How to turn off applications in the background on Xiaomi

Xiaomi smartphone owners often face a situation where battery power disappears faster than expected, and suddenly there is no free space in memory, the culprits of this behavior are often background processes that continue to consume resources even after the user has folded or closed the application. Aggressive optimization of MIUI and HyperOS sometimes works against the owner of the device, but the programs themselves can be written ineffectively.

Understanding how Android manages tasks is key to extending your gadget’s autonomy. Unlike iOS, Google’s system allows programs to run in stealth mode to perform tasks ranging from receiving notifications to updating your news feed.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the mechanisms of background activity and provide step-by-step instructions for limiting it, and you will learn to distinguish between system processes that you cannot touch and user applications that can and should be monitored to improve performance.

The impact of background processes on the work of the Xiaomi system

Background applications on Xiaomi smartphones perform many useful functions, such as synchronizing contacts, receiving messages in messengers and downloading updates. However, uncontrolled reproduction of such processes leads to the fact that RAM is filled, and the processor is forced to constantly switch between tasks, which causes micro-latency in the interface and heating the case.

The MIUI shell features built-in energy saving mechanisms that can conflict with user desires. It can force you to unload notifications from your memory unless you set up the appropriate exceptions. On the other hand, some “heavy” social networks manage to bypass restrictions and continue to mine cryptocurrency or load ads in the background.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling all background processes completely may result in you no longer receiving notifications of calls and messages from WhatsApp or Telegram.

It's important to understand the difference between active use and background work. When you read the tape, the application is active. When you fold it, but it keeps downloading data, it's the background mode. It's the second scenario that most often requires user intervention to optimize the device.

Basic settings through the battery menu saver_

The easiest way to limit program activity is to use an integrated energy saving tool, which requires you to go to Settings and find the Battery section, and here the system offers several job profiles, including Balance, Energy Savings and Ultra-Savings.

In Power Saving mode, the system automatically limits background activity for most applications, synchronizes data, and reduces screen brightness. This is a temporary solution that is useful when there is no charger at hand. However, it is recommended to use Balance mode for constant operation by adjusting the exceptions manually.

• 🔋 Go to the Settings menu → Battery for access to power management.
• 📱 Select the option Saving charge in applications for detailed configuration of each service.
• ⚙️ Set background activity limits for rarely used programs.

Special attention should be paid to the "Background Activity Limit" feature in the advanced battery settings, which allows you to prevent a particular application from running itself after closing, especially for games and utilities that do not need to work all the time.

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Use the Battery widget on your desktop to quickly switch energy saving profiles without diving deep into the settings menu.

Managing Auto-Run Applications

One of the main reasons that programs come into the background is because they auto-start, and many applications put themselves on the start list to run with the operating system, which allows them to respond instantly to user actions, but also leads to constant resource consumption.

Auto-run on Xiaomi is controlled via a special security menu, where you can see the full list of programs that start automatically and disable unnecessary ones. This does not remove the application, it only prevents it from running without your knowledge.

To access these settings, open the Security app (green zipper icon), then go to Permissions and select AutoRun. In the list that opens, switch sliders against apps that don't need to work all the time, usually online stores, news aggregators, and secondary utilities.

It’s worth noting that disabling autoruns for instant messengers can cause delays in receiving messages. Android tries to compensate for this with its mechanisms, but on MIUI shells it’s better to leave autoruns for mission-critical applications on.

Setting restrictions for specific applications

A more subtle setup is available in the application management menu, where you can force the process to stop, clear the data, or restrict its rights, and this is the most effective way to combat voracious programs that do not want to go to sleep.

To get to this menu, go to Settings → Applications → All Apps. Select the program you want from the list. In the window that opens, you are interested in Activity Control or Battery (the name depends on the version of HyperOS or MIUI).

There are three main options for behavior:

• 🚫 Without restrictions: the application can work in the background as much as you like (use only for navigators or voice recorders).
• ⚖️ Saving Charge: Standard mode limiting background activity after window closes.
• 🛑 Restrict: a strict ban on working in the background, the application will be completely unloaded from memory.

Use Limit mode for games and heavy apps that you don't need right now. For instant messengers and email clients, it's best to leave Save Charge or No Limits to keep important communication intact.

⚠️ Attention: Applying strict restrictions to Google Play system services may disrupt push notifications in all applications.

Using Developer Mode to Stop Processes

For advanced users who want to take full control of the system, there are hidden developer settings that allow them to not only see the processes that are running, but also set limits on how many they are running, a powerful tool that requires caution.

To activate the developer menu, go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click on the MIUI or HyperOS version seven times. After the message “You became a developer” appears in the main settings menu, a new section Advanced Settings → For developers will appear.

Inside this section, look for the Background Limit. The default is "Standard Limit," and you can change it by allowing the system to store, for example, no more than 2 or 4 processes. All the others will be forced to close.

Also available on the developer menu is the "Do Not Activity" feature, which, if you turn on this option, will destroy any application as soon as the user leaves the screen, a radical method that is guaranteed to clear memory, but makes multitasking impossible.

Additional Optimization and Cleaning Methods

In addition to system settings, there are additional ways to combat background noise, and one effective way to do this is to turn off sync for accounts you rarely use, which can be done under Accounts and Sync.

Another important aspect is the removal or freezing of pre-installed software (bloatware), many Chinese services and games pre-installed on global firmware versions are actively working in the background, collecting telemetry, and removing them through ADB or special utilities significantly reduces the load.

• 🧹 Clean the app cache regularly through the Cleanup menu.
• 📉 Turn off automatic app updates in the Play Market, leaving only Wi-Fi.
• 🔍 Check the list of devices connected to your Google account and delete the unknowns.

And the physical condition of the device, too, is that if the smartphone gets too hot, it can artificially slow down the processor and make it harder to manage background tasks, and in these cases, it helps to reset the settings to factory settings or replace the heat pad if the device is several years old.

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A comprehensive approach that includes setting up auto-start, battery limitations, and garbage removal gives a better result than using just one method.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)