How to get the app to work in the background on Xiaomi: all the ways for MIUI 12-14

Xiaomi’s MIUI-based smartphones are known for aggressive battery optimization, which often blocks application backgrounds — messaging stops coming in notifications, health trackers lose data, and music services suddenly stop. This problem affects everything from the budget Redmi Note 12 to the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Unlike “clean” Android, where background work is regulated by system settings, MIUI is responsible for a whole set of restrictions: auto-start, manual locking, and “hidden” limits for energy savings.

In this article, we’ll break down all the current ways to unlock the background for Xiaomi apps, including little-known tricks for the latest versions of MIUI 14 (and older), learn how to get around the restrictions without root rights, what settings are responsible for real-time notifications, and why even after all the manipulations, some applications can continue to “fall asleep.”

We warn you right away: there is no universal solution. MIUI algorithms are constantly changing, and some settings may vary depending on the model and regional firmware (global, Chinese, EEA). If your smartphone runs Android 13/14, prepare for additional restrictions from Google — they will also have to be bypassed.

Why Xiaomi is blocking the background of applications?

The reason is that MIUI is designed to be as autonomous as possible, and unlike iOS or Pixel UI, where background processes are more flexible, Xiaomi uses strict rules:

• 🔋 Battery optimization: The system forcibly freezes applications that are not actively used to reduce energy consumption.
• 🚫 Auto-Run by Default: Most applications are initially barred from running automatically after restarting or clearing memory.
• 📵 Restrictions on “non-system” services: Applications that are not included in the standard set MIUI (Google Play Services, for example, has minimal privileges.
• 🔄 Dynamic Adaptation: The system analyzes user behavior and can tighten restrictions on rarely used programs.

Key point: Xiaomi doesn't just shut down apps, it cuts their connection to servers. For example, Telegram may be listed as active processes but not receive push notifications because the system blocks network access in the background. This also applies to geolocation services: Google Maps or Yandex.Navigator can "lose" your location if they work in the background.

⚠️ Attention: Starting with MIUI 13 (and Android 12)+), Xiaomi has put an additional layer of restrictions, Restricted Apps, and even if you allow auto-runs, some apps will still be blocked if the system deems them "energy-intensive.

Preparation: Check the current settings

Before making changes, make sure the issue is really related to the limitations of MIUI, not the app itself.

Check if notifications for the app are included in its settings (not in MIUI!)

Make sure the app is not added to the “Blacklist” in Settings → Apps → Permissions → AutoRun

Open Settings → Battery → Battery Mode and select Performance (temporarily)

Run the app manually and check if notifications appear within 5-10 minutes of folding-->

If you still have a problem after this, you can go into detail settings, and note that on some models (such as the POCO F5 or Redmi K60), the path to settings may be different due to customized versions of MIUI.

It's also worth checking if your app is "special."

• 💬 WhatsApp, Viber: Often require additional permissions for push notifications.
• 📍 Google Maps, 2GIS: may be blocked due to restrictions on use GPS background.
• 🎵 Music Players (Spotify, YouTube Music): Need to be excluded from battery optimization.

WhatsApp

Telegram

Google Fit / Apple Health

Spotify / Music Services

Other (write in the comments)-->

Method 1: Allow auto-start and remove battery limitations

These are the basic settings that you need to go through for any application that runs in the background. MIUI 12-14:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the application you want (such as Telegram).
3. Slip on Permissions and turn on all the switches (especially AutoRun and Display over other windows, if any).
4. Go back and select Battery → Background Limitation → Specify Without Limits.
5. Some firmware has a separate point of push notification – turn it on.

For Android 12+, add the app to the battery optimization exceptions:

1. Go to Settings → Battery → Battery Mode.
2. Select Setting → Applications without restrictions.
3. Add your app to the list.

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi with Android 13/14 (for example, Xiaomi 13T or Redmi Note 12 Pro+) There may be no "Background Limitation" option, in which case use an alternative method via Settings. → Special permits → Auto-run and manually add the application to the list of allowed.

Critical detail: after changing the autorun settings, be sure to restart the smartphone. Otherwise, the changes may not take effect until the next system optimization cycle (usually after 12-24 hours).

Method 2: Configure hidden parameters with MIUI Optimization (for advanced)

If standard methods don't work, you'll have to dig deeper. There are hidden settings in MIUI that don't show up in the GUI, but affect the background work, and you'll need to activate them by turning on Developer Mode:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 7 times on the MIUI version until the notification “You became a developer” appears.
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
4. Find and turn on: USB debugging (optional but useful for diagnosis) Do not turn off screen while charging (for testing) Limit background processes → select No restrictions

Now, let's move on to the hidden optimization settings.

1. Install Activity Launcher from Google Play.
2. Open it and find it in the MIUI Optimization (or Security → Battery Optimization) list.
3. Slip on BatterySaverSettingsActivity or PowerKeeper.
4. In the menu that appears, find your app and turn off all restrictions for it (switches should turn grey).

Method 3: Bypass Android 12+ limitations with ADB

Starting with Android 12, Google tightened its background policies, and Xiaomi added its limitations on top. ADB-commands (no root required, but PC connection required).

Instructions:

1. Download Google’s Platform Tools and unpack.
2. Enable USB debugging in the developer settings (see previous section).
3. Connect your smartphone to your PC and in the command line (in the folder with adb) perform: adb devices (your device should appear)
4. Enter the command to disable battery optimization for a particular application (replace com.example.app with your app package, for example, org.telegram.messenger): adb shell dumpsys deviceidle whitelist +com.example.app
5. To completely disable background work restrictions, use: adb shell cmd appops set com.example.app RUN_ANY_IN_BACKGROUND allow

1. does not block it antivirus (for example, MIUI Security).

2. Is there any conflict with other applications (e.g. Greenify or Battery Savers)

3. Whether you are using Second Space or Guest Mode, they have separate settings.-->

Frequent problems and solutions for specific applications

Some applications require a special approach. Here are the typical scenarios:

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions