How to fix the application on Xiaomi MIUI 12: a step-by-step guide

Xiaomi smartphone users often face aggressive optimization of MIUI 12, which forcibly closes background processes, which leads to messengers stop sending notifications, activity trackers lose route data, and music players fall silent while working with other programs, the system considers such applications “heavy” or “ineffective” and ruthlessly unloads them from RAM to save battery power.

But there is a proven way to get around these limitations and force the software to stay active. Sticking an application to memory is not just about fixing an icon, but about complex permissions that require attention to detail. In this article, we'll look at the nuances of how you interact with the system constraints of HyperOS and older versions of the shell.

To start with, it’s important to understand that swiping down to close programs won’t help here: You’ll need access to hidden menus and battery settings, which are often ignored when you first set up your device, and properly configuring these settings ensures that mission-critical services work smoothly.

The problem of aggressive optimization in MIUI 12

MIUI 12 is known for its rigid approach to resource management. Unlike pure Android, it has its own Task Manager, which prioritizes system processes over user ones. Aggressive energy savings often cause broken notifications from WhatsApp, Telegram or navigators. The default system assumes that if you don't see the app screen, you don't need it right now.

Xiaomi’s memory is designed to kill the background services first when there is a lack of RAM, and even if your smartphone has 6 or 8 GB of RAM, algorithms can force processes that consume too much CPU power in the background, especially for navigation maps and fitness trackers.

⚠️ Warning: A complete shutdown of battery optimization can result in a significant increase in battery consumption during the day. Use these settings selectively only for the required programs.

Understanding the logic of the system allows you to fine-tune exceptions, and instead of fighting the system, we'll give it clear instructions about what processes you can't touch, and that requires you to change several parameters in different sections of the settings menu.

Configuring the energy saving mode for applications

The first and most important step is to change the power profile of a particular application, and by default, all new programs are given the status of "Energy Savings", which leads to their periodic stop, and you need to manually switch this parametre to "No Limits" mode.

To do this, go to the Settings menu, then select the Apps section and click All Apps. Find the program you want (like a navigator or messenger) in the list. In the menu that opens, select Activity Control (or Battery Consumption) and you will see three options to select No Limits.

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If you can’t find Activity Control, try clicking on the three dots in the top right corner of the app listing screen and select “Special Features” or “Special Rights.”

Once this parameter is changed, the system will stop the process from being stopped by the system, even if it is actively using GPS or the network in the background, a basic level of anchorage without which further action may not make sense.

• 🔋 Open the settings of a particular application through the general list.
• ⚙️ Find the "Battery" or "Energy Saving" section».
• ✅ Select the option “No restrictions” for permanent work.
• 📱 Make sure that the status has changed and the system no longer restricts background activity.

It's worth noting that once the operating system is updated, the settings can reset to factory values, in which case the procedure will need to be repeated. This is the standard MIUI behavior for major firmware updates.

Affixing to the multitasking menu

The second step is to visually and programmatically fix the window in Task Manager, and many users just swipe apps upwards, not knowing that MIUI 12 has a Lock feature, which prevents the memory from being cleared when using the Clear Everything button.

Open the menu of running applications by swiping from the bottom up and holding your finger (or pressing the navigation button), find the window of the desired program, press it and hold your finger until the additional menu appears, or swipe down the window (depending on the launcher version), the lock icon will appear. Click on it to lock the application.

Now, even if you press the memory cleanup button, this application will remain on the list of running and will not be forced out of RAM, but this method only works in conjunction with the battery settings described above. The lock itself does not prevent the system from "killing" the process when resources are scarce, it only protects against manual cleaning of the user.

Auto-start and access rights permission

The third critical parameter is autorun permission. In Xiaomi, by default, all applications except system ones are banned from starting with the operating system. If you restart the phone, the attached app will not start itself until you manually open it.

Go to the Safety app (green zipper icon), which is system on all MI devices. Go to the Permissions section and select AutoRun. Find your program in the list and activate the switch. This will allow the app to start immediately after the phone is turned on, which is especially important for trackers and smart homes.

You also need to check the permissions. Go to Settings → Applications → Permissions → Autorun. Make sure that there is a tick on the box, and the duplicate settings on different menus are a feature of the MIUI interface that is designed to confuse the user, but we are successfully coping with it.

⚠️ Warning: Auto-Run permission for a large number of applications can noticeably slow down the operating system load after turning on the smartphone.

Also check if the back-end limit is worth it. SIM-maps and mobile networks, find the "Control traffic" and make sure that the application is allowed to use the Internet in the background. Without this, the navigator will not build a route, and the messenger will not receive a message.

Hiding through the Explorer application (Alternative method)

There is a lesser-known method that sometimes helps in particularly complex cases where standard settings are not saved, and it involves managing through the system Explorer and hiding applications, which indirectly affects their priority in some versions of firmware.

Open the standard Explorer, go to the folder MIUI → hidden_all. You can manipulate hidden configuration files here, but this method requires caution. A safer option is to use the Hidden Apps feature in the settings. Go to Settings. → Annexes → Hidden applications and add the desired program.

Once added, the app will disappear from the desktop, but it will remain in the system, and you can launch it through a special gesture or password, a method often used to anchor important services that should not be horny, but should work, but for ordinary users, this can create inconvenience with access to the interface.

Using a hidden mode does not guarantee 100% protection against unloading unless the battery and auto-start clauses are met.

Using Developer Mode for Advanced

For those who aren’t afraid to experiment, you can access advanced settings through the developer menu, where you can turn off MIUI Optimization system optimization, making the system’s behavior more like pure Android.

To enter the menu, go to About Phone and quickly click on MIUI 7 times. You'll be a developer. Then, in the "Additional" menu, find Developer's. Find "Enable MIUI Optimization" and turn it off. The phone will reboot.

Settings → About phone → Tap according to MIUI (7 times) → Additional settings → For developers → Optimization MIUI (Off)

Once this feature is disabled, the system will stop managing memory as aggressively, but the interface may become less stable, and some features, such as themes or dual applications, may not work properly, a radical measure that should only be resorted to if other methods have not worked.

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Disabling MIUI optimization gives maximum freedom to applications, but can destabilize the system and the design themes.

In the same developer menu, you can find the item "Don't keep activities", but it, on the contrary, you need to keep it off! Enabling this item will cause any application to close as soon as you fold it on the main screen.

Frequent mistakes and problem solving

Even after completing all the settings, users sometimes find that applications still crash, often because of third-party memory cleaners installed from Google Play, programs like Clean Master or various antiviruses can have their own rules and force processes to close, ignoring the settings of the system.

The problem may also be the firmware version itself, and global ROMs work differently than China ROMs, and if you refashion your phone from Chinese to global without unlocking the bootloader, you may experience certificate conflicts that cause background services to run unsettled.

• 🚫 Remove third-party applications to clean up memory.
• 🔄 Check for updates for the most problematic app.
• 📉 Reset the application settings to factory if it is not working properly.
• 🔋 Avoid using Super-Savings mode, which blocks all background processes.

If nothing works, try uninstalling the application and reinstalling it, setting the permissions immediately when you first start, and sometimes old configuration files cause errors in the new version of the operating system.

⚠️ Note: When you reset your phone, all of the above permissions and fixes will be deleted. You will have to reconfigure them after data recovery.

Remember that MIUI 12 is a complex system, and the balance between autonomy and performance is always a trade-off.