Background connection on Xiaomi Redmi: why you need and how to manage it

Have you ever noticed that even when you don't use a Xiaomi Redmi smartphone, it continues to consume Internet traffic and drain the battery? Background connectivity, a key feature of modern Android devices, allows applications to update data, receive notifications and sync with servers even when they are folded or not launched at all by the user.

On the one hand, background connectivity makes your Redmi smarter: instant messengers show new messages, email updates without delay, and the weather in the widget is always relevant. But on the other hand, it is one of the main reasons for fast battery drain and unexpected consumption of mobile traffic.

In this article, we will discuss in detail:

• 🔍 What is a background connection and how does it work on Xiaomi Redmi
• ⚡ How it affects smartphone autonomy and performance
• ⚙️ Where to find settings and how to optimize them for different scenarios
• 📱 What applications are most often abused by background activity
• 🛡️ Ways to limit background connection without loss of functionality

What is a background connection and why it is needed

Background data is a mechanism that allows applications to communicate with the Internet even when they are not active on the screen. On Xiaomi Redmi smartphones, this feature is implemented at the level of both the MIUI operating system itself and individual applications.

The main tasks of background connection:

• 📩 Instantly receive push notifications (e.g. WhatsApp, Telegram, VK)
• 🔄 Automatic data synchronization (mail, calendars, cloud services)
• 📊 Update of widgets (weather, currency rates, news feeds)
• 🎵 Music/video buffering in the background (e.g. YouTube Music or Spotify)
• 📍 Location tracking for geoservices (e.g. Google Maps or Yandex.Maps)

Without a background connection, your Redmi would be a deaf device: to receive new messages in the messenger, you would have to open the application manually every time. However, by default, MIUI allows background activity to all installed programs, which often leads to excessive resource consumption.

How background connectivity affects autonomy and performance

According to research, up to 30% of the battery charge on Xiaomi Redmi smartphones can be spent on background application activity, and the problem is exacerbated by models with Snapdragon 4xx/6xx processors (for example, Redmi 9A, Redmi Note 10), where energy efficiency is lower than that of flagship chips.

The main "eaters" of resources in the background:

In addition to the battery, background activity affects:

• 🐢 Performance: Constant network requests load the processor and RAM, which leads to lags when opening other applications.
• 🌡️ Overheating: On Redmi models with metal body (e.g., Redmi Note 8 Pro), prolonged background activity can raise the temperature to 45-50°C.
• 📶 Unstable Connection: If too many apps are trying to get online at the same time, mobile internet can be “hung up.”

⚠️ Warning: On Xiaomi Redmi smartphones with MIUI version below 12.5, the default background connection is not optimized for energy savings, meaning that even folded apps can consume up to 20% charge per hour when using mobile internet.

Where to find background connection settings on Xiaomi Redmi

Background activity management in MIUI is scattered across several settings sections, with the main menu items you'll need:

1. Settings → Applications → Application Management → [Select App] → Permissions → Background Activity
2. Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Consumption Management
3. Settings → Connections and Sharing → Data Use → Background data
4. Settings → Special features → Battery optimization (not available on all models)

On Redmi models with MIUI 13/14, the path may be slightly different. For example, on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+, background activity settings are hidden in:

Settings → Applications → Application Management → [Triple in upper right corner] → Special access → Background activity

It’s important to understand that not all apps appear on this list. System services (such as Google Play Services or Mi Cloud) may have hidden background settings that change only through Settings → All Settings → Permissions → Additional.

Open Settings → Battery and Performance

Check the list of high-consumption applications

Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management

Disable background activity for unnecessary programs

Reboot your smartphone to apply changes-->

What applications can be safely restricted in the background

Not all programs are equally useful in the background, but here is a list of applications that can be turned off without losing important notifications:

• 🎮 Games (PUBG Mobile, Free Fire, Genshin Impact – they don’t need background activity other than updates)
• 📺 Video players (MX Player, VLC - buffering in the background only wastes traffic)
• 📰 News aggregators (Yandex.Zen, Google News – update content when opened)
• 🛒 Store apps (AliExpress, Wildberries – discount notifications are not critical)
• 📊 Financial Applications (SberBank Online, Tinkoff – better to update manually)

But the programs, background activity which is not recommended to turn off:

• 💬 Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber – lose notifications)
• 📧 Mail (Gmail, Mail.ru – you won’t see new emails)
• 📍 Navigators (Google Maps, Yandex.Navigator – will not work offline maps)
• 🔒 Authenticators (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator – risk of losing access to accounts)

⚠️ Warning: On Xiaomi Redmi smartphones with dual-sim slots, disabling background activity for instant messengers can cause notifications to only arrive on the main SIM- card.This is a bug MIUI that is only fixed in versions 13.0.4 and higher.

💡

To check which application consumes the most battery in the background, go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Use and sort the list by the “Background Consumption” parameter.

Step-by-step: how to limit background connection

Consider two ways to limit background activity: through system settings and using third-party utilities.

Method 1: Through the MIUI settings

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Choose the app you want to restrict (like Facebook).
3. Go to the permissions section → background activity.
4. Choose the option to Limit or Prohibit (depending on the MIUI version).
5. Confirm the changes and restart the smartphone.

Method 2: Through Energy Saving Modes

Xiaomi Redmi has built-in power consumption profiles that automatically limit background activity:

• 🔋 Balanced – moderate restrictions for most applications.
• 🌿 Energy saving is a strong limitation, but it keeps notifications from messengers.
• ⚡ Super Power Saving – Disables background activity for all applications except calls and SMS.

To activate the mode:

Settings → Battery and performance → Energy saving modes

Hidden settings: how to completely disable the background connection

For power users looking to optimize their Xiaomi Redmi as much as possible, there are a few hidden ways to manage background activity.

Method 1: ADB (for advanced users)

With ADB commands, you can globally disable background data for all applications:

adb shell settings put global background_data 0

To get it back:

adb shell settings put global background_data 1

⚠️ Warning: This method turns off background activity for ALL applications, including system applications. Once it is applied, push notifications, email and cloud sync will stop working. Use only if you understand the consequences accurately!

Method 2: Through Developer Modes

Activate Developer Mode (7 times click on Settings → About Phone → MIUI version), then:

1. Go to Settings → Additional → For developers.
2. Find the option to limit background processes.
3. Select the value of No Background Processes or Maximum 1 Process.

This method is less radical than ADB, but it can also lead to unstable operation of some applications.

💡

Before using ADB or developer mode, back up your data. Incorrect settings can cause MIUI to crash, especially on customized Redmi models.

Frequent problems and their solutions

When working with background connection on Xiaomi Redmi, users often face the following problems:

Problem 1: Notifications are delayed

Reason: The app is added to the battery optimization list or limited in background activity.

Decision:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Applications selection.
2. Find the app you want (like WhatsApp) and select Unlimited.
3. Enable auto-start for this application.

Problem 2: Battery discharges quickly even in standby mode

Reason: One or more applications actively use background connectivity to synchronize data.

Decision:

• Check the battery consumption statistics in Settings → Battery and performance.
• Limit background activity for top-3 "eaters" charge.
• Activate the energy saving mode at night.

Problem 3: Mobile Internet is fast ending

Reason: Apps (especially social media and instant messengers) consume traffic in the background to update content.

Decision:

1. Go to Settings → Connections and Sharing → Data Use.
2. Click on the Background data and turn it off for unnecessary applications.
3. Set a mobile traffic limit in the same section.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions