How to Open Task Manager on Xiaomi Phone: The Complete Guide

Managing running apps is a basic skill for any smartphone owner, but the interface of the MIUI shells and the new HyperOS has its own unique features that can confuse a beginner. The standard approach, familiar with “pure” Android, is often complemented by proprietary memory optimization functions, which makes the process more efficient but less obvious at first glance. Understanding how to manage active processes can significantly extend the battery life of the device and speed up its response in critical situations.

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices often face aggressive policies against background applications, which can lead to unexpected connection breaks or stop downloads. That is why it is important not only to know where the closing button is located, but also to understand the difference between a standard swipe and deep control through engineering menus or special utilities. In this article, we will discuss all available methods, from simple gestures to hidden developer settings.

Modern smartphones have a huge amount of RAM, but even 12 or 16 GB of RAM can be fully loaded with heavy games or professional editors. Proper use of monitoring tools helps to identify “voracious” programs that are imperceptibly expending resources in the background. We will look at how to interpret data about the boot system and when it is really worth interfering with the work of processes, and when it is better to entrust it to automation.

Basic methods of opening through the system interface

The most common and quick way to get into the active app menu on Xiaomi smartphones is to use the system navigation gestures. If your phone is set up to control gestures (without screen buttons), you need to swipe your finger from the bottom edge of the screen up and hold your finger in the center for a split second, which will open up a review of running programs where you can quickly close unnecessary tabs or switch between them.

For users who prefer classic three-button navigation at the bottom of the screen, the algorithm is even simpler: click on the square button located to the right of the central home button, which instantly expands the list of all running applications, allowing them to swipe left or right. It is important to note that in new versions of the HyperOS shell, the animation of this process has become smoother, and the visual separation of windows is clearer.

There is also an alternative method that is often overlooked, although it is extremely useful when working with text or a browser: Double pressing the Menu button (square) or a special gesture with two fingers (if activated in the additional settings) can instantly fold the current application and show the desktop or the last window used.

⚠️ Note: Do not close all apps immediately after each use. Android system and shell MIUI Designed to keep frequently used programs in memory for quick start-up, continuous clean-up can, on the contrary, increase battery consumption, as the processor will waste energy on restarting applications.

Using the “Security” application for deep cleaning

Unlike many other vendors, Xiaomi has implemented a powerful system application called Security, which is not just an antivirus, but a full-fledged resource management center that allows you not only to close applications, but also to analyze their impact on battery and memory. To open the advanced task manager, find a green icon with a shield on your desktop and launch it.

Inside the app, go to Memory or click Clean up, and then the system will analyze and show you a list of the processes that take up the most resources. Here you will see detailed statistics: how many megabytes each application takes, how long it lasts in the background and how much it loads the processor. It is the perfect tool for finding hidden energy eaters that are not displayed in the usual list of running windows.

One of the key features of this section is the ability to customize exceptions. You can add important applications to a whitelist so that the system never forcibly closes them, even if memory is critically scarce. This is especially true for messengers, navigators or activity trackers that need to work constantly.

It is worth noting that the functionality of the application "Security" can vary depending on the region of the firmware (Global, China, EEA).In some versions, the interface may be slightly changed, but the logic of the work remains the same for all devices of the brand.

Navigation in Developer Mode and Debugging

For advanced users who don’t have enough standard tools, there is a developer mode. To activate it, you need to go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the MIUI build number seven times. Once the notification that you have become a developer appears, a new hidden section will appear in the settings menu.

You can find Running Services in the Developer menu, which is a real, technical task manager that shows system-level processes, including system services that are not visible in the normal interface, and shows real-time memory usage broken down by component and service.

Settings → Additional settings → For developers → Working Services

Closing system services can lead to unstable interfaces, loss of sound or network failures, but this tool is indispensable for diagnosing problems when the phone starts to brake for no apparent reason, and you need to understand what system process causes the load.

⚠️ Note: In Developer Mode, you are prohibited from forcing critical system processes, such as Systems, to stop. UI Trying to do this through third-party tools can result in a cyclical reboot of the device.

In the same section, you can also use the Do Not Stay feature, which allows you to test the behavior of applications when they are closed permanently, which is not needed by the average user, but application developers use it to check if the program is restored to a state after abrupt closure by the system.

Third-party solutions and launchers for task management

If the built-in tools don’t seem informative enough, Google Play offers a variety of alternatives, with apps like Greenify, Task Manager, or All-In-One Toolbox providing advanced management features, including automatic (hibernation) applications and detailed resource consumption charts.

However, when installing such programs on Xiaomi, it is important to consider an aggressive policy of energy saving the shell, so that the third-party task manager works correctly, he needs to give special permissions in the Autostart and Permissions menus in the phone settings, without which the system will close the cleaner itself, considering it as malicious activity.

Some users prefer to install alternative launchers, such as Nova Launcher or Microsoft Launcher, which have their own widgets and ways to call Task Manager.This allows you to customize the look of the multitasking menu, making it more like iOS or pure Android, if the standard MIUI design is not to your liking.

Comparison of MIUI and HyperOS management

With the release of the new HyperOS shell, which is gradually replacing MIUI in the global market, memory algorithms have undergone a change: the new system is based on deeper integration with the Linux kernel and better copes with memory fragmentation, making manual intervention less necessary but more effective when approached correctly.

HyperOS has changed the visualization of open windows: they are more compact, and the management of groups of applications (for example, all browser windows) has become more intuitive, and the mechanism of “freezing” long-defunct applications has improved, which has positively affected the autonomy of mid-segment devices.

Users switching from old models to new ones with HyperOS may take time to adjust to the new logic of operation, and the system now decides which applications to keep warm and which to put into sleep mode based on the patterns of behavior of the owner.

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Tip: If you notice that apps are crashing too often after upgrading to HyperOS, try resetting your memory optimization settings under Advanced Settings → Memory, which will bring back the balance between performance and multitasking.

Frequent problems and their solution

Often, users are faced with a situation where the task manager does not open or does not work correctly, most often due to overflowing cache of the system application "Security" or conflicting themes of design. If the swipe does not work, try to restart the device, this solves 90% of software glitches.

Another common problem is that applications stick in memory, and even after they're closed, they keep hanging in the background, and to solve this problem, you have to go to the settings of a particular application, find "Control Activity" and select "No Limits" to prevent the system from forcibly closing the program.

In rare cases, you may need to reset your interface settings, which will not delete your personal data (photos, contacts), but will return the location of the icons and navigation settings to the factory. → Advanced settings → Reserves and discharges → Resetting all settings.

⚠️ Warning: If your phone is constantly hanging when you try to open the menu of running apps, this may be a sign of a lack of free internal memory (ROM). At least release him. 2-3 GB of space by removing unnecessary videos or messenger cache.

Understanding the way Task Manager works on Xiaomi not only solves current performance issues, but also preemptively adjusts the device to work comfortably for years to come. Don’t be afraid to experiment with settings, but always remember to balance the balance between control and trust in the system’s automation.

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Key Conclusion: Xiaomi smartphones are better off relying on the built-in Security app and auto-start settings than third-party software-cliners that may conflict with the MIUI/HyperOS system.