How to completely disable trottling on Xiaomi smartphones: from MIUI to the core

Trottling the processor on Xiaomi smartphones is an artificial performance restriction that the system uses to save battery power or prevent overheating. In most cases, MIUI algorithms work correctly, but sometimes they start to "strangle" the phone even at normal temperatures, leading to sharp falls in FPS in games, slowing the interface or unreasonably slow background processes.

The problem is compounded by Xiaomi’s active concealment of trottling settings in the latest firmware versions (starting with MIUI 12.5).Where you used to disable two-click restrictions, you now have to dig through the engineering menu or use ADB. In this article, we’ll break down all the current ways, from official to “surgical”, including modifying system files for advanced users.

What is trolling and why it is included in Xiaomi

Trottling (from English. throttling - "strangulation") is a mechanism for the forced reduction of the clock frequency of the processor, when the system fixes:

• 🔥 Overheating (usually above 45-50°C for Snapdragon or 55°C for Mediatek)
• 🔋 Critical charge level (below 15-20%)
• ⚡ Long-term load (e.g. 30+ minutes of play at maximum settings)
• 📉 Background activity (when applications consume too much resources in background)

On Xiaomi smartphones, three components are responsible for trottling at once:

1. MIUI Optimizer is a proprietary service that analyzes resource usage and applies constraints.
2. Android core is a low-level driver that physically reduces the frequency of the CPU/GPU.
3. Thermal Engine is a temperature control module that can block the cores of the processor.

In theory, trottling should protect the phone from damage, but in practice it often works unreasonably aggressively — for example, when starting the camera in hot weather or when connecting to a charger. Especially suffer models with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/2 processors (Xiaomi 12 Pro, Redmi K50 Ultra), where factory limits are often underestimated.

Method 1: Disabling Trottling through Hidden MIUI Settings

MIUI 12.5-14 has some of the trottling settings hidden behind the engineering menu, which works without root and does not require a PC connection, but is not available on all models.

Instructions:

1. Open the Phone app and enter the combination: ##4636##.
2. In the menu that appears, select Battery Information.
3. Scroll down to the Thermal status block and click on it 5 times in a row (a hidden partition should appear).
4. Go to Thermal Manager → Power Throttling.
5. Turn off sliders: 🔄 CPU Throttling (CPU restriction) 🎮 GPU Throttling (Graphics restriction) ⚡ Battery Saver Throttling (Saving mode restrictions)

If there is no Power Throttling, then your model uses a different control mechanism, in which case, try an alternative way:

Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (shap 7 times to turn on Developer Mode)


Settings → Additional → For Developers → Background Limitation → Disable “Limit background processes”

Charge your phone at least 50% | Backup important data | Make sure your phone temperature is below 40°C | Turn off battery saving mode-->

⚠️ Warning: Some devices (POCO F4, Redmi Note 11 Pro+) may experience artifacts in games after the trottling is turned off via the engineering menu, because GPU starts operating at limiting frequencies without restriction. If you notice graphical glitch, reset the settings.

Method 2: Using ADB to Remove Restrictions

If hidden settings are not available, you can disable trottling via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), a method that requires a computer connection, but works on 90% of Xiaomi devices.

Steps:

1. Download and install Google’s Platform Tools.
2. Turn on the phone Debugging over USB (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version → 7 taps → For developers → Debugging over USB).
3. Connect the phone to your PC and type in the command line: Adb devices Make sure the device is defined.
4. Follow the commands in turn: adb shell settings put global thermal_manager_enabled 0 adb shell settings put global power_saver_mode_enabled 0 adb shell settings put global adaptive_thermal_management_enabled 0
5. Reboot the phone.

For models on the Snapdragon 888/8 Gen 1 (Xiaomi 11T Pro, Black Shark 4), you will additionally need to disable the Thermal Engine:

adb shell su -c "echo 0 > /sys/module/msm_thermal/core_control/enabled"

If the trottling remains after completing the commands, check the current limits:

adb shell cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone*/temp


adb shell cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone*/trip_point_*_temp

Method 3: Modification of thermal-engine.conf files (for advanced)

At the system level, trottling is managed by the thermal-engine.conf configuration file, which is located in /vendor/etc/. It can only be changed with root rights or through Magisk.

