Where to watch traffic on Xiaomi: all ways to track data consumption

Have you noticed that the Internet on Xiaomi is slowing down or suddenly running out ahead of schedule? Perhaps it is the hidden traffic consumption of background applications or suboptimal network settings. Unlike the iPhone, where data consumption statistics are hidden in the depths of the menu, smartphones on MIUI offer several ways of monitoring at once, from built-in tools to third-party utilities with advanced analytics.

In this article, we will analyze all available methods for checking traffic on Xiaomi, Redmi and other devices. POCO — basic MIUI You can go to professional apps like GlassWire or NetGuard, and you can learn how to track your consumption for specific applications, set up warnings about exceeding the limit, and even block voracious services. And for those who are connected to a mobile operator, we'll show you how to check traffic through the Internet. USSD-requests or personal account - this is especially true if the data on the phone and the provider do not match.

1. Built-in traffic statistics in MIUI

The easiest way is to use standard MIUI tools. They are available on all Xiaomi smartphones (including the Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 and other models) and do not require the installation of additional applications.

To open the section:

1. Go to Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks.
2. Choose an active one SIM-card (if there are several).
3. Tap on Data Consumption (or Traffic Use in Newer MIUI Versions).

Here you'll see:

• 📊 Current month expenditure schedule by day.
• 📱 List of applications, sorted by the amount of data consumed (from more to less).
• ⚠️ Warnings about exceeding the limit (if configured).
• 🔄 Possibility of resetting the counter at the beginning of a new calculation period.

💡

If the graph shows unrealistically high consumption (for example, 10 GB per hour), check whether the phone is connected to 5G instead of 4G – in some regions, tariffs limit speed, but not data volume.

Note: MIUI 14 and later resets statistics automatically at the beginning of each month.If you need to track traffic for another period (for example, according to the operator’s tariff plan), manually set the reset date in the section settings.

2 Detailed analytics through Security App

The Security app (or Global Firmware Security) not only protects your device from viruses, but also provides advanced traffic statistics, including background data consumption in standby mode, which is useful if you suspect that some apps are stealing the Internet at night.

How to open it:

1. Launch the Security app (the shield icon).
2. Go to Data Management or Data Usage.
3. Select the Mobile Data or Wi-Fi tab.

Advantages of this method:

• 🕵️‍♂️ Shows hidden traffic to system processes (e.g. com.android.system).
• 📉 Shows the dynamics of consumption over the past 7/30 days.
• 🚫 Allows you to block background traffic for individual applications.

⚠️ Note: In some regions (e.g. the EU), the traffic blocking function may be restricted due to local data protection laws.

3. Check traffic through USSD-requests and personal account of the operator

If the data on the phone and the mobile operator do not match (for example, MIUI shows 5 GB, and the operator wrote off 7 GB), the reason may be:

• 📡 Traffic rounding (operators often count not in megabytes, but in kilobytes, which gives an error of up to 10%).
• 🔄 Automatic connection of paid options (for example, "Turbo-pages" at MegaFon).
• 📱 Double the switching rate between 4G Wi-Fi (if the phone is not switching).

To check the real traffic balance of the operator, use:

If the difference between the phone and the operator is more than 15%, check the APN settings:

1. Go to Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Access points (APN).
2. Make sure that your operator’s profile is active (for example, internet.beeline.com for Beeline).
3. If there are multiple profiles, leave only one – duplicates can cause double the expense.

4. Third-party applications for traffic monitoring

The built-in MIUI tools aren’t always accurate — they may not take into account VPN traffic, some system processes, or data consumed in the background.

• 📊 GlassWire – shows real-time consumption by IP-Useful for identifying suspicious activity.
• 🛡️ NetGuard – blocks network access for individual applications without root rights.
• 📈 My Data Manager – a convenient interface with a widget on the main screen and setting limits.
• 🔍 Traffic Monitor – displays the speed of data consumption directly in the notification panel.

Example of NetGuard configuration:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Enable the Traffic Log option in the settings.
3. Go to the App tab and sort the list by data consumption.
4. To limit traffic, tap the app and select Block Wi-Fi or Block Mobile Data.

⚠️ Note: Some applications (e.g., banking or instant messengers) may not work properly when blocking background traffic. Before setting up, check if the application uses push notifications.

5. Hidden MIUI features to save traffic

If you need to reduce your data consumption, MIUI has a few little-known features that help optimize your consumption:

• 🔄 Background Traffic Limitation: Go to Settings → Annexes → Application management, select the application and disable AutoStart and Background data option.
• 📱 Data Saving Mode: C Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Save data: Enable this option. It limits background synchronization and reduces the quality of streaming video.
• 🌐 Data compression via Google Chrome: open the browser, go to Settings → Save traffic and enable the light mode option.
• 📶 Disabling Automatic Application Update: on Google Play → Settings → Auto Update Apps Select Only via Wi-Fi.

For devices with MIUI 13+, the Intelligent Assistant feature is available, which analyzes usage habits and suggests optimizing traffic consumption.

1. Go to Settings → Special Opportunities → Intelligent Assistant.
2. Activate the option of traffic optimization.
3. Set the limits manually or allow the aprender system to automatically.

💡

Even if you’re not using mobile internet, some apps (like Google Play Services) can spend up to 500MB per month on background operations.

6. Check traffic on Xiaomi via ADB (for advanced users)

If you want the most accurate statistics (for example, to test applications or detect data leaks), you can use ADB, the Android debugging tool, which requires connecting the phone to a computer, but gives access to raw system data, including traffic on individual UIDs and processes.

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode on your phone: go to Settings → About Phone and tap on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install ADB Tools and execute the command:

adb shell cat /proc/net/xt_qtaguid/stats

In the conclusion, you will see a table with data for each application (UID), including:

• rx_bytes — data.
• tx_bytes — data.
• uid is the application identifier (can be matched to the package via the adb shell dumpsys package).

⚠️ Attention: Teams ADB They give you access to system data, and misuse of it can disrupt your phone. ADB, If you are not sure of your actions.

For convenience, you can export data to the file:

adb shell cat /proc/net/xt_qtaguid/stats > traffic_log.txt

7.Frequent Reasons for Unexpected Traffic Spending on Xiaomi

If your Xiaomi has suddenly started to eat traffic, check out the following:

• 🔄 Auto-update MIUI: Go to Settings. → The phone. → Update the system and disable Automatic Booting via Mobile Data.
• 📱 Background synchronization of Google: in Settings → Accounts. → Google disable syncing of unnecessary data (e.g. Google Photos or Drive).
• 🎵 Streaming music: apps like Spotify or Yandex Music can download songs in the background.
• 📺 Autoplay Videos on Social Media: On TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, Turn Off the Mobile Data Autoplay Option.
• 📡 VPN and proxy: some VPN-services (e.g. Turbo) VPN) They consume traffic even in the background.

Pay special attention to advertising SDKs – many free apps (games, launchers) contain modules for displaying ads that can consume up to 1 GB per month.

1. Install Packet Capture from Google Play.
2. Start capturing traffic and open a suspicious app.
3. Check which domains it contacts (e.g. googleads.g.doubleclick.net).

FAQ: Frequent questions about traffic on Xiaomi