Xiaomi phone brakes and lags - what to do? full acceleration guide

Your Xiaomi has slowed down, apps have been slow to open, and the interface is hanging? This is a common problem faced by owners of the brand's smartphones, from budget Redmi to flagship Mi or POCO. The causes of brakes can vary from overloaded memory to firmware errors. In this article, we will examine all possible ways to speed up the phone, from simple actions to radical measures like resetting to factory settings.

It’s important to understand that if Xiaomi started to slow down suddenly (for example, after the MIUI update), this is often due to software failures. If the performance drops gradually, it is the “clutter” of the system or battery wear.

Before you start setting up, check if your phone is overheating while you're running, if the battery is running too fast, if these symptoms indicate hardware problems that can't be solved by software, and if the brakes only appear in certain applications (like games or instant messengers), the problem is more likely to be in the software.

1. Cleaning up memory and cache is the first step to speeding up

The most common cause of brakes is a lack of free memory, and the MIUI system uses the cache to speed up the work, but over time it accumulates and begins to interfere.

• 📱 Cleaning the app cache: Go to Settings → Annexes → App management, select the heaviest app (like Facebook or TikTok) and click Clear Cache. Repeat for all commonly used programs.
• 🗑️ Disposal of garbage: In Settings → Click Clear Memory – the system will automatically delete temporary files, log files and remnants of remote applications.
• 📂 Manual File Check: Use the built-in File Manager (Files by Google or Mi File Manager) to find and remove unnecessary downloads, duplicate photos and old ones APK-file.

Pay special attention to applications that run in the background, and many of them (such as messengers or social networks) continue to consume resources even after they are closed, to limit their activity:

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Management
2. Select an app (like WhatsApp) and set a background activity limit.
3. For a radical solution, disable autostart: Settings → Applications → Permissions → Autostart.

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If after cleaning the cache, the application began to work worse (for example, it loads data for a long time), go back to its settings and click Clear Data - this will reset all temporary files, but the saved logins and settings will remain.

2. Disable animation and visual effects

MIUI is known for its striking design, but numerous animations and transitions can slow down weak smartphones (such as the Redmi 9A or POCO M3).

Activate in Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (press 7 times)|Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers|Find the parameters of the window animation scale, the transition animation scale, the animator duration scale|Set the value Disabled or no animation-->

If the animations are turned off, return the 0.5x value, which is a trade-off between smoothness and performance, and disable unnecessary visuals:

• 🎨 Background blur: Settings → Screen. → Lock screen style → Background blur (unplug).
• 🌈 Flip effects: Settings → Additionally. → Animation effects (set "Without animation»).
• 📱 Gestures MIUI: If you use full-screen gestures, try returning classic navigation buttons – they are less loading the processor.

On smartphones with a Snapdragon 4xx or Helio Gxx processor, disabling animations can increase the speed of opening applications by 20-30% (according to Xiaomi users’ tests on 4PDA forums), however, on flagships (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro), the effect will be minimal.

3. Optimization of autoboot and background processes

Many apps run automatically when you turn on your phone and continue to run in the background, consuming RAM.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Autorun.
2. Turn off autoplay for all applications except system ones (e.g. Phone, Messages, Google Play Services).
3. For particularly voracious programs (such as AliExpress or Wildberries), also turn off notifications in Settings → Notifications.

If after these actions the phone still brakes, check the list of working processes:

• 🔍 Open the Settings. → The phone. → Status of the system → Launched processes.
• 📊 Pay attention to apps that consume more than 10% CPU or 200MB of RAM.
• ❌ Forced to stop unnecessary processes (Stop button).

Social media (Facebook, VK, TikTok)|Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram)|Games (PUBG, Genshin Impact)|Systemic processes (MIUI, Google Services)|Other-->

Be careful: Forcing system processes to stop (e.g. com.miui.home or android.process.media) can cause disruptions. If you're not sure, you better not touch them.