Algorithm of action:

1. Get root (e.g., through XDA Developers).
2. Install a file manager with root support (such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
3. Go to /vendor/etc/thermal-engine.conf and back up the file.
4. Open the file in the text editor and find the sections: [cpu_throttling] - limitations for the [gpu_throttling] processor - limitations for the [battery_throttling] graphics - limitations for low charge

throttling_temp

45000

60000

644

Example of modified unit for Snapdragon 870 (POCO F3):

[cpu_throttling]


throttling_temp = 60000




throttling_freq = 1708800 # The frequency to which the clock frequency is reduced




throttling_cores = 4 # Number of limited nuclei

⚠️ Warning: Incorrect modification of thermal-engine.conf can cause the phone to overheat and automatically shut down. If the device heats above 60°C after the changes to a simple one, return the original file!

💡

Before editing system files, create a full backup via TWRP. This will allow you to restore the phone if after the changes it stops booting.

Method 4: Disable MIUI Optimizer (for power users)

MIUI Optimizer is the service that is responsible for "optimizing" the system, but often it is the service that is responsible for unjustified trottling. It can be disabled through ADB or removed from root.

Commands to disable:

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


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




adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.xiaomi.misettings

For complete removal (root required):

su


mount -o rw,remount /system




rm -rf /system/priv-app/MiuiPowerKeeper




rm -rf /system/priv-app/ThermalManager




reboot

After disabling MIUI Optimizer:

• ✅ The background restrictions for applications will disappear.
• ✅ Will stop trottling when connected to charging.
• ❌ Lags may appear in the interface (MIUI is optimized to work with this service).
• ❌ Increases battery consumption by 10-15%.

💡

Disabling MIUI Optimizer maximizes performance, but makes the system less stable. Use this method only if other methods have not worked.

Method 5: Using Magisk modules to control trottling

If you do not want to manually edit system files, you can use ready-made modules for Magisk:

1. Disable Flag Secure removes restrictions on screen recording and background activity.
2. Thermal Configs – allows you to fine-tune temperature limits.
3. PowerKeeper Disabler – Disables MIUI PowerKeeper, which is responsible for aggressive trottling.
4. Game Turbo Unlocker unlocks hidden performance settings in games.

Installation:

1. Download a module (e.g. Thermal Configs).
2. Open Magisk Manager and go to Modules → Install from Storage.
3. Select the downloaded file and wait for the installation.
4. Reboot the phone.

After installing Thermal Configs, you can:

• 📊 Set your temperature thresholds for CPU/GPU.
• 🔧 Disable trottling for specific applications (e.g., games).
• ⚡ Set up the behavior of the system when charging.

Method 6: Hardware methods of dealing with trottling

If the software methods don’t help or you’re afraid to interfere with the system, you can try physical methods:

• 🧊 Cooling case - reduces the temperature by 5-10°C (effective for POCOX3 Pro, Redmi K40).
• 💨 External cooler — USB- Fan or radiator for chip (relevant to Black Shark gaming smartphones).
• 🔋 Thermopaste replacement – on older models (Xiaomi Mi 9, Mi 10) the thermal paste dries out, leading to overheating.
• ☀️ Shade-Use - Direct sunlight raises the body temperature by 15-20°C.

To replace the thermal paste will require:

1. Disassemble the phone (see instructions for your model on iFixit).
2. Clean the old paste from the processor and radiator with alcohol.
3. Apply a new thermopaste (I recommend Arctic MX-6 or Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut).
4. Collect your phone and check the temperature in AIDA64.

Temperature comparison before and after the replacement of the thermal paste on Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra:

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When trying to disable trolling, users often face problems:

• 🔄 “Settings reset after rebooting” means that the changes were made without root or not saved in build.prop. Solution: use ADB with the --user 0 flag or get a root.
• 🔥 "Phone overheats and turns off" -- you've raised the temperature limit too much. Put throttling_temp back to 50000-55000.
• 📉 Performance unchanged -- maybe trottling is superimposed at the core level. Check logs through adb logcat | grep thermal.
• ⚡ "Battery goes down fast" -- turning off the trottling increases your power consumption. Carry a powerbank with you or turn on adaptive brightness.

If the phone has become unstable after manipulation:

1. Return all changes back (restore backup).
2. Check the temperature in AIDA64 or CPU Monitor.
3. If the phone doesn’t turn on, boot into Fastboot and flash the original firmware through the Mi Flash Tool.

💡

The safest way is a combination of software settings (ADB) and hardware cooling (cover/cooler), which gives you performance gains without the risk of overheating.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions