What apps can be turned off in the background on Xiaomi: Safe Guide 2026

Xiaomi’s MIUI-based smartphones are known for their functionality, but users often face a problem: dozens of apps run in the background, consuming battery power and RAM. Many of them can be turned off painlessly — if you know which ones. In this article, we’ll look at which system and third-party apps are safe to stop and which ones are better left alone.

It's important to understand that not all background processes are equally useful. Some are responsible for data synchronization, others are responsible for system stability. Disabling applications like com.miui.analytics or com.xiaomi.midrop will not cause failures, but it will save up to 15% of the charge per day. We analyzed versions of MIUI 14/15 on models from Redmi Note 12 to Xiaomi 14 Ultra — the instruction is relevant for everyone.

Why background apps are eating away at battery and RAM

Background processes are programs that continue to work even after closing.

• 🔄 Automatic synchronization (mail, calendar, cloud services)
• 📡 Location tracking (maps, weather, fitness trackers)
• 🔔 Display of notifications (social networks, messengers)
• 🛠️ System checks (updates, diagnostics)

Xiaomi adds branded services like Mi Push for notifications, Mi Cloud for backup, Security for protection, and even newer models like Xiaomi 13T, you can see 30+ active processes in Task Manager, resulting in fast battery drain and slowdowns when multitasking.

According to GSMArena’s tests, disabling unnecessary background applications on MIUI increases battery life by 8–22% (depending on the model), but there is a pitfall: some processes are critical to system stability, such as com.android.phone, which is responsible for mobile communications, and shutting it down will lead to network loss.

List of safe to disable system applications

Below is a list of built-in MIUI applications that you can disable without risk to the system. Before you act, check if you are using their features (for example, if you are not using Mi Cloud, feel free to stop the process).

To turn off, go to Settings → Applications → Application Management, find what you want and click Stop. An alternative way is through Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Management, where you can limit background activity for each application separately.

⚠️ Note: Do not disable processes called com.android. or com.qualcomm. – they are responsible for the work of Android and hardware. Except: com.android.browser and com.android.email (they can be deactivated if you do not use).

Find the application in Settings → Applications

Check if it is being used by you.

Click "Stop" (not "Delete!")

Reboot your phone to apply changes

Observe 1-2 days of stability of work-->

What applications should not be turned off (critical processes)

Some MIUI system services are vital to the smartphone’s performance, and stopping them can lead to:

• 📵 Loss of mobile network or Wi-Fi
• 🔋 Fast battery discharge (due to errors in core operation)
• 🐢 Strong lags or “flights” of the interface
• 🚨 Inability to call or send SMS

Here is a list of untouchable processes (relevant to MIUI 14/15):

• 🔒 com.android.phone – phone calls and SMS
• 📶 com.android.providers.telephony – mobile network data
• 🔄 com.miui.securitycenter – Security Center (responsible for unlocking)
• 🔋 com.miui.powerkeeper - power management
• 🛠️ com.qualcomm.qti.uce-shims – the work of the processor (on Snapdragon)

If you accidentally stop one of these processes, the phone may start overheating, run out quickly, or stop catching the network, in which case only rebooting or resetting settings through Settings → About Phone → Resetting will help.

⚠️ Note: On some models (e.g, POCO F5 or Redmi K60) disabling com.miui.daemon makes it impossible to update the system. MIUI Updater, keep the process active.

How to turn off background activity for third-party applications

Third-party apps (social networks, instant messengers, games) often abuse background activity, such as Facebook or Instagram can consume up to 10% of a charge a day even without active use, to limit their appetites:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the application you want (such as TikTok or VK).
3. Click on “Battery” → “Limit background activity”.
4. Enable the “Stop” option (if available).

For more stringent controls, use Charge Saving mode in Settings → Battery. It automatically limits background activity for all applications except system ones. On Xiaomi 12 Pro tests, this mode increased the running time by 30% with moderate use.

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If notifications from the messenger (such as WhatsApp) have stopped coming after the background activity restriction, add it to the exception list in Settings → Notifications → Priority Notifications.

For advanced users, there is a way through ADB (Android Debug Bridge) that allows you to completely block background activity for selected applications.

adb shell cmd appops set com.facebook.app ops_run_in_background deny

It will shut down Facebook's background, but be careful: improper use of ADB can disrupt the system.

Hidden Background Processes: How to Find and Disable

Some MIUI applications don't show up in the standard list, but they keep running in the background to detect them:

1. Install CPU Monitor or Greenify from Google Play.
2. Start scanning the active processes.
3. Pay attention to applications with high CPU or RAM consumption.

Among the “hidden” resource eaters are often found:

• 📊 com.miui.systemAdSolution – shows ads in system applications
• 🔍 com.miui.search – search bar on the home screen
• 📱 com.miui.hybrid – hybrid services (for example, for Mi Pay)
• 🌐 com.miui.bugreport – sending error reports

To disable them, root rights or use of ADB will be required. For example, to stop com.miui.analytics, do:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.analytics

⚠️ Note: Disabling com.miui.hybrid may disrupt Mi Pay and other services linked to your Xiaomi account.

How to check if the shutdown has affected productivity

After optimizing the background processes, it is important to make sure that the phone is stable.

1. Check battery life in Settings → Battery → Battery use.
2. Run a performance test (such as AnTuTu or Geekbench).
3. Make sure notifications arrive on time (test the call, SMS, push from the messenger).
4. Watch the temperature of the device in Settings → About the phone → System status.

If you have problems after disabling applications (for example, SMS does not come or mobile Internet is lost), return the settings to the original state.

• Restart your phone, and some processes will automatically recover.
• Return to Settings → Applications and remove restrictions from critical services.
• If the problem persists, reset your settings via Settings → Additional → Reset settings (without deleting data).

On models with MIUI 15 (such as Xiaomi 14), the Smart Optimization tool is added to the battery section, it automatically analyzes background activity and suggests turning off unnecessary processes, and we recommend using it before manually setting it up.

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Disabling background apps has the maximum effect when paired with other optimizations: cleaning the cache, turning off animations and using a dark theme. AMOLED-With screens (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra), dark theme can save up to 5% of your charge per day.

Frequent errors when disabling background processes

Many users make the same mistakes when trying to optimize Xiaomi, and here are the most common:

• 🚫 Turning off all processes in a row, it causes the system to be unstable.
• 🔄 Using a “task killer” – applications like Clean Master often kill critical processes, causing lags.
• 🔋 Restricting Google Play Services – This disrupts many apps, including Google Maps and Gmail.
• 🛠️ Removal of systemic APK without backup - can lead to a "brick" of the device (impossibility to turn on).

Another mistake is ignoring MIUI updates, with newer versions of the shell (e.g. MIUI 15) optimizing background control algorithms, and if your phone supports the update, install it before manually configuring it.

For example, MIUI 14 had a bug that caused the com.miui.home process to consume up to 20 percent of the CPU in the background, and MIUI 15 fixed that problem, so you can leave it alone.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions