How to Clean RAM on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Modern Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones have impressive specs, but over time, even top-end models can slow down. One of the main reasons for the decline in performance is overflow of RAM (RAM). When RAM is clogged with background processes, the system begins to work unstable, applications are unloaded, and the interface slows down. Device owners often look for a way to quickly free up resources to return the gadget to its previous speed.

Understanding how RAM works in the MIUI or HyperOS shell is critical to managing your device properly. Not all processes need to be closed, and not all cleaning methods are equally useful. In this article, we’ll look at proven optimization methods, from standard tools to hidden developer settings, that will help you manage your smartphone resources effectively.

Before we go to radical measures, we need to understand the nature of the process. RAM is designed to temporarily store data from running applications to allow quick access to them. However, if too many heavy programs are running, the system does not have enough space to handle current tasks, and this is when memory cleaning is required.

Mechanism of RAM in the shell of MIUI and HyperOS

Xiaomi’s shells have their own resource management features. Unlike pure Android, it aggressively uses power-saving mechanisms that can force applications out of memory. MIUI and the new HyperOS try to keep only the essentials in RAM, but sometimes that balance is broken.

The system automatically allocates resources, but the user can intervene. It's important to understand that fully free RAM is not always a good thing. Android is designed to use available RAM to caching commonly used applications. Problems begin when the filling reaches a critical 90-95%.

⚠️ Attention: Continuous complete cleaning RAM manually, the system may have to reboot system services, which will increase battery consumption in the first minutes after cleaning.

It uses a built-in controller to monitor the state, which shows which applications consume the most resources, and the background processes can be both useful (messengers, mail) and malicious (advertising modules, code errors), and distinguishing between them is the key to successful optimization.

Standard cleaning methods through task manager

The easiest and safest way to free up resources is to use the regular Security app, which is a pre-installed system tool that has access to deep system settings, and it allows you to close all inactive tabs with a single touch and stop background activity.

To perform the procedure, you need to run the Safety application (green zipper icon). On the home screen, you will see a pie chart showing your current memory usage. Clicking on the Clean or Optimize button will start the process of closing background applications.

You can also see a list of running applications in Task Manager, and swipe left or right (depending on the version of MIUI) allows you to close a particular application without affecting the others, which is useful if you know which program is causing the lags.

Remember the menu of running apps. Call it from the bottom up with a hold or menu button. At the bottom of the screen, there is often a "clean all" button (cross or broomstick), and using this feature regularly helps keep the system on top, especially before you start games.

Using Developer Mode for Advanced Management

For more advanced users, Xiaomi provides access to hidden settings, the developer mode allows you to control the behavior of the system and the limits of background processes in detail, a powerful tool, but requires caution.

To activate this mode, go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7 times on the MIUI Version (or OS Version). After the message “You became a developer” appears, a new section will appear in the settings menu.

In Settings → Advanced Settings → For developers, we are interested in the Applications block. Here you can find the "Background Process Limit" option. The default is "Standard Limit", but it can be changed.

• 📱 Without limits: the system decides how many processes to keep (recommended for most people).
• 🔒 No background processes: aggressive mode, closes everything immediately after leaving the application.
• 🔢 Not anymore. 2-4 Manual limit, useful on older models with small volume RAM.

And this section also has a feature called Running Services, which shows you which services are working right now, and allows you to force the unnecessary services to stop, and be careful, stopping system services can lead to unstable interfaces.

Optimizing the operation of applications and autoloading

Many applications have a habit of running on their own when they start or on a schedule, a phenomenon called autoboot, and controlling this list is one of the most effective ways to keep RAM free.

Find the Apps → Permissions → Auto Run in the settings. Here is a complete list of programs that start with your phone. Leave only those that you really need on a regular basis (such as messengers or alarms).

Another important aspect is the background, where you can set up a battery and performance strategy for each application in the Battery and Performance section, and select No Limits for important programs only, and set Energy Savings or Hard Limits for others.

Disabling auto-runs for heavy-duty apps like Facebook or Instagram could free up to 200-300MB of RAM immediately after the phone is turned on, which would significantly affect the performance of budget models.

Extended cleaning of cache and temporary files

Although the cache is stored mainly on the internal drive, its excess can indirectly affect the work of RAM, causing the system to spend resources on indexing and processing junk files.

Use the built-in cleaning tool in the Security app. It finds temporary files, remnants of deleted apps and advertising debris. Click the Clean button in the Cleanup section to remove unnecessary data.

To clean up more deeply, you can use the Memory feature in the settings, where the system will analyze the places and suggest that you delete large files or duplicates, and freeing up space in the internal storage also helps the system to work faster, since it has space for virtual memory.

⚠️ Warning: Don’t use third-party accelerators from the Play Market.They often consume more resources than they free up and show intrusive ads.

Special attention should be paid to the cache of specific heavy applications. Go to Settings → Apps → All applications, select a program (for example, TikTok or YouTube) and click “Clear Cache” This will not delete your logins or settings, but will remove temporary videos and pictures.

Special Features: Memory Expansion and Game Turbo

Xiaomi’s new models with MIUI 12.5, MIUI 13/14 and HyperOS have a feature for RAM expansion, which allows you to use part of internal storage (ROM) as additional RAM. This is virtualization technology.

You can activate the function in the menu Additional → Expansion of memory. The system will suggest adding 2, 4 or more gigabytes. After restarting, the phone will assume that it has more RAM. This is useful for multitasking, but can slightly reduce the speed of the drive.

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The memory expansion feature is most effective on devices with a fast type of UFS 3.1 storage. On older models with eMMC, performance gains can be minimal.

For gamers, there's Game Turbo mode, which automatically clears RAM when you start a game, disables notifications, and redistributes CPU resources to the game, which ensures the smoothest possible gameplay.

To add a game to Game Turbo, open the Safety → Game Turbo app and click the plus. Now, when you start the game from the side, a toolbar will appear, where you can see the load on the CPU and RAM in real time.

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Memory expansion is a useful feature for multitasking, but don’t expect miracles from it: physical RAM will not replace it, but only complement it with a slow buffer.

Frequent questions and problems with cleaning

Even after all the recommendations are followed, users may have questions, and here are the answers to the most popular ones to help avoid typical mistakes and better understand the logic of your Xiaomi.