How to view background applications on Xiaomi: hidden processes and their management

Xiaomi’s MIUI-based smartphones are known for their multitasking, but sometimes background processes cause a quick battery drain or slow down. Unlike pure Android, where background task management is standardized, MIUI offers unique tools — while hiding some of the processes from the user. This article will help you understand how to view all active applications, including system ones, and what to do if they consume too much resources.

It's important to understand that background applications fall into three categories: visible to the user (social networks, instant messengers), system (Google services, MIUI) and hidden (processes masquerading as system or manufacturer-optimized), the latter often go unnoticed, but can consume up to 15-20% of battery power per day in the background, and we will show how to detect them without root rights and third-party utilities.

Why Background Apps are Important to Monitor

Background activity isn't always evil, like WhatsApp or Telegram must run in the background to get you notified of new messages, but some programs abuse this right:

• 🔋 Battery consumption: Apps like Facebook or TikTok can consume up to 5% of the charge per hour even when rolled up.
• 🐢 System slowdown: Simultaneous operation 10+ background tasks lead to lags when opening new programs.
• 📡 Data traffic: Many apps (like Google Play Services) are updated in the background, consuming mobile internet.
• 🔒 Privacy: Some programs (especially Chinese ones) collect data about your activity even when you are not using them.

Xiaomi is getting more complicated due to the MIUI features:

• 🤖 Dual processes: Many system applications are duplicated (e.g. com.miui.home and com.miui.home) com.android.launcher3).
• 🔄 Auto-start: MIUI automatically adds new apps to the download list.
• 🕵️ Hidden Services: Processes with names like com.xiaomi.mipicks or com.miui.analytics are not displayed in the standard task manager.

⚠️ Attention: Disconnecting system processes MIUI (For example, com.miui.securitycenter can cause malfunctions in the smartphone. Before you stop an unknown process, check its purpose through a search in Google.

Method 1: Standard MIUI Task Manager

The easiest way is to use a built-in tool that only shows custom apps, but allows you to quickly close unnecessary ones:

1. Click on the “Recent Apps” button (square in the bottom navigation bar).
2. Scroll up to the Clear All block – active tasks are displayed here.
3. To close one application, swipe it left or right. To clean it completely, click Clean All.

Limitations of the method:

• 🚫 Does not show system processes.
• 🔄 After cleaning, many applications will restart automatically.
• ⚡ Does not display battery consumption or traffic.

💡

If the Clean All button is inactive, the Cleanup Lock option is enabled in the settings. To turn it off, go to Settings → Apps → Special Permissions → Cleanup Lock and uncheck any unnecessary programs.

Method 2: Battery section – hidden energy consumers

The MIUI battery menu hides detailed background information, and you can see which programs are using up even when you're not using them.

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Use
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select "Show Full Use."
3. In the list, find applications marked “Background mode” or “Autostart”.
4. Slip on the app to see the details: activity time, traffic consumption, number of launches.

Pay particular attention to:

• 📊 Apps with a high percentage of consumption (more than 5%) with a minimum screen time.
• 🔄 Programs that run more than 50 times a day (e.g. Google Play Services).
• 📡 Applications that consume mobile traffic in the background (checked in Settings) → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Using traffic).

Method 3: Autostart and Background Activity Settings

MIUI allows you to flexibly configure which applications can run in the background, a method that is more effective than a standard task manager, since it prevents programs from automatically restarting:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the Auto Start tab - here are programs that start when you turn on your smartphone.
3. Turn off autoplay for unnecessary apps (such as games or stores).
4. Go back and select the “Resolutions” tab → “Background Activity” tab.
5. Limit background work for applications that don’t need constant sync (like AliExpress or Wildberries).

Important nuances:

• 🔒 Some system applications (such as Miui Home) cannot be disabled.
• 🔔 After the background activity is limited, notifications may come with a delay.
• 🔄 Changes are not immediately applied – some processes will continue to work until the reboot.

Method 4: Hidden Processes through Adb (for Advanced Processes)

If standard methods don’t show all background tasks, you can use the Android debugging bridge (adb).This requires a PC connection, but allows you to see all active processes, including system:

1. Enable the developer mode on your smartphone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times).
2. Activate debugging over USB in Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell dumpsys activity activities | grep "mFocusedActivity" It will show the current active task.
4. To see all background processes, use: adb shell ps -A | grep -E 'u0_a|com\.miui|com\.android'

Example of team withdrawal:

u0_a105   1234  56   123456 7890  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.chrome




u0_a106   2345  67   234567 8901  ffffffff 00000000 S com.facebook.katana




system    3456  78    345678 9012  ffffffff 00000000 S com.miui.home

Column decoding:

• PID is the process identifier.

⚠️ Warning: Interrupt system processes through adb shell kill [PID] This method can cause your smartphone to work in an unstable way, and only use it if you know exactly what you're doing.

Method 5: Third-party monitoring utilities

If the built-in MIUI tools seem inadequate, third-party applications can be used, providing more detailed information and management features:

Instructions for setting up Greenify (the most effective solution):

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Provide access to special features (Settings → Special features → Greenify).
3. Add apps to the hibernation list (e.g. Facebook, Instagram).
4. Activate the option “Aggressive hibernation” (requires unlocking the bootloader on some models).

💡

Greenify doesn't remove applications from memory, it freezes them, preventing background activity, which is safer than forced closure through the task manager.

How to prevent automatic application launch

Even after cleaning, background applications can run again, and to avoid this, you need to configure several settings in MIUI:

1. Turn off battery optimization for critical apps: Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Consumption Management and select No Limits mode for instant messengers (like WhatsApp).
2. Set limits for the background: In Settings → Applications → Application Management → Background activity disable unnecessary programs.
3. Use Game Mode to block notifications: Enable Settings → Special Features → Game Mode and add games to the list. This will prevent background tasks from starting during gameplay.
4. Update your firmware: Newer versions of MIUI 13/14 improve background optimization. Check for updates in Settings → About Phone → System Update.

Advice for advanced users:

• 🔧 Use Xiaomi. ADB/Fastboot Tools for mass disabling system applications (PC required).
• 📱 On models with unlocked bootloader, you can install a custom core with improved process management.
• 🔄 Check the auto-start list regularly – after updates MIUI may reset.

FAQ: Frequent questions about background processes on Xiaomi