How to disable background apps on Xiaomi: all methods + optimization tips

Background apps on Xiaomi smartphones are one of the main reasons for fast battery drain and slowdown. Even when you don’t use the program, it can continue to consume resources: update data, send notifications or synchronize with servers. In the MIUI shell (especially in versions 12-14), the manufacturer actively uses aggressive optimization, but sometimes it works against the user – closing down the necessary processes or, conversely, leaving unnecessary ones in an active state.

In this article, we will look at all the ways to disable background applications on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices, from standard MIUI settings to hidden features for power users, learn how to completely block programs in the background, which applications can be disabled without risk to the system, and how to return normal messengers (for example, WhatsApp or Telegram) if they stop receiving notifications after optimization.

Important: the methods vary depending on the firmware version and smartphone model. We will specify features for popular devices, from the Redmi Note 10 Pro to the flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra. If your model is not mentioned, check the version of MIUI in Settings → About phone and choose the instructions by analogy.

Why background apps are damaging Xiaomi smartphone

Background activity of programs affects three key aspects of the device:

• 🔋 Battery consumption – even sleeper apps can consume up to 10-15% of their charge per day (e.g. Facebook or TikTok are known for high background consumption).
• 🐢 Performance – each active process takes up a portion of RAM (RAM), Which leads to slowing down when multitasking.
• 📡 Mobile network traffic – background synchronization (e.g. Google Photos or Mail.ru) can eat up to 500MB per month.

MIUI has an integrated optimization system (Security → Battery → App battery saver), but it often works incorrectly:

• 🚫 Closes messengers (Viber, Telegram), which does not come notifications.
• 🔄 Does not block system processes (e.g. com.miui.analytics) that collect data for Xiaomi.
• ⚡ Does not take into account the individual settings of the user after the update MIUI drop off all exceptions.

According to XDA Developers’ tests, after manually shutting down background processes, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+’s battery life increased by 22% and app opening speed increased by 14%, but it’s important to do it right — or you risk losing important notifications or disrupting the system.

Method 1: Disconnect the background through "Battery and performance"

The safest and most recommended method by Xiaomi is the use of built-in optimization tools, which is suitable for most models on MIUI 12-14 (including POCO F4, Xiaomi 12T, etc.).

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance.
2. Select Battery Savings (or App Battery Saver in Global Firmware).
3. Click on the Select Apps (or Choose Apps).
4. In the list, find the desired application and select a mode for it: 🔒 No restrictions – background work is allowed (suitable for messengers). ⚡ Limit background activity – the app will close when the screen is locked. ❌ Deep Optimization – Complete background shutdown (risk of notification loss).

For system applications (e.g. com.android.systemui), this method does not work – they can only be disabled through ADB or root rights.

Method 2: Manually close through "Recent Applications"

If you need to release RAM immediately, you can manually close all background processes, which is a temporary method - after rebooting or blocking the screen, applications will start again.

How to do this:

1. Click on the recent apps button (swipe up late or the "square" button on the navigation bar).
2. Check out the list of open source programs.
3. To close one application, swipe it left/right.
4. To close all, click on the Close All (or Clear All) icon.

Some models (such as the Xiaomi 13 Pro) have a hidden memory cleanup feature:

1. Hold the button Recent applications 2-3 seconds.
2. A menu will appear with the option to Clear Memory (Deep Clean).
3. Confirm the action – the system will close all processes, including system.

💡

If the phone is slower after cleaning up the memory, reboot it. MIUI sometimes misallocates resources after forced closure of processes.

Method 3: Disabling Auto-Run Applications

Many programs (especially Chinese ones like AliExpress, Shein, CapCut) are automatically triggered when you turn on your phone or connect to the Internet, which increases the load on the processor and battery, and MIUI has a hidden menu to control autostart.

Step-by-step:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Auto Start (or Auto-start).
3. In the list, disable auto-run for unnecessary programs. System applications (such as Google Play Services) are not recommended to be touched.

On some firmware (e.g., the POCO X3 Pro with MIUI 13), the AutoRun point may be hidden to unlock it:

1. Enter the autostart request in the search for settings.
2. If nothing is found, use it. ADB-Command: adb shell pm grant com.miui.securitycenter android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

Important: After disabling autorun, some applications (such as Mi Fit or Zepp) will stop syncing data with Xiaomi smartwatches.

Method 4: Using ADB for deep shutdown (for experienced)

If standard methods don’t work, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to completely block background activity even for system applications, but requires a connection to a computer.

What you need:

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

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
2. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (Mac/Linux) in the adb folder.
3. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of your device.
4. To turn off background activity for a particular app (e.g. Facebook), use: adb shell cmd appops set com.facebook.app RUN_ANY_IN_BACKGROUND deny
5. To disable autorun: adb shell cmd appops set com.facebook.app BOOT_COMPLETED deny

List of popular packs to disable:

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB Do not disable the system processes called com.android., com.miui. or com.qualcomm.* - this can cause bootloop (locking on the boot).

Method 5: Disconnecting through Developer Mode

MIUI has hidden developer settings that allow you to limit background processes globally, and this method is useful if you want to reduce the system load, but are not ready to deal with ADB.

How to turn on the developer mode:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Press 7 times in a row on the MIUI version.
3. The message will be “You are a developer!”

Now open Settings → More → For developers and find the following options:

• 🔄 Limit background processes – set the process Maximum 2 value (saves battery, but can close messengers).
• 🚫 Do not save actions – disables the activity cache, but may cause errors in some applications.
• 📵 Disable data transmission in the background – blocks synchronization, except Wi-Fi.

On Xiaomi models 12S Ultra and newer in the developer menu has an option MIUI Optimization (translated as “Optimization”) MIUI"). Disabling it allows you to manually control background processes without system limitations, but can lead to:

• ⚠️ Loss of notifications from system applications (e.g. Mi Cloud).
• 🔋 Increased battery consumption due to improper resource allocation.
• 🔄 Failures in the work of gestures and animations MIUI.

💡

Disabling MIUI Optimization gives you more control over the background, but requires manual adjustment of each application, and only use this method if you are ready to experiment.

Method 6: Remove unnecessary system applications (requires root)

Some pre-installed programs (Mi Browser, Mi Music, Mi Pay) can't be disabled in the standard way, they keep running in the background and collecting data. The only radical method is root-right removal.

What can be removed without risk to the system (list for MIUI 14):

Use Root Explorer or the ADB command to remove:

adb shell


su




pm uninstall -k --user 0 [name packet]

⚠️ Warning: Removing system applications may disrupt the work MIUI. Before that:

1. Make a backup through Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset.
2. Make sure that the phone has TWRP Recovery installed for recovery.
3. Do not delete packages with the names com.miui.home, com.android.settings or com.qualcomm.* – this will cause the phone to fail.

What to do if notifications stop coming after disconnection

One of the most common side effects of optimization is missing notifications from messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber), which happens because MIUI shuts down their background processes.

Step 1: Set up exceptions in the Battery:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Savings.
2. Find the messenger in the list and set a mode for it without restrictions.

Step 2: Autostart Authorization:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management → Autorun.
2. Turn on auto-start for the messenger.

Step 3: Set up notifications in the app itself:

• 📱 WhatsApp: ⚙️ Settings → Notifications → Allow notices.
• 📊 Telegram: ⚙️ Settings → Notifications and sounds → Insert notifications.
• 💬 In Viber: More → Settings → Notifications → Showing notifications.

Step 4: Checking Permits:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → [Messaging Name] → Permissions.
2. Make sure it's on: 🔔 Notifications 📶 Auto-start 🔄 Working in the background

If the notifications don’t come, try:

• 🔄 Reinstall messenger.
• 📵 Temporarily disable the energy saving mode.
• 🛠️ Clear the application cache (Settings) → Annexes → [messenger] → Clear the cache).

FAQ: Frequent questions about background apps on Xiaomi