How to increase RAM on Xiaomi: real ways and myths

Why Xiaomi is running out of RAM and what to do about it

RAM is a buffer between the processor and the data that is needed “here and now” on Xiaomi (especially in the budget models of the Redmi and POCO series), it is often lacking: applications fly out of the background, games slow down, and the system begins to “poop” after several months of use, not only “voracious” messengers like Telegram or social network, but also features of the MIUI firmware, which aggressively manages memory.

Smartphone makers have long found a workaround, virtual RAM (extension of RAM through internal memory). But does it work in practice? And can you physically add memory to a smartphone like a computer? In this article, we will examine all the current ways to increase RAM on Xiaomi in 2026, from official functions to “popular” methods that can help and harm.

Spoiler: You can't physically replace or add RAM to a Xiaomi smartphone, it's soldered on the motherboard, but there are legal and not-so-good ways to optimize its use. Let's start with the safest ones.

Method 1: Enabling virtual RAM (official MIUI function)

Since 2021, Xiaomi has added RAM Expansion, a technology that reserves part of the internal memory (ROM) for RAM, essentially an analogue of the swap file in Windows. The feature is available on most models with MIUI 12.5+ and Android 11/12/13, including:

• 📱 Xiaomi 11/12/13 series
• 📱 Redmi Note 10/11/12 and POCO F3/F4/F5
• 📱 Redmi K40/K50/K60
• 📱 Budget models like Redmi 10A or POCO M4 Pro (but with a volume limit)

How to turn on:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → All the characteristics.
2. Tap 5-7 times on RAM until the RAM Expansion menu appears.
3. Select the amount of virtual memory: usually available 1 GB, 2 GB or 3 GB (depending on the model and free space in the ROM).
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Attention: Virtual RAM It's not a physical one. It only helps in the background, like holding 1-2 apps more in multitasking, for games (Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile) or for heavy applications (Lightroom, CapCut), the increase will be minimal. ROM (Less than 10%), the function may impair performance due to constant recordings/reads.

Method 2: Optimize MIUI to save RAM

MIUI is known for its appetite for RAM. Even on flagships like the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, the system can take up to 3-4 GB of RAM in plain time. But some of the memory is wasted due to background processes, animations and unnecessary services.

Disable animations in Settings → Special. features → Remove animations

Turn off auto-run of unnecessary applications in Settings → Applications → Auto-run

Limit background activity in Settings → Battery → Energy saving mode

Shut down. MIUI Optimization in Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (tap 10 times → Additionally. → Shut down. MIUI Optimization)-->

Another hidden memory eater is Google services and Xiaomi system applications (e.g. Mi Video, Mi Music, GetApps).

• 🔄 Disable (do not delete!) through Settings → Annexes → Select an application → Shut down.
• 🚫 Limit background activity in battery settings.
• 🗑️ Remove updates (if the app is system-based but updated through Play Market).

⚠️ Attention: Disconnection MIUI Optimization can cause gestural, design, and feature failures (such as Game Turbo!

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If your smartphone is slower after optimizing, return the MIUI Optimization settings back. Some models (like the Redmi Note 9 Pro) are critically dependent on this feature.

Method 3: Using third-party utilities to clean RAM

There are hundreds of apps on Google Play that promise to "free RAM with one tap," most of which are empty, but there are also useful tools. The rule is: don't use "boosters" that work in the background (they eat memory themselves!).

How to enable background process limitation without third-party applications:

1. Activate Developer Mode (Tap 7 times on the Build Number in Settings → About Phone).
2. Go to Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Find the item Limit background processes and select the maximum of 2-3 process.

⚠️ Note: This method can disrupt messaging apps (WhatsApp, Viber) — they won’t arrive on time. Use it only if you’re willing to wait for notifications after you open the app.

Method 4: Root access and system modification (for advanced)

If you're willing to take risks, root rights offer additional ways to manage RAM, such as:

• 🔧 Change the kernel parameters (vm.swappiness, vm.vfs_cache_pressure) For more aggressive use of swap.
• 📦 Establish custom ROM (LineageOS or Pixel Experience, where memory management is optimized better than in the future MIUI.
• 🗑️ Uninstall system applications that cannot be disabled without root (such as Mi Browser or Mi Pay).

Instructions for increasing swap through root:

su


echo 100 > /proc/sys/vm/swappiness




echo 200 > /proc/sys/vm/vfs_cache_pressure

These commands force the system to use virtual memory more actively, but can reduce the life of the drive due to frequent records.

⚠️ Attention: On models with Dynamic RAM Allocation (e.g. Xiaomi 12 Pro) modification of the kernel parameters can cause overheating and trottling of the processor. XDA Developers or 4PDA.

Method 5: Hardware solutions - myth or reality?

On the Internet, there are often “advice” on the physical increase of RAM on Xiaomi:

• 🔧 «Re-sweeten memory chips – impossible without specialized equipment (BGA-soldering station) and donor boards, even in service centers, these operations are not performed.
• 🔄 «Replace the motherboard with a version with a large RAM is theoretically possible, but the cost of the spare part + The work will exceed the price of a new smartphone.
• 📱 «Buy Xiaomi with hybrid memory – some models (for example, Redmi Note 11 Pro)+ 5G) Supporting Dynamic RAM 3.0, where part ROM It's automatically backed up for RAM, but it's not an upgrade, it's the original function.

The only working "hardware" way is to buy a smartphone with a lot of memory initially.

• 📱 Xiaomi 13T Pro (12/256 GB instead of Xiaomi 13T (8/256 GB).
• 📱 POCO F5 Pro (12/512 GB instead POCO F5 (8/256 GB).
• 📱 Redmi K60 Ultra (16/512 GB) for maximum multitasking.

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Hardware augmentation of RAM on Xiaomi is not economically feasible, and even if you find a workshop ready to take up soldering, the risk of losing the device is higher than the potential benefit.

What Doesn't Work: Debunking Myths

There are a lot of "advice" online that are not only useless, but also dangerous.

1. “Manually clean RAM” (via Task Manager or Clear button) In fact: MIUI optimizes memory itself, and forced cleaning forces the system to waste resources on rebooting data.
2. «SD-card RAM». Android doesn’t have a technology similar to ReadyBoost in Windows. SD-The card can only be used to store files, but not as RAM.
3. «Shutdown MIUI Some people say we should go back to speed. AOSP (pure Android, but in practice it gives an increase of only 5-10% of RAM, but breaks the camera, NFC other functions.
4. "Magic commands in Engineer Mode." Commands like ##36446337## (memory test) or ##4636## (battery information) don't affect RAM capacity and are only for diagnostics.

If you see a tip like “Put this command and RAM will increase by 2 GB” is a scam. The most you can do without root is to optimize your existing memory (see Method 2).

FAQ: Frequent questions about RAM on Xiaomi