How to put a timer on the application on Xiaomi: 5 ways to MIUI 14/15

Have you ever caught yourself on TikTok or Instagram for an hour longer than you planned? or your child can’t break away from Brawl Stars even during dinner? Xiaomi’s MIUI 14/15-powered smartphones offer built-in tools to monitor app usage times — and today we’ll take a look at all the ways to customize them, from basic limitations to hidden features for advanced users.

In this article, you’ll find not only the standard instructions from the Digital Well-Being menu, but also little-known tricks: how to get around the restrictions (if you forgot your password), why the timer is reset after rebooting, and how to set up automatic game shutdown on schedule. We’ve tested all methods on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+, POCO F5 and Xiaomi 13 Ultra – ensuring that instructions work on 90% of the brand’s devices (except the oldest models on MIUI 12 and below).

1. Standard timer via Digital Well-being

The most obvious and safe way to do this is to use the built-in screen time control feature, which is available on all Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 11 and later, including the latest versions of HyperOS (which replaces MIUI), the main advantage of this method is that it does not require superuser rights and works even on locked devices.

To activate the restriction:

1. Open Settings → Digital Well-Being → Toolbar.
2. Select the Application Use Timer.
3. Click on the hourglass icon next to the desired app (like YouTube or Genshin Impact).
4. Set a time limit (from 5 minutes to 23 hours 55 minutes).
5. Activate the switch to turn on the timer.

Once the time has expired, the app will be locked and a notification will appear on the screen saying, "Use time has expired. You can unlock it through the Digital Well-Being settings." Importantly, this timer is reset every day at 00:00 local time.

Make sure the app is updated to the latest version|

Check if the developer mode is turned off (it can reset settings)|

Remember. PIN-unlock code (by default - the last unlock code of the screen)|

Turn it off. VPN — It can interfere with time synchronization.-->

Schedule of use: automatic locking by time

If you only need your app to be blocked at certain hours (like 22:00 to 7:00 for games or 9:00 to 18:00 for social media while you’re working), use the Schedule feature, which is hidden deeper in the menu, but gives you more flexibility:

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Digital Well-being → Use Schedule.
2. Click Add Schedule and select the days of the week (you can configure separately for weekdays and weekends).
3. Specify the time interval (for example, 22:00-07:00).
4. Select the apps that will be blocked during this period.
5. Save the settings.

Features of this method:

• 🔄 The schedule works independently of the standard timer – they can be combined.
• 📱 The lock works even if the application was opened before the beginning of the prohibited time.
• ⏰ You can set different schedules for different days (for example, strict mode on weekdays and free on weekends).

Child time control in games |

Restricting social networks for yourself |

Blocking distracting apps at work |

Other-->

3. Parental controls: timer for children

If you’re setting child restrictions, a standard timer might not be enough, in which case use the For Kids mode (available on Xiaomi with MIUI 12 and later), which not only limits time, but also filters content, blocks in-app purchases, and sends activity reports.

How to set up:

1. Create a child profile in Settings → Accounts → Family (Mi Account is required).
2. Go to Settings → Digital Well-Being → Parental Controls.
3. Select a child profile and set up: 🕒 Screen time limit (separate for weekdays and weekends). 🎮 Restrictions by category of applications (games, videos, social networks). 🔒 Blocking the installation of new applications.

PIN-code

⚠️ Note: If your child knows your Mi Account password, they can reset parental controls via the web version of account.xiaomi.com. Use a separate account to control your password!

Advantages of this method:

• 📊 Weekly time reports (coming to the mail linked to the Mi Account).
• 🛡️ Lockdown 18+ content in the browser and YouTube.
• 🔄 Remote control from another device.

4. Hidden functions: timer via "Focus Mode"

Few people know, but Xiaomi has Focus Mode, which blocks all distracting apps for a selected period. Unlike the standard timer, you can't choose individual programs - all of them are blocked from the blacklist (social networks, games, instant messengers), but this mode can not be avoided without resetting the phone!

