phone → System Update.
• 🔧 Install an alternative launcher: Some users have noticed that after installing a Nova Launcher or Lawnchair, notifications start to work more stable.
• 📱 Reset network settings: Go to Settings → Connections and Sharing → Network settings reset. This can help if the problem is mobile internet or Wi-Fi.

If neither method worked, there may be a problem on the application server side: check if the notifications are working on the other device or contact support for the service.

⚠️ Warning! Some informal firmware (such as custom builds MIUI or LineageOS) may have Google push notification services disabled, requiring manual installation of GApps or switching to official firmware.

FAQ: Frequent questions about push notifications on Xiaomi Redmi 9