Xiaomi phone freezes: all the reasons and what to do

Your Xiaomi suddenly stopped responding to touch, “thinks” for 10 seconds when opening apps or even hovers on the logo when turning on? These symptoms are found even in flagship models like Xiaomi 13 Ultra or budget Redmi Note 12. In 80% of cases, the problem can be solved independently without going to the service center.

In this article, we'll look at all the possible causes of freezes, from trivial overheating to hardware malfunctions in the motherboard, how to tell a software failure from an iron fault, what settings to check first, and what to do if the phone is stuck on a MIUI screen and doesn't even respond to the power button. For convenience, we've compiled a table of symptoms and solutions, and we've added interactive checklists for self-diagnosis.

1. CPU overheating is the most common cause of lags

If Xiaomi starts to brake after 10-15 minutes of play or when charging, thermal throttling is to blame - automatic performance decline due to overheating. In budget models (for example, Redmi 9A or POCO M3), the cooling system often does not cope with the load, especially in summer or when using covers.

How to check the temperature:

• 📱 Install the app CPU Monitor AIDA64 — They will show the temperature of the processor in real time.
• 🔥 Normal values: up to 40-45°C in plain, up to 60-70°C under load. If above 80°C – Refrigerate the device immediately.
• ⚡ Check if the battery is swelling (take a smidgen-swipe finger on the back cover – if there are bulges, turn off the phone immediately!).

What to do:

• 🧊 Remove the case and put the phone in a cool place for 20-30 minutes.
• 🎮 Close all background apps (especially games and social media) through Settings → Annexes → Launched.
• 🔄 Turn off fast charging in Settings → Battery → Fast charging (this will reduce heating when recharging).

💡

If the phone is heated even in plain, check if there are mining viruses installed. They can secretly use the processor to mine cryptocurrency.

Lack of RAM (RAM)

Xiaomi MIUI is known for its rashness to RAM. If you have a model with 3-4 GB of RAM (like the Redmi 8 or POCO X3 NFC), the system can start to “hang” when you open 5-6 applications, especially after MIUI updates, which are often optimized for new flagships, rather than old devices.

How to check the use of RAM:

1. Open the settings → About the phone → Memory.
2. Look at the RAM Usage chart. If less than 500MB is available, it's time to clean.
3. Click on “Clean” in the upper right corner to close the background processes.

How to free up memory:

• 🗑️ Remove the app cache in Settings → Warehouse → Cleaning (not to be confused with data cleaning!).
• 🚫 Turn off auto-run of unnecessary apps: Settings → Annexes → Autostart control.
• 🔄 Enable the “Extension” function RAM» (available on models MIUI 12.5+): Settings → Additionally. → Memory expansion. It uses a portion of the internal memory as virtual RAM.

3.Crowded storage - the hidden cause of lags

If the internal memory is full (less than 10% of the available space), the system starts to slow down even for simple tasks, because MIUI uses some of the memory for cache and temporary files, and when there is not enough space, the phone has to constantly clean the cache on the fly, which causes it to freeze.

Critical symptoms:

• 📸 It takes a few seconds for a camera to take a picture.
• 🎵 Music or video is “slowed down” when playing.
• 📱 Applications suddenly close with the error "Insufficient memory".

How to make room:

1. Move photos and videos to Google Photos or the Mi Cloud cloud.
2. Remove heavy games (Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile can take up to 10 GB!).
3. Clear the cache of system applications through Settings → Storage → Cleanup → Deep Cleanup.

4.Firmware failures MIUI: bugs, updates and “raw” versions

MIUI is one of the most customized Android shells, but its frequent updates sometimes bring more problems than good. If the phone started to freeze immediately after the update, it is most likely to be the fault:

• 🐛 Software bug in the new version (especially relevant for the MIUI Global Stable after major updates).
• 🔄 Conflict with user settings (for example, after resetting to factory settings).
• 📦 Incomplete update installation (if the process is interrupted due to battery discharge).

How to fix it:

• 🔙 Reverse to the previous version MIUI through settings → The phone. → Updating the system → Three points. → Select the service pack (you need a firmware file from the Xiaomi Community forum).
• 🧹 Make a cache reset (not data!): turn off the phone, pinch Volume up + Select the Wipe Cache Partition.
• 📡 If the problem occurs after the Google Play Services update, roll it back to Settings. → Annexes → Google Play Services → Three points. → Remove updates.

5. Viruses and Malware: How to Check and Remove

If Xiaomi started to slow down after installing applications from third-party sources (not Google Play), there is a high risk of infection with a virus.

• 🎮 Pirate games (such as hacked versions) PUBG Mobile or Free Fire).
• 💰 Apps for free money (such as Cash’App or Money Tree).
• 📱 APK-files from unknown sites (even if they are “checked” by antivirus software).

Signs of infection:

• 🔋 Battery goes down in 2-3 hours without active use.
• 📶 Suspicious traffic appears in Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Traffic.
• 📱 The phone spontaneously opens ads or redirects to Google Play.

How to treat:

1. Install Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light and scan the system.
2. Remove all suspicious apps in Settings → Apps (sort by installation date).
3. If the virus is deeply embedded in the system, make a complete reset (Settings → Additional → Reset).

💡

Never install. APK-files from sites like apkpure.com or uptodown.com — even if they seem secure. Viruses are often disguised as popular games and utilities.

6. Hardware malfunctions: when to carry in the service

If all the software methods have been tried and Xiaomi is still hanging, the problem could be the hardware.-5 hardware-cause:

⚠️ Note: If a Xiaomi phone falls into water or is subjected to a strong vibration (for example, after a fall), do not try to turn it on! Immediately remove the battery (if removable) and take it to the service. Torture to turn on the device can lead to short circuit and irretrievable data loss.

7 Conflicts with Google Services and System Updates

Many Xiaomi users are experiencing friction over the conflict between MIUI and Google services, such as when the phone starts to slow down or overheat after an update to Google Play Services or Android System WebView, because MIUI is deeply integrated with proprietary Xiaomi services, which sometimes conflict with Google updates.

How to diagnose:

• 🔍 Check the error log: Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → Click 5 times on "Kornel» → Select "Journals».
• 📊 Look for recurring errors with com.google or android.process.media.

Decisions:

• 🔄 Reverse Google Play Services to the factory version (instruction above).
• 🚫 Turn off automatic system app updates: Google Play → Settings → Auto-update of applications → Never.
• 📥 Install an alternative launcher (like Nova Launcher) if the getting stuck occurs on the home screen.

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If your phone is slowing down after the Android System WebView update, remove the update, which is responsible for displaying web content in apps and often conflicts with MIUI.

8. Incorrect energy saving settings

MIUI is known for aggressive battery optimization, which sometimes strangles background processes so much that the phone starts to brake, for example, if Ultra-Economic mode is turned on, the system can artificially limit the performance of the processor, which leads to lags.

How to check the settings:

1. Open the settings → Battery and performance.
2. Check if the mode is "charge savings" or "Ultra-saving".
3. Click on Battery Settings → Mode Selection and set Balanced or Performance.

Additional settings:

• 🔋 Turn off “App Background Restriction” in Settings → Battery. → Battery settings → Background restriction.
• ⚡ Add frequently used apps (messengers, navigators) to the “Optimization Exceptions».
• 🔄 If your phone brakes when connecting to Bluetooth devices (such as headphones), turn off Bluetooth Optimization in the battery settings.

⚠️ Note: If you use custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience), the freezes may be due to an incorrectly configured CPU core or task scheduler.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi hangouts