Ever wonder how many hours a day it takes to scroll through social media, watch videos or play games on your Xiaomi Redmi Note? Modern smartphones have become an integral part of life, but their overuse can affect productivity, sleep and even health. Fortunately, manufacturers like Xiaomi are building tools to monitor screen time — you just need to know where to look for them.
In this article, we’ll go into detail about all the ways you can check your phone time, from standard MIUI features to third-party apps, not only how to look at general statistics, but also how to analyze the use of individual applications, set limits, and even block distracting content. And we’ll also uncover some hidden features of MIUI 14/15 that few people know about, but which will help to take control of digital addiction.
MIUI Standard Tools: Where to Look for Usage Statistics
Starting with MIUI 10, Xiaomi added a built-in screen time tracking feature called Digital Well-being, which can be found in the system settings, but the path is slightly different depending on the firmware version. On the Redmi Note 10/11/12 with MIUI 12-15, the algorithm is as follows:
Open Settings → Digital Well-Being and Parental Controls, and here you will see three key sections:
- 📊 Overview of usage – general statistics by day/week, including number of unlocks and screen activity time.
- 🔍 Application statistics – detailed report on each application (including system).
- ⏰ Application timers – a tool for setting daily limits on individual programs.
Note: If you are using a Redmi Note 8/9 with MIUI 11 or older, the path may look like Settings → Apps → Time of Use. In some regional firmware, the item name translates as Time Control or Screen Balance.
Detailed analysis of statistics: what do the numbers mean
When you open the Digital Well-Being section, you see a graph of the last 7 days, but what exactly is behind those numbers?
Here are the key metrics to pay attention to:
- 📱 Screen usage time is the total time the display was active (including waiting for input). For example, if you opened YouTube and left the video on pause, this time will still count.
- 🔄 The number of unlocks is how many times you've picked up your phone. The average user's rate is 50 to 80 times a day. If the number is over 150, that's a reason to think about addiction.
- 📈 The most used applications - top-3 The programs that take the most time, often led by TikTok, Instagram or games.
- 🌙 Nighttime use: activity from 23:00 to 7:00. Ideal: less than 30 minutes.
Fun fact: Xiaomi even takes into account the background time of some apps, for example, if you listen to music on Spotify with the screen off, this can be reflected in the statistics as "audio activity." To see the full report, tap on any day on the chart, and an extended summary will open.
How does MIUI collect data?
| Metrics. | Normal. | Sign of addiction |
|---|---|---|
| Screen time per day | 2-4 hours | More than 6 hours. |
| Unlocking per day | 50–80 | More than 150. |
| Nighttime activity | Less than 30 minutes | More than 1 hour. |
| Time on social media | Less than 1 hour | More than 3 hours. |
⚠️ Note: If you notice that screen usage time has increased dramatically for no objective reason (for example, you haven’t installed new apps), this may indicate background malware activity. → Security → Scan.
How to set limits on apps and block distracting content
Knowing statistics is just the first step, and it's much more important to learn how to control your phone time, and there are two tools in MIUI for that: App timers and Focus Mode.
To set a limit on a particular application:
- Go to Digital Well-Being → App Timers.
- Select an app from a list (such as Instagram or PUBG Mobile).
- Set a daily limit (for example, 1 hour).
- Activate the option to block after the time has expired.
When the limit is exhausted, the app will be blocked and a notification will appear on the screen, you can bypass the lock, but this will require you to enter a password from your Mi Account, which adds an additional barrier to impulsive use.
For a radical approach, use Focus Mode (Digital Well-Being → Focus Mode).
- 📵 Block all entertainment apps for a specified period (e.g. 9:00 to 18:00).
- 📞 Only calls are available and SMS.
- ⏳ Set up automatic turn on schedule (useful for working days).
Open Digital Well-Being |Select Focus Mode |Add apps to blacklist |Set a schedule |Activate mode-->
⚠️ Note: If you are using Redmi Note with MIUI global-market (EEA), Focus mode may not be available due to regional restrictions, in which case install a third-party app, such as Google's Digital Wellbeing (available from Play Market).
Third-party applications for advanced analysis
Built-in tools MIUI They give you basic statistics, but if you want to get more advanced reports, you should look at third-party solutions.-3 Apps compatible with Xiaomi Redmi Note:
1. ActionDash (free, with premium options)
- 📊 Visualization of data in the form of graphs and diagrams.
- 🔄 Comparison with previous periods (week/month/year).
- 📱 Tracking usage by category (social networks, games, work).
2. StayFree (free)
- ⏰ Daily notifications of time of use.
- 🛡️ Scheduled application locking.
- 📈 Export of data to CSV for analysis in Excel.
3. QualityTime (paid but with trial period)
- 👨👩👧👦 Family Control for Parents.
- 📍 Geolocation reports (where you use your phone most often).
- 🔋 Analysis of the impact of applications on battery charge.
Before installing, check application permissions. Legitimate time trackers only request access to Usage Access, not personal data. If an application requires access to contacts or SMS, this is a reason to be wary.
💡
To save battery power, turn off background activity for tracker apps in Battery settings → Battery Optimization. This will not affect the collection of statistics, but will reduce energy consumption.
Hidden MIUI functions for time control
Xiaomi has added a few little-known features to MIUI 14/15 that will help reduce phone time.
1. Reading mode
Turns the screen into black and white, reducing eye strain and reducing the urge to flip through content.
Settings → Screen → Reading ModeYou can configure automatic activation on a schedule (for example, from 22:00 to 8:00).
2. Notifications of long-term use
The system can remind you that you've been on your phone for too long to activate:
Settings → Notifications → Reminders about the time of useSet the interval (e.g. every 30 minutes) and the reminder text.
3. Quick gestures to block apps
In MIUI 15, you can block applications with a gesture, for example, you can configure:
- 👆 Swipe up with two fingers on the lock screen → Focus mode opens.
- 🤏 Double touching the back of the phone → Blocks the current application.
The settings of gestures are in Settings → Additional → Gestures and movements.
💡
Using black and white (read mode) reduces the time spent on social media by 20 to 30 percent by reducing visual stimulation (University of Colorado study, 2022).
How to Reset or Reset Usage Statistics
Sometimes the usage time data accumulates over the years and you want to reset it, like after a break in your phone or for a clean start, and there are two ways to reset the statistics in MIUI:
Method 1: Manual reset
- Go to Settings. → Digital well-being.
- Slap the icon. ⋮ (three points) in upper right corner.
- Choose Reset Data.
- Confirm the action (you will need to enter a password from your Mi Account).
Method 2: Through resetting settings
If the first method did not work (this happens on custom firmware), do:
Settings → About phone → Reset settings → Reset application settings⚠️ This will remove not only the time statistics, but also all user settings of the applications (for example, saved passwords in the browser).
Important: resetting the statistics doesn't affect the phone, but after that, the data will start to be collected again, so if you want to save the history, take screenshots of the reports before resetting.
Frequent problems and their solutions
Sometimes users of Xiaomi Redmi Note are faced with the fact that the statistics of usage time is not updated, shows incorrect data or is not available at all.
| Problem. | Possible cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics not updated | Data collection disabled | Check Settings → Apps → Permissions → Special Access → Access to Usage Statistics and Enable It for Digital Well-being. |
| Shows 0 hours of use | Resetting your phone or updating MIUI | Wait 24 hours, the data will start to reassemble. |
| There is no section on Digital Well-Being. | Outdated version of MIUI or custom firmware | Update your system or install Google Digital Wellbeing from the Play Market. |
| Time in games is not taken into account | The game is launched in Game Turbo mode | Turn off Game Turbo in the game settings or manually add it to the stats. |
If none of these methods worked, try clearing the Digital Wellbeing app cache:
Settings → Applications → Application Management → Digital Well-Being → Storage → Clear Cache⚠️ Note: Some Redmi Note models (e.g. Redmi Note 9 Pro with a MIUI 12.5) Statistics can be reset after deep optimization through Security → Optimization: To avoid data loss, turn off automatic optimization in settings.