Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the need to analyze the time spent with the device in detail, which may be due to the desire to optimize the mode of the day, check the wear of the display before buying a used gadget, or simply track the productivity of using the operating system MIUI or HyperOS. Standard Android tools provide basic statistics, but the Xiaomi ecosystem offers deeper tools for monitoring.
There are several ways to get this data, from built-in system reports to specialized utilities such as Mi Health or Security. Each method has its own characteristics, accuracy and scope. In this article, we will discuss all the options available in detail so that you can choose the most suitable for your tasks and find out the real life of your smartphone.
It is important to understand that by “hours” users often mean two different parameters: total screen time (Screen On Time) or physical age of the device (time since activation), we will consider both aspects, since the tools for checking them differ significantly in the complexity of access and information provided.
Verification of statistics through the Security app
The easiest and most affordable way to find out how many hours you’ve spent on your phone is to use the Security app, which is a system utility that every Xiaomi device has out of the box and doesn’t require additional software to install. It aggregates the startup data and the time it’s been used.
To get reports, you need to open the application and find the partition related to optimization or battery. The interface may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI, but the logic remains the same. The system collects data in the background, so the information will be available even if you have not previously turned on special meters.
- 📱 Open the Security app on the home screen.
- 🔋 Go to the Battery section or click on the charge indicator.
- 📊 Select the Statistics tab to view the detailed graph.
- ⏱️ Pay attention to the setting Screen time for the selected period.
In the window that opens, you'll see not only the total number of hours, but also the breakdown by day of the week, which allows you to analyze which days you are most active, the data is updated automatically, but you may need to reboot the device or reset the statistics in the battery settings to correctly display the statistics for the current day.
⚠️ Note: Statistics in the Security app can be reset after the phone is completely discharged to 0% or after updating the system.
Using the Mi Health App for Digital Well-Being
Xiaomi has introduced a digital well-being feature in its modern shells, which is often integrated into the Mi Health app (formerly known as Mi Fitness or a separate Health service), which aims to help users control smartphone addiction and provide detailed analytics.
Unlike a simple battery counter, it takes into account not only the display glow time, but also the number of unlocks, notifications received and applications launched. This gives a more complete picture of the interaction of a person with a gadget.
To activate or (see) this data, make sure you have the latest version of the app installed through the GetApps store or Google Play. In some regions, the feature may be called "Digital Wellbeing" and be entered into a separate system settings menu.
- 🏃 Launch the Mi Health app and go to the My tab.
- 📈 Find the Screen Time section or Phone Use.
- 🔍 Click on a specific day to see the hourly breakdown of activity.
- 🛑 Use the application limit function to limit time on social networks.
A feature of this method is synchronization with the cloud account Mi Account.This means that even when you change your device or reset your digital well-being history can be restored if the appropriate synchronization option was enabled, making Mi Health a powerful tool for long-term tracking habits.
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If you don’t find the “Screen Time” section in Mi Health, try updating the app through the built-in updater or check the privacy settings in the phone’s menu by allowing access to usage data.
Hidden engineering menu and code to check the age of the device
For those who are not interested in the time of use, but the physical age of the device (for example, when buying a used smartphone), there are special hidden codes that allow you to enter the engineering menu, where service information is stored, including the time since the first activation or factory firmware.
This data is accessed through a combination of characters in the Phone app, a universal method for most Android devices, but on MIUI it often provides more detailed information about battery status and charge cycles, indirectly indicating the age of the device.
To enter the diagnostic menu, enter the following code in the call app:
##6485##Once you enter the code, you will open a Battery Info window, and you will search for parameters marked as MB_06 (Health status) or MF_02 (Cycle count, as well as MF_05 or MF_06, However, the exact time code in the watch may vary depending on the processor model and the shell version.
| Parameter | Description | Normal value. |
|---|---|---|
| MB_06 | Battery health status | Good |
| MF_02 | Number of complete charge cycles | 0 - 500 (for new) |
| MF_05 | Residual capacity (mAh) | Close to the face value. |
| MF_06 | Designed full capacity | Stable value |
⚠️ Warning: Do not change the values in the engineering menu unless you are qualified. Resetting the battery meters by software can lead to incorrect display of charge and rapid wear of the battery.
Analysis of the operating time through battery settings
The standard Android settings menu provides perhaps the most reliable and understandable way to (see) the number of hours a screen is running, a method that doesn’t require code knowledge or application installation, as it is a native feature of the operating system, deeply integrated into the kernel.
This shows the time the display has been on and active, and it's important to distinguish between that time and the total battery life (Screen On Time vs Uptime), and the phone can run for days on standby, but the screen time will only be a few hours, and that's the parameter that users are most interested in.
To access the data, follow the following steps:
- ⚙️ Open the smartphone settings.
- 🔋 Go to Battery and Performance section.
- 📉 Click on the Stats button or menu icon in the corner.
- 🕒 Find the screen time bar (usually indicated in hours and minutes).
In this section, you can often see which program has consumed your attention time the most, and MIUI can group system processes, so sometimes the total time can be slightly different from the amount of time of individual applications due to background activity.
☑️ Checking battery status
Third-party applications for detailed monitoring
If built-in tools are not enough and professional statistics are needed, for example, to test the autonomy of a new firmware, it is worth turning to third-party solutions. App stores offer utilities that maintain detailed logs and build complex energy consumption schedules.
One of the popular solutions is Battery Guru or AccuBattery, which is a data-storage app, where the longer you use a phone with an app installed, the more accurate the predictions and reports become, and they can show not only the clock, but also the rate of battery degradation in real time.
The advantage of these programs is that they can export data and have widgets on the desktop, and you can see the current flow rate per hour right on the lock screen, and they often have calibration, which helps the system to determine the percentage of charge more accurately.
But it's important to remember that resources are consumed, because constantly monitoring sensors and logs consumes battery power and processor time, so it's recommended that you use these tools in diagnostic courses, rather than keeping them on all the time unnecessarily.
Why are the data in different applications different?
Data Interpretation and Impact on Autonomy
When you get the hours, it's important to interpret them correctly. The normal screen life for a modern smartphone with a capacious battery is 5 to 8 hours of active use. If your performance is significantly lower, it may indicate problems with system optimization or physical wear and tear of the battery.
High hours in background applications that you haven’t actively used indicate that the software is not working properly, and in such cases, it’s recommended to check application permissions and disable background activity for rarely used programs, which often allows you to significantly increase battery life.
Also consider the brightness of the screen and the type of content used. Watching 4K video or high graphics games (spend) charge faster than reading text. Therefore, “hours” is a relative measure that should always be correlated with the nature of the load on the device at a particular time.
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Regular monitoring of screen time helps to identify “battery eaters” and extend the life of the smartphone without replacing the battery.