How to completely ban Xiaomi applications from working in the background: 5 proven ways

Background activity is one of the main reasons for fast battery drain and slowdown of Xiaomi smartphones. Even when you are not using the program, it can consume resources: update data, send notifications or synchronize with servers, especially aggressive social networks (Facebook, Instagram), messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) and Google system services.

There are several ways to limit background activity on MIUI, from soft settings to full locking, but it’s important to understand that some applications (such as messengers or navigators) will stop working correctly if they are completely banned from background activity. In this article, we will analyze all available methods, from safe to radical, and explain which ones are best used for different types of programs.

You will also learn how to get around the limitations of MIUI if the system automatically returns settings to factory settings (this is a common problem on the Redmi Note 10/11, POCO X3/X4 and Mi 11/12). Ready to optimize your smartphone? Let's start with the simplest way.

1. Limit background activity through battery settings

The most obvious and safe method is to use MIUI built-in power management tools, which are suitable for most applications, except for system applications (e.g. com.miui.securitycenter or com.android.phone), which cannot be limited to standard tools.

To set the limits:

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance.
2. Select Battery Consumption Management (on some versions of MIUI, Battery Use).
3. Slip on the desired application in the list.
4. In the Background Activity section, select Limit or Disallow (depending on the firmware version).

In the models with MIUI 14+ (For example, Xiaomi 13 or Redmi Note 12 may be slightly different: → Annexes → Application management → [Select an application] → Battery → Background activity.

The application is not a messenger (Viber, Telegram, etc.)

You do not have important notifications from this app.

You do not use background features (such as music on Spotify)

The app does not sync data (e.g., mail or calendar)-->

⚠️ Note: After the restriction, some programs may stop updating content in real time. for example, Instagram won't show new stories until you manually open it, and Google Maps may stop tracking your location for navigation.

2. Use of Charge Saving mode for individual applications

If you completely ban background work too radically, you can compromise to turn on the application mode Saving charge, in which case the program can work in the background, but with serious limitations: reduced synchronization frequency, disable auto-update and some push notifications.

How to do this:

• 🔋 Go to Settings. → Battery and productivity → Saving charge.
• 📱 Select the Applications and find the desired program in the list.
• 🔄 Activate the switch Charge Savings (on some models – Battery Optimization).

This method is well suited for social networks (TikTok, Twitter), news aggregators and other applications that are not critical for background work, but still sometimes need to update data.

Social networks (Facebook, Instagram)

Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram)

Games (PUBG, Genshin Impact)

System Processes (MIUI, Google Services)

Others-->

⚠️ Attention: POCO F3/F4 and other models after updating to MIUI 13/14 If you notice that the app is active again in the background, check its status in the menu Saving charge.

3. Complete shutdown of autostart and background activity

For a radical limitation, use AutoRun, which blocks the application from starting when the system starts and prevents it from running in the background after closing, a method that is suitable for rarely used programs or those that you only run manually (for example, banking applications, photo editors).

Instructions:

• 🛡️ Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Select the desired application from the list.
• 🚫 Find the Auto Start and turn it off.
• 🔄 Go back and set the Battery section to Prohibit background activity.

On Xiaomi 12 Pro, Redmi K50 and other flagships with MIUI 13+, you may need to further disable Show notifications so that the application does not wake up the system to send push messages.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling auto-runs for system applications (e.g. com.miui.home or com.google.android.gms) can cause the phone to run unstable!

4.Using hidden MIUI settings (for power users)

MIUI has hidden settings that allow for more flexibility in managing background processes, such as manually prioritizing an application or completely blocking its access to system resources, which are not officially dokumented, but work on most Xiaomi devices.

To access them:

1. Turn on Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and tap the MIUI version 7 times.
2. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
3. Find Background Process Limit (or Background Process Limit) and select Without Background Processes.
4. For individual applications, use Do Not Retain Activity (in the developer settings).

On models with Qualcomm Snapdragon (for example, POCO F5 or Redmi Note 12 Pro+), these settings work more stable than on devices with MediaTek (for example, Redmi 10C), where lags are possible after applying restrictions.

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If after changing the hidden settings, the phone began to brake, return the Background Limitation parameter to the Standard Limit value and restart the device.

5. Forced app stops via ADB (for advanced)

If standard methods don't work (e.g., the app still wakes up in the background), you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge) to force you to shut down, which requires connecting the phone to your computer and basic command line knowledge.

Step-by-step:

1. Install ADB Tools on your PC.
2. Enable USB debugging in the developer settings on your phone.
3. Connect Xiaomi to your computer and confirm your trust in the device.
4. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type: adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.example.app (replace com.example.app with a real application package, for example, com.facebook.katana for Facebook).

To find the exact application package, use the command:

adb shell pm list packages | grep "appendix name"

⚠️ Note: Disabling system packages (e.g. com.miui.securitycenter) may make it impossible to boot your phone.Before experimenting, back up through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

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ADB-The commands allow you to disable even those applications that MIUI It doesn't limit the interface, but it's a method that requires caution, because the wrong command can disrupt the system.

6. Alternative methods: Greenify and other utilities

If you don't want to mess with manual settings, you can use third-party apps to hibernate background processes, and the most popular solution is Greenify (requires root rights to work properly), which allows you to freeze unnecessary programs, preventing them from waking up without your knowledge.

How to set up Greenify:

• 📥 Install the app from Google Play.
• 🔧 Grant rights Special access (in settings) MIUI It's the settings. → Annexes → Special access → Optimizing the battery).
• ➕ Add apps to the hibernation list (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon Shopping).
• ⚡ Enable Aggressive Hibernation (requires root).

For rootless devices (such as the Redmi A1 or POCO M4 Pro), Greenify will work in limited mode, but it will still help reduce background activity.

Other useful utilities:

• 🛡️ Brevent – blocks background processes without root (uses) ADB).
• ⚡ Servicely – Disables unnecessary services (requires root).
• 🔋 AccuBattery – analyzes battery consumption and helps to identify “gluttonous” applications.

7.What to do if the settings are not saved?

Many Xiaomi users are faced with a problem: after rebooting or updating the system, background settings are reset, this is due to the work of the service com.miui.zeus, which “optimizes” applications as it sees fit.

Solutions:

• 🔄 Update. MIUI until the latest version - in new assemblies, the problem is less common.
• 📵 Turn off Automatic Optimization: Go to Settings → Battery and productivity → Battery settings. Disconnect Adaptive Battery and Optimization MIUI.

Use Tasker or MacroDroid

com.miui.zeus

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find MIUI (or Security) optimization.
3. Click Clear the cache and Stop.

On Xiaomi 13 Ultra and other 2023 flagships, the problem of resetting is less common, but still possible. If nothing helps, try resetting to factory settings (don’t forget to make a backup!).

FAQ: Frequent questions about background activity on Xiaomi