Mobile operating systems like Android and Xiaomi’s proprietary MIUI shell are notorious for aggressive power optimization. Users often face situations where messengers stop sending notifications, activity trackers lose step data, and navigators shut down at the most inopportune moment, because the system automatically shuts down processes it considers inactive or too voracious to extend battery life.
To solve this problem, you need to force the application to be fixed, giving it priority in work. Fixing the process in RAM allows the program to work in the background even when cleaning the memory or restarting the device. In this article, we will discuss in detail how to fix the application on the Xiaomi phone using standard system tools and additional developer settings.
The setup procedure may vary slightly depending on the firmware version, whether it is MIUI 12, MIUI 13 or the newer MIUI 14. However, the basic principles remain unchanged: you need to prevent the system from "strangling" the selected software. Below are proven methods that will help solve the problem with the departure of programs.
The main methods of fixing applications in MIUI
The easiest and fastest way to lock in is to use the menu of running apps, a method that doesn't require deep immersion in settings and is available to everyone immediately after you buy a device. Xiaomi's shell multitasking menu has hidden features that many people don't know about.
To start, open all the apps you've launched and go to the thumbnail screen, find the program you want to use. If you use gesture navigation, swipe from the bottom up and hold your finger. If you have classic buttons, click the Menu button (three bars), and you'll see a list of open windows.
Now you have to do an action that activates lock mode, which, depending on the version of the shell, can be swiping down the thumbnail of the application or long pressing on it, and when you do it right, a lock icon will appear next to the program icon, which means that the closure protection is activated.
- 🔒 Swipe down the application window in the task menu until the lock icon appears.
- 📱 Press and hold your finger on the thumbnail of the program until the context menu appears.
- ✅ Select “Secure” or “Block” in the action list that appears.
- 🔄 Repeat the procedure for all important applications, such as the navigator or messenger.
It is important to understand that this method does not provide 100% guarantee in extreme conditions. If the RAM of the device is completely filled with heavy games or processes, the system can still force the shutdown of even blocked applications.
Set up auto-start and work in the background
A more reliable way is to deeply configure the access rights for a particular application through the system menu. The MIUI shell has strict background control, which must be turned off for important programs. Without this step, even the application fixed in the task menu can be stopped by the system after a while.
Go to your smartphone Settings and find the Apps section. Here, select All Apps (or Application Management) and in the list, find the program you want to secure, such as Telegram or Yandex.Navigator, and click on it. You are interested in Battery or Energy Saving.
Inside this menu, you'll see three options. The default is often "Battery" or "Savings," which is what causes problems. You have to select "No Limits," which allows the application to consume CPU and network resources even when the screen is off.
☑️ Setup of application rights
Then go back to the main menu of the app settings. Find the AutoRun switch and activate it. This will allow the program to run itself immediately after the phone is turned on, without waiting for the user to act, and check for the "Other permissions" item and make sure that there are no restrictions on the work in the background.
⚠️ Warning: Enabling No Limits mode can lead to faster battery discharge if you pin a "heavy" app that is actively using GPS internet.
Using the Developer Mode for Fixing
For advanced users who don't have the standard methods, there's a hidden developer menu, where you can set the backend limit globally for the entire system, and the developer mode is hidden by default so that inexperienced users don't accidentally disrupt the system.
To activate this menu, go to Settings → About Phone. Find the MIUI Version (or OS Version) string and quickly click on it 7-10 times in a row. The system will tell you that you have become a developer. Now a new Developer Item will appear in the Advanced Settings menu.
Inside this section, scroll down to the Apps category. Find the Background Process Limit. The default is Standard Limit. You can change it, but be careful: setting too high a limit or not can overload the RAM of older Xiaomi models.
| Option. | Description | Impact on the battery |
|---|---|---|
| Standard limit | The system decides how many processes to keep. | Optimal. |
| No background processes | Applications are closed immediately after folding | Maximum savings |
| No more than 1 process | There is only one last application left in the background. | High savings |
| No more than 4 processes | Up to 4 background applications allowed | Average. |
If you are not sure about your actions, it is better to limit the settings of a particular application described in the previous section. Global changes can affect the stability of Android.
What if the “Developers” item is missing?
Screen fastening (Kiosk Mode) for one application
There's another type of fixing that's often confused with background work, which is Pinning, which allows you to lock an app onto a display so you can't leave without a password or a special action, which is useful if you give a phone to a child to watch a video or a friend to navigate.
The feature is located in Settings → Password and Security → Privacy (or “Special Features” in older versions). Find the screen fix and turn it on. It is also recommended to activate the option “Request PIN when uncoupled”.
To use the feature, open the application you want. Go to the menu of running tasks (swipe bottom up with a delay). Click on the application icon at the top of the window (or swipe sideways, depending on the version of MIUI). In the menu that appears, select the pin icon or the item "Swipe".
- 📌 The screen is locked in one app, the Home and Back buttons do not work.
- 🔐 The output is carried out by a combination of buttons (usually "Back» + «Menu) and password entry.
- 🎮 Ideal for gaming, navigation or restricting children’s access.
- ⛔ Do not confuse this method with background work: when the screen is fixed, other programs will not work.
This is a very different method from background fixation, and if your goal is to have music play and maps read the route in parallel with other tasks, use the methods in the previous sections. Screen fixing is a tool that temporarily restricts access to the phone's interface.
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If you have secured the screen and forgot the exit button combination, try pressing the power button for 10 seconds to restart, but this will interrupt the application.
Memory work and cache cleaning
Even after setting it up correctly, the system can behave unpredictably if the device is full of junk files. RAM is a limited resource, and if it is clogged with cache, the system will begin to aggressively unload processes, ignoring your locking settings.
Clean your cache regularly through the built-in Security app. Click on the Cleanup button and wait for the analysis to be completed. It's also helpful to go to your storage settings and delete files from large applications that you rarely use.
Special attention should be paid to third-party software-cliner applications, which often perform worse than Xiaomi’s built-in tools and can unload important processes themselves, considering them malicious.
If you notice that the application crashes immediately after the memory is cleaned, check if it is added to the Optimizer Blacklist. There is a Battery section in the Security app → Settings → Exceptions. Add important programs.
⚠️ Warning: Completely cleaning all application data (“Erase Data”) will delete your logins, passwords and correspondence history within this application. Use this option only if you understand the consequences.
Solving Frequent Problems and Conflicts
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where all the settings are correct, but the application still “dies” in the background, this can be due to conflicting versions of Android and optimization of the application itself, in such cases, the reinstallation of the program from the official GetApps store or Google Play helps.
It is also worth checking for updates to the MIUI system itself. In newer versions of firmware, memory algorithms often change, and a bug that interfered with the application can be fixed by developers. Go to Settings → About the phone and check for updates.
If the problem concerns a particular navigator or tracker, try turning off traffic savings for it. SIM-maps and mobile networks, find the item "Saving traffic" and add the application to the list of exceptions. This will prevent the connection from breaking when the screen is rolled up.
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The comprehensive approach (locking in the task menu + battery settings + auto-start) guarantees the application to work in 99% of cases on Xiaomi smartphones.
In conclusion, managing applications on Xiaomi requires understanding the logic of the MIUI shell. The system is designed to maximize energy savings, so it chokes everything superfluous by default. Your task is to gently explain to it which programs are important to you.