How to completely disable applications in the background on Xiaomi: 5 proven ways

Why the Background Apps Are Eating Up Your Xiaomi Resources

Have you noticed that even after the app is closed, it still works in the background? It's no coincidence that this is how MIUI works on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones. Background processes are necessary for instant notifications, data synchronization and quick switching between tasks. But when there are too many of these processes, the phone starts to slow down and the battery goes down in a few hours.

Research shows that up to 30 percent of your battery can go to the background of apps you don’t even use, especially social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram), and games. Even standard Google and Mi Services can consume resources in a discreet way. In this article, we’ll look at how to completely disable unnecessary apps in the background on any Xiaomi smartphone, from the budget Redmi Note to the flagship Xiaomi 14.

It's important to understand that simply swiping an app from a list of recently opened apps doesn't take it out of the background. MIUI automatically restores many processes in a few minutes. To really ban background work, you need to use special settings or third-party tools. Next, detailed instructions for different versions of the firmware.

Method 1: Limit background activity through MIUI settings

The easiest and safest method is to use the built-in MIUI tools. It is suitable for all modern Xiaomi smartphones (starting with MIUI 12) and does not require superuser rights.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app you want to restrict (like Facebook or AliExpress).
3. Slip on Battery Consumption.
4. In the Background Activity section, select Limit.
5. Confirm the action by pressing OK.

After that, the app won’t be able to run in the background, but you’ll still receive notifications (unless you’ve disabled them separately), which works for most user applications but doesn’t affect system services.

The selected application is system (cannot be limited)

You have an old version of MIUI (update the firmware)

The application has administrator rights (disable them in security settings)

The smartphone is in power saving mode (turn it off)

-->

Note that some apps (such as Google Play Services or Mi Cloud) do not have the option to limit background activity, because of their critical importance to the system, and attempts to forcefully stop such services can lead to unstable phone operation.

⚠️ Attention: Restricting background activity for messengers (WhatsApp, Viber) will delay receiving messages. If instant notifications are important to you, use this method only for non-critical applications.

Method 2: Forced stop through the application menu

If you need to shut down the app immediately, rather than just limit its background, use the Force Stop feature, which is temporary – the system can restart the app the next time you turn on the phone or after you restart.

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app you want (like YouTube or Wildberries).
3. Press the Force Stop button (usually located at the bottom of the screen).
4. Confirm the action in the window that appears.

This method is useful when the application has frozen or started to consume too much resources. However, it does not prevent automatic restart on the next use. To permanently solve the problem, combine this method with a restriction of background activity (Method 1).

Social networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)

Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber)

Games (PUBG, Genshin Impact, Free Fire)

Google Services (Play Market, Maps, Chrome)

MIUI System Applications (Mi Cloud, Theme, Security)

Others (write in the comments)

-->

On some models (POCO F5, Xiaomi 13T) after a forced stop, a notification appears: "The app <name> is stopped." This is normal - the system just informs you of the action. If the notification is annoying, you can turn it off in the settings of the particular application.

Method 3: Use of energy saving mode

MIUI offers several power saving modes that automatically limit the background activity of applications, a method that is suitable if you want to extend battery life, but are not ready to manually adjust each application.

How to turn on:

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance.
2. Select Power Saving Mode.
3. Activate one of the options: 🔋 Balanced – moderate background restriction (recommended for most users). 🔋🔋 Extreme – a strict restriction, disables background activity of almost all applications (no notifications may come). 🔋🔋🔋 Super energy saving – only basic functions (calls) are operational, SMS).

In Extreme Background Activity is limited to all applications except those you add to the exceptions.

1. In the same section, click Power Saving Mode Settings.
2. Select Applications without restrictions.
3. Add the desired apps (such as Telegram or Gmail).

⚠️ Warning: Super Power Saving mode shuts down mobile data for most applications, which can interfere with the navigation (Google Maps, Yandex.Maps) or streaming services (YouTube Music, Spotify).

Method 4: Disabling Auto-Run Applications

Many apps on Xiaomi automatically start when you turn on your phone or after you restart. This is one of the main reasons why they reappear in the background. To prevent auto-start, follow the following steps:

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select AutoRun.
3. In the list, disable autorun for unnecessary applications (for example, AliExpress, Tape.ru, games).
4. System applications (e.g. Mi Video or Mi Browser) may need to unlock additional settings (see Method 5).

Once you turn off auto-run, apps won’t start on their own, but you can open them manually, which greatly reduces the amount of background processes, especially after you reboot the device.

On some firmware (MIUI 14+), the list of auto-run applications may be hidden. To see it, first enable Show System Processes in the developer settings.

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click 7 times on the MIUI version to activate the developer mode.
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
4. Enable the option to Show System Processes.

Step-by-step:

1. Enable Developer Mode (as in Method 4) and activate Debugging over USB.
2. Connect your phone to your computer and confirm your trust in the device.
3. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type: Adb devices Make sure your phone appears in the list.
4. To disable background activity for a particular app (e.g. Facebook), use the command: adb shell cmd appops set com.facebook.katana RUN_IN_BACKGROUND Replace com.facebook.katana with the application ID (you can find out through the App Inspector application from the Play Store).

To remove the restriction, use:

adb shell cmd appops set com.facebook.katana RUN_IN_BACKGROUND allow

💡

Back up your data before working with ADB. An error command can cause a system to crash. If you are not sure about your actions, use standard methods (Methods 1-4).

This method allows you to completely block background work even for system applications, but requires caution. Wrong commands can disrupt the stability of MIUI.

Additional tips for optimizing the background

In addition to disabling background applications, other methods can be used to improve performance and save charge:

• 🔄 Clean the cache regularly: Go to Settings → Warehouse → Clean up and delete unnecessary files, which will reduce the system load.
• 📵 Turn off unnecessary notifications: Go to Settings → Notifications and disallow notifications for underutilized applications.
• 🔋 Set up battery optimization: In Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization Select Applications That Need to Limit Background Activity.
• 🛡️ Use lighter versions of apps: Facebook Lite, Messenger Lite, or Twitter Lite consume fewer resources, for example.

If your Xiaomi is severely slowing down even after disabling background apps, try resetting to factory settings. Before that, be sure to back up your data through Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset.

💡

The most voracious background apps on Xiaomi by users (2026): 1 Facebook, 2) Instagram, 3) TikTok, 4) AliExpress, 5 Wildberries. Their shutdown gives the maximum increase in autonomy.

FAQ: Frequent questions about disabling background apps