Users of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the need to control running processes, since the MIUI or HyperOS shell has its own features of working with RAM. Standard switching between windows shows only visual cards, but does not give a complete picture of what exactly the background processes consume resources. Understanding what is running at the moment, allows you to significantly extend the battery life of the device.
In this article, we will take a look at all the ways to view open applications on Xiomi Android, from basic methods to advanced tools for enthusiasts. You will learn to distinguish between active tasks and system services, which is the key to competent smartphone optimization.
Many people mistakenly believe that closing a card in the multitasking menu completely stops the program, but in the Android ecosystem, things are more complicated, and some processes continue to work in the background to receive notifications or synchronize data, while remaining invisible to the average user.
Basic viewing through the multitasking menu
The most obvious and affordable way to see running programs is to use the standard multitasking interface, which is accessed by swipeing from the bottom up (when you use gestures) or clicking a square navigation button on Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI shells, and displays thumbnails of the latest apps that are taking up space in RAM.
However, it is important to understand that this list is not exhaustive: the system artificially limits the number of visible cards so as not to overload the interface by hiding old or rarely used tabs, and the background services of messengers or music players can continue to work even if their cards were downloaded from this list.
To force a specific application to stop through this interface, you need to press and hold your finger on the program card. In the context menu that appears, you should select the option to Close or Close everything if you want to clear all memory. This action sends a signal to the system that the release of resources occupied by this software is prioritized.
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Use the “Accumulate” function on important application cards so that MIUI does not automatically close them when you clear the memory.
Use of Task Manager and Memory
A deeper level of control is the built-in optimization tool, often referred to as the “accelerator” or task manager. To get into it, you need to open the Security app (green icon with lightning), which is preinstalled on all Xiaomi devices. In the center of the main screen is a circular scale that displays the current RAM load.
Clicking on Clear Memory or Accelerate not only frees up resources, but also shows a list of processes that have been stopped. If you click on the percentage of memory occupancy (for example, "56%"), a more detailed window will open where you can see the top programs that consume the most RAM at the moment.
Unlike a simple card list, it also displays system processes that don't have a visual interface, which reveals "gluttonous" applications that unobtrusively load the processor and battery, and checking this section regularly helps keep the device running at a high level.
☑️ Memory consumption check
Developer Mode: Monitoring of Launched Services
For users who need a professional level of detail, there is a hidden section Developer Mode. By default, it is disabled, and to activate it, you need to go to Settings → About phone and quickly click on the field MIUI Version or OS Version seven times. Once the activation message appears in the settings menu, a new item will appear.
Inside the section Advanced settings → For developers, there's Running Services, which shows everything that's running on the system right now: how many active processes are running, how much memory each of them uses, and how long they're running.
⚠️ Warning: Be extremely careful when stopping system processes in this menu.Forcing services responsible for communication, interface or system logs to shut down can cause a smartphone to malfunction or restart.
In this section, you can see not only custom applications, but also system components of Android, such as System Server or Google Play Services. If an application consumes a disproportionate amount of memory compared to its functionality, this may indicate a memory leak or software failure.
| Parameter | Description | Impact on the system |
|---|---|---|
| Active processes | Number of running streams | High numbers can slow down switching |
| Use of RAM | The amount of memory occupied (GB/MB) | Critical when filling more than 85% |
| Time to work. | Duration of service activity | Long work background processes puts the battery down |
| Packet name | Technical name (com.example) | Helps to identify hidden processes |
Hidden diagnostic codes and engineering menu
There is another way to access technical information about running applications – using the USSD-Xiaomi devices often have code ##4636##, which opens the test menu, and although it is primarily designed to check the network and battery, some firmware versions have usage statistics.
You can also use commands via ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to view detailed process information by connecting your phone to your computer. the adb shell dumpsys meminfo team gives you a detailed report on the memory distribution across all packets, including those not visible in standard interfaces.
adb shell dumpsys meminfo | grep -E'Total|Native|Dalvik'This is a method that is suitable for advanced users, because it requires a PC and a configured debugger, but it allows you to see a "clean" picture without the distortion that the MIUI graphics shell can cause. Log analysis helps you find applications that masquerade as system processes.
What if the code doesn't work?
Analysis of battery consumption as an indicator of activity
Often, the user doesn't need to see a list of processes in real time, but it's important to understand what was working in the background of the i-ilo charge. The Battery section in the settings provides a retrospective look at the activity of the applications. If the program was in the background but actively used resources, it will be marked with the corresponding status.
MIUI classifies background activity by labeling applications with "Works in the background" or "No restrictions." This is a direct signal that the application has open processes that the system does not try to complete for the sake of energy savings.
To access these settings, go to Settings → Battery → Battery Consumption. When you click on a particular application, you will see detailed statistics and can change the strategy of its operation, for example, by banning background activity completely, which is an effective way to close the application without deleting it.
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Setting up background activity restrictions is a more effective way to manage memory than manually cleaning cards all the time.
Third-party monitoring utilities
If built-in tools are not enough, Google Play offers a variety of monitoring apps, like System Panel 2 or Simple System Monitor, which provide real-time CPU load graphs and memory, showing all the streams running, and which are often more informative than standard Android tools.
These tools can display application launch history, which is useful for identifying spyware or viruses that try to hide their activity, and they also allow you to create widgets on the desktop to constantly monitor the state of the system without having to dig deep into the settings.
However, it is worth remembering that installing additional monitors is self-consuming.The use of Xiaomi’s lightweight native tools is often preferred for everyday use, so as not to put additional strain on the battery and processor.