4. Update firmware and reset to factory settings

If Xiaomi started to slow down after the MIUI update, it may be the fault of the unstable firmware version.

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. If you have an update, install it. If your phone is already on the latest version, try rolling back to the previous one (see instructions below).

If the update didn't work, the last chance is a factory reset, which will delete all the data, so back up first:

Copy photos/videos to PC or cloud|Exporting contacts to a Google account|Record logins/passwords from important accounts|Make sure your phone is at least 50 times charged%-->

For discharge:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Choose to erase all data and confirm the action.
3. After restarting, set your phone as new.

If the reset didn't work, the problem could be the firmware itself, in which case manual flashing through Fastboot or Recovery will help, but it's a risky procedure - if you make a mistake, the phone can turn into a brick.

5. Virus and malware check

Viruses and ad modules are a common cause of brakes, especially if you installed apps from third-party sources (not Google Play).

• 🛡️ Use built-in security (Settings) → Security → Scanning).
• 🔍 Install a third-party antivirus (such as Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light) and do a deep check.
• 📱 Check the list of installed applications for suspicious ones (for example, with names like com.system.update or android.secure).

If you find a virus, delete it and be sure to reset your network settings:

1. Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Resetting network settings.
2. Reboot the phone.

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Viruses are often disguised as system applications. If the phone still slows down after removing a suspicious program, check traffic flow in Settings → Mobile Network → Traffic Use. Unexpectedly high consumption (for example, 1 GB per night) is a sure sign of malware.

6. Hardware problems: battery, overheating, memory

If the software methods did not help, the cause of the brakes may be in the "iron":

• 🔋 Worn battery: With battery health below 70% (checked in Settings) → Battery → Battery status, the phone starts trottling, which is an artificial performance reduction to save energy. Solution: battery replacement.
• 🔥 Overheating: If the phone is heated above 45°C (can be checked in the annex) AIDA64), processor automatically reduces the frequency. Clean the charger connector from dust and avoid using your phone in the sun.
• 💾 Internal memory problems: If the phone often freezes while reading/writing files, the flash memory may be damaged. AIDA64 (storage → Status of memory).

To diagnose hardware problems:

1. Install the Throttling Test CPU from Google Play – the app will show if the CPU frequency is reduced due to overheating.
2. Check Settings → About Phone → Kernel Version. If the kernel assembly date is very outdated (for example, 2020 at the current 2026), this may indicate firmware problems.

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If the phone is only slowing when connected to a charger, try using another charger. Cheap cables or power supplies can cause voltage drawdowns that cause the processor to run unstable.

7. Alternative firmware and custom cores

If the standard methods didn't work, and the phone is still warranty, you should contact the service center, and if the warranty is over, you can try custom firmware like:

• 📱 LineageOS – “pure” Android without shell MIUI.
• ⚡ Pixel Experience – firmware with an interface, like on Google Pixel.
• 🔧 Xiaomi.eu – modified version MIUI free of advertising and unnecessary applications.

Installation of custom firmware requires:

1. Unlock the bootloader (via fastboot oem unlock).
2. Custom Recovery (TWRP) installations.
3. Flash firmware via adb sideload or TWRP.

If you’re not willing to take risks, try optimized cores (like FrancoKernel or KernelSU) that improve CPU and memory management, but require root rights.

8.When is it time to carry the phone for repair?

If none of these methods worked, there may be a problem with the hardware.

• 🔧 The phone brakes even after resetting settings and flashing.
• 💥 Applications are crashed with the error “Application stopped” or “System process stopped».
• 🔄 The phone spontaneously restarts or turns off.
• 📉 Performance in benchmarks (such as AnTuTu) is 30% lower than claimed for your model.

The average cost of diagnostics in official Xiaomi services is 500-1000 rubles. Repairs may include:

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Before visiting the service, back up your data via Mi PC Suite or Google Drive. In some cases (for example, when replacing the motherboard), data recovery may not be possible.

FAQ: Frequent questions about brakes on Xiaomi