Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the need to monitor the Internet connection, whether it is fast consumption of gigabytes of a mobile package or suspiciously high traffic consumption by background processes. MIUI operating systems and the new HyperOS have powerful monitoring tools built in that allow you to analyze the activity of each installed application in detail. Understanding where your traffic goes helps not only save money, but also extend the battery life of the device.
In this article, we will take a look at how to view traffic usage on Xiaomi, set up automatic restrictions, and identify “gluttonous” programs. You will learn how to manage network access for individual applications and understand which system services can quietly download updates.
Where to find traffic flow statistics in settings
The first step for any user is to go to system settings, where all the basic statistics are stored. To see the big picture, you need to go to Settings, then select Wi-Fi or Mobile Network, depending on which connection you want to analyze. In modern versions of the MIUI shell, the path often looks like Settings → Connections and Sharing → Traffic Consumption. This shows the total figures for the current month that can be reset at the beginning of a new billing period.
But the standard interface may not be the whole story. For a deeper analysis, it's better to use the built-in Security app. It aggregates data and shows which apps eat up traffic the most. When you click on the app icon, you'll see a detailed breakdown of how many megabytes were spent on the mobile network and how many were spent on Wi-Fi. This is critical, because mobile Internet rates are often limited, while home Wi-Fi can be unlimited.
Note that statistics may vary depending on the period you choose to view. The system allows you to view data for today, for the current month or for any period. System statistics in MIUI are updated with a delay of up to 5 minutes, so real-time data may differ slightly from actual consumption. If you just updated the application or watched a high-resolution video, the numbers may not appear in the report instantly.
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For accurate control, always reset the statistