How to free up RAM on Xiaomi: speed up the smartphone

Xiaomi smartphones are famous for their performance, but even the most powerful devices can start to work slower over time. The main reason for slowing the interface and freezing applications is often overcrowded RAM. When system resources are exhausted, the processor has no place to store temporary data of running programs, which leads to friezes and tab reboots.

MIUI has its own resource management features that differ from pure Android. Users often wonder how to effectively manage processes to make the phone fly. In this article, we will discuss proven ways to clean, adjust hidden parameters and prevent memory leaks that will help return the device to its former agility.

You don't have to run for a new gadget or do a complete reset. System optimization is a complex process that starts with understanding which applications consume the most resources. Proper management of background processes will significantly extend the comfortable time without losing functionality.

Basic cleaning methods through standard tools

The easiest and fastest way to free up memory on Xiaomi is to use the built-in Security app, which is pre-installed on all the brand’s devices and provides access to the basic cleaning functionality. Launch the app and click on Clean Memory or Accelerate. The system will automatically close background processes that have not been used for a long time.

However, it is worth noting that standard cleaning is often temporary. MIUI aggressively manages applications, but some services (messengers, navigators) take priority and immediately restart. For deeper cleaning, you need to go to the memory settings. Go to Settings → Memory, where you can see detailed usage statistics.

This menu includes cache management and forced service shutdowns. Forced stop completely unloads the application from RAM, but the next time it starts, it will take longer to load, and use this method only for programs you don't plan to open anytime soon.

⚠️ Warning: Keeping the cleanup menu open all the time or using process killer widgets every minute can lead to increased battery consumption, as the system will have to constantly re-initialize the stopped services.

Regular maintenance requires a routine once a day or before running resource-intensive games, and the Security app also includes a Cleanup feature that deletes temporary files, freeing up not only RAM but also permanent memory, which indirectly affects the system’s speed.

It's important to distinguish between memory types. RAM is used to run applications running right now, and ROM stores your photos and files. If the memory is full, the system has nowhere to create paging files, which also slows down.

Autostart and Background Process Management

One of the main reasons Xiaomi is running out of free memory is because of uncontrolled auto-runs, and many programs auto-boot to send notifications or update content even when you’re not using them, which means that an hour after turning on the phone, only megabytes are left free.

To limit your app appetite, you need to set permissions. Go to Settings → Applications → Permissions → Autorun. Here you will see a list of all the programs that start with the system. Leave only messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) and alarms on, and turn off the rest safely.

In addition to auto-run, you should limit background activity. In the Settings menu → Battery and Performance → Application Management, you can select a specific program and set a power saving strategy, “Limit background activity,” which will prevent the application from hanging in memory when the screen is off.

• 🚀 Turn off autoplay for heavy gaming and social media that you don’t use all the time.
• 🔋 Set background activity limits for stores and news aggregators.
• 📉 Check the “Memory Consumption” list in the settings to find hidden resource eaters.

There is also a hidden function in MIUI, This is a technology called "Memory Extension," which creates a virtual paging file, and you can activate it from the menu. → Expanding memory if your model supports this function.

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If you have disabled auto-run for an app but notifications from it have stopped coming, add it to the battery exclusion list (“No restrictions”), leaving auto-run turned off.

Set-up developer settings for advanced users

For those who want to have full control of the system, there are developer options, and this is a hidden menu that gives you access to the finer Android settings, and to activate it, you have to quickly click seven times on the build number in the About Phone section, and then you have a new "Developers" item in the settings menu.

Inside this menu, we're interested in processes. Find the item "Background Process Limit." The default is "Standard Limit." You can change it to "No More than 2 Processes" or "No Background Processes." This will radically free up RAM, but it can cause music to stop when you switch windows and the navigator to reset the route.

Another useful setting is "Do not save action." If you turn on this option, the system will destroy the activity of the application as soon as you leave the screen, which guarantees maximum free memory, but completely kills multitasking.

adb shell settings put global background_process_limit 2

This command, through ADB, sets a limit on background processes, and you should use it carefully, and the safer option is to use the command to clean up memory through ADB on a schedule, but that requires you to connect to a computer or configure scripts on the device itself.

⚠️ Attention: Changing the limits of the background processes in the developer menu can lead to malfunctioning of system services and instability of the interface.

Cache cleansing and removing heavy applications

While cache is stored primarily in permanent memory, excess cache indirectly affects overall system performance and data access speed. Apps like TikTok, Instagram and browsers can grow to several gigabytes of junk files. Regularly cleaning the cache is a mandatory procedure.

This can be done through the settings of a specific application: Settings → Applications → All applications → [Select App] → Memory → Clear cache. Don’t confuse it with the “Clear All” button, which will delete your logins and login settings.

It's also worth analyzing the apps installed. Often we forget to delete games we don't play or programs we've used once. Every application installed has background services that can consume resources. Removing unnecessary software is the most effective way to free up space.

Look at the heavy versions of apps, for example, the main Facebook or YouTube app requires significantly more resources than its lightweight counterparts, and installing versions with the prefix Go or Lite can reduce the consumption of RAM by many times.

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Using Lite versions of popular apps is the most effective way to reduce the load on old Xiaomi smartphones without losing the basic functionality.

Use of “No Sound” mode and game accelerators

MIUI has a built-in Game Turbo tool that not only improves game performance, but also helps manage memory. When you add an app to Game Turbo, the system prioritizes its processes and aggressively clears the memory of other running programs.

You can add not only games to the accelerator, but also heavy applications that you are currently using (for example, photo editors or a navigator), which will force the system to keep this application as a priority, unloading everything from RAM.

There is also a lesser-known fact: turning on Do Not Disturb or No Sound mode sometimes helps the system redistribute resources by disabling unnecessary notification animations and vibrations, which is minimal but reduces the load on the processor and memory.

• 🎮 Add frequently used heavy apps to Game Turbo for priority work.
• 🔕 Turn on Do Not Disturb mode when performing tasks that require maximum speed.
• ⚙️ Set up a Game Turbo performance profile to “Balanced” or “Maximum».

And remember, visual effects also consume resources, and you can find things like window animation, transition animation, and animation duration in the developer's settings, and if you reduce them from 1.0 to 0.5 or you turn them off altogether, the interface becomes more responsive, and the load on the GPU and memory decreases.

Radical measures: resetting and updating

If the software methods don't work and the phone is still slowing down, you may have accumulated errors or damaged system files, and then the way to free up memory and get back to speed is to completely reset to factory settings. Make sure to back up the data before you do that.

Resets can be done via Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset → Erase all data. This will return the smartphone to the “out of the box” state by removing all debris, hidden viruses and application conflicts. After reset, install only the necessary programs.

It's also important to keep an eye on system updates. Xiaomi engineers regularly release patches that optimize MIUI and fix memory leaks. Go to Settings → About the phone and check for updates. Sometimes a new firmware version works wonders with performance.

⚠️ Note: Before a full reset, make sure you remember the password from your Mi Account and Google account. Otherwise, the device may lock after the reboot (protection) FRP).

As a last resort, if the problem is related to a specific update, you can try to roll back on the previous version of the firmware or install a custom build that does not have a heavy MIUI interface, such as LineageOS or Pixel Experience.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)