How to Free RAM on Xiaomi Redmi 8: The Complete Guide

Why Redmi 8 is slowing down and how it relates to RAM

Xiaomi Redmi 8, released in 2019, is equipped with only 2-4 GB of RAM (depending on the modification), which is often not enough for modern applications: the system begins to “choke” when messengers, social networks and background processes are running simultaneously. The main problem is that MIUI aggressively caches data, trying to speed up the re-launch of programs, but at the same time “eats” precious megabytes of RAM.

Brakes can be manifested in many ways, from hanging animations to sudden reboots, because of the Snapdragon 439 processor architecture, which physically cannot control memory efficiently when it’s over 80% loaded. For example, if you see in Task Manager that there are less than 300MB of RAM free, the phone is running at its limit. In this article, we’ll look at 7 proven ways to free up memory without having to radically reset.

It’s important to understand that cleaning RAM is not a one-time action, but a systematic process. Even after optimization, the memory will be filled again, but the right settings will help to curb the appetite of MIUI and extend the life of your Redmi 8 for another year or two.

Method 1: Manually Closing Background Applications

The most obvious, but often ignored, method is that many users think that swiping up the multitasking menu kills the application, but it's not: MIUI just folds it down, leaving it in memory. To actually close the program, you need to:

• 📱 Open the Multitasking Menu (swipe up from the bottom edge of the late screen).
• 🔄 Find the application you want to close and swipe up a long time (on some firmware – swipe down).
• 🚫 For mass closing, tap on the “Close Everything” icon (cross or trash can).
• ⚡️ Check the result in Settings → The phone. → Status of the system → Memory.

However, there is a caveat: some system processes (such as com.miui.home or android.process.media) cannot be closed manually, they will automatically restart, and you should not close antivirus, Google Play services or instant messengers with active chats (such as WhatsApp or Telegram) if you are waiting for important messages.

Method 2: Setup auto-cleaning memory in MIUI

MIUI has a built-in memory optimization mechanism, but by default it's inefficient.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Autorun.
2. Turn off autoplay for unnecessary applications (such as games or rarely used programs).
3. Return to Settings → Battery and Performance → Memory Cleanup.
4. Activate the option “Clear Memory When Locking the Screen”.
5. Set a memory usage limit of 70-80% (this will prevent critical overload).

It is also useful to include the Smart Clean feature in the same section, which analyzes user behavior and closes the background processes when the phone is not used. For example, if you rarely play PUBG Mobile, the system will automatically free up the memory occupied by this game 10-15 minutes after closing.

Disable Auto-Run for 10+ Unnecessary Applications |

Set the RAM limit to 75%|

Enable screen lock cleaning |

Activate Smart Cleanup |

Reboot the phone to apply settings-->

Method 3: Cleaning the cache and application data

Cache and temporary files can take up hundreds of megabytes of RAM, especially if you are actively using browsers, social networks or games. Clearing the cache will not delete your data (photos, messages, saves), but will free up memory. How to do this:

• 🧹 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Select an app (like Chrome or Facebook) and tap “Clear Cache».
• 🗑️ For deep cleaning, click “Clear Data”, but note that this will reset the program settings (for example, in games, saves may disappear).
• 🔄 Repeat for all “heavy” applications (messengers, maps, streaming services).

Pay special attention to system applications:

After cleaning, restart your phone, which will result in a recount of available memory and shut down the “hang” processes. If after cleaning the cache, the application began to work slower (for example, Instagram loads photos longer), do not worry: this is temporary until the cache recovers.

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To avoid manually clearing the cache, install the SD Maid app from Google Play, which allows you to set up automatic cleaning on a schedule (for example, once a week).

Method 4: Disabling animations and visual effects

MIUI is known for its beautiful animations, but they eat up to 15 percent of RAM, especially on weak devices like Redmi 8. Disabling the extra effects will not only free up RAM, but also speed up the interface.

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
2. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Find sections: The scale of window animation → Set the animations to turn off. Scope of the transition animations. → Turn off animation. Animator animation time. → Turn off animation.

Animation when starting / closing applications

It is also recommended to turn off live wallpaper and paralax effects in the screen settings. These trifles combined give an increase in free memory to 200-300 MB, which is critical for the Redmi 8 with 2 GB of RAM.

Method 5: Use of lightweight versions of applications

Many popular apps have light-optimized versions (Lite) that are weak, take up less memory and run faster, and here is a list of replacements for the most voracious programs:

It’s also worth giving up high-system-requirement games, such as PUBG Mobile on Redmi 8, which can take up to 1.2GB of RAM at peak times, leaving the system with critically few resources.

• 🎮 Among Us (up to 300MB of RAM).
• 🎮 Brawl Stars (up to 400MB of RAM).
• 🎮 Clash Royale (up to 350MB of RAM).

If you need YouTube, use the web version through your browser or NewPipe app – it has no background processes and no advertising, saving up to 300MB of storage.

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Replacing 3-4 “heavy” applications with lighter versions can free up to 1 GB of RAM in the background.

Method 6: Optimize MIUI with Hidden Settings

MIUI has hidden features that you can't see in the standard menu, and activating them can greatly improve memory management.

1. Open the phone app and enter the code: ##4636##
2. Go to the section Information about the battery.
3. Scroll down and find MIUI Optimization (may be called Memory Optimization).
4. Set the Aggressive (Aggressive Optimization) value.

This mode forces the system to close the background processes faster, but can lead to more frequent reboot of applications (for example, messengers will “fly out” of memory after 5-10 minutes of inactivity).

Another hidden trick is to limit background processes:

1. Back to Settings → For developers.
2. Find the background process limit.
3. Choose a maximum of 2 processes (this is the minimum for stable operation).

⚠️ Attention: Limiting background processes to 1-2 can lead to notification issues (e.g., you won't receive messages to Viber or Telegram if the app closes.

Method 7: Radical Methods (If Nothing Works)

If all of these things don't work, it's time for radical measures, which will require more effort, but are guaranteed to free up memory.

• 🔄 Reset to factory settings (delete all data, but return the phone to "clean" state). → The phone. → Resetting settings.
• 🛠️ Installing custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience) will remove unnecessary Xiaomi system apps, but will require unlocking the bootloader.
• 📱 Use your phone in Safe Mode (start without third-party apps). To log in, hold the power button. → long tap on "Switch off» → «Reboot to Safe Mode».
• 🔧 Disabling system applications through ADB: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.weather2 (substitute com.miui.weather2 packet).

Before resorting to reset, try transferring applications to SD-The card (if supported) is used for this purpose:

1. Put it in. SD-card (class 10 or above).
2. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
3. Select the app and tap "Move to" SD-map».

⚠️ Note: Not all applications support portability SD. Also, once the map is removed, the programs may stop working, a method that is only suitable for rarely used utilities (e.g. photo editors or games).

Frequently asked questions