How to Stop an App on Xiaomi Redmi: From Forced Stopping to Background Optimization

Did you notice that your Xiaomi Redmi is slowing down, warming up or running out quickly? The reason is often the background apps that continue to work even after the folding. Unlike the iPhone, where the system itself manages resources, Android on Xiaomi smartphones requires manual control — especially if we are talking about models with 4-6 GB of RAM (Redmi Note 11, POCO X3 Pro, Redmi 9A).

But just swiping your finger up the screen of the “recent” isn’t always enough. Some apps (such as instant messengers, social networks, or gaming clients) can continue to consume up to 30% of CPUs and keep active network connections even when you “closed them.” In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven ways to stop an application on Xiaomi Redmi — from basic to advanced, including hidden MIUI settings and development commands.

Important: methods vary depending on the firmware version. If you have a MIUI 14/15 based on Android 13/14, some menu items may be called differently — we will specify alternative paths. Also note the exceptions: system applications (for example, com.miui.securitycenter) can not be stopped without root rights.

1. Standard closing through “Recent Appendices”

The most obvious, but not always effective, way, is that many users mistakenly believe that swiping up the app card in the recent menu completely shuts it down.

• 📱 Android saves the state of the application in the cache to quickly open it again (ActivityManager function).
• 🔄 Some applications (e.g, VK, Telegram, TikTok automatically restart in 5-10 minutes.
• 🔋 Closing “Recent” doesn’t stop background services (like syncing Google Play Services).

How to close correctly:

1. Press the square navigation button (or swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen and hold).
2. Find the card of the desired application.
3. Swipe it up to the end of the screen (don’t just move it aside!).
4. For MIUI 15: If the card bounces back, the application is protected by the system – use the methods below.

💡

On Redmi with a Menu button (like Redmi 8A), hold it for 2 seconds to open the extended “recent” menu with the “Close All” option.

2. Forced stop through application settings

If an application is frozen, unresponsive or consumes too many resources, it must be forcibly stopped.This is the only way to completely complete all processes, including background services.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app from the list (or use the search at the top).
3. Slip on "Forced Stop" (on the MIUI 14 may be called "Stop»).
4. Confirm the action in the pop-up window.

What happens when you are forced to stop:

• ⚡ All application processes, including notifications and synchronization, are terminated.
• 📥 Clears the RAM occupied by the application (but not the cache!).
• ⚠️ Some apps (like WhatsApp) may stop sending notifications until you open them again.

The application is system-based (e.g. com.android.phone)

You are in guest mode or child profile

The application has administrator rights of the device

Smartphone in energy saving mode (Ultra battery saver)

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On MIUI 15, for some applications (e.g. Google Play Store), the stop button can be hidden to see it:

1. Slip on the three dots in the upper right corner of the app page.
2. Select “Show system processes”.
3. Go back and the “Stop” button will appear.

3. Limit background activity in battery settings

If an app doesn’t have to stop completely, but it’s too active in the background (like Facebook or AliExpress), you can restrict its rights through the battery menu, which will reduce CPU and Internet consumption without completely shutting it down.

How to set up:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Consumption Management.
2. Select “App Selection” (on MIUI 14 – “Battery Optimization”).
3. Find the right app and tap it.
4. Select one of the modes: “No restrictions” – the application works in the background freely (by default for messengers); “Limit background activity” – suspends synchronization and notifications when blocking the screen. “Strict restrictions” – completely blocks background processes (suitable for games and rarely used programs).

Redmi with Android 14 has a new mode “Adaptive optimization”, which automatically limits the background processes depending on the battery power.

1. Go to Settings → Battery → Battery modes.
2. Choose "Adaptive."
3. Activate the “Optimize background processes” switch.

Swipe on the recent menu

Forced stop in settings

Restriction through the battery menu

Phone reboot

Another way.-->

4.Using the "Distractless" (DND) mode

A little-known way to suspend all background applications except system ones is to activate the “Do Not Disturb” mode with additional settings, which is useful if you want to save battery power or reduce the heat of the processor.

How to turn on:

1. Open Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Do not disturb mode.
2. Slip on “Advanced” (or “Mode Settings” on MIUI 15).
3. Activate the option “Stop background processes”.
4. Select the duration or turn on the mode manually.

What's going on in this mode:

⚠️ Attention: In mode DND If you stop background processes, you won't update your mail, messengers, or weather, and you may not get push notifications from your banking apps.

5. Advanced Methods: ADB and Developer Teams

If standard methods don’t help (e.g., an application is automatically restarted or blocked by the system), you can use developer tools, which requires connecting your smartphone to a PC or using Termux.

Method 1: Stopping through ADB

Connect Redmi to a computer with ADB drivers installed and do:

adb shell am force-stop com.package.name

Where com.package.name is the app identifier (e.g. com.facebook.katana for Facebook) you can find it through the command:

adb shell pm list packages | grep "appendix name"

Method 2: Disabling Autostart

Some apps (such as Mi Video or Mi Browser) are automatically triggered when you turn on your smartphone.

1. Turn on Developer Mode (7 times tap the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone).
2. Go to Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Find the option to “Limit Background Processes” and set a limit (e.g., “Maximum 2 Processes”).
4. In the same menu, turn off “App Auto Launch” for unnecessary programs.

How to do this:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the problem app.
3. Put it on the vault.
4. Click on “Clear Cache” (if it didn’t help – “Delete Data”).
5. If you have a button to “Remove Updates”, click it (relevant for pre-installed apps, such as Mi Music).

For system applications (e.g. Camera or Gallery), the Remove button may not be active.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Many Xiaomi Redmi users face typical problems when trying to stop apps.

• ❌ «App immediately restarts" - the fault of autostart or push notifications. Solution: disable autostart in Settings → Permits → Auto-start.
• ❌ «The "Forced Stop" button is not working - the application is protected by administrative rights. → Passwords and security → Device administrators.
• ❌ «After stopping, the app won't open" - possibly damaged data. Try clearing the cache or reinstall the app.
• ❌ «The smartphone began to brake after stopping the system application" - return it to its original state through Settings → Annexes → Show it all. → Restore.

Pay particular attention to applications with special access rights (such as VpnService or Accessibility), which may disrupt other programs to verify the rights:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Permissions.
2. Please see the sections “Special Access” and “Other Permits”.
3. Disable unnecessary rights for problematic applications.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions