Modern Xiaomi smartphones running on the shell of MIUI or the new HyperOS are famous for their aggressive power optimization system. This feature often causes users to stop receiving notifications from messengers or SMS if the application is folded. The phrase “messages work in the background” means that the operating system allows the program to continue to exchange data with the server even when you are not looking at the screen and using other phone functions.
Unlike standard Android, where processes often hang in the memory until the system decides to shut them down, MIUI algorithms tend to kill any unnecessary process to save battery power. That is why setting up the background work becomes critical for those who wait for important calls through WhatsApp, Telegram or bank push notifications. Without the right configuration, the phone can behave like a button model of the beginning of the two thousandth, ignoring incoming ones before unlocking.
Understanding the mechanisms behind the background will help you avoid someone thinking you’re ignoring them even though you just haven’t received the message. In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at the technical aspects of customization, cover the hidden functions of the developer, and explain why standard settings are often not enough to keep things running smoothly.
The mechanism of background processes in MIUI and HyperOS
The Android operating system is designed to allow applications you're not using right now to go into a "freeze" state. However, in the Xiaomi ecosystem, this process is complemented by its own task manager, which is much more rigid than standard. When you say that messages work in the background, you mean that there is an active network connection and allowed access to memory, which allows the application to periodically "wake up" the processor to check new mail.
The problem is that by default, the system considers many messengers unessential and limits their background activity. Energy saving in this context is the main enemy of instant content delivery. The system analyzes usage patterns: if you rarely open a particular application after 23:00, it can completely block its background work at night, considering it optimization.
⚠️ Warning: Aggressive energy saving can cause messages to only arrive after you physically open the receiving app.
It’s important to distinguish between two types of background work: light (only receiving notification headers) and full (downloading media content), the setup we’ll discuss below typically allows full access, allowing you to upload photos and voice messages without opening a chat, which is especially true for heavy messengers like Viber or Telegram.
Basic notification settings for specific applications
The first step to solving this problem is to manually resolve the background work for each important application. Xiaomi requires a customized approach to each package installed. You need to go to the settings menu and find the section responsible for managing the applications to make changes to their behavior.
To start, open Settings and go to the Apps section, and here, select All Apps and find the right messenger, like WhatsApp, in the list, and you'll need to change a few settings to make sure the system doesn't restrict it, which is a basic configuration layer that solves 80 percent of delivery problems.
☑️ Checking basic settings
Then you have to make sure that auto-start is enabled, and this allows the app to start its services as soon as you turn on the phone or restart the system, and without this flag, after each smartphone reboot, you have to manually open the messenger to "revive" and start receiving messages.
- 📱 Find Auto Start and activate the switch.
- 🔔 Go to Notifications and make sure the Show Notifications slider is active.
- 🔌 In the charge saving section, select the option "No restrictions".
- 🛡️ Check the permissions to access Memory and Microphone if it is a messenger.
Once you do this, the system will stop thinking of the application as "heavy" and allow it to work in the background, but in some cases, especially on older versions of firmware, this may not be enough and you will need to intervene more deeply in the settings of the system.
Advanced battery settings and energy saving
Global battery settings in MIUI often override individual application settings. If the global profile is set to Ultra-Energy Saving or a severe background restriction, individual permissions may be ignored.
Go to Settings → Battery and Performance (or simply Battery). It is important to pay attention to the current profile here. For stable messengers, it is recommended to use a “Balanced” or “Productive” profile. Energy saving mode often disables background data synchronization, which leads to delays.
| Mode of work | Impact on communications | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Balanced | Optimal work | Recommended |
| Saving energy | Delays up to 10 minutes | Not recommended |
| Ultra-savings | Only the elect. | Only in a critique situation. |
| Productive | Instant delivery | It's using up more batteries. |
Also, this section often hides the "Dormant Sleep" setting or similar one, if it's active, after the screen is turned off, the phone will shut down data transfer for all applications except system ones after a certain period of time, and disabling this feature ensures that the Internet connection remains active constantly.
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If you use third-party launchers or themes, they may also have their own power saving settings, which are worth checking separately.
Specificity of working in sleep and screen locking
The most important thing to do is to pay attention to the behavior of the smartphone when the screen is off, and this is when Xiaomi uses the most stringent memory-cleaning algorithms, and if the messages come only after the screen is turned on, then the process is killed when the device is locked.
Some firmware versions have a separate menu to adjust lock behavior. Go to Settings → Lock screen and check the date and hour format settings or additional lock screen settings. Sometimes there is an option to "Show notifications on lock screen" that you need to activate.
⚠️ Warning: Turning on the screen’s constant lighting (Always On Display) can significantly increase battery consumption, but it ensures visual display of incoming messages.
Also, check your Wi-Fi settings. In the Wi-Fi → Additional settings (or three dots in the corner), find the item "Sleep Wi-Fi Mode." It should be set to "Always." If you select "Only when charging" or "Never", when the screen is turned off, the phone will lose connection to the router and messages will not be able to come.
MIUI Optimization and Hidden Developer Settings
There's a hidden system control lever known as MIUI Optimization, which is a switch that changes the logic of the entire shell, making it more like standard Android or, conversely, strengthening branded features. Disabling this option often solves background problems, but changes the interface.
To access these settings, you need to activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7 times on the MIUI Version (or OS Version). Once the message "You became a developer" appears, go back to the main settings menu, open Additional → For developers.
At the bottom of the developer's settings list, find Enable MIUI Optimization. Try turning it off. The system will alert you to reboot and change the appearance of some elements. Once turned on, the phone will interfere less with the application's background processes.
What happens after MIUI optimization is disabled?
Also on the developer menu, you should pay attention to the limit of background processes. Make sure that there is a value of "Standard limit" or "No restrictions." If you choose "No more than 1 process" or "No background processes", then normal operation of messengers will become impossible.
The Impact of Third-Party Antiviruses and Cleaners
Often users install third-party apps to “accelerate” or “clean up memory” on their phone without realizing that they conflict with Xiaomi’s system settings. Software like Clean Master, DU Battery Saver, or even the built-in Accelerator can aggressively shut down processes you’ve just set up.
The system memory cleaner in HyperOS and MIUI is already quite effective. Installing additional memory cleaner software creates a resource conflict. Antivirus can consider normal background activity of the messenger suspicious and block it, considering it as a waste of traffic or battery.
- 🚫 Remove third-party memory cleaners if they exist.
- 🛡️ Check the settings of the built-in Security application.
- ⚙️ Add important apps to the white list of antivirus.
- 🔄 Update the built-in security engine through the Security app.
If you use corporate profiles or special security modes, make sure they don't block network activity in the background.In a corporate environment, administrators often set policies that prohibit background data transfers to save traffic.
Diagnostics and solution (FAQ)
Even after all the settings, there can be situational crashes. It is important to be able to diagnose whether the problem is related to the phone settings, the application itself or the operator’s network. Below are answers to the most common questions that owners of Xiaomi smartphones have when setting up background work.
Why do messages only come after the app is opened?
How to reset all notification settings to factory?
Does the "Do Not Disturb" mode on affect background work?
In conclusion, the balance between autonomy and instant messaging is always a trade-off: By allowing apps to run in the background, you allow them to consume power, but you get real-time information, and by setting setting your Settings right, you can find the middle ground that fits your use case.
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The key point is an integrated approach: you need to configure the application itself, and global battery settings, and eliminate conflicts with third-party software.