How to view open apps on Xiaomi: all ways + hidden features

Why it’s important to monitor open apps on Xiaomi

Xiaomi’s MIUI-based smartphones are known for their multitasking, but each process that is running consumes RAM and battery power. Even when you close an app with the Home button, it often continues to work in the background — this is standard Android behavior, reinforced by Xiaomi’s proprietary optimizations. For example, instant messengers like Telegram or WhatsApp can remain active for instant messages, and games can save progress in cache.

The problem is that over time, up to 20-30 background processes accumulate that slow down the phone, especially on budget models Redmi or POCO with 3-4 GB of RAM. Regularly checking open applications helps not only free up memory, but also to identify “voracious” services (for example, com.miui.analytics), which are quietly wasting resources. In this article, all the current ways to view active tasks on Xiaomi, including hidden features MIUI 14.

Note that the methods differ depending on the version of the shell and the model of the smartphone. For example, on the Xiaomi 13 Pro with HyperOS (2026), the multitasking menu visually differs from the Redmi Note 10 on MIUI 12.5. We took these nuances into account and gave universal solutions.

Method 1: Classical multitasking menu

The most obvious and quickest method is to use a gesture or button to call up a list of recent apps, and on most Xiaomi smartphones (except HyperOS models), the algorithm is as follows:

1. For touch-button smartphones (like Redmi 9A): Click on the square icon at the bottom of the screen (right of Home).
2. For gesture devices (starting with Xiaomi 11): swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen and hold for 0.5 seconds.

In the menu that opens, you'll see the cards of all the apps that you've run.

• 🔄 Close one application - swipe its card up or sideways.
• 🧹 Clean everything – click on the cross in the lower right corner (or the “Close everything” button").
• 🔒 Secure the app – hold your finger on the card and select “Secure” (useful for navigator or music).

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If the multitasking menu is delayed, check the animation settings in Settings → Special Options → Customize Animation. Cutting down the animation scale will speed up the system response.

Xiaomi’s HyperOS (e.g. Xiaomi 14) interface is slightly different: the application cards are displayed as a vertical list, and to close you need to swipe left, and there is a function of grouping tasks by type (e.g., “Social Networks” or “Work”).

Method 2: Through system settings (full list of processes)

The multitasking menu shows only the “recent” applications, but not all background processes. To see the full list of active tasks, including system services, follow the following steps:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Go to the "Run" tab (some versions of MIUI call it "Active").

Here's the display:

• 📱 Custom applications (the ones you run manually).
• ⚙️ System processes (e.g. com.android.systemui) MIUI).
• 🔄 Background services (messengers, synchronization, etc.).

⚠️ Closing system processes manually can cause the phone to work unstable. For example, stopping com.miui.analytics will turn off statistics collection, but may also disrupt the Dark Theme or Gestures.

Close only user applications |Do not touch processes named com.android.*|Check the impact of closing on your phone |Use the built-in Optimizer instead of manual cleaning-->

Method 3: Use of the notification panel

Few people know, but Xiaomi’s notification panel has fast access to app management, which works on all models, including the POCO F5 and Redmi K60:

1. Swipe down from the top edge of the screen to open the notification bar.
2. Find the "Cleaning" tile (the broomstick icon) and click on it.
3. In the window that opens, select "Memory Management".

This will show:

• 📊 RAM usage diagram (how much memory is occupied and free).
• 📱 List of active applications with memory consumption.
• ⚡ Clean button – closes all unnecessary processes.

The advantage of this is visualizing the load on the system, for example, if you see that Facebook takes up 800 MB of RAM, it signals that the application's background activity is closed or limited.

Once a day |When the phone starts to brake |Never clean |Use automatic cleaning-->

Method 4: Developer teams (for power users)

If standard methods do not show the desired processes (for example, hidden system services), you can use the developer mode and ADB commands.

Algorithm of action:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable “Debugging by USB”.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command:

adb shell dumpsys meminfo

This command will display a complete list of processes with detailed information about memory consumption. To filter only user applications, use:

adb shell dumpsys meminfo | grep "App:"

⚠️ Note: Some processes (e.g. com.qualcomm.qti) are critical to the operation of the communication module, and their interruption may result in the loss of the network or the restart of the device.

Method 5: Third-Party Monitoring Applications

If Xiaomi’s built-in tools aren’t enough, you can install specialized utilities from Google Play. They offer advanced features such as:

• 📈 Real-time RAM/CPU usage schedules.
• 🔔 Warnings about voracious processes.
• ⚡ Automatic cleaning on schedule.

Top.-3 tested applications:

1. Greenify – “sleeps” background applications without closing them, saving charge.
2. Simple System Monitor – provides detailed statistics on each process.
3. Developer Quick Settings – adds tiles for quick process management.

Greenify’s example of how it works is that it analyzes services and suggests that you freeze those that drain your battery, for example, it can detect that AliExpress wakes up every 10 minutes to check for notifications, and turn off that activity.

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The process monitoring application side requires Special Access rights, and only provide them to trusted utilities from the official store.

Hidden MIUI functions for application management

MIUI contains some non-obvious tools that help control background processes more effectively than standard methods, and here are the most useful ones:

• 🔍 "Search for apps" in settings: enter the program name in the search bar in Settings → Apps to quickly find and manage it.
• 🛡️ "Background lock": in the application settings (Settings → Annexes → Select an application → Battery) can be banned from the background.
• ⏳ "Activity Limitation: The same battery menu has the option to limit background activity to save charge.

Another hidden feature is Game Mode (Settings → Special Features → Game Turbo Mode), which not only optimizes performance in games, but also shows a list of active processes that can be paused to free up resources.

Xiaomi has a Smart Cleanup feature with HyperOS that automatically closes unused apps when you lock the screen.

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Smart Cleaning.
2. Enable the option and add apps to exceptions (such as a music player).

Frequent problems and their solutions

When working with open applications on Xiaomi, users face typical difficulties, and let's look at the most common ones and how to fix them.

Problem 1: The multitasking menu doesn’t open or opens late.

• 🔹 Reason: Lack of RAM or launcher failure.
• 🔧 Solution: Reboot your phone. If the problem recurs, clear the launcher cache in Settings. → Annexes → Application management → Launcher.

Problem 2: After cleaning, the applications open themselves again.

• 🔹 Reason: Auto Start is allowed in battery settings.
• 🔧 Solution: Go to Settings → Battery → Choice of application → Auto-start and disable unnecessary programs.

Problem 3: Some processes are not listed as active.

• 🔹 Reason: These may be high priority system services.
• 🔧 Solution: Use ADB (See Method 4) or third-party monitors such as Simple System Monitor.

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If the phone is running slower after cleaning the apps, it's a sign that the system is forced to constantly restart processes, in which case it's better to set up auto-cleaning on a schedule or increase the background limit in the battery settings.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions