Why Genshin Impact doesn’t work on Xiaomi: 7 reasons and how to fix it

Many Xiaomi smartphone owners are facing a problem: the popular Genshin Impact game either doesn’t launch at all, or it works with critical lags, departures or compatibility errors, and the problem concerns both budget models like the Redmi Note 10 and flagships of the Xiaomi 13 series.

There are actually several reasons, and they are combined depending on the device model, the MIUI version, and even the region of your smartphone purchase. In this article, we will discuss 7 key factors that may not support Genshin Impact on Xiaomi, and give step-by-step instructions for troubleshooting problems. Note at once: some limitations are hardware-based and not solved software-but in 60% of cases, the game is still launched after the correct settings.

1. Official requirements of Genshin Impact vs. Xiaomi capabilities

Developer miHoYo publishes minimum and recommended requirements for Android devices, comparing them with the characteristics of popular Xiaomi smartphones:

Key point: the game requires support for the Vulkan 1.1+ API for rendering graphics. Many budget and mid-budget Xiaomi smartphones (especially on Snapdragon 6xx and MediaTek Helio G processors) do not support this standard at the hardware level. Even if the specifications indicate the presence of Vulkan, real performance may not be enough for stable operation.

Example: Redmi 9A with a Helio G25 processor technically starts the game, but the FPS drops to 5-10 fps, and the body heats up to 50 ° C. In such cases, miHoYo blocks the installation through Google Play or APK to avoid complaints about the “unplayable” state.

⚠️ Note: If your smartphone is released before 2020 (e.g. Redmi Note 8 Pro or Mi) 9T), Genshin Impact's chance of successful launch is close to zero.Helio processors G90T Snapdragon 730 does not pull up modern updates to the game.

2. Device model lock: miHoYo blacklist

miHoYo maintains an internal list of devices that won't run the game even if it meets the specifications.

• 📱 Smartphones with known overheating problems (e.g, POCO F3 early-stitch).
• 🔋 Devices with weak batteries (capacity below 4000 mAh).
• 🛠️ Models that often crash graphics drivers (for example, Redmi Note 10 Pro with Snapdragon) 732G).
• 🌍 Regional versions of smartphones (e.g. Xiaomi for India with limited Vulkan support).

Check whether your model is in the “black list”, can be indirect:

1. The game doesn’t show up on Google Play (even when you search manually).
2. When installed via APK, the error appears: "Your device is not supported".
3. After launch, the game immediately closes without error (logs show code 1001).

This limitation can be avoided, but you will need to:

Download a modified APK (for example, with APKMirror or TapTap)

Use VPN to change region on first launch

Disable Compatibility Checking with ADB

Install custom firmware (e.g. Pixel Experience)

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Important: Modified versions of the game can result in a ban on your account, and the risk increases if you use an official HoYoverse server.

Redmi Note 10/11/12

POCO X3/X4/X5

Xiaomi 11/12/13 series

Another budget Xiaomi

Flagship (Mi Mix, Black Shark)

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3.Problems with MIUI: Optimizations that break games

MIUI firmware is known for aggressive background optimizations that save battery power but interfere with resource-intensive gaming, with Genshin Impact being the most critical:

• 🔄 Limitation of background processes: MIUI Forced to close the game when folding, even if it supports multitasking.
• ⚡ "Turbo mode: instead of accelerating, it often reduces performance due to incorrect profiles.
• 🛡️ Blocking Vulkan: on some versions MIUI Vulkan driver shuts down to save energy".
• 📡 Network Limitation: The game can lag due to artificial speed reduction Wi-Fi/4G.

How to turn off harmful MIUI features:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Genshin Impact → Battery and select “No Limits”.
2. In Settings → Special Features → Application permissions give the game all rights, including “Map on top of other windows”.
3. Turn off "Game turbo mode" in Settings → Additional → Game mode.
4. In Settings → Battery and Performance → Performance mode, select “High Performance”.

If the game still crashes after this action, try resetting MIUI to factory settings (without deleting data), sometimes flashing it to Global ROM (if you have China ROM).

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Before changing your MIUI settings, check the firmware version in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version. If it is older than 13.0.5, update – new versions have fixed critical bugs with Vulkan.

4.Overheating and trottling: why Xiaomi is "strangling" performance

Genshin Impact loads the processor and graphics accelerator by 80-90%, which leads to thermal trottling, a forced reduction in frequencies for cooling, which is especially evident on Xiaomi smartphones because:

• 🔥 Poor cooling system (there are no copper tubes or graphite gaskets in budget models).
• 📉 Aggressive algorithms of trottling in MIUI (It's already working at 45.°C).
• 🔋 Weak batteries that can’t withstand high loads.

How to check that the problem is overheating:

1. Install the Throttling Test CPU from Google Play.
2. Start Genshin Impact and play for 10-15 minutes.
3. Return to the Throttling Test CPU – if the trottling score is >30%, the problem is overheating.

Decisions:

If trolling occurs even on a cold device, the problem may be in the thermal paste (relevant for smartphones older than 2 years), in which case only the service center will help.

5. Graphics driver errors: why the game is dyeing at launch

A common error when running Genshin Impact on Xiaomi is "Failed to initialize graphics device" or "Vulkan-1.dll not found."

• 🖥️ Vulkan driver missing or damaged.
• 🔧 The driver version is outdated (relevant for smartphones on MediaTek).
• 🛠️ There has been a conflict with other games that use Vulkan (e.g. Honor of Kings or Call of Duty Mobile).

How to fix it:

1. Update drivers through Settings → About phone → System update.
2. Install the latest version of Google Play Services and Android System WebView.
3. For devices on MediaTek, download Vulkan Tools from Google Play and run a compatibility test.
4. If nothing works, try installing Magisk and the Vulkan Compatibility Pack.

For Snapdragon processors, sometimes it helps to force Vulkan to turn on via ADB:

adb shell setprop debug.vulkan.layers enable

After completing the command, restart the smartphone.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 9 Pro with Snapdragon) 720G) The Vulkan driver is unstable, so you just have to minimize your graphics settings or use a PC emulator.

6.Regional restrictions: why the game is not launched in some countries

MiHoYo is blocking Genshin Impact from running on devices from certain regions because of:

• 🌐 License restrictions (e.g. in India, the game was temporarily blocked).
• 📵 Sanctions (relevant for some CIS countries).
• 💰 Lack of official payment support (e.g. in Turkey or Egypt).

How to get around regional locks:

1. Use a VPN with servers in the United States, Japan, or Hong Kong (e.g. ProtonVPN or NordVPN).
2. Create a new Google Play account with the region where the game is officially available.
3. Install APKs from alternative sources (such as TapTap or QooApp).

Important: when using a VPN, there may be delays (pings > 200 ms), which will make the game uncomfortable. The best option is to connect via a VPN only for the first run, and then turn off.

7. Alternative ways to launch: emulators and cloud gaming

If neither of these methods worked, there are two options:

• 💻 Emulator on PC: BlueStacks or MuMu Player with settings for Xiaomi.
• ☁️ Cloud Gaming: Boosteroid, GeForce NOW or Xbox Cloud Gaming.

For the emulator, we recommend:

1. Select a configuration with 4 CPU cores and 4 GB of RAM.
2. Enable Vulkan in the graphics settings.
3. Set a resolution of 1600×900 for performance balance.

Cloud services require stable Internet (speeds from 25 Mbps) Ping to the server must be <200 ms, otherwise there will be lags.

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Emulators and cloud gaming are the only way to play Genshin Impact on weak Xiaomi smartphones (like the Redmi 8A or POCO C31).

FAQ: Frequent questions about Genshin Impact on Xiaomi