How to Clean Up Xiaomi’s RAM: From Hand-Brushing to Automatic Tools

RAM on Xiaomi smartphones is one of the key resources that determines the speed of the device. When apps start to slow down and animations twitch, the first thought is, "How do you clean up RAM?" But just closing the background is not always the solution. There are nuances on MIUI devices (including Redmi and POCO) that few people know about, from hidden optimization features to the features of working with virtual memory on new models.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven ways to clean RAM, from basic to advanced, including little-known tricks for Xiaomi 12/13/14 and HyperOS devices. Also explain why manual cleaning through Quick Settings often hurts performance more than it helps, and how to properly set up automatic optimization. If your smartphone has become slower after an upgrade or just over time, here you will find a solution without resetting to factory settings.

Why Xiaomi is “clogging” RAM and when it needs to be cleaned

Xiaomi manufacturers have long used aggressive RAM management policies: it tries to keep applications in the background for as long as possible to speed up their re-launch. This is part of the MIUI (and now HyperOS) philosophy, but it has a downside. Here are typical signs that memory needs cleaning:

• 🔄 Applications spontaneously restart when they return to them (for example, Telegram or YouTube “zero” after switching to another chat).
• ⏳ Delays in opening Recent Apps (swipe up with a delay of more than 1 second).
• 📉 B Settings → The phone. → Free memory system state is less than 20% of total RAM (for example, less than 1.5 GB per 8 GB of RAM).
• 🔥 The phone overheats for no apparent reason (background processes load the processor).

However, low RAM is not always a problem. On Xiaomi with HyperOS (such as Xiaomi 14 or Redmi Note 13 Pro+), the system uses dynamic memory allocation when unused applications are compressed into RAM rather than closed completely.

• 📱 The phone does not brake at normal tasks (scrolling tape, messengers).
• 🔋 The battery lasts longer than 4-5 hours with active use.
• 🎮 Games and heavy apps (such as Genshin Impact or Lightroom) run without lag.

⚠️ Warning: If you see a process called com.miui.daemon or android.process.media in Task Manager, don't close it manually. MIUI/HyperOS, They're forced to stop, and they can cause the phone to reboot.

Method 1: Quick Cleaning with Quick Settings (and Why It’s Not Always Good)

The most obvious method is swiping down to call the notification bar and clicking on the "Clear" button (broom icon). MIUI This button was always visible, and in HyperOS it can be hidden under the menu. ⋮ → Clear the memory.

However, this method has two serious drawbacks:

1. All background processes, including system processes (e.g., syncing Google Account or weather updates) are closed. Once cleaned, the phone can load data longer the next time the apps are launched.
2. Cached data from applications that occupy memory in the background is not cleared (for example, Facebook or TikTok can hold gigabytes of garbage in RAM).

How to use a quick cleaning:

Close all important apps (messengers, music) manually through the recent

Make sure that no files or updates are uploaded

Click “Clean” and wait 10-15 seconds (the system will complete the processes)

Do not repeat cleaning more than 1 time in 2-3 hours-->

On the Xiaomi 13 Pro and later, the cleaning button may not be available.

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Memory Cleanup

Method 2: Deep Cleaning through “Security” (including cache and debris)

The built-in Security app (or Security on global firmware) offers more flexible cleaning tools, not only closing the background processes, but also removing temporary files that occupy RAM.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the Security app** (Shield icon).
2. Go to Optimization (or Speed Boost in English).
3. Click on Deep Cleaning (may be called Deep Clean).

On POCO F5 and other HyperOS devices, the path may be different:

Security → Acceleration → Memory Cleanup → Deep Optimization

What Deep Cleaning Removes:

⚠️ Warning: If the phone is slower after deep cleaning, it will reboot the cache of important applications (e.g. Google Play Services) in which case, restart the device to help restore optimal performance.

Method 3: Manually control applications through “Settings”

Not all apps are equally useful in the background. For example, Facebook or AliExpress can take up hundreds of megabytes of RAM even when rolled up, while Telegram or WhatsApp are critical for notifications. In MIUI and HyperOS, you can manually limit the background activity of unnecessary programs.

How to do this:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an application that should not work in the background (for example, Wildberries or Yandex Music).
3. Press the Battery → Background activity.
4. Select “Limit” (or Restrict in English firmware).
5. Return and press Permissions → turn off Autostart** (this will prevent the app from starting when the phone is turned on).

Examples of applications that can be safely restricted:

• 🛒 Marketplaces (Ozon, Amazon, SberMarket).
• 🎮 Games (if you don’t play constantly, such as Clash of Clans or Brawl Stars).
• 📰 News aggregators (Yandex Zen, Google News).
• 📺 Streaming services (Kion, Okko, if you don’t watch offline).

On Xiaomi 13 Ultra and other flagships with HyperOS there is an additional option:

Settings → Special features → System optimization → Aggressive memory management

Enabling it will force the system to close the background processes more actively, but can lead to frequent reboots of applications.

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If the app stopped sending notifications after the background activity restriction, check Settings → Notifications → [App Name] and turn on the Important Notifications option.

Method 4: Using the Game Turbo mode for forced cleanup

Xiaomi’s Game Turbo feature is designed to optimize gaming performance, but it can also be used to clean up RAM, a technique that is especially useful on 6–8GB of RAM devices where background processes interfere with gaming.

How to activate:

Advantages of this method:

• 📈 Improves. FPS in games by releasing RAM and CPU.

The POCO F4 GT and other Xiaomi gaming smartphones have advanced Game Turbo settings, including:

• 🔧 Performance mode (forced allocation of maximum resources).
• 📊 RAM monitor (shows busy memory in real time).
• ⚡ Quick start (caches the game in memory to speed up loading).

⚠️ Warning: Do not add system applications (such as Settings or Phone) to the Game Turbo, which may cause interface failures or inability to make a call.

Method 5: Reset partition cache (for power users)

If previous methods failed and the phone still slows down, the cause may be a crowded partition cache, which does not delete personal data, but resets temporary system files that can occupy RAM indirectly (for example, through errors in the MIUI).

How to clean the cache of the section:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power button + Volume up until the Mi logo appears (on some models – Volume up + Volume down + Power).
3. In the Recovery menu, select the language (if you have a choice).
4. Go to Wipe & Reset → Wipe Cache.
5. Confirm the action and wait for the completion.
6. Restart the phone (Reboot).

What this procedure does:

• 🧹 Removes system debris that can take up RAM through errors.
• 🔄 Fixes interface freeze (e.g. lags when scrolling Recent Apps).
• 📱 Helps if the phone spontaneously reboots due to memory shortage.

On Xiaomi 12T and the new Recovery menu, it might look different. If you don't have Wipe Cache, use:

Advanced → Wipe Dalvik/ART Cache

⚠️ Warning: Don't confuse Wipe Cache with Wipe Data! The second option will completely reset the phone to factory settings, removing all data.

Additional tips: how to prevent filling RAM

Cleaning up your memory is a temporary solution, so that the problem does not come back, follow these recommendations:

• 🔄 Update your firmware regularly. New versions of HyperOS have improved the RAM control algorithm (for example, Xiaomi 14 uses dynamic memory allocation).
• 📵 Turn off auto-run of unnecessary apps: Settings → Annexes → Autostart control
• 🗑️ Clear the cache of individual apps (especially Google Play Services and Facebook): Settings → Annexes → [Name of name] → Warehouse → Clear the cache
• 🔋 Use "Lite Mode" on weak devices (e.g. Redmi) 9A): Settings → Special facilities → Easy regime.

Xiaomi HyperOS has a hidden Memory Extension feature that uses a portion of the internal storage as virtual RAM to activate it:

Settings → Additional → Expansion of memory → Enable (it is recommended to allocate 2-3 GB)

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Virtual memory (Memory Extension) is only useful if you have less than 8 GB of RAM. On 12+ GB devices (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra), it can reduce performance due to the slow read/write speed of internal memory compared to physical RAM.

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning up RAM on Xiaomi