How to forcibly turn off the suspended application on the Xiaomi smartphone

The suspended app on Xiaomi's smartphone is a problem that every user faces, and sometimes it stops responding to presses, hangs on one screen, or blocks access to other phone functions altogether, and in such cases, standard closing through the multitasking menu doesn't always work, and you have to use coercive methods, but how do you do it right so that you don't harm the system?

In this article, we will discuss all the working methods of forced application closure on Xiaomi devices (including Redmi, POCO and Black Shark models) running MIUI versions, learn how to use built-in system tools, button combinations, and advanced methods for power users, especially when the screen is completely locked and the sensor does not respond.

Important: Some methods require administrator rights or USB debugging. If you're a beginner, start with the simplest ways and move on to the hard ones only when needed.

1. Standard Closing through the Multitasking Menu

Before you resort to enforcement, try closing the app in the standard way. Most Xiaomi smartphones use a gesture conductor:

• 📱 For MIUI 12 and later: swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold for 1 second to open the menu of recent apps.
• 🔄 For MIUI 11 and older: click on the square navigation button (or swipe up late on models without buttons.
• 🔒 If the screen is locked, unlock the phone and repeat the action (POCO F3, Redmi Note 10 Pro: You can double-press the power button for quick multitasking access.

If the application doesn't close after the swipe, it's stuck at the system level and requires a forced shutdown, in which case, move on to the next method.

⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi firmware (especially custom) swipe up may not work due to a gesture conflict. In this case, try holding the Home button (if any) for 2 seconds.

2. Forced stop through settings

If an application doesn’t respond to closure through multitasking, it can be stopped through system settings, which works even for background processes that don’t appear in the list of recent applications.

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the desired application in the list (you can use the search at the top).
3. Slip on it and select Forced Stop** (or Stop on English firmware).

On some models (Xiaomi 13, Redmi K50) the path may be slightly different.

• 📊 On firmware with Game Turbo (such as Black Shark 5), first turn off the game mode in the notification curtain.

This is suitable for most user applications, but will not work for system processes (e.g. com.android.systemui). ADB.

Save important data from the app | Make sure the app is not updated | Check for Internet availability (for cloud applications) | Close related processes (for example, for games – running services)

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3.Use of power and volume buttons (emergency reboot)

If the screen is completely locked and the sensor is not responsive, you can use hardware buttons, which is not shutting down a particular application, but rebooting the entire phone, but in critical situations it is the only one available.

Emergency reset methods:

• 🔄 Soft reboot: Hold the power button for 10-15 seconds until the screen goes out and the phone starts to reboot. Suitable for most models (Redmi Note 9, POCO X3).

⚠️ Attention: Frequent hard reboots can damage the file system. Use this method only in extreme cases when other methods are not available.

After the reboot, check if the data in the application has been damaged. Some programs (such as messengers or editors) may not save the latest changes.

4.Forced closure via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods don’t work, and the application is critical to the system (for example, com.miui.home – launcher), you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which requires connecting the phone to the computer and enabled debugging over USB.

Step-by-step:

1. Enable USB debugging in the developer settings (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version – tap 7 times, then go back to Additional settings → For Developers).
2. Connect your phone to your PC through USB-cable (preferably original).
3. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type: adb devices Make sure the device is defined.
4. Run the command to stop the application (replace com.example.app with your application package): adb shell am force-stop com.example.app

To find out the application package, use the command:

adb shell pm list packages | grep "keyword"

For example, for YouTube, type grep "youtube".

⚠️ Note: pm clear and adb uninstall commands delete application data without recovery. Do not use it for system processes (for example, com.android.phone), this can cause the phone to malfunction.

com.whatsapp

com.facebook.orca

com.google.android.youtube

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5. Close through Safe Mode (Safe Mode)

If the application blocks the system (for example, a virus or an improperly installed launcher), you can boot the phone in Safe Mode, in which all third-party applications are disabled, and you can remove or stop the problem software.

How to log in to Safe Mode:

• 🔄 Method 1: Hold the power button until the turn off menu appears. Then press and hold the option to turn off (or turn off) before a request to go to safe mode appears.
• 📱 Method 2 (for newer models): Turn off the phone, then turn it on by holding the power buttons + Reduce volume until the Xiaomi logo appears.

In safe mode:

1. Go to Settings → Applications.
2. Find the problem app and remove it or clear the data.
3. Restart your phone in normal mode.

If the phone is stable in safe mode, the problem is exactly in one of the apps installed. Try to remember what you last installed and uninstall suspicious programs.

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Safe Mode is the only way to remove viruses or malfunctioning apps if they block access to settings.

6.Forced shutdown of system processes (root required)

Some applications (e.g., com.miui.securitycenter) cannot be stopped in the standard way, and forced closure will require a superuser (root) right.

Methods for rooted devices:

• 🛠️ With Root Explorer: Open a root-access file manager (such as Solid Explorer) and go to the root-access file manager. /data/data/[Application package and delete the folder (this is equivalent to cleaning the data).
• 📱 Through Termux: Install the Termux app, type commands: su am force-stop com.miui.home
• 🔧 Magisk: In Magisk modules, you can find tools for managing system processes (for example, App Systemizer).

Be careful: stopping critical processes (e.g. android.process.media) can result in data loss or a reboot cycle. TWRP Mi Backup.

If after stopping the system process, the phone stopped turning on, try:

1. Boot to Fastboot (hold power + volume down when turned on).
2. Connect to your PC and flash the stock firmware through the Mi Flash Tool.

7 What should I do if nothing helps?

If none of these methods worked, the problem could be deeper than it seems.

• 🔋 Battery malfunction: with a low charge (less than 5%), the phone may not respond to commands.Plug in charge and wait 10-15 minutes.
• 🖥️ Firmware damage: If the phone doesn’t boot even after rebooting, try flashing it through Fastboot.
• 📱 Hardware failure: If the screen doesn’t respond to taps, but the phone vibrates when turned on, the touchscreen may be faulty.

In extreme cases, perform a reset to the factory settings:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the power + increase the volume to enter Recovery.
3. Select Wipe Data → Wipe All Data (manage by volume and power buttons).
4. Confirm the reset and wait for the reset.

⚠️ Warning: Reset will delete all data, including photos, contacts and messages. If you have Mi Account sync enabled, some of the data can be restored after you log in to your account.

FAQ: Frequent questions about forced app closures