Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the need to control system resources, especially when the device starts to run slower. RAM is a critical component that directly affects the speed of switching between applications and the overall responsiveness of the interface. Understanding how memory is distributed at the moment allows you to identify “grizzle” programs that are consuming resources in the background.
Unlike many other manufacturers, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have specific features of displaying statistics that are not always obvious to the average user. Standard widgets can only show a total number, hiding the distribution details. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available monitoring methods, from built-in developer tools to hidden engineering menus.
You'll learn to distinguish between system and user processes, and you'll know if you should panic if you don't have enough memory. A good RAM boot analysis is the first step to optimizing your gadget without installing third-party software. Let's figure out where to look for this information and how to interpret it correctly.
Basic monitoring through developer settings
The most reliable and detailed way to see the real state of RAM is to activate the developer mode. By default, this function is hidden so that inexperienced users do not accidentally change important system parameters. To activate, you need to go to Settings → About phone and quickly press 7-10 times in a row on the MIUI version (or OS version in new versions).
Once you have a "You've become a developer" message, go back to the main settings menu and select "Additional → For Developers" and you're interested in a section called "Memory" that you click on, and you'll see the RAM usage schedule over the last 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours or day, and that allows you to track the dynamics of how fast memory is filling up after you start games or heavy applications.
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If the graph shows sharp increases in memory filling up to 95-98% without visible running applications, it is possible that the system is running a process with a memory leak.
The same menu also includes a “Start Processes” button that compulsorily clears the cache and completes background tasks, but it’s worth remembering that manual cleaning on modern versions of Android can even hurt performance, as the system has to reload frequently used libraries.
- 📊 Load schedule: Visualizes resource consumption over time, helping to find correlation between running a particular application and system brakes.
- 🧹 Forced Cleanup: Instantly releases volume RAM, It is not a cure for a permanent lack of memory.
- ⚙️ Background Process Limit: Allows you to limit the number of applications running simultaneously in the background, which is useful for devices with low RAM (3-4 GB).
Using this section gives the most complete picture without the risk of damage to the system, and what you see here is not just numbers, but the actual behavior of the Android operating system running the shell from Xiaomi.
Hidden Engineering Menu and Codes for Diagnostics
For those who prefer quick access to technical information, there is a special engineering code that allows you to instantly call the test menu, which displays the status of all components, including RAM. To open it, open the standard Phone application and enter the combination # # #6484##.
Once you enter the last digit, the menu will open automatically. You need to find a item that can be called Version Info, Memory or RAM info, depending on the firmware version and device model (e.g. Redmi Note or Xiaomi 13). Unlike the developer's settings, here the data is presented in a more raw, technical form, often indicating the frequency of the memory controller.
What if the code doesn't work?
It's important to note that you can't change anything on this menu unless you have a deep knowledge. A random change in parameters can lead to unstable work or even a bootloop. Use this tool solely to view current metrics.
⚠️ Warning: Do not try to reset the settings in the Engineering menu (Factory Reset) through this interface, if your goal is just to look at the statistics.
This is a great way to do this: you don't have to go through the settings menu, you just have to know the numerical code, and it's especially convenient when the phone is getting stuck and you have to quickly assess whether it's hitting the memory limit.
Memory widget on the desktop
The easiest and most visual way to control the free space in RAM is to use a regular widget that displays the percentage of memory occupied and allows you to start cleaning with a single touch, which is ideal for users who do not want to go into the technical wilds.
To add a widget, press the empty space on your desktop and select "Widgets" (or "Add widgets"). In the list, find the "Tools" category or immediately look for an item called "Memory." Drag it to the screen. The widget will show a pie chart or load bar where you will see the ratio of occupied and free volume.
But there's a limitation to consider: the widget only shows the current snapshot of the state, it doesn't give us a history of usage, it doesn't show which application consumes the most resources, it doesn't work for deep analysis, but it does for quick shake-up.
- 👁️ Visualization: Visual display of memory in the form of a color scale.
- 🚀 Quick access: The cleaning button is always on hand on the home screen.
- 📉 Minimalism: No need to go to deep settings menus.
The widget is especially relevant on 4-6GB RAM models, where resources are limited and require more frequent monitoring. On top-end flagships with 12+GB of storage, the widget often remains almost empty.
Analysis of running processes through ADB and PC
For advanced users who do not have enough standard tools, it is possible to connect a smartphone to a computer. Using USB debugging (ADB) allows you to download a detailed list of all processes, their priorities and the exact amount of memory occupied in real time.
For this purpose, it is necessary to include “Debugging of the USB» In the developer menu, connect the phone to your PC and install the Android Debug Bridge platform. the adb shell dumpsys meminfo command will display the full report. You will see a list of packages (for example, com.tencent.mm or com.android.systemui) and numbers in kilobytes.
adb shell dumpsys meminfo | grep -E "Total|Native|Dalvik"This command will filter out the extra and show only the main categories of memory usage: native code, Dalvik/ART virtual machine and total volume. It is a professional diagnostic tool that helps to find processes that are hidden from the average user.
☑️ Preparation for ADB-diagnostics
ADB analysis is especially useful when the phone is slowing down, but in a standard task manager, everything looks normal. Hidden system services can consume gigabytes, and you can only see them in this way.
Memory consumption comparison: MIUI vs HyperOS
With the release of the new HyperOS shell, many users have noticed changes in memory algorithms. While MIUI was known for aggressively unloading applications from memory to save charge, the new system tends to balance performance and autonomy differently.
HyperOS has changed the way ZRAM works, and it uses some of its internal flash memory more as an extension of RAM, which creates the illusion of a lot of RAM, but it's faster than physical memory. The table below shows some of the key differences.
| Parameter | MIUI 14 | HyperOS |
|---|---|---|
| Background cleanup aggression | Tall. | Medium (adaptive) |
| Working with ZRAM | Static | Dynamic. |
| Display in settings | Basic | Extended (in Dev Options) |
| Frame stability | Depends on the model. | Optimized by the core |
Users who have switched to HyperOS may notice that the phone has more apps in memory, but that the battery consumption in standby mode may increase slightly, which is a fee for improved multitasking mode.
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HyperOS manages background processes more efficiently, but for maximum game speed on older models (up to 6 GB of RAM), it is sometimes better to stay on optimized MIUI.
Understanding these differences helps you set your device expectations correctly, and if you update and see that your memory is more busy than before, it's not a mistake, it's a feature of a new resource allocation strategy.
Optimization and expansion of memory (Memory Extension)
Many modern Xiaomi models support the memory extension function, which allows you to allocate part of internal storage (for example, 2, 3 or 5 GB) for RAM needs. You can find this option by going to Settings → Additional → Expansion of memory.
Enabling this feature is useful if you have only 4 or 6 GB of physical RAM and use heavy gaming or multitasking frequently.However, if you have 8 GB or more, the performance gains will be minimal and the internal memory resource (which has a limit of overwrite cycles) will be consumed.
⚠️ Warning: After resizing the memory expansion, the phone will automatically restart. Do not interrupt this process, as the system partitions are re-marked.
Should I include this feature? For budget models, definitely yes. For flagships with 12-16 GB, it is rather not, since the speed of the internal memory of UFS 3.1/4.0 is still lower than that of LPDDR5X, and it can even slightly increase the delays in some scenarios.
- 📈 Pros: The ability to run more applications at the same time without unloading them.
- 🐢 Cons: The speed of virtual memory is lower than real; wear drive.
- 🔄 Flexibility: You can choose the size of the extension or completely disable the function.
The decision to activate should be based on your real needs, and if you notice that applications are constantly restarting when you switch, expanding memory will be a salvation.