How to Clean Up RAM on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Your Xiaomi has started to slow down, apps spontaneously shut down, and games are laid even on powerful models like the POCO F5 or Redmi Note 12 Pro+? The reason is most often due to overloaded RAM. Android systems, especially in smartphones with a MIUI shell, actively cache data to speed up work, but sometimes this mechanism fails. As a result, even 8-12 GB of RAM can be occupied with background processes, leaving critically few resources for active tasks.

In this article, 5 proven ways to reset RAM on any Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphone, including models with MIUI 14 and HyperOS. We will analyze both standard methods through settings and hidden features for power users. Importantly, not all methods are equally effective — some give a temporary effect, others solve the problem systemically. Choose the appropriate one based on your situation.

Why is RAM clogged on Xiaomi?

RAM (or RAM) is a fast memory used to store data from active applications. When it is not enough, the system begins to force shutdown processes, leading to slowdowns, departures from games and even reboots. On Xiaomi smartphones, there are several specific reasons for RAM overload:

• 🔄 Aggressive cache MIUI: The shell actively stores app data in the background, even if you are not using it. For example, after closing Instagram or TikTok, their processes can remain in memory for hours.
• 🤖 Background services Google and Xiaomi: account synchronization, weather updates, push notifications – all this “eats” up to 1-1.5 GB of RAM in normal mode.
• 🎮 Unoptimized games: Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile can take up to 4-6 GB of RAM without releasing it after release.
• 📱 Memory leaks in firmware: some versions MIUI 13-14 suffer from bugs when the system mismanages the RAM allocation.

Interesting fact: on Xiaomi smartphones with virtual memory (RAM Expansion), the problem can be exacerbated, this feature uses part of the internal drive as an addition to RAM, but often leads to slowdown, as flash memory is hundreds of times slower than RAM.

⚠️ Attention: if after cleaning the RAM memory is clogged again in 5-10 minutes, the problem may be a virus (for example, a miner on Android) or a damaged firmware.

Method 1: Manual cleaning through the “Safety” menu

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in MIUI tool to clean up memory, which requires no superuser rights and works on all models, including the Redmi 10, POCO X5 and Mi 11.

Instructions:

1. Open the Security app (the shield icon).
2. Go to Optimize (or Accelerate in older versions of MIUI).
3. Click the Clear Memory button (usually the number of occupied GBs is displayed).
4. Confirm the action by waiting for the message Cleanup is completed.

This method frees up to 30-40% of RAM, but the effect is temporary - after 10-15 minutes, the memory will be filled with background processes.

Close all active applications (swipe up the menu of recent ones)

Turn off mobile internet and Wi-Fi (to stop background synchronization)

Check the list of working processes in Settings → Applications → Application Management

Take a screenshot of the current memory state (for comparison after cleaning)-->

Method 2: Using the Developer Mode

For power users, there is a deeper method of forcing the restriction of background processes through the developer menu, which will reduce the load on RAM, but can affect the operation of some applications (for example, messengers will update notifications less often).

How to turn on the developer mode:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times in a row on the MIUI version (you will be notified of becoming a developer).
3. Return to the main settings menu and open a new section Additional → Developer options.

Now, do the following:

• 🔧 Find the parameter Limit of background processes and set the value of No background processes (or Maximum 2 process for balance).
• 🔄 Enable the option Do not save actions – this will prevent the system from cacheing data of closed applications.
• 📵 Turn off window animation and transition animation (speed up the interface).

⚠️ Note: After applying these settings, some apps (such as WhatsApp or Telegram) may not show notifications until you manually open them.To fix this, add messengers to the AutoRun list in the security settings.

Once a day.

When the phone starts to brake

Never clean.

Using automatic cleaning.-->

Method 3: Disabling Virtual Memory (RAM Expansion)

Virtual memory on Xiaomi increases the available amount of RAM due to the internal drive, but in the 80% And in some cases, it reverses the effect of the phone actually getting even more slow (UFS 2.1/3.1) hundreds of times slower than the operational (LPDDR4X/LPDDR5). When the system tries to use it as RAM, delays.

How to turn off virtual memory:

1. Open Settings → Advanced settings → Memory.
2. Find Virtual Memory (or RAM Extension).
3. Switch the slider to the off position.
4. Reboot the phone.

After you turn off virtual memory, check the performance in the benchmark AnTuTu or Geekbench. In most cases, the rates increase by 5-20%, especially in memory tests.

💡

If your phone is slower after you shut down virtual memory, turn it back on and set the minimum value (1 GB), and your model may be optimized to work with the RAM extension.

Method 4: Resetting cache via Recovery Mode

If standard methods don’t work and the phone keeps slowing down, try resetting the cache through recovery mode.This won’t delete your data, but will clear temporary system files that can take up to 1-2 GB of RAM.

Instructions:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power + Volume buttons up at the same time and hold for 10-15 seconds until the Mi logo appears.
3. In the Recovery menu, select Wipe & Reset (manage by volume buttons, confirmation by power button).
4. Select Wipe Cache and confirm the action.
5. Once completed, restart the phone (Reboot).

This method helps if the problem is caused by corrupted system files or update conflicts, for example, after switching from MIUI 13 to MIUI 14, some users experience memory leaks, a cache reset solves the problem.

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

Method 5: Forced cleaning through ADB (for advanced)

If you're familiar with Android Debug Bridge (ADB), you can manually kill all background processes by freeing up RAM, a technique that requires connecting your phone to your computer, but has the maximum effect of 90 to 95 percent clearing up memory.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install ADB Tools on PC.
2. Enable USB debugging in the developer settings (see Method 2).
3. Connect the phone to your computer and type in the command line:

adb shell


su




cmd activity clear-top

If you do not have root rights, use an alternative command:

adb shell am kill-all

This method instantly frees up RAM, but has a side effect: all background applications (including music, navigation or downloads) will be forcibly shut down.

💡

ADB-Cleaning is the most radical way, but it's temporary. To permanently address Combine's problem of shutting down virtual memory and limiting background processes.

Additional tips for optimizing RAM

In addition to direct cleaning methods, there are several preventive measures that will help reduce the load on working memory:

• 🚫 Turn off auto-run of unnecessary apps: Go to Settings → Annexes → App management. Select an app (like Facebook or AliExpress). Turn off Autorun and Show notifications.
• 🔄 Use "Light Mode": In Settings → Special facilities → Light mode can activate a simplified interface that consumes 20-30% less RAM.
• 📉 Reduce the number of widgets: Each widget (weather, calendar, notes) is a separate process in memory.
• 🔋 Watch for temperatures: When overheating (above 45)°C) the system artificially restricts performance, which can lead to memory leaks. CPU Monitoring.