Modern Xiaomi smartphones running MIUI shells or the new HyperOS have a powerful hardware, but over time users may notice a slowdown in the interface. This is often due to the fact that RAM is overflowing with background processes that were not closed properly. Android tries to keep as many applications in RAM for quick launch, but on budget models with 4 or 6 GB of memory this leads to a lack of resources for heavy tasks.
Cleaning up RAM allows you to instantly free up resources to run games or resource-intensive programs. It is important to understand that regular “killing” of all processes manually is not always useful, since the system spends battery power to restart them. However, in situations where the phone begins to frankly “brake” or the application crashes on startup, competent cleaning of RAM becomes a necessity.
In this article, we will look at all available methods of freeing up memory, from standard system tools to hidden features for developers, you will learn how to use embedded tools correctly and whether it is worth installing third-party software for this purpose.
Standard cleaning methods through task manager
The easiest and safest way to free up resources is to use a built-in optimization tool. All Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones have a Security app preinstalled, which is integrated into system processes deeper than the usual utilities from the Google Play store.
Once you open the app, click the Clean up or Speed button, and the system will quickly analyze the running processes and suggest freeing up the memory that is used. Unlike other third-party analogues, this method does not require additional permissions and works steadily even after firmware updates.
⚠️ Warning: Don't fanatically shut down all apps every 10 minutes. Android is designed to keep frequently used programs in memory to run them instantly. Continuous cleanup can only increase battery consumption.
If the standard button doesn't work, you can try a deeper method through the menu of running apps. To do this, swipe from the bottom up (or press the menu button if button navigation is enabled) and find a broom icon or a cross. Pressing it will close all open windows, but system processes will remain intact, which is the right behavior for OS stability.
- 🚀 Use the “Accelerate” widget on your desktop to access in one click.
- 📱 Close heavy games and navigators manually through the multitasking menu.
- ⚙️ Set up autocleaning in the Safety app on schedule.
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Add the Memory Cleanup widget to the main screen – this will allow you to free up RAM with one touch, without opening unnecessary menus.
Use of Extended Developer Settings
For more advanced users who want to have full control over what happens in RAM, there is a hidden “Developers” menu, unlike standard cleaning, you can see detailed information about each process and forcefully stop even those services that are usually hidden from the user.
To activate this mode, go to Settings → About the phone and press 7 times in a row on the item "Version" MIUI» or "Version" OS». After the activation message appears, a new section “Additional” or “Extended settings” will appear in the settings menu, where you need to select “For developers».
Inside the menu, find the “Running Services” item, which displays the exact amount of busy and free memory, as well as a list of active processes with an indication of the amount of RAM consumed. You can select a specific application and click “Stop” if you think it is working in the background excessive.
Is it dangerous to stop the system?
Also available in this section is the Background Process Limit feature, which is the default limit, but you can hard-wire how many apps can stay in the background, a radical method that is guaranteed to free up memory, but can disrupt messengers that stop notifying in the background.
- 🔍 Analyze the “Run Services” List to Find Memory Eaters.
- 🛑 Forcedly stop the frozen processes manually.
- ⚖️ Set a limit on background processes for resource austerity.
Using these tools requires caution. If you're not sure what the process is, you better not touch it. The main purpose of this section is to diagnose and solve problems with specific "heavy" applications, not daily routine.
Set up autostart and background activity
One of the main reasons for Xiaomi’s RAM overflow is its aggressive background policies, many of which prescribe themselves to autoboot and continue to work even after the window is closed, and this process is controlled through special power settings.
Go to Settings → Applications → Auto Run. This is a list of all programs that start with the phone on. It is recommended to leave only messengers (for notifications) and system services on. Everything else, especially games, stores and news aggregators, is better off.
You can also set background restrictions for specific applications. Go to Settings → Apps → All applications, select the desired program, go to Battery and set Restricted mode, which will prevent the application from being active in the background when you are not using it, which will significantly save resources.
☑️ Optimizing auto-start
If you set these parameters correctly, you can prevent the accumulation of garbage in memory before it even appears, and the system will work more responsively, since it will not have to constantly compete for resources with a dozen services running simultaneously.
Analysis of memory consumption by different applications
Not all applications have the same impact on performance. Some may have memory leaks, where they take up more resources over time without freeing them up. You can use embedded statistics or third-party monitors to identify those culprits.
There's a Memory menu on the Developer Menu that shows you a graph of RAM usage over the past 3 hours, 6 hours, or day, and it lets you see which application is loading the system the most in the background, and it often turns out that the "heavy" ones are not games, but social networks or browsers with multiple tabs.
| Type of application | RAM consumption (average) | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Social media | High (200-500 MB) | Limit background activity |
| Messengers | Average (100-200 MB) | Leave in auto-start. |
| Games | Very high (1-2 GB) | Close after use |
| Systemic processes | Basic (depending on model) | Don't touch it. |
If you notice that a particular application consumes a disproportionate amount of memory, try clearing its cache or reinstalling it. In some cases, rolling back the application to the factory version through the settings menu helps.
Regular monitoring of statistics helps keep voracious programs under control, especially for models with up to 6 GB of memory, where every megabyte counts.
Third-party applications for memory cleaning
There are many tools in the Google Play store that promise to speed up the phone, but on modern versions of Android and MIUI, their effectiveness is controversial, and the system itself is better at managing memory than any third-party programs that often only take up space and show ads.
However, some tools can be useful for monitoring, such as Greenify, which allows you to freeze apps you rarely use but don’t want to remove, which is more effective than simply cleaning, since the app won’t start again until you open it yourself.
⚠️ Warning: Avoid installing "boosters" with dubious reputations, often hanging in the background, consuming the battery and displaying intrusive advertising, negating the entire effect of cleaning.
If you still decide to use third-party software, choose proven open source solutions or from well-known antivirus vendors. The best “cleaner” is the built-in Xiaomi system, which has maximum access rights to the core of the system.
- 📉 Use Greenify to Freeze Rarely Used Apps.
- 🚫 Avoid questionable “boosters” and “accelerators” from ads.
- 🛡️ Trust the built-in “Security” app from Xiaomi.
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Embedded MIUI/HyperOS tools are more effective than third-party applications, as they have a system priority and do not require additional permissions.
The Impact of Cache Files and Visual Effects on RAM
Although cache files mainly occupy internal memory, their excess can indirectly affect the overall performance of the system, causing the processor and memory to work harder when indexing. Regularly cleaning the cache through the Security menu or in storage settings is a useful habit.
Also worth paying attention to visuals: transition animations, live wallpaper and widgets with constant updates (weather, news) consume the resources of graphics accelerator and RAM. On older models of Redmi or Poco, turning off live wallpaper can give a noticeable increase in performance.
You can find animation scales in the Developer Menu. Reducing the value from 1x to 0.5x won't clean up memory directly, but will make the interface visually faster, creating a more responsive system, especially for users who feel delays when switching between windows.
A comprehensive approach, including cleaning the cache, turning off unnecessary animations and controlling background processes, gives a better result than simply mechanically releasing RAM.