How to find out which apps are running in the background on Xiaomi Redmi

Modern smartphones Xiaomi and Redmi, working on the basis of the shell MIUI Or the new HyperOS, which has a powerful hardware, but often has the problem of fast battery discharge, and one of the main reasons for this phenomenon is the overactivity of applications that continue to function even after you roll them up or lock the screen. Background processes can consume Internet traffic, use GPS-module and load the processor, which directly affects the autonomy of the device.

Users often notice that the phone warms up in their pocket or quickly sits down in a couple of hours of active use.This is a sure sign that the system is running redundant services or “heavy” programs that were not completely closed. Android, unlike iOS, allows applications to run in the background more freely, which requires the smartphone owner to periodically monitor running tasks.

In this article, we will discuss all the ways to detect hidden activity of programs, learn how to use the built-in tools of the system to monitor resources, how to properly close applications and what MIUI settings will help to extend the life of the battery without loss of functionality.

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Control of background processes is not only a charge saving, but also an increase in the overall performance of the system, as RAM is freed up for current tasks.

Using the Developer Menu for Detailed Analysis

The most reliable and technically accurate way to know exactly what’s going on inside your Xiaomi or Redmi right now is to activate the developer menu. This hidden part of the system provides access to real-time process usage statistics that you can’t get through standard settings. To get there, you need to click on the build number in the About Phone section several times, after which a new item will appear in the menu.

The menu that opens will show you the Running Services section, which displays a complete list of all active applications, sorted by the amount of RAM you use, and the system processes will also be visible, but you should not touch them, because they are responsible for the stable operation of the shell, and you will immediately see which third-party programs are eating up resources.

• 📱 Press Settings. → About the phone and 7 times tap on the version MIUI.
• ⚙️ Go to the Supplementary → For developers.
• 🔍 Select the Running Services to view the list.
• 🛑 Click on the app to force it to stop.

It is important to understand that forcing some services to stop can cause notifications to malfunction or malfunction in the application itself. For example, if you stop Google Play services or system launcher, the phone can behave unpredictably. Use this feature only for applications that you are sure of or that are clearly causing problems.

Monitoring through battery and screen time settings

A more user-friendly way to identify voracious applications is by using the standard battery stats menu, which is informative enough in the MIUI shell to show not only the percentage of charge, but also the application's running time in the background, which helps to identify programs that you didn't seem to be using, but they were actively working.

To access this data, go to the settings and select the battery-related section, and it will show you a list of applications, sorted by the amount of energy consumed, if you see a messenger or game at the top of the list, even though you haven't run them for several hours, then they have high background activity, and the system will even indicate how long the application has been running in the background.

In addition, the modern versions of Android and HyperOS have introduced a feature called Digital Well-being or Screen Time, which shows detailed statistics of each application’s usage per day and week, and if the use time of the app in the background is significantly longer than the active use time, this is a signal to check its settings.

• 🔋 Open the Settings. → Battery and productivity.
• 📊 Click on the statistics icon or just scroll down the list.
• ⏱️ Study the “Background Work” column for each application.
• 🚫 If necessary, limit background activity in the application settings.

It’s worth noting that some apps, such as navigators or health trackers, legitimately require constant background work. Completely limiting their activity can deprive you of important notifications or accuracy of route tracking.

Configure background activity restrictions in MIUI

MIUI is known for its aggressive energy-saving system, which sometimes works too rigidly to close the right applications, and sometimes, on the contrary, skips over the unnecessary ones. To take control, you need to manually adjust the restrictions for each particular application, which allows you to create a personalized work profile for each program.

Go to the application management menu, find the program you want, and go to Battery or Energy. Here you'll see several modes of operation. Unlimited mode allows the application to do anything useful for important notifications. Limit Background Activity mode prevents processes from starting when the screen is off. Severe Constraint mode completely stops the application after it is folded.

For instant messaging apps, where it's important to get instant messages, it's recommended to leave the mode unconstrained or standard, but add the app to auto-run. For games, video editors and stores that don't have to work all the time, be sure to put tight restrictions. This will significantly reduce the load on the Redmi processor during downtime.

Remember that after updating the system or the application itself, the settings can reset to standard values, periodic checking of these parameters will help keep the smartphone in optimal condition, especially after major Android updates, when the algorithms of the background processes can change.

Managing Auto Start and Access Rights

One of the key features of Xiaomi’s ecosystem is that it has a separate autorun manager, which many users don’t know is that even if they close an app, it can automatically start again when you turn on your phone or launch another connected app, and controlling this setting is critical to cleanliness.

In the application “Security”, which is preinstalled on all smartphones of the brand, there is a section “Permissions» → «Autorun. This is a list of all the programs that start with the system. Turn off all the extras: stores, games, delivery services, browsers. Leave only messengers and antiviruses if you really need them from the first seconds of your phone.

Also worth paying attention to access rights: apps often request access to a location, microphone or contacts, and then use this data in the background. In the privacy settings, you can set permission to use geolocation only “When using the application”, which will prevent constant survey of GPS satellites when the phone is in your pocket.

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Use the application freeze feature in the Security app for programs you rarely use, which will completely stop them from working until the next manual start.

Memory usage analysis and cache cleaning

Clogged RAM is another reason why background processes may be behaving incorrectly or not shutting down. When RAM is overcrowded, the system begins to constantly reboot background tasks, which creates the illusion of them constantly working and loads the processor. Regular cleaning helps the system to "rest."

Unlike older versions of Android, modern Xiaomi and Redmi are able to effectively manage memory, but sometimes user intervention is necessary. In the menu of running applications (swipe from the bottom up and hold or menu button), you can click on the cross icon for cleaning.

Click on the Cleanup button in the security app. The system will analyze the cache, deleted file residues, and background processes. Pay attention to the Memory section, which shows how much MB is occupied right now. If the figure is close to the maximum of your RAM volume, it is worthwhile to close several heavy applications manually.

• 🧹 Launch the Security app on the home screen.
• 🚀 Press the large green cleaning button.
• 📂 Select Memory Cleanup to Force Background Task Closing.
• 🔄 Repeat the procedure once in a while. 1-2 day-to-day active operation.

⚠️ Warning: Do not use third-party "accelerator" apps from Google Play. MIUI They work more efficiently and safely, as they have deep access to the system, unlike third-party software, which often becomes a source of background load.

Advanced methods: ADB and logging

For advanced users who want to get the most detailed information about what processes and services are running, there is a method of using USB debugging and ADB commands (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to see hidden system processes that are not displayed in the regular menu.

By connecting the phone to your computer and installing the drivers, you can run a command that lists all the active processes with details on CPU and memory usage, which is especially useful if the phone is warming or braking and standard methods don't show the culprit.

adb shell top -m 10

This team will top-10 The processes that consume the most CPU resources at the moment, and you can see the exact names of the packages (e.g. com.android.systemui or com.google.android.gms). Knowing the exact name of the package, it is easier to find it in the application settings and limit the application settings.

⚠️ Be very careful when stopping the process. ADB. Stopping critical system services (e.g, system_server) It can cause a phone to restart or a cyclic restart (bootloop), which will require a data reset.

Using these techniques requires a certain amount of technical literacy, but it gives you complete control over the device, and if you find a process with an obscure name that is constantly loading the system, you can punch through its name online to see what it's responsible for and whether it's worth keeping.

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The comprehensive approach – a combination of auto-start setup, battery limitations and periodic memory cleaning – gives the best result in optimizing the Xiaomi Redmi experience.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)