Background App Mode on Xiaomi Redmi: A Complete Guide to Setup and Optimization

Introduction: Why Background Apps Aren't Always Bad

Have you ever noticed that even after the Viber or Telegram messenger is closed, notifications keep coming? Or that music in Spotify doesn't stop when you turn down the app? That's the work in the background -- the mechanism without which modern smartphones would lose half of their functionality. On Xiaomi Redmi devices (and other smartphones running MIUI), background processes are controlled especially aggressively, the system tries to balance user convenience and battery savings.

However, many owners of Redmi Note 12, Redmi 10 or POCO X5 face the downside: some applications suddenly fall asleep, stop updating data or require manual startup. This is due to the optimization of MIUI, which by default limits background activity to save energy. In this article, we will understand how the background mode works at the system level, which applications really need constant work, and how to set up Xiaomi Redmi so that the balance between performance and autonomy is perfect.

What is the background mode on Android and Xiaomi Redmi

Background mode is a state in which the app does not appear on the screen but continues to perform certain tasks. On Android (and, by extension, on MIUI), background work is regulated on three levels:

• 📱 Android OS Level: Basic restrictions set by Google (e.g. usage limits) CPU in the background for applications targeted for Android 8.0+).
• 🔧 Level. MIUI: additional optimization algorithms from Xiaomi, which can block background activity even allowed applications.
• 🔄 Application layer: internal settings of the software itself (for example, WhatsApp may request permission to autorun).

On Xiaomi Redmi, MIUI Optimization, a proprietary add-on over Android, plays a key role, aggressively closing the background processes to save battery life, leading to two common problems:

1. Apps do not receive notifications (e.g., Gmail or Slack do not not notify you of new emails).
2. Real-time features stop working (like tracking location in Google Maps or syncing data in Fitbit).

What apps really need in the background

Not all software requires constant work in the background, for example, a gallery or calculator can safely "fall asleep" after closing, while other categories of software are critically dependent on background activity:

It's important to understand that even within a category, there are nuances, like Telegram can run minimally in the background (for push notifications only), whereas WhatsApp requires constant synchronization because of end-to-end encryption, and apps like Zoom or Microsoft Teams use significantly more resources in the background than instant messengers because of the need to maintain a connection for video calls.

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If you are using Xiaomi Redmi root-rights, installing the Greenify module through Magisk will help you to point-to-point control background activity without completely disabling MIUI optimization.

How to check which apps work in the background on Xiaomi Redmi

To see a list of active background processes, follow the following steps:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Slip on the three points in the upper right corner and select Show System Processes.
3. In the list of applications, pay attention to the column Battery Use - programs marked Background mode or Auto Run are actively working in the background.

More detailed information can be obtained through the section "Battery":

• Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Use.
• Select a time interval (e.g., the last day).
• High-consumption applications (more than 5-10%) are more likely to use background processes.

For advanced users, there is an alternative method through ADB (requires a PC connection):

adb shell dumpsys battery unplug

This command will list all the processes that consume charge, indicating their status (foreground/background).

How to allow or prohibit the background work of applications

On Xiaomi Redmi, background control is done through several key settings, and it is important that changing these settings can significantly affect the autonomy of the device – some applications (such as messengers) in the background consume up to 20% of the charge per day.

Open the Settings. → Annexes → Choose the right one.|Activate Auto Startup|Allow background activity|Turn off battery optimization (if available)|Restart the device to apply changes-->

Let’s take a look at the Telegram example:

1. Autorun: Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Telegram → Autorun and enable the option. This will allow the application to start automatically after the phone is restarted.
2. Background Activity: In the same menu, find Background Activity (or Permissions → Additional → Background Activity) and activate it. This will allow the application to curl up.
3. Battery Optimization: In Settings → Battery and Performance → Select apps, find Telegram and select the No Limits option.

For MIUI 14 and later, the option of Deep Optimization (not available for all applications) may be added, and it may be necessary to turn off programs that actively use geolocation (for example, Google Maps or Uber).

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On devices with MIUI 13 and older, some background settings may be hidden for system applications (e.g., Security or Themes).

Battery Optimization: How to Reduce Charge Consumption from Background Processes

Background apps are one of the main reasons for fast battery drain on Xiaomi Redmi.According to XDA Developers tests, aggressive background activity can reduce battery life by 30-40%.Here’s how to reduce this impact without losing functionality:

• 🔋 Use "Battery Mode": In Settings → Battery and performance select Balanced or Charge Savings profile (the latter restricts background activity for most applications).
• ⏳ Limit sync: For apps like Facebook or Twitter, set up manual updates instead of background sync (in the app’s settings).
• 📵 Turn off unnecessary notifications: Go to Settings → Notifications and ban background alerts for underutilized programs.
• 🔄 Set up the "Adaptive Battery": In Settings → Battery → Adaptive battery power up this option – the system will automatically limit resources for rarely used applications.

Redmi users with MIUI 12.5+ have Intelligent Charge Control (Settings → Battery → Intelligent Charge Control) that analyzes user habits and optimizes background processes based on the time of day, for example, if you normally sleep from 23:00 to 7:00, the system will automatically limit background activity during this period.

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If your Xiaomi Redmi is discharged too quickly, check the background activity through the adb shell dumpsys batterystats command – it will show accurate data on the consumption of each process.

It’s worth noting that some apps (such as Mi Video or Mi Music) can ignore system limitations, in which case only a complete deletion or freeze through ADB will help:

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

Common Problems and Their Solutions

Even after setting the background properly, Xiaomi Redmi users may face typical problems, with the most common ones and ways to fix them:

⚠️ Note: If after the update MIUI Notifications have stopped coming, reset the application settings (Settings) → Annexes → Select the application → Warehouse → Clear the data) and reset the background. In new firmware versions, the paths to settings may change.

The problem with restarting applications after cleaning RAM deserves special attention. MIUI has a Memory Cleanup (Settings → Applications → Memory Cleanup) function, which by default closes all background processes when the screen is locked.

1. Open the Settings → Lock screen.
2. Select Sleep Mode and turn off the option to Clear Memory when locked.

⚠️ Note: Some Redmi models (e.g. Redmi Note 11 Pro)+) After the memory cleanup is turned off, battery consumption can increase by 10-15.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions