How to increase RAM on Xiaomi phone: real ways without opening the case

Have you noticed that your Xiaomi has started to slow down, apps are spontaneously shutting down, and games are lag even in medium settings? The reason is often a lack of RAM. Unlike computers where RAM can be physically added, Redmi, POCO or Mi smartphones do not have this capability — memory is sealed on the motherboard. But that does not mean that the situation can not be fixed.

In this article, we will discuss 7 proven ways to increase the amount of available RAM on Xiaomi without disassembling the device. Some methods use hidden MIUI functions, others require manual optimization, and still others completely simulate the expansion of RAM due to the built-in drive. Importantly, virtual RAM on Xiaomi only works on devices with MIUI 12.5 and later on – on older versions of the firmware the function is not available.

Before you start, check the current RAM load: open Settings → About Phone → System Status → Memory. If less than 20% is free, it's time to act. Let's start with the simplest and safest methods.

1. Enable virtual RAM (RAM Expansion) on Xiaomi

The most effective way to add RAM is to activate RAM Expansion technology, which uses a portion of the internal drive as an additional buffer for background processes.The feature is available on most Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models with Snapdragon 7xx/8xx or Dimensity chipsets and MIUI 12.5+ firmware.

How to turn on:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Additionally. → Expansion of memory (RAM Expansion).
• 🔧 Select the amount of virtual memory: usually available 1-3 GB (depending on the model).
• 🔄 Restart your phone – the changes will take effect.

Important: Virtual RAM does not replace physical, but only helps to control background processes. For example, on the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ with 8 GB of RAM, adding 3 GB of virtual memory will keep 2-3 applications in the background more, but will not accelerate heavy games like Genshin Impact.

⚠️ Attention: Virtual RAM If you have less than 10 GB of free space, you should choose the minimum size (1 GB) or first clear the unnecessary files.

2. Optimization of application background activity

By default, MIUI aggressively closes the background processes, but some applications (messengers, social networks) can consume RAM even when folded.

Step 1: Limit background activity:

• 🔒 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 📵 Select an app (such as Facebook or Instagram) → Permits → Autostart and turn it off.
• 🔄 For instant messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) leave auto-run, but turn off background data transfer.

Step 2. Use the built-in optimizer:

• 🧹 Press the Home button (or swipe up and hold it) → Press Close everything.
• 🔄 B Settings → Battery and productivity → Optimization Launch Testing.

This will free up to 30% of RAM if the background processes were not previously controlled, for example, on the POCO X3 Pro after such a cleanup, the amount of free memory increased from 1.2 GB to 2.8 GB.

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If RAM is still filling up quickly after closing all applications, check your phone for viruses using Google Play Protect (Settings → Google → Security). Some malware masquerades as system processes and eats away at memory.

3. Cache reset and Dalvik-cache (for advanced users)

The system cache and the Dalvik-cache (Android VM cache) grow over time and can take up to 1-2 GB of RAM in the background. Cleaning them won't delete your data, but requires superuser rights (root) or ADB use.

Method 1. Through ADB (without root):

adb shell


su




rm -r /data/dalvik-cache/*




rm -r /cache/*




reboot

Method 2. Through TWRP (if installed):

• 🔧 Boot in. TWRP (hold on to food + Volume up when switched on).
• 🧹 Go to Advanced. → Wipe Dalvik Cache.
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Warning: Do not clean the Dalvik-cache on a working phone, it will lead to a system failure. TWRP or ADB post-reboot.

4.Using MIUI functions for memory management

MIUI has built-in tools for controlling RAM that many users don't notice. Here are the most useful ones:

For example, activating Performance Mode on Xiaomi 12T allowed you to free up to 800 MB of RAM by disabling unnecessary visual effects, and Process Limitation is useful for devices with 4-6 GB of memory, where every megabyte counts.

Enable Smart Cleaning | Activate Performance Mode |Limit background processes to 2–3|Disable AutoRun for unnecessary applications-->

5. Delete system applications (debloat)

MIUI is known for its abundance of pre-installed applications (bloatware), which take up not only memory space, but also RAM, and can be removed without root rights using ADB.

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and activate Debugging over USB (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version – press 7 times, then return to Additional → For Developers).
2. Download ADB Tools and open the command line in the folder with adb.exe.
3. Enter commands to remove unnecessary applications (example for Mi Browser): adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.browser

List of safe applications to remove (depending on the model):

• 🌐 com.android.browser — Mi Browser
• 📺 com.miui.videoplayer — Mi Video
• 🎵 com.miui.player - Music
• 📰 com.miui.analytics - Analytics MIUI

⚠️ Warning: Do not remove system components with the names com.android, com.qualcomm or com.miui.home, this will cause your phone to fail.

6. Update of firmware and core

RAM performance is directly dependent on firmware optimization. On older versions of MIUI (e.g. MIUI 11), memory management is worse than on MIUI 14.

• 📲 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🔄 If there are no updates, check for betas in the official Xiaomi community.

For advanced users, installing a custom core (such as FrancoKernel or Perseus) can improve memory management by 15-20%, but this requires unlocking the bootloader and root rights.

Example: After the Redmi Note 10 Pro upgrade from MIUI 12.0.3 to MIUI 13.0.5, free memory in the background increased from 1.5 GB to 2.3 GB due to the optimization of cache clearing algorithms.

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Updating your firmware is the safest way to improve RAM, but back up your data before installing beta (Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset).

7. Hardware restrictions: when nothing will help

If your Xiaomi is released before 2019 (like the Redmi Note 7 or Mi 8) and has 3-4GB of RAM, none of the methods listed will make it as nimble as the 2026 flagship.

• 📉 Reduce the load: use lightweight versions of applications (Facebook Lite, Messenger Lite).
• 🎮 For games: Enable Game Turbo Mode (Settings) → Special facilities → Game turbo) and lower the graphics in the game settings.
• 💰 Consider the upgrade: models POCO X6 Pro or Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 12 GB of RAM is inexpensive, but show 3-4 times better multitasking.

On phones with 4GB of RAM and less virtual memory extension (RAM Expansion) can impair performance, as the system will constantly move data between slow internal memory and RAM.

FAQ: Frequent questions about increasing RAM on Xiaomi