How to turn off traffic savings on Android Xiaomi Redmi

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a situation where background apps stop updating and downloads are interrupted when the screen switches.This is due to an aggressive traffic saving policy built into the MIUI and HyperOS shell. The system automatically restricts data transfer for background processes to save battery power and megabytes of packet tariff.

However, for many users, such restrictions become a serious obstacle. For example, messengers may not send notifications on time, and cards stop updating traffic in real time. The system limit of 100 MB per background load is a standard Android security setting, but on Xiaomi it often works too early. Understanding how to manage these settings will allow you to fully control the network activity of the device.

In this guide, we will look at all the ways you can unblock your mobile network, and look at the global settings for your mobile network, as well as the individual settings for each application, which will help you customize your smartphone exactly the way you want it to work, without interruptions or locks.

Global traffic restriction settings in MIUI

The first step to complete control of the network is to check the general settings of the system. There is a special section in the MIUI shell that regulates the consumption of data for all programs at once, and if there is a strict limit here, even if there is an unlimited tariff, the system will artificially slow down connections.

You need to go to the security menu where key settings are hidden. Find the Security (green shield) icon on your desktop or in the Tools folder. Inside, select the Traffic section. This is where the switch is, which often blocks background activity by default.

Note the "Limit traffic" item. If it is activated, the system will ask for permission to use the Internet every time the application tries to log in in the background. For comfortable use, it is recommended to turn off this switch completely or set a limit at the "No restrictions" level.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling global traffic restriction could lead to faster battery consumption as apps get constant network access for background synchronization.

You can also set up a set of data alerts in this menu, which is a useful feature, but it should not block the device, and make sure that the action when you reach the limit is set to "Do Nothing" or "Alarm Only", but not "Disable Mobile Data".

Individual access settings for applications

Often the problem is not general settings, but individual permissions for specific programs. Xiaomi’s Android system allows you to flexibly manage access to Wi-Fi and mobile data for each installed software separately, this is especially true for navigators, email clients and instant messengers.

To change the settings, go back to the Security → Traffic menu. At the bottom of the screen or in the menu (three dots), find "Connection speed" or "Network Assistants." Here you will see a list of all the installed programs. Find the desired application, for example, Telegram or Google Maps.

Click on the name of the program. A window will open with two switches: Wi-Fi and Mobile Data. Make sure that both switches are active. There may also be a "Background Connection" option, which you need to turn on to make the application work when the screen is off.

If you use the dual sim_ Note that settings can be duplicated for each SIM card. Check access for both slots if you plan to use different carriers. This ensures stable operation regardless of which card is chosen for data transfer by default.

Data storage mode in Android

In addition to Xiaomi's branded settings, Android itself has a Traffic Saving feature that works at a deeper level and can override shell settings, and if previous methods have not worked, it's worth checking this one.

Go to the main settings of the phone through the gear. Find the Connection and Sharing section or SIM-maps and mobile networks, depending on version MIUI The path may be slightly different, but the item you are looking for is called "Saving Traffic" or "Data Saver".

Inside this menu, you'll see a list of apps that are allowed to ignore the savings mode, add all the programs that are important to you, and that will give them priority access to the network even as the system tries to limit background activity to conserve resources.

It's important to understand the difference between saving charge and saving traffic. These functions are often related but are controlled by different modules of the system. When you turn off one, you don't always turn off the other, so checking both sections is a must to completely solve the problem.

Background process management and battery

Aggressive energy saving is another reason why traffic may seem blocked, but in fact, the system simply kills the application process and it stops asking for data, and in HyperOS and newer versions of MIUI, this mechanism works very rigidly.

Go to Settings → Battery. Find "Battery Consumption" or "Applications." Select a program that doesn't work properly with the network. You set "Background Actions" to "No Limits" to allow the application to run in the background even if the screen is off.

Also check your autostart settings. If the application is not authorized to autostart, it will not be able to connect to the network immediately after turning on the phone or restarting. Open the Security app, go to Permissions → Autostart and activate the desired programs.

⚠️ Warning: Resolving background activity for a large number of applications can significantly reduce the battery life of your Redmi or Poco.

There's also a sleep mode for applications you haven't used in a long time, which automatically restricts their network activity, check the list of sleeper apps in the battery settings, and eliminate important services like email or cloud storage.

Reset network settings and APN access point

If the software restrictions are removed, but the Internet still intermittently or does not load content, the problem may lie in the settings of the access point (APN), the error settings here can be perceived by the system as a signal to restrict traffic.

Go to the Settings path → SIM-Maps and mobile networks. Select your SIM card and click "Access Points (APN)". In the lower or upper right corner, press the menu button (three dots or stripes) and select Reset to the original".

Once reset, reboot the device, which will clear the network cache and cause the phone to re-query the current settings from the carrier, often solving problems with the "hang" connections that the system flags as limiting.

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Before resetting the APN, take a picture of your current settings on another phone. In rare cases, especially with virtual carriers, the automatic settings may not apply and you will have to enter the data manually.

In some cases, a complete network switch helps, such as temporarily switching from 4G/LTE to 3G and back again, which will re-register the device in the operator’s network and update the data session, removing possible software locks on the gateway side.

Using Developer Mode for Diagnostics

For advanced users who want to make sure that no hidden limits affect speed, there are developer settings that allow you to see real statistics and disable some system constraints that are invisible in the regular menu.

To get into this menu, you need to quickly click 7 times on the build number in the About Phone section. Then in the advanced settings, look for the "Developers" section. Pay attention to the "Background Process Limit" item - it should be set to "No Limits".

And you can find network usage statistics here, which show how much traffic each application has consumed in a given period, and if you see that an application is consuming little data, but it should be active, then the lock is still active at some level.

adb shell settings put global captive_portal_mode 0

This command (injected via a computer and ADB) disables Captive Portal, which sometimes helps if the phone "thinks" it's connected to a paid Wi-Fi network and restricts traffic. Use with caution.

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Integrated approach: To ensure a guaranteed result, you need to check the settings in three places: global traffic limit, individual application permissions, and battery settings.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)