Xiaomi’s current smartphones, which run MIUI shells or the new HyperOS, have a complex resource management system that isn’t always obvious to the average user. When the device starts to run slower, apps are offloaded from the background or games slow down, the first question is how much free resources are available to the system right now. Understanding how to view the rest of the RAM on Xiaomi is a key skill for diagnosing the performance of a gadget.
Unlike computers that monitor resources transparently, Android mobile operating systems often hide access to real RAM data from the user’s eyes to simplify the interface. However, engineers have left a few loopholes and tools to get accurate information about CPU load and free RAM, which will help you understand whether you need to close the background applications or it’s time to think about buying a more powerful device.
There are many ways to get this information, from built-in developer features to a special engineering menu or third-party software, each with its own features, level of detail and impact on the system. In this article, we will discuss all the options available in detail so that you can choose the most convenient and informative for your situation.
Using Developer Mode for Monitoring
The most reliable and native way to know how much RAM is free is to activate the hidden developer menu, which is designed to debug applications, but gives the user access to critical system statistics in real time. First, you need to unlock this partition, because by default it is hidden from random changes.
To activate the mode, go to Settings → About the phone and find the line with the shell version (for example, MIUI 14 or HyperOS). You need to quickly click on this line 7-10 times in a row until you notice that you have become a developer. Then a new option will appear in the settings menu “Advanced Settings” or immediately “Developers”, where you need to find the “Memory” or “Running Services” section.
In the window that opens, you'll see detailed information about how many megabytes the system is using, how many apps are using, and how much space is left free. It's important to understand that Android tends to use free memory to caching frequently run applications, so 0 free memory is often a normal state, not a sign of a problem. The system will unload unnecessary processes if you run a heavy game.
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Don’t try to keep your free memory at maximum manually – this will make the processor more often access the drive, which can reduce the overall autonomy of the device.
⚠️ Note: Do not change the settings in the "For developers" section unless you are sure of their purpose.Accessual change in the limit of background processes can lead to incorrect operation of messengers and notifications.
Engineering menu and hidden system tests
For a deeper analysis that goes beyond standard settings, you can use the engineering menu, which is a diagnostic interface built into the firmware that allows you to check the status of all the modules in the smartphone, including detailed statistics on the data. RAM. Access to it is carried out through a standard call by entering special USSD-code.
Type ##64663## or #4636## on your phone keyboard. If the code is suitable for your model (e.g. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 or Poco F5), the testing menu will open. Select Memory or Usage statistics. Here the data is presented in a more technical form, often broken down by process type.
What if the code doesn't work?
This is especially useful when you want to check if a system process is eating up all the memory available, causing interface friezes, and the statistics are updated dynamically to track resource surges when running specific programs.
Third-party applications for RAM analysis
If the built-in tools seem too complex or not informative enough, specialized tools come to the rescue from the Google Play store. They provide a user-friendly visual interface, load graphs and memory usage history for a certain period. These applications often show not only the current balance, but also predict how many more tasks can be run.
Some of the most popular solutions are CPU-Z, AIDA64, and DevCheck Device & System Info, which collect data directly from the kernel and output it in an understandable way, for example, in CPU-Z you need to go to the "Device" tab, where you will specify the total amount of RAM and current usage.
- 📱 CPU-Z — lightweight tool showing basic information about the hardware and the current RAM load without unnecessary advertising.
- 📊 AIDA64 — professional combine for diagnosis, displays a detailed table of memory distribution by processes.
- 🚀 Greenify is a utility that not only shows memory, but also helps to “sedate” voracious applications to free up resources.
Using third-party software has its advantages, but it is worth remembering the resource consumption of the monitor application itself. The memory widget that hangs constantly in the background also takes up several megabytes, which can be tangible on devices with 4 GB of RAM.
Widgets and Quick Access to Information
For those who want to be in control of things all the time, without going into the depths of the settings, widgets are a great solution. Many launchers and system themes Xiaomi allows you to bring the meter of free memory directly to the desktop, which creates the illusion of constant control, although the real benefit of this is controversial, but visually pleasing.
To add a widget, press your finger on the empty desktop, select "Widgets" or "Add widgets." In the list, find the "Tools", "System" or the name of the installed optimizer application (for example, "Clean Master" or system "Security"). Choose a stylish counter and place it on the screen.
| Type of widget | Informativeness | Impact on the battery | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Systemic (MIUI) | Low (numbers only) | Minimum | Status bar |
| Third-party (CPU-Z) | Average (graph) | Average. | Monitoring widget |
| Design topics | Tall (animation) | High. | Topics from GetThemes |
It’s worth noting that beautiful animated widgets often require more resources to render than they show. If you have a budget smartphone, it’s better to limit yourself to a simple text indicator or remove it altogether, entrusting memory management to the system.
Features of memory in MIUI and HyperOS
Xiaomi shells are known for their aggressive background management policies, and it aims to free up as much RAM as possible for the active application you're using right now, so seeing 70-80% of the memory you're using is a regular situation, which is a testament to the caching algorithms' performance.
New versions of HyperOS have introduced "Memory Extension" technology that allows you to use part of the internal drive as virtual RAM. If this feature is enabled, you will see a larger total volume in the statistics, but the virtual part will run faster than physical RAM.
☑️ Memory optimization check
⚠️ Note: Flash memory expansion can accelerate the wear of the drive when you are working actively, only use it if you critically lack physical RAM for gaming.
Users should be aware that manually cleaning the memory through the garbage button in a standard security application often only gives a temporary effect.The system will immediately start cacheing data again, and you may notice an even longer start of applications, since they will have to boot from scratch, rather than from cache.
Process Analysis through ADB (for Advanced Processes)
For experts who lack standard interfaces, it is possible to connect a smartphone to a computer and use the ADB debugging bridge. This method allows you to get the most detailed upload of information about each byte distributed between processes, including hidden system services.
To do this, you'll have to enable USB debugging in the developer menu, connect your phone to your PC, and start your console. The adb shell dumpsys meminfo team will bring out a huge list of all the processes and memory they're using, and that's the best way to find a parasite application that's stealthily devouring resources.
adb shell dumpsys meminfo | grep -E "TOTAL|Native|Dalvik"Using the command line, you can not just look at it, you can also analyze it, you can start monitoring in real time and see how memory consumption changes when you open a camera or a navigator, and it's an indispensable tool for deep diagnostics.
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The most accurate way to diagnose is by combining built-in developer monitoring for quick verification and ADB for deep analysis of the causes of memory leaks.