How to turn on:

1. Open Settings → Digital Well-Being → Focus Mode
2. Click Set up a list of apps and mark the ones you want to block (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and games are selected by default).
3. Set a lock time (30 minutes to 8 hours).
4. Activate the mode with the Start button.

What happens after activation:

• 🚫 Blocked apps will disappear from the main screen.
• 🔔 All notifications will be hidden from them.
• ⏳ The timer cannot be canceled without restarting the phone (unless you know the secret trick – see Section 6).

5. timer through third-party applications (if built-in ones do not fit)

If you need advanced features — such as flexible schedules, geolocation locks or motivational notifications — look for third-party utilities. We tested 5 popular apps and selected the best ones for Xiaomi:

For the installation of third-party blockers:

1. Download APK from the official website (for example, ActionDash).
2. Allow installation from unknown sources in Settings → Applications → Special Rights → Installation of unknown applications.
3. Provide device administrator rights (if required).

⚠️ Note: Some applications (such as AppBlock) may conflict with MIUI Optimization is Xiaomi's system process. If the phone starts to brake after installation, turn off optimization in Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → Additional settings → Shut down. MIUI Optimization.

6 Advanced Methods: ADB and Hidden Commands

If you're ready to dive into the technical details, you can set up timers via ADB (Android Debug Bridge).

• 🔧 Bypassing parental control restrictions (if you forget your password).
• 📱 Timer settings for system applications (such as Settings or Phone).
• ⏳ Creating schedules with accuracy to a second.

Instructions for blocking the application for 1 hour via ADB:

1. Put the debugging on. USB In Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → Press 7 times on "Version" MIUI» → Return to “Additional settings» → For developers → Debugging by USB.
2. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell am start -a android.settings.ACTION_USAGE_ACCESS_SETTINGS Then allow access to com.miui.securitycenter.
3. Set the timer with a command (replace com.example.app with your app package, for example com.whatsapp): adb shell cmd appops set com.example.app RUN_ANY_IN_BACKGROUND deny adb shell am broadcast -a com.android.server.usage.PACKAGE_USAGE_TIMEOUT --es package com.example.app --ei timeout 3600

To reset the constraint:

adb shell cmd appops set com.example.app RUN_ANY_IN_BACKGROUND allow


adb shell am broadcast -a com.android.server.usage.PACKAGE_USAGE_TIMEOUT --es package com.example.app --ei timeout 0

adb shell pm list packages | grep -i "name"

For example, for Instagram, it would be com.instagram.android.-->

7. Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after setting up the timers correctly, Xiaomi can crash. We have collected the TOP-5 issues and ways to fix them:

Problem 1: The timer is reset after the reboot.

• 🔹 Reason: Time synchronization is disabled or Developer Mode is working.
• 🔹 Solution: Enable Autosynchronization of Time in Settings → Additional settings → Date and time.

Problem 2: The application is not blocked, although time has run out.

• 🔹 Reason: App added to Battery Optimization Exclusions.
• 🔹 Solution: Go to Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization and Remove the Application from Exceptions.

Problem 3: You can’t change the timer settings – the buttons are inactive.

• 🔹 Reason: Guest Mode or Second Space is activated.
• 🔹 Solution: Switch to the main space in the notification panel.

Problem 4: The timer is working, but no notifications are coming.

• 🔹 Reason: Notifications for Digital Well-Being Disabled.
• 🔹 Solution: Go to Settings → Notifications → System applications → Digital Well-Being and Turn on All Switches.

Problem 5: Parental controls do not apply to new applications.

• 🔹 Reason: Auto Rules Update disabled in settings.
• 🔹 Solution: Update the rules manually in Settings → Digital well-being → Parental control → Update.

💡

If none of these methods work, check if Mi Cloud Sync is disabled, and without it, your digital well-being settings may not be saved.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions