Background activity control on Xiaomi: a complete guide to setting up

What is background activity on Xiaomi smartphones and why to control it

Have you ever noticed how your Xiaomi battery goes down too fast when you barely used your phone? Or why the device suddenly starts warming for no apparent reason? The culprit is often the background activity of applications — processes that work hidden from the user, consuming system resources. In this article, we will examine what the control of background activity on Xiaomi is, how it affects autonomy and performance, and why its setting can be the key to a comfortable smartphone.

Some applications (messaging, email clients, geolocation services) do need constant work to notify you of new messages or events, but most programs abuse this right: social networks, games, advertising SDK and even system services MIUI They can stealthily eat up to 30 percent of their battery life per day if you don't limit their activity, especially for low-end Redmi models or even for low-end Redmis. POCO, where energy optimization is initially worse than flagships.

V MIUI Background control is implemented at the system level, but by default it is set to sub-optimal, and the manufacturer tries to balance convenience (fast notifications) and autonomy, but often leans towards the former, resulting in users facing two extremes: Either the phone runs out in half a day, or important notifications come with a delay, and then we'll tell you how to find that balance and adjust the background activity to your needs.

How background activity affects the smartphone: pros and cons

Before you limit all processes in a row, you need to understand what the background activity does and why it can't be turned off completely.

• ✅ Benefits of background activity:
• 📩 Instant Notifications: Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) and email clients receive messages without delay.
• 📍 Precise geolocation: Maps (Google Maps, Yandex.Navigator) update your location in real time.
• 🔄 Automatic synchronization: cloud services (Mi Cloud, Google Drive) save data without you.
• 🎵 Continuous playback: Music apps (Spotify, YouTube Music) work with a locked screen.

• ❌ Cons of background activity:
• 🔋 Accelerated battery discharge: even in standby mode, the phone can lose 5-15% of its charge per hour.
• 🔥 Overheating of the device: constant operation of the processor and communication module increases the temperature of the body.
• 🐢 System Slowdown: Background tasks take up RAM, which makes applications open longer.
• 📶 Increased traffic: Some apps (like Facebook) consume up to 500MB per month on background activity.

Especially critical background activity for smartphones with a small amount of RAM (2-4 GB), where every megabyte counts. 9A or POCO M3 excessive background processes can lead to the forced closure of active applications – when you play a game, and it suddenly crashes due to a lack of RAM.

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi models with MediaTek processors (for example, Helio) G85 or Dimensity 700) background activity may cause the interface to freeze due to the power management features of these chips. If your phone is periodically "slowing down", check the list of active processes.

Where background activity is monitored in MIUI: step-by-step

Depending on the version MIUI (12, 13 or 14) and smartphone models, the path to background activity settings may be slightly different.We'll look at the universal way that works on most devices, including the Redmi Note 11, Xiaomi 12T and POCO X5 Pro.

To open the background process management menu:

1. Go to Settings (the gear icon on the main screen).
2. Select the Appendix section.
3. Slip on the item Application Management.
4. At the top of the screen, select AutoStart or Background Activity tab (name depends on version). MIUI).
5. Here you will see a list of all installed applications with the ability to customize their behavior.

Alternative path (for MIUI 14):

Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Management → Application Choice

On this menu you can:

• 🔄 Disable Autostart – the app won’t start automatically when the phone is turned on.
• 🚫 Prohibit background activity – the program will not be able to work in the background.
• ⚡ Limit battery consumption — MIUI will be forced to close the application in case of prolonged inactivity.

Close all active apps (swipe up in the recent menu)

Connect your phone to charge (setup can take 5-10 minutes)

Check the list of installed programs (remove unnecessary ones in advance)

Backup important data (in case of failure)

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In the models with MIUI for POCO (for example, POCO F4) The path may be slightly different. If you don't find the right section, search the settings (the magnifier icon in the upper right corner) and enter the background activity request.

Which apps can be safely restricted and which ones can’t

Not all programs are equally useful in the background. Some are really necessary for comfort, others are just parasitic on resources. Below we will discuss which applications can be safely limited and which are better left alone.

Particular attention should be paid to Chinese applications, which are often pre-installed on Xiaomi smartphones:

• 📱 Mi Video, Mi Music, Mi Browser – you can completely disable autoplay and background activity.
• 🛒 GetApps (branded app store) – limit background activity, but leave auto-run for updates.
• 🔍 Security (antivirus) – do not limit, otherwise virus checks will stop working.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Xiaomi 13 Ultra, Redmi) K60 Pro) the limitation of background activity for system applications may cause camera failures or NFC. If there are problems after the changes, return the default settings.

Social networks (Facebook, Instagram)

Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram)

Games (PUBG, Genshin Impact)

System Services (Google Play, Mi Cloud)

Others (write in the comments)

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How to turn off background activity for a specific application: detailed instructions

Consider the process of limiting background activity for Facebook, one of the most voracious apps, and the same behavior applies to any other program.

Step 1: Open the Settings → Annexes → Manage apps and find Facebook in the list (you can use the search).

Step 2: Slip the app and select Battery (or Power Consumption in older versions) MIUI).

Step 3: Here you will see three main options:

• 🔄 Auto-Run - Allows the application to start automatically when the phone is turned on.
• 🔄 Background activity - allows the program to run in the background.
• ⚡ Without limitation, it gives the application maximum rights to consume resources. Select "Limited" or "Optimized".

Step 4: Go back and go to the Permissions section, and turn off unnecessary rights like:

• 📍 Location (unless you use geotagged data)
• 📷 Camera/Microphone (if you don't stream)
• 📂 Storage (unless you save media from Facebook)

Step 5: Reboot your phone to make the changes effective. After that, check your battery consumption in the Settings section. → Battery → If Facebook is no longer a top energy consumer, the setup has been successful.

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If, after limiting background activity, the application stopped working correctly (for example, no notifications come to Viber), try not to turn off background activity completely, but to select the “Optimized” mode in the battery settings. MIUI manage the process more flexibly.

Additional ways to optimize background activity

In addition to manually configuring each application, the MIUI There are several global parameters that can help reduce the background resource consumption, and these options often go unnoticed, but can significantly improve autonomy.

Energy saving mode

Go to Settings. → Battery and productivity → Battery mode and select:

• 🔋 Balanced – the best option for most users.
• 🌿 Energy saving – limits background activity for all applications except select ones.
• ⚡ Performance – disables all restrictions (not recommended for everyday use).

2. Limitation of mobile data for background

In the Settings section → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Data transfer, find Background Limitation. Turn it on so that apps don't consume traffic in the background. This is especially useful if you have a limited rate.

3. Disabling automatic synchronization

Go to Settings. → Accounts and syncs and disable automatic sync for unnecessary services (e.g. Mi Cloud if you don’t use it) will reduce backlog requests to servers.

4.Use of the function "Deep optimization"

In some versions MIUI (For example, on the Xiaomi 12 Pro, there's a hidden deep optimization feature to activate it:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 5 times on the MIUI version to activate the developer mode.
3. Return to the main settings menu and open Additional → for developers.
4. Find the option Deep Battery Optimization and turn it on.

Frequent errors in setting up background activity and how to avoid them

Many users, when they try to optimize their smartphone, make mistakes that make things worse, and let's look at some of the most common mistakes and ways to avoid them.

1. Completely shutting down background activity for all applications

Some users in pursuit of battery savings are turning off background activity globally, using modes like Energy Saving or third-party utilities, which leads to:

• 📩 Notifications are not coming even from important apps.
• 📍 Geolocation is not working correctly (e.g. Google Maps does not update the route).
• 🔄 Data synchronization stops (photos are not uploaded to the cloud, contacts are not updated).

Solution: Limit background activity selectively, leaving critical applications (messengers, navigators) unchanged.

2. Ignoring system updates

Xiaomi regularly releases patches for MIUI, If you haven't updated your firmware in a long time, some of the settings may not work properly. MIUI 13 had an issue with background activity restrictions being reset after the reboot.

Solution: Check for updates in Settings → The phone. → Update the system and install them in a timely manner.

3. Use of memory cleaners

Apps like Clean Master or DU Speed Booster promises to free up RAM and speed up the phone, but in fact they:

• 🔄 They work in the background, consuming resources.
• 🚫 Forced shut down system processes, which leads to lags.
• 🛑 Can conflict with built-in optimization mechanisms MIUI.

Solution: Use built-in tools MIUI (Settings → Annexes → Cleaning up) or abandon the "cleaners" at all.

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi smartphones with Snapdragon processors (such as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in Xiaomi 13), forced closure of background processes can lead to overheating of the chipset. This is due to the features of the Qualcomm architecture, where background tasks are distributed between the cores for uniform load. Acute closure of processes forces all tasks to be performed on powerful cores, which increases heat generation.

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The best strategy is not to shut down background activity completely, but to strike a balance between autonomy and functionality. Start by limiting the most voracious apps (social media, games) and observe the behavior of the phone for 2-3 days. If notifications come with a delay, relax restrictions on critical services.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions About Background Activity on Xiaomi