Why Background Apps Are Slowing Down Your Xiaomi and How to Fix It
Have you noticed that even after the application is closed, it continues to hang in the background, consuming battery power and RAM? This is a typical problem of devices on MIUI, Xiaomi's proprietary shell, which actively caches processes for "quick start." But when there are too many of these processes, the smartphone begins to slow down, warm up and discharge in a few hours.
In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to disable background applications on Xiaomi (including Redmi, POCO and Black Shark models) without breaking the system. You will learn how to completely stop unnecessary services, limit their activity or set up auto-cleaning memory. All methods are tested on MIUI 12-15 and are relevant for devices released in 2020-2026.
Important: Some of the ways require developer rights or root access, and if you're a beginner, start with basic settings, and they'll work without risking the system.
Method 1: Manual stop using “Settings” (without root)
The easiest method is to force the app to stop in the settings menu, which won't delete it, but will stop background activity until the next start, suitable for a one-time cleanup if the Suddenly phone starts to brake.
Instructions:
- 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
- 🔍 Find the app you want (like Facebook, TikTok, or Mi Video) and tap it.
- ⚙️ Select Forced Stop (button at the bottom of the screen).
- 🔄 Confirm the action in the pop-up window.
Open “Recent Apps” and swipe up for full cleaning | Check battery consumption in Settings → Battery |Reboot phone to reset cache |Repeat procedure for other “glutty” apps
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⚠️ Note: Some system applications (e.g., com.miui.securitycenter or com.android.phone) cannot be stopped, causing a phone malfunction.
Method 2: Limit background activity in battery settings
MIUI allows you to adjust the power consumption of each application flexibly, and if you don't want to stop the program completely, but you want to limit it to the background, use this method.
How to set up:
- Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Consumption Management.
- Select an app from the list (or find it through search).
- Slip it and set a Limited or Strictly Limited mode.
- Activate the option to Disable Background Activity (if available).
| Energy consumption mode | What's limiting | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| No restrictions. | Nothing. | Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram), navigators |
| Limited. | Background synchronization, push notifications | Social media, games, rarely used apps |
| Strictly limited | All activity in the background, auto-start | Advertising services, system “junk” processes |
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If, after the restriction, the app stopped sending notifications (such as VK or Instagram), return it to No Limits mode and instead manually turn off background activity through Settings → Apps → [App Name] → Battery → Background Activity Management.
Method 3: Disable AutoRun (for power users)
Many apps automatically start when you turn on your phone or connect to the Internet — even if you haven't opened them. This is one of the main reasons for Xiaomi's increased battery consumption. You can turn off auto-run without root, but you will need access to hidden settings.
Step-by-step:
- 🔧 Enable Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About the phone and 7 times tap on the version MIUI.
- 🔒 Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers and activate Allow system settings to change.
- 📵 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management → [Select the application] → Auto-start.
- ❌ Turn off the slider Allow auto-start.
What apps can be safely disabled from auto-start?
After disabling autorun for 10+ apps, restart your phone – this will apply changes and clear the cache of system processes.
Method 4: Using ADB for deep cleaning (advanced)
If previous methods did not help, and the phone is still slowing down, you can resort to the use of the device. ADB-This is a way to completely block background activity for selected applications, including system applications. USB-cable.
Instructions:
- Download ADB Tools and unpack the archive.
- Connect Xiaomi to your PC, enable USB debugging in the developer settings.
- Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux) in the folder with ADB.
- Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices should appear the name of your device.
- Ban background activity for an app (e.g. Facebook): adb shell cmd appops set com.facebook.android RESTRICTED
List of popular packages for blocking:
- 📱 Facebook: com.facebook.katana (main) + com.facebook.appmanager (services)
- 🎵 Spotify: com.spotify.music
- 📺 YouTube: com.google.android.youtube
- 🔄 Mi Video: com.miui.video
⚠️ Note: Do not block system processes like com.android.systemui or com.miui.home, this will lead to the collapse of the interface and the need to reset settings.
Manual stop through settings|Restriction on the battery menu|Shutting down autostart|ADB-team|Another option
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Method 5: Applications for automatic cleaning (alternative)
If you're too lazy to manually configure each app, you can use third-party utilities that automatically close the background processes on schedule or when you lock the screen.
| Annex | Functions | Need root? |
|---|---|---|
| Greenify | Hybernation of unnecessary applications, working in the background without root | No (but with root more efficient) |
| Brevent | Auto-start blocking, deep optimization | Yes (or ADB) |
| Servicely | Disabling system services (e.g. Google Play Services) | Yes. |
How to set up Greenify:
- Install the app from Google Play.
- Provide access to special features (in Android settings).
- Add apps to the hibernation list (e.g. Facebook, Instagram).
- Activate the option Automatic hibernation when locking the screen.
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Utilities like Greenify are more efficient than system optimizers MIUI, But may conflict with some services (e.g. Mi Cloud or Google Pay) Check compatibility on forums (e.g., forums) before using it, 4PDA or XDA-Developers).
What happens if you turn off all the background processes?
Many users are wondering if it is possible to completely turn off background activity on Xiaomi? Theoretically, yes, but in practice, this will lead to a number of problems:
- ❌ No notifications will come from messengers, emails or social networks.
- ❌ Sync will stop (for example, Google Photos will stop uploading photos).
- ❌ Some features will stop working (e.g. Ok Google or Mi Fit will not track activity).
- ❌ The launch time of applications will increase, as they will not be cached.
Optimal balance:
- 🔹 Leave without restrictions messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) and navigators (Google Maps, Yandex.Maps).
- 🔹 Limit social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok).
- 🔹 Completely disable rarely used applications (games, photo editors).
- 🔹 Once a week, carry out manual cleaning through the settings. → Memory. → Cleanup.
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If the phone is slower after the background is turned off, try adding frequently used apps to the list of Protected apps (in battery settings) that will allow them to stay in memory, but limit unnecessary activity.