How to enable VC pop-up notifications on Xiaomi: from MIUI settings to fine optimization

Are you missing important VK messages because they don't appear on the Xiaomi screen? Or pop-up notifications appear with a delay and sometimes disappear altogether? The problem is familiar to many owners of smartphones on MIUI - standard system optimization often blocks background activity of applications, including VK. But there is a solution!

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible ways to set up pop-up notifications, from the basics in the app itself to the hidden MIUI settings that few people know about, how to get VKontakte to show alerts instantly, even when the phone is in power saving mode, and why sometimes notifications come without sound or vibration, and how to fix it.

Important: the instruction is relevant for all modern models Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO based on MIUI 12-14 (including HyperOS).If you have an older version of the firmware, some menu items may differ - we will mention this too.

Why are VC pop-up notifications not working on Xiaomi?

Before we set it up, let's get to the root of the problem. On Xiaomi smartphones, notifications may not show for several reasons:

• 🔋 Optimizing the battery — MIUI aggressively closes background processes, including VKontakte, to save charge.
• 🛠️ Application settings – in the VC itself pop-up alerts or permissions are disabled.
• 📵 System constraints — MIUI By default, blocks auto-start and background activity for most applications.
• 🔄 Cache and data – corrupted application files can knock notifications.
• 🚫 Blacklist – a notification accidentally added to the block from VK.

Interesting fact: Xiaomi with HyperOS (new firmware instead of MIUI) has a less common problem, but it still does, because even HyperOS retains some MIUI power saving mechanisms that can conflict with the work of instant messengers.

⚠️ Attention! If you use dual applications ("Dublicate" function in the MIUI), notifications may not work in a copy of the VC. In this case, configure the original application or create a duplicate again.

Now, let's get to the practice, and let's start with the simplest thing, which is to check the settings inside the VK app.

Step 1: Configure notifications inside the VKontakte application

The first thing you need to do is make sure that the VC itself has all the necessary alerts, and many users skip this step by immediately getting into the phone's settings, but often the problem lies right here.

Open the VKontakte application and follow the following steps:

1. Slip on the profile avatar in the lower right corner.
2. Select Settings (cog icon).
3. Go to the Notifications section.
4. Make sure that the pop-up notification slider is turned on (should be blue).
5. Below, check if alerts are included for: 💬 Communications (including in conversations) 🔔 References and responses to comments 👍 Likes and reactions to your posts

If you have some items turned off, turn them on. Also, look at the Sound and Vibration section, where you can adjust the alert melody and vibration. Importantly, if the notification sound is turned off in the VC itself, even with the right MIUI settings, you won't hear the signal.

After the changes, restart the application (close it in multitasking and reopen it). If the notifications never appear, proceed to the system settings.

Step 2: Permissions for VKontakte in MIUI/HyperOS

MIUI (and its successor, HyperOS) strictly controls applications' access to phone functions, and if VKontakte doesn't have the permissions, pop-up notifications won't work.

Open Settings → Applications → Application Management and find VKontakte.

• 📱 Auto-Start – must be enabled (allows VC to start automatically when the phone is turned on).
• 🔄 Background activity – turn on this option, otherwise notifications will arrive with a delay.
• 🔔 Notifications – here should be a tick Allow notifications.
• 🛡️ Special permissions – check that there are no restrictions on display over other windows (required for pop-up alerts).

If there's no item, don't be alarmed. There may be a little bit of different menus on different versions of MIUI, but you need to turn on auto-start and background activity.

⚠️ On some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5) Background activity can be called Unlimited or Battery Optimization, in which case select VC mode No Limitations.

After the changes, restart the phone – this will help the system apply the new settings correctly.

Step 3: Battery optimization and energy saving

One of the main reasons why VK notifications don't work on Xiaomi is aggressive battery optimization. By default, MIUI limits the background activity of most applications to extend battery life. But for instant messengers, this is critical.

To remedy the situation:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance.
2. Choose Application Battery Consumption Management (or Battery Optimization in Newer Versions).
3. Find VKontakte in the list and select the No Limits mode for it.
4. If there is a separate Background Activity switch, turn it on.

On HyperOS, the path may be slightly different: Settings → Battery → Battery settings → Consumption optimization. Here you also need to find VC and disable optimization.

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If notifications don't come after this, try temporarily turning off the battery's power saving mode, which sometimes blocks background processes even for "No Limits" applications.

Another caveat: some MIUI firmware has a hidden Deep Optimization setting to turn it off:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap the MIUI version several times until you get a message: You are a developer!
3. Return to the main settings, open additional → for developers.
4. Find MIUI Deep Optimization and turn it off.

This move could significantly improve notifications, but slightly reduce the battery life of the phone.

Step 4: Check system notifications and blacklist

Sometimes VC notifications are not shown because of an app, but because of system limitations, for example, they can be accidentally blacklisted or blocked at the MIUI level.

To check it out:

1. Go to Settings → Notifications and Status bar → Notification management.
2. Find VKontakte in the list of applications.
3. Make sure all types of notifications (pop-up, sound, icons) are enabled.
4. Check if there is a VC in the Blocked Notifications section (if any, unlock).

Also, look at Settings → Applications → Blacklist (or Notification Blocking) if VK is on this list, remove it from there.

On HyperOS, the path to notification settings can be: Settings → Notifications → Notification settings for apps. Here, too, you need to make sure that VC is allowed to display pop-ups.

Step 5: Resetting and reinstalling VKontakte

If all the previous steps didn’t work, the problem could be in the damaged application data, in which case a reset or a complete reinstallation of the VC will help.

Option 1: Clearing the cache and data

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → VKontakte.
2. Press Clear cache.
3. Then select Clear Data (Warning: This will delete all your settings in the app, including themes and saved drafts!).
4. Restart the VC and reset the notifications.

Option 2: Reinstallation of the annex

If the cleaning did not help, delete VKontakte completely and install again:

1. Remove the application through Settings → Applications or from the desktop.
2. Download the latest version of VK from Google Play or AppGallery.
3. After installation, do not open the app immediately – first set up all the permissions as described in Step 2.
4. Only then log in to your account and check notifications.

⚠️ Attention, if you're using APK-file (installation manually), download it only from the official website of VKontakte or verified sources. Unofficial builds may contain viruses or work incorrectly.

After reinstalling, give the application 10-15 minutes to sync, and sometimes the first notifications are delayed due to the update of the data on the VC servers.

Step 6: Additional Ways (If Nothing Helped)

If you've reached this section and the notifications are still not working, don't despair. There are a few other alternative methods that can help:

• 🔔 Enable notifications in your browser Open VKontakte in your browser (such as Chrome or Mi Browser), log in to your account and allow notifications to be displayed. This will not replace pop-up alerts in the application, but at least you will not miss important messages.
• 📱 Use the Lite version of the VK App VK Lite consumes less resources and sometimes runs more stable than the main version. Try installing it and configuring notifications using the same instruction.
• 🔄 Update. MIUI/HyperOS Check for firmware updates: Settings → The phone. → System update: Sometimes notification bugs get fixed in new versions MIUI.
• 🛠️ Reset all settings Extreme method: reset your phone to factory settings (Settings) → The phone. → Settings reset) Warning: this will delete all data from the device, so make a backup beforehand!

If none of these things worked, the problem could be on the VK server side.

• Check the notifications on another device (such as a tablet or computer).
• Write in support of VK with a description of the problem (specify the phone model and the MIUI version).

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In 90% of cases, the problem is solved by setting the background activity and turning off battery optimization. If notifications do not work only in VC, and other messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) everything is fine, reinstall the application.

FAQ: Frequent questions about VC notifications on Xiaomi