Why apps spontaneously close in the background on Xiaomi: a full analysis of the problem

You open the messenger to check the messages, and instead of chatting, you see a blank download screen. Or the music is interrupted after 5 minutes of listening in the headphones. Familiar? Xiaomi smartphone owners regularly face the problem when applications unexpectedly close in the background - even if they were not folded manually. Is it MIUI, aggressive battery saving algorithms or errors of the applications themselves?

This problem is not new: it has been plaguing users of Redmi, POCO and Xiaomi’s flagship series for several years. But in 2026, things got more complicated — with the release of MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS, the logic of the background processes changed. We analyzed 7 key reasons why applications are closed without your knowledge, and collected working solutions — from basic settings to hidden settings for power users. Without unnecessary “set as you like” — only specific actions with explanations, including unique chips for new HyperOS firmware.

1: Aggressive Optimization of MIUI: Why the System Kills Applications

The main culprit is the built-in memory optimization function in MIUI. By default, the system thinks that background applications are wasting resources, and forcibly closes them to free up RAM. The logic is simple: the more free memory, the faster the active application will work.

• 📱 Messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) do not receive notifications
• 🎵 Music services (Spotify, Yandex Music) stop after a few minutes
• 📍 Navigators (Google Maps, Yandex Maps) lose communication with GPS
• 🔄 Background tasks (Google Drive sync, Torrent downloads) are interrupted

In MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS, the algorithm became even stricter: the system analyzes user behavior and closes those applications that it believes are “rarely used.” For example, if you haven’t opened VK 2 days, the chance that the messenger will be killed in 10 minutes in the background is 90%, and Xiaomi does not not notify you: no pop-ups or logs in Settings → Apps.

⚠️ Warning: On devices with 4GB of RAM or less, optimization works as aggressively as possible. Even if you have 1.5GB of storage free, the system will still close the background processes.

How do you fix this? There are two ways.

1. Disable application-specific optimization (Section 3 of this article).
2. Set up global memory settings – but this requires access to hidden settings (Section 5).

2.Battery settings: Hidden limitations you didn't know about

The second most popular reason is the Battery Saving feature (Settings → Battery). Even if you haven't manually activated the Power Saving mode, MIUI automatically applies restrictions to applications that:

• 🔋 Consume more than 5% charge per hour in the background
• 📶 Uses mobile data or Wi-Fi for longer than 15 minutes in a row
• 📍 Activate GPS or other sensors

HyperOS has a new mechanism called Adaptive Savings, which learns from your habits and blocks the background activity of apps at “uncomfortable” times, for example, if you normally sleep between 23:00 and 7:00, even the allowed apps can be suspended during this period.

The problem is, even in No Limits mode, some applications still close, and that's because of the individual savings settings for each application, to check them out.

1. Open Settings → Battery → Selection of applications.
2. Tapping on the desired application (for example, Telegram).
3. Check the "Background Activity" item - it should be turned on.
4. Below, find “Stop” and “Secondary” – both settings must be activated.

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If the → Battery Settings list → App selection doesn't have the right app, it hasn't consumed power in the last day. To make it appear, open it and wait 5-10 minutes.

3. How to manually allow background work for applications

The easiest way to fix this problem is to add an application to the exceptions, which removes all automatic MIUI restrictions for a particular program, and the instructions are relevant for MIUI 12-15 and HyperOS:

Open Settings → Applications → Application Management |Select the desired application (e.g. VK)|Tap "Permissions" → "Additional" |Enable "Background Activity" and "Out-Start" |Go back and select "Battery" → "No Limits" |Reboot your smartphone (required!)

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For HyperOS, there is an additional step:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Special Permissions → Autorun.
2. Find your app and turn on the switch.
3. Return and open Special Permits → Background activity – there should also be a switch switch.

If after these actions the application still closes, check:

• 🔄 Application updates – sometimes bugs are fixed in newer versions.
• 📥 Cache and data – clear them in Settings → Apps → [Application] → Storage.
• 🔧 Developer settings are more about this in the next section.

⚠️ Warning: Some applications (e.g., Google Play Services or Mi Push) cannot be added to exceptions through standard settings. They will need to use ADB- commands (Section 6).

4. Hidden developer settings: how to disable killing processes

If standard methods don't work, it's time to dig deeper, and there are hidden parameters in MIUI and HyperOS that control the behavior of background processes, to activate them:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap the 7 once on the "MIUI Version" (or "HyperOS Version").
3. Enter a pattern lock or password.
4. Return to the main settings menu and a new section for developers will appear.

Now find and change the following parameters:

• Do not save actions – disable (if enabled, kills all processes when locking the screen).
• Process Limitation – Set a “Standard Limit” (the default may be “Aggressive”).
• Background Processes – Select “No Limits” (not available on all devices).
• MIUI Optimization – Disconnect (Reboot is mandatory!)

Important: disabling MIUI optimization can increase battery consumption by 10-15%, but background applications will stop closing. If you are critical to autonomy, use this method selectively - only for the most important programs.

5.RAM problems: why even 12 GB does not save from closing applications

Many users mistakenly think that a large amount of RAM (8/12 GB) will solve the problem with background processes. In practice, this is not true: even on Xiaomi 13 Ultra with 16 GB of RAM, applications can close. Why?

It's about Xiaomi's memory management algorithm, which divides all applications into 3 categories:

1. Active (on screen now).
2. Cache (curled up, but can quickly recover).
3. Suspended (frozen, take up a minimum of resources).

When memory is scarce, MIUI kills suspended processes first, then cached processes, without considering how important an app is to the user, for example, Google Chrome with 20 tabs will be prioritised over Spotify playing music.

How do you get around that?

• 🔧 Set the background process limit manually (in the developer settings).
• 📱 Use Freezing Applications through Settings → Apps → Freezing – This marks unnecessary programs as “unpriority.”
• 🔄 Turn off animation in the developer settings (accelerates switching between applications).

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HyperOS devices have a feature called Advanced Memory (Settings → Memory) that uses some of the internal storage as virtual RAM, but doesn't help with background processes, only speeds up multitasking.

6. ADB- Commands: A Radical Solution for Power Users

If none of the previous methods worked, the last option is to use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), a debugging tool that allows you to manually disable all restrictions for a particular application.

You'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).

Steps:

1. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
2. Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) in the adb folder.
3. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of your device.
4. Run the command to disable battery optimization: adb shell dumpsys deviceidle whitelist +com.example.app Replace com.example.app with your application's batch name (e.g. org.telegram.messenger for Telegram).
5. Reboot the phone.

List of package names of popular applications:

⚠️ Warning: Some apps (like Facebook or Instagram) ignore ADB- commands because of built-in battery-saving mechanisms, in which case only root or modified firmware will help.

7. Alternative solutions: from root to firmware change

If you've exhausted all the standard methods, there are radical measures left: they require technical skills and may be insecure, but they give you complete control over the background processes.

Option 1: Getting root rights

With a rue, you can:

• 🔧 Remove system applications that kill processes (e.g., com.miui.powerkeeper).
• 📝 Modify configuration files (/system/build.prop) to disable optimization.
• 🛠️ Use Magisk modules, such as Disable Flag Secure or Universal GMS Doze.

Option 2: Installation of custom firmware

AOSP-based firmware (e.g. LineageOS, Pixel Experience) does not have aggressive MIUI optimization.

• ⚠️ Loss of camera and sensor functions (on some models).
• 🔄 The need for manual installation of updates.
• 📱 Risk of "bricking" the device in case of error.

Option 3: Use of the second space

MIUI has a "Second Space" function (Settings → Special Options → Second Space).

1. Create a separate profile with other settings.
2. It's got to turn off all optimizations.
3. Only run critical applications in the second space.

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Before installing custom firmware or getting a root, be sure to unlock the bootloader through the official Xiaomi tool. Without this, you will not be able to flash alternative software.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions