You pressed the power button, but instead of the usual MI logo on the screen — a black screen or endless load? Xiaomi smartphone turns on 5, 10, and even 20 minutes, although it used to start in seconds? This problem is familiar to many owners of devices of the brand, from the budget Redmi Note to the flagship Xiaomi 13. In 80% of cases, slow turn on is not a sentence, but a signal to the need for diagnosis.
In this article, we’ll look at all the possible causes, from software failures to hardware malfunctions that make your Xiaomi “think” before launching, how to distinguish a secure latency (such as a system update) from a critical failure (such as a damaged memory chip), and most importantly, get step-by-step instructions that will help return a smartphone to a quick boot without going to the service center.
Warn immediately: if the phone turns on for more than 30 minutes or hung on the MI logo - this is not a "long load", but emergency mode. In such cases, urgent diagnosis is required (more about this in the section on hardware malfunctions).
1.Crowded memory: the main loading brake
The most common reason for slow switching on is a lack of free space in internal memory, where when less than 10% of the available space is left on the device, the system begins to “brake” at the boot stage, especially for models with 32/64 GB of memory, where users often ignore overflow warnings.
How does it work? When you turn on, Xiaomi scans the file system for errors and optimizes the cache. If there is almost no memory, this process stretches for minutes. For example, on Redmi 9 with clogged storage, downloading can take up to 7-12 minutes instead of the usual 20-30 seconds.
- 📱 Symptoms: the phone is on for a long time, but after booting it works stable".
- ⚡ Solution: at least release 3-5 GB of memory (remove cache, unnecessary applications, transfer files to memory card or cloud).
- ⚠️ Exception: if after cleaning the memory again fills itself - to blame virus or malfunction MIUI (Read the section on the PO).
⚠️ Note: Do not use "memory cleaners" from Google Play - they often delete system files, which only exacerbates the problem. → Memory. → Cleanup.
Transfer your photo/video to Google Photos or a memory card
Remove unused apps (especially games)
Clear the cache in Settings → Apps → All applications
Remove downloads from the Download folder
Disable automatic media saving from messengers-->
Firmware failures: when the system is “locked”
If Xiaomi phone turns on after the update or suddenly starts to "think" before launch, the fault of the firmware.
- 🔄 Failed update MIUI: Firmware files have been downloaded with an error or the installation process has been interrupted.
- 🛠️ Custom firmware: Unofficial builds (e.g. xiaomi.eu or Pixel Experience) may conflict with iron.
- 🧹 Cleaning Dalvik cache: after resetting the cache through TWRP The first load is always taken 5-15 minute.
How do you diagnose? If you see "Optimizing app X of Y" on the screen when you download it, that's okay after you update, but it doesn't have to be repeated all the time, and if the phone is stuck on the MI logo or rebooted in a loop, the firmware is damaged.
| Symptoms. | Probable cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Download stops at 25% or 50% progress bar | Damaged. boot.img or system.img | Refuse through Fastboot or Recovery |
| There is a “No command” error with a lying Android robot. | Failure to work recovery | Install official MIUI Recovery with Mi Flash Tool |
| The phone turns on, but immediately turns off. | Core conflict with firmware (often after downgrade) | Swipe the full Fastboot package with data cleanup |
For Xiaomi models on the Qualcomm processor (for example, Redmi Note 10 Pro, POCO X3), you can try disaster recovery through EDL mode. For MediaTek (for example, Redmi 9A, POCO M3), firmware through the SP Flash Tool will suit.
How to Get Into EDL Mode on Xiaomi
3. Application conflict: who is slowing down the download?
Even if there is enough memory, some applications can block the system from booting, most often the fault is:
- 🔒 Antivirus: Avast, Dr.Web, 360 Security scans the system at startup, which increases the boot time in the 2-3 once.
- 🎮 Autoload games: Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty start background processes at the initialization stage.
- 📱 Launchers and themes: third-party launchers (like Nova Launcher) or heavy themes MIUI They can "hang" the interface.
- 🔄 Autosynchronization: Google Photos, Dropbox, OneDrive start syncing immediately after turning on.
How do you check? Go to Settings → Apps → Autoboot and turn off autostart for all applications except system. If the phone starts to turn on faster, one of the apps that has been disabled is to blame. To find the specific culprit, turn on autoboot one by one and watch the boot time.
Third-party antivirus (Avast, Dr.Web, etc.)
Games (PUBG, Genshin Impact, COD)
The launchers (Nova, Apex, Microsoft Launcher)
Cloud storage (Google Photos, Dropbox)
Social networks (TikTok, Instagram, VK)
Other-->
Critical information: If you turn off the autoload of all applications, the phone still turns on for a long time, the problem is not the software, but the hardware or the firmware.
Hardware malfunctions: when the "iron" is to blame
If the software didn't work, it's hardware, and here are some of the most common malfunctions that have kept Xiaomi on for a long time:
- 🔋 Worn-out battery: if the battery is inflated or its capacity has fallen below 60% The power controller can slow down the system's start-up, especially for older phones. 2-3 years.
- 💾 Damaged flash memory: broken sectors on eMMC or UFS-the drive forces the system to repeatedly read the data when booting.
- 🔌 Faulty charging connector: oxidized contacts or damaged tracks on the board can cause unstable power when turned on.
- 🧠 Processor problems: overheating or rolling of the crystal (for example, after falling) leads to "hang" during the initialization stage of the core.
How do you diagnose?
- Check the battery: Call the engineering menu at ##4636## and check the "Battery health" setting. If the phone turns off at 20-30% charge, the battery is worn out.
adb shell
su
dd if=/dev/zero of=/storage/emulated/0/testfile bs=1M count=512If the command issues input/output errors, the flash memory is damaged.
⚠️ Warning: If the phone is hotter than 50°C in the first 10 seconds is a sign of a short circuit on the board!
5.Reset to factory settings: when it really helps
If all the previous methods failed, the last software method is hard reset, which deletes all the data, but returns the system to a "clean" state, which helps in 60-70% of cases where the reason for slow boot is accumulated MIUI errors.
How to do the reset correctly:
- Save all data (photos, contacts, messages) to a memory card or cloud.
- Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
- Select "Erase all data" and confirm.
- After reset, do not restore data from the backup – check the download speed first.
For advanced users, if you like firmware experiments, always back up TWRP before installing custom builds. And remember, downgrading to an older version often leads to loading problems!
💡
If you frequently reflash your phone, use the Mi Flash Tool with the “Clean all and lock” option, which minimizes the risk of crashes in subsequent updates.