How to view background apps on Xiaomi: a full picture guide

Xiaomi smartphones (including the Redmi and POCO lines) are known for their multitasking, but sometimes background apps become a real problem: they drain the battery, slow down the system and can even overheat the device. If your phone is slowing down or quickly landing, the first thing to do is check which programs are running in hidden mode.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can view background processes, from standard MIUI tools to hidden features for power users, how to distinguish system services from third-party applications, which processes can be safely closed and which ones should not be touched, and we’ll also reveal some hidden tricks of MIUI 14/15 that are not written in the official instructions.

Why are background apps a problem?

Background processes are for convenience: messengers show notifications, music services continue to play with the screen locked, and navigators update the route.

• 🔋 Battery consumption: Even in standby mode, some apps consume up to 15-20% of their charge per day (e.g., Facebook or TikTok).
• 🐢 System Slowdown: If 30+ processes are running in the background, Xiaomi starts to “hang” when opening new programs.
• 📡 Data traffic: Many applications (e.g. Google Play Services) are constantly sharing data with servers.
• 🔥 Overheating: Active processes load the processor, resulting in the housing heating (especially noticeable on the Redmi Note and POCO F series).

According to research, MIUI 14/15 on average runs 25-40 background processes simultaneously, of which only 30% is really necessary for stable operation of the system, and the rest are "ballast" that can be turned off.

⚠️ Warning: Not all background processes can be closed manually, for example, com.android.phone is responsible for mobile communications, and stopping it will result in network loss.

Method 1: Standard Task Manager in MIUI

The easiest way to view active apps is to use the built-in task manager. It is available on all Xiaomi smartphones regardless of the model (suitable for Redmi 10/12/13, POCO X5/F5, Mi 11/12/13, etc.).

Instructions:

1. Open the settings (the gear icon on the main screen).
2. Go to the Appendix section → Application management.
3. At the top of the screen, select the “Runned” tab.
4. You will see a list of all active processes sorted by RAM consumption.

Here you can:

• 🛑 Stop the app – click on the name and select “Stop”.
• 🔄 Clearing the cache will help if the program is "glutching."
• ⚙️ Disable AutoRun – prevent the application from starting when the system starts.

Close unnecessary messengers (Viber, Telegram)

Disable auto-start for games and social networks

Clearing the cache of frequently used programs

Check the battery consumption in the section "Battery"-->

Note that MIUI 15 has a Deep Clean feature that not only closes applications, but also resets their background processes. To activate it, hold the Clean button in the task manager for 2 seconds.

Method 2: Section "Battery and performance"

If you’re interested in the battery experience, use the power section, which is especially useful for Redmi owners with small batteries (e.g. Redmi 10C 5000mAh).

How to open it:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and performance.
2. Select the item "Battery use".
3. Click on the consumption chart for the last 24 hours.
4. Scroll down to the “Consumption Details” block.

Here's the display:

• 📊 Percentage of consumption by each application.
• ⏱️ Activity time in the background.
• 🔋 Type of consumption (screen, processor, mobile data).

Social media (Facebook, VK)

Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram)

Games (PUBG, Genshin Impact)

System Services (Google Play)

Other-->

If you see an app consumes >10% of its charge but you are not using it, turn off its background activity:

1. Click on the program name in the list.
2. Select “Battery Consumption Management”.
3. Set the limit "Background activity" → "Limit".

Method 3: Hidden Developer Menu (for experienced)

For those who want to get the most detailed information about the processes, MIUI has a hidden menu called "Developers" that allows you to see all system services, including those that are not displayed in the standard manager.

How to activate:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Press 7 times in a row on the item "Version" MIUI» (A notification will appear saying, “You have become a developer»).
3. Go back to the main settings menu and find the new “Developers” section.

Next:

1. Scroll down to the debugging block.
2. Activate the option “Do not turn off background processes” (this will temporarily disable MIUI optimization).
3. Go back and select Services or Processes (depending on the firmware version).

Here you'll see:

• 🔍 A complete list of all processes (including system processes)
• 📊 RAM consumption by each service.
• 🔄 The ability to forcefully stop any process (even system-based).

⚠️ Warning: Stopping system processes (e.g., android.process.media or com.miui.home) can cause an interface to crash or reboot your phone. Use this feature only if you know exactly what you're doing.

Method 4: Third-party monitoring applications

If you don't have enough built-in MIUI tools, you can use third-party tools that give you more insight and control.

Top.-3 apps:

• 📊 Greenify -- it puts down unnecessary applications, preventing them from running in the background. It works without root rights.
• 🔍 AccuBattery – shows detailed battery consumption statistics for each process.
• 🛠️ SD Maid clears the cache and stops the "hang" services.

How to use Greenify:

1. Download the app from Google Play.
2. Start and grant the "Special Access" rights (required for work).
3. Click “+” and select the apps you want to “sleep down.”
4. Activate the Automatic Hibernation function.

AccuBattery is useful because it shows:

• 📉 Timetable for discharge by hour.
• 🔋 Battery health assessment (capacity in % of original)
• ⚡ Real-time charging/discharge speed.

⚠️ Warning: Some cleaning applications (e.g. Clean Master) can impair performance by aggressively shutting down system processes. Use only proven utilities from the list above.

Method 5: ADB-Teams for Advanced Users

If you’re ready to dive into the technical details, ADB (Android Debug Bridge) allows you to manage background processes at the system level, a method that is suitable for Xiaomi on any firmware, including MIUI Global, MIUI China and custom (for example, LineageOS).

What you'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Initiated debugging mode USB phone-on.
• 🔌 Cable USB Type-C (preferably original).

The main teams for working with processes:

adb shell ps -A | grep -i "name package" # Show all processes


adb shell am force-stop com.example.app # Forced to stop the app




adb shell dumpsys meminfo # View memory usage




adb shell top -m 10 # Top-10 loading processes on CPU

Example: To close Facebook and all of its services, do:

adb shell am force-stop com.facebook.katana


adb shell am force-stop com.facebook.appmanager




adb shell am force-stop com.facebook.services

For convenience, you can create a.bat file with frequently used commands, such as:

@echo off


adb shell am force-stop com.miui.weather2 # Stop the weather




adb shell am force-stop com.android.chrome # Stop Chrome




pause

💡

If the phone starts to brake after running the ADB- command, restart it. Some system processes are automatically restored after the reboot.

How to distinguish “useful” from “harmful” processes?

Not all background apps should be closed, but here's how to determine which processes are critical and which ones can be disabled:

General rule: if the name of the package begins with:

• com.android. – System process (do not touch!).
• com.google. – Google service (disable carefully).
• com.miui. — Xiaomi’s proprietary service (you can disable selective).
• The other is a third-party app (usually it is safe to close).

💡

If you are in doubt about whether you can close a process, check it with Google for “what is [packet name]” and “what is com.android.vending” will return information about the Google Play Market.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When working with background processes, users often make mistakes that lead to unstable phone operation or even data loss.

• 🚫 Closing all processes in a row → results in a reboot MIUI.
• 🚫 Turning off battery optimization for all applications → speeds up discharge.
• 🚫 Using Google Play boosters → many of them contain malicious code.
• 🚫 Removing the system APK via root → can make the phone a brick.

How to avoid problems:

1. Backup before mass closure of processes (e.g., through Settings → System → Backup).
2. Close processes selectively – start with the most “gluttonous” (see the section “Battery”).
3. Don’t turn off MIUI optimization – it’s needed for stable operation.
4. Use only proven utilities (see the list in Method 4).

If after your actions, the phone began to brake, overheat or discharge quickly, reset settings through Settings → System → Reset settings → Reset all settings (application data will be saved).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions