Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the need to force background processes to stop, which can be caused by the freezing of a particular software, the need to free RAM or the desire to stop intrusive notifications. In the operating system Android with the shell MIUI or HyperOS, this process has its own characteristics, different from the standard behavior of “pure” Android.
Proper management of active programs allows not only to speed up the device, but also significantly extend the battery life, as many services continue to consume energy even in a folded state. Below we will discuss in detail all the available ways to stop applications, from basic methods to advanced developer settings.
Standard way to close through the menu of running tasks
The most obvious and frequently used method is to access the multitasking menu, which on Xiaomi smartphones is to swipe from the bottom up with a delay or press of a special navigation button, and here the user sees a list of all the open windows that can be removed by simply swiping.
However, if you want to close all applications at once, you will need to press a special button, usually located at the bottom of the screen or in the form of a cross, which will force the process that the system considers inactive, but some system services can be restarted.
It's important to understand that clearing the list completely isn't always helpful. MIUI is optimized to keep frequently used programs in memory to run them instantly. Constantly cleaning them to zero can lead to the opposite effect - more battery consumption when you restart heavy software.
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To quickly clean all the windows on most Xiaomi models, just click the “Clean” button (broomstick or cross icon) in the menu of running tasks.
It’s worth noting that the visual design of this menu may vary depending on the firmware version. In the new HyperOS updates, animations are smoother and swipe management is more responsive. If the standard swipe doesn’t work, check your navigation settings in Settings → Desktop.
Forced stop through system settings
When the application is stuck, does not respond to touch, or continues to work in the background, causing overheating, standard closing may not help, in which case you need to use the system tool "Forced Stop", this method breaks the process completely, ignoring the internal timers of the program.
To access this feature, you need to go to the settings menu, select the "Applications" item, and find the program you want in the list. Inside the app card, usually at the bottom of the screen or at the top menu, there will be a stop button, and clicking on it will cause a system warning.
Why does the system warn you of a stoppage?
Once confirmed, the program will be completely unloaded from RAM, and will only be re-launched at the explicit request of the user, an effective way to combat bugs when the software behaves incorrectly.
⚠️ Note: Do not use a forced stop for Google Play system services or system components MIUI, unless urgently needed, as it may disrupt notifications and synchronization.
This method is especially relevant for heavy games or navigators that can eat up CPU resources even after entering the menu, and forced shutdown ensures that the background services of such an application are completely deactivated until the next run.
Managing Auto Start and Background Activities
One of the main features of the MIUI shell is aggressive energy management, which can be manually configured, and many users don't know that an application can close visually but keep running thanks to the autostart mechanism.
To prevent programs from starting on their own, you need to go to the Security app (green lightning icon), select the Permissions section, and find the AutoRun item, and here is a complete list of programs that are allowed to run with the system.
By disabling the switchboard in front of an unnecessary app, you prevent it from being used in the background, but be careful: messengers and email clients require auto-run permission to receive messages in a timely manner. If you turn off this feature for Telegram or WhatsApp, notifications may come with a delay or only after opening the application.
Additionally, you can select the mode of operation for each application in the battery settings, and it is recommended to select the “No Limits” option only for programs that need to work constantly, such as activity trackers or smartwatches, for the rest, you should leave the standard mode or choose “Restriction of background activity”.
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Turning off auto-start for social media and gaming is the best way to reduce battery consumption in standby mode.
Cleaning cache and data to solve problems
Sometimes the problem is not the process itself, but the accumulated temporary files. Cache speeds up the loading of frequently used items, but over time can grow to giant sizes or become corrupted, causing errors.
To clear the cache of a particular application, go to Settings → Apps → All apps, select the desired program and click Memory. There you will see two buttons: Clear cache and Clear all data. The first deletes temporary files, the second resets the application to the post-installation state.
Using the cleanup function requires special care: you will lose logins, passwords, settings and progress in games if they are not stored in the cloud. Use this method only in extreme cases when the application is not working correctly even after reinstalling.
| Type of cleaning | What's removed | Impact on the account | Recommended frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearing the cache | Temporary files, thumbnails | Safe, entrance is maintained. | As necessary |
| Clearing the data | Settings, logins, database | Re-entry required | When there is a failure |
| Deletion of the annex | All files and programs are complete | Reinstallation required | If the application is not needed |
| Memory Clearance (RAM) | Active processes from RAM | It doesn't affect the data. | Daily or automatically |
Regularly cleaning the cache is especially useful for browsers and social networks like Instagram or TikTok, which tend to accumulate gigabytes of junk files.This frees up space in internal memory and can speed up the system.
Using Developer Mode to Control Processes
For advanced users, Android has a hidden Developer Menu that allows you to manage the limits of background processes at the system level, and to activate this menu, you need to click 7 times on the build number in the About Phone section.
In the menu that opens, look for the item "Limit of background processes." You can set a hard limit, such as "No more than 2 processes," which will force the system aggressively to close everything that is not in the foreground.
☑️ Check before changing the developer’s settings
This setup radically changes the behavior of a smartphone. Multitasking stops working in the usual way: when switching between applications, they will start again ("blink" the saver), which is useful for testing or on very old devices with low RAM, but for everyday use on high-power smartphones is not recommended.
⚠️ Attention: Changing the background process limit can lead to unstable system operation and data loss in unfinished tasks.
Also available on the developer menu is the Do Not Run Services feature, which allows you to select specific applications that the system is not allowed to keep in the background, which is more flexible than the global process limit, allowing you to pinpoint "kill" voracious software.
Third-party utilities for memory management
There are many customized apps in the Google Play store that promise to speed up the phone, popular examples include Clean Master, CCleaner, or built-in solutions from manufacturers, but their effectiveness on modern versions of Android is often questioned.
The current system is a great memory controller, and third-party task killers often create more problems than they solve: they constantly hang in the background, consuming resources, and forcefully shutting down processes that the system immediately rediscovers, creating a cycle of endless load on the processor.
However, there are lightweight utilities that just show statistics or have a widget for quick cleaning. If you do decide to use such software, choose time-tested tools with a minimum set of resolutions. Avoid programs that require access to contacts or location to “clean up memory.”
The built-in security tool from Xiaomi in most cases copes with the task better than third-party analogues, as it has deep access rights to the system and does not conflict with the MIUI shell.