How to Find and Disable Background Apps on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi smartphones (including the Redmi, POCO and Mi lines) are powered by a customized MIUI shell that uses background processes to speed up application launches and synchronize data. However, over time, these processes can slow down the device, drain the battery and even lead to overheating. Unlike clean Android, where background tasks are more transparent, in MIUI, some applications are hidden from the user, continuing to consume resources.

Complicating the problem is that the manufacturer restricts access to system tools: for example, new versions of MIUI 14+ removed the “All processes” section from the developer menu, and the standard task manager shows only a part of active applications. This article will help to find all background processes – both user and system – and teach them to safely manage without risking the stability of the smartphone.

Why Background Apps Are Dangerous for Xiaomi

Background processes on Xiaomi fall into three categories: visible (displayed in Task Manager), hidden (working without notifications) and system (necessary for MIUI to function). The latter two groups often go unnoticed, but their impact on performance is critical:

• 🔋 Battery discharge: Apps like Facebook, TikTok or Mi Cloud can consume up to 15-20% Charges per day even in the background.
• 🐢 Slowing down the system: Simultaneous operation 30+ processes reduce the speed of opening new applications 30-40% (Geekbench test data on Redmi Note 12 Pro+).
• 🔥 Overheating: Constant processor activity (especially on budget models like the one on the other) POCO M5) heats up 45-50°C, which reduces the battery life.
• 📶 Background sync (e.g. Google Play Services or Mi Push) can eat up to 500MB per month.

Auto-run apps (such as instant messengers or games) that are activated when you turn on your phone or connect to Wi-Fi are particularly aggressive. MIUI has a built-in auto-run limiting mechanism, but it doesn’t work with all programs — some (such as Xiaomi Community or Mi Video) ignore these settings.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling system processes like com.miui.securitycenter or com.android.phone may result in loss of mobile network or inability to make calls. Before interfering with system applications, back up via Settings → The phone. → Backup.

Method 1: Standard MIUI Task Manager

The easiest method is to use a built-in Task Manager, which shows only a fraction of the background processes, but is suitable for quick cleaning:

1. Open recent apps by swiping up from the bottom edge of the screen and holding your finger.
2. Click on the “Close Everything” icon (cross or basket) – this will remove visible processes.
3. For a detailed view, tap on "Details" (or "Memory Information" in newer versions of MIUI).

In this section you will see:

• 📊 Use of RAM (division by annex).
• ⚡ Energy consumption (which programs drain the battery the most).
• 🔄 Auto-Run (list of applications that run automatically).

Method limitation: This does not display system services (e.g. MediaProvider or DownloadManager) or processes with administrator rights (e.g. Find My Device).

Method 2: Hidden Developer Settings

To access the full list of background processes, you need to activate the developer mode, which will allow you to see system applications and manually limit their activity:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 7 times on the item "Version" MIUI" (A notice will appear saying, “You have become a developer").
3. Go back to the main settings menu and open a new section for developers.
4. Find options: Do not save actions (limits background activity); Process limit (set "Maximum 2 process in the background"); USB debugging (required for method 4).

There's also a "Running services" section for developers, which shows all active tasks, including system ones, where you can manually stop unnecessary services, but beware: some of them are critical to MIUI.

Limit the background processes to 2-3|Disable window animation (accelerates work)|Insert “Do not retain action"|Disable automatic update of system applications-->

Method 3: Using ADB for deep cleaning

If standard methods do not help, you can resort to ADB-This will allow you to disable autoplay even for those applications that ignore settings. MIUI. This method requires a connection to a PC and works only when debugging is enabled. USB.

Instructions:

1. Download ADB Tools and unpack it on PC.
2. Connect Xiaomi to your computer and allow debugging (a request will appear on your phone).
3. Open the command line in the adb.exe folder and type: adb devices (you should display your device).
4. To view all background applications, please follow: adb shell dumpsys activity activities | grep "Running activities"
5. To disable auto-run of a particular application (e.g. Facebook): adb shell cmd appops set com.facebook.app AUTO_START ignore

List of popular packs to disable:

⚠️ Attention: Teams ADB Incorrect use can lead to loss of functionality (for example, push notifications or mobile data will stop working). Before making changes, check the name of the package through the command adb shell pm list packages. | grep".

💡

If the app stopped updating notifications (such as WhatsApp) after disabling autostart, add it to the exceptions in Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization.

Method 4: Third-party monitoring applications

If you want detailed background statistics, use specialized utilities that show hidden services, CPU/RAM consumption, and even offer automatic cleaning rules.

• 📈 Greenify (requires root or ADB): "Freezes "unnecessary applications" without removing them. MIUI 14.
• 🔍 Servicely: allows you to turn off system services on a schedule (for example, MiuiDaemon at night).
• 🛡️ Battery Guru: monitors battery discharge in real time and shows which processes are to blame.
• 🚀 Simple Task Killer: Easy app for quick background cleaning (no root).

Example of working with Greenify:

1. Install the application and grant special access rights in the MIUI settings.
2. Add problematic apps (like Instagram or Mi Browser) to the hibernation list.
3. Activate the option "Aggressive Hibernation" (requires) ADB-teams: adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

Important: After the MIUI update, some applications (such as Servicely) may stop working, in which case you need to reconfigure the rights through ADB.

Method 5: Manual shutdown via MIUI settings

MIUI has hidden options for managing background processes that don’t require ADB or root, hidden in different settings:

1. Autorun Limit: Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Autorun. Turn off Autorun for unnecessary programs (such as Mi Music or Mi Pay).
2. Battery Optimization: Open Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization. Select All Apps and set Restricted mode for them.
3. Notifications in the background: In Settings → Notifications → Notifications Management, turn off background alerts for underutilized applications.

Pay special attention to Xiaomi system applications:

• 📱 com.miui.analytics – collects data about phone usage (you can turn off).
• 📡 com.miui.daemon – responsible for push notifications (disabling will result in loss of alerts).
• 🎵 com.miui.player – Music player (Secure to disable).

💡

Even after manually shutting down some apps (like Google Play Services) will be restarted by the system. That's OK, they're essential to Android.

What to do if the background processes return

Many Xiaomi users are faced with the fact that after cleaning the background applications reappear after a while. MIUI. Decisions:

• 🔄 Regular Cleaning: Use MacroDroid to create an automatic background cleaning rule every 6 hours.
• 🛠️ Update rollback: Some system applications (such as Mi Security) start to work aggressively in the background after the update. → Annexes → Remove updates.
• 📵 Network Blocking: In Wi-Fi or mobile data settings, turn off background traffic for unnecessary apps.
• 🔧 Resetting: If the problem is critical, reset via Settings → Additionally. → Resetting settings (select "Resetting app settings").

For models POCO shelled POCO Launcher also has a Deep Clean option in the Power button retention menu, which removes cache and stops background processes more efficiently than a standard Task Manager.

FAQ: Frequent questions about background apps on Xiaomi