How to Close Apps in the Background on Xiaomi: A Complete Guide to MIUI 12, 13 and 14

Have you noticed that your Xiaomi smartphone has become slower, discharged faster or overheated? One of the common reasons is background applications that continue to consume resources even after you fold. Unlike iOS or pure Android, MIUI firmware has its own process control features. In this article, we will discuss how to properly close applications in the background on Xiaomi, so as not to harm the system and at the same time free up RAM.

Many users mistakenly believe that closing all background applications through the cross in the multitasking menu will speed up the phone. In fact, MIUI aggressively caches frequently used programs, and their forced termination can, on the contrary, increase battery consumption, the system will have to reload data the next time it starts, we will tell you when to close applications and when to trust automatic optimization.

The article is relevant for all modern smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO base MIUI 12, 13 and 14, including Xiaomi models 13/13 Pro, Redmi Note 12, POCO F5 And others. The instructions are tested on Android firmware. 11–14.

Why background apps don’t always have to be closed

MIUI uses an adaptive memory management mechanism that determines which processes can be suspended and which can be left active.

• 🔄 Data caching: Applications in the background store temporary files (such as downloaded pages in the browser or chats in messengers) so that they start instantly the next time they open.
• ⚡ Energy Efficiency: Restarting an app from scratch wastes more battery than keeping it in sleep mode. MIUI Minimizes background processes, but does not remove them completely.
• 📱 Multitasking: Some applications (such as music players or navigators) must be in the background and shut down will interrupt playback or route.

However, there are situations where background processes need to be closed manually:

• 🐢 The phone is noticeably slowed when switching between tasks (delays more than 1-2 seconds).
• 🔥 Overheating of the body for no apparent reason (for example, during downtime).
• 📉 Abnormal battery consumption (more than 10% per hour in standby mode).
• 🚫 The app is frozen and does not respond to pressing.

⚠️ Warning: Do not close system processes like com.miui.home or android.systemui – this can lead to a crash of the interface and reboot the phone. MIUI Automatically restores critical services, but the process takes up to 30 seconds.

Method 1: Standard Closing through the Multitasking Menu

The easiest method is to use the built-in menu of recently opened apps, which works on all versions of MIUI, but has limitations:

1. Open the multitasking menu: On touch-button models (like the Redmi Note 10) swipe up from the bottom edge and hold your finger for 0.5 seconds. On models with gesture navigation buttons (like the Xiaomi 13), swipe up from the bottom edge and hold it in the middle of the screen.

Find the application you want to close and:

• Swipe his card up (on MIUI 12-13).
• Click on the cross in the upper right corner of the card (on MIUI 14).
• To close all applications, click Clear Everything (usually located at the bottom of the screen).

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ Does not close system processes (e.g. Mi Share or Security).
• ❌ Some apps (such as Facebook or TikTok) can automatically restart after 5-10 minutes.
• ❌ Nana MIUI 14 Button Clean Everything Is Sometimes Hidden – To See It, Swipe Down the Multitasking Screen.

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Method 2: Forced stop through application settings

If an application is stuck or consumes too much resources, it can be completely stopped through the settings menu, which is guaranteed to close all associated processes, but can reset unsaved data (for example, drafts in messengers).

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app from the list (or use the search at the top).
3. Press Forced Stop (button at the bottom of the screen).
4. Confirm the action in the pop-up window.

Important nuances:

• 🔄 After a forced stop, the app won’t send notifications until you manually open it.
• 📌 Some system applications (such as Settings or Phone) cannot be stopped – the button will be inactive.
• ⚠️ If the app restarts immediately after stopping, it may indicate a virus or conflict with other programs).

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Method 3: Optimization with Security App

MIUI firmware includes a built-in Security tool that not only closes applications, but also optimizes battery and memory consumption, a method that is useful if the phone is slowing down due to a large number of background processes.

1. Open the Security app (the shield icon on the home screen or in the app menu).
2. Go to the Optimization tab (or Acceleration on some versions of MIUI).
3. Click Clean – the system will scan the background processes and prompt you to close the unnecessary ones.
4. Choose Clear Memory or Deep Clean (the second option closes more processes, but can slow down the next application launch).

What cleans this tool:

• 🧹 Application cache – temporary files that take up space but are not critical to work.
• 🚪 Background processes are applications that are not in use right now but consume memory.
• 📱 Residual files – data from remote programs (for example, cache) APK-files after updating).

⚠️ Attention: Deep cleaning function on MIUI 14 can reset some application settings (e.g., language in the game or theme in the messenger). Use it only when noticeable lag'acs.

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If the phone still brakes after cleaning, try restarting it. On Xiaomi, a long uptime (more than 3-4 days without restarting) can lead to memory leaks in MIUI.

Method 4: Using ADB to close system processes (for advanced ones)

If standard methods don’t work and the background application (e.g. com.miui.analytics) is constantly restarting and draining the battery, it can be turned off via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which is only suitable for power users, as the wrong commands can disrupt the system.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Press 7 times, then return to Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 USB-Type C Cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to the computer and confirm the debugging permission on the smartphone screen.
2. Open the command prompt (cmd on Windows or Terminal on macOS/Linux) and type: adb devices Make sure your phone appears in the list of devices.
3. To close a particular application, use the command: adb shell am force-stop com.example.app Replace com.example.app with a real application package (e.g. com.facebook.katana for Facebook).
4. To disable the auto-launch of the application (so that it does not start itself), run: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.example.app

List of popular Xiaomi application packages:

• 📊 com.miui.analytics – statistics collection (you can disable it).
• 🔄 com.miui.cleanmaster – Optimizer (sometimes conflicts with other utilities).
• 📡 com.xiaomi.midrop - Mi Drop (unless you use file transfer).
• 🎵 com.miui.player is a standard music player.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling system packages like com.android.phone or com.miui.home will cause your phone to fail. Before experimenting, back up through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

Method 5: Automatically close through Performance Mode

MIUI 13 and MIUI 14 include a hidden “Performance Mode” that limits the background activity of applications to increase performance, which is useful for games or resource-intensive tasks, but can worsen the performance of messengers and notifications.

How to turn on:

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance.
2. Select Performance Mode (on some models, the item is called Performance or Game Mode).
3. Activate the switch and select one of the values: Balanced – moderate limitation of background processes. High performance – aggressive closure of unnecessary tasks (can reduce battery life).

What changes after activation:

• ⚡ Applications in the background are suspended after 5-10 minutes without activity (instead of the standard 30 minutes).
• 🎮 Priority is given to an active application (e.g., a game) that reduces the lags.
• 📵 Some notifications (e.g. from VK Instagram or Instagram may be delayed.

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Performance mode automatically shuts down after 4 hours or after restarting the phone. To keep it running, activate it through Settings → Special Options → Developer Mode → Do not turn off Performance mode (you need to unlock additional settings).

How to Check Which Apps Consume the Most Resources

Before you close apps at random, it's worth figuring out which ones are really loading the system. MIUI has built-in monitoring tools:

Method 1: Through the Battery

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Use.
2. Click on More (or the chart icon in the upper right corner).
3. Look at the list of applications, sorted by charge consumption, and those that consume more than 5 to 10 percent in the background should be closed or restricted.

Method 2: Through Memory

1. Open Settings → Applications → Memory.
2. Here you will see a diagram of RAM usage. Click on More to see a list of processes.
3. Applications that are more than 200-300MB in the background can be closed (unless they are critical).

Method 3: Developer Options (for advanced)

1. Activate Developer Mode (click 7 times on the MIUI version in your phone settings).

Frequent errors when closing background applications

Many Xiaomi users make mistakes that not only don’t improve performance, but also make the phone worse, and here are the most common ones:

• 📵 Disable autorun for instant messengers (such as Telegram or Viber) You will stop receiving notifications of new messages.

⚠️ Warning: If the phone is even slower after the background apps are closed, it's a sign that the problem isn't multitasking, but rather full memory or outdated firmware. → Storage and upgrade MIUI last-minute.

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If you really need to free up memory, instead of closing apps, try restarting your phone.This clears the system cache and resets all background processes without risking stability.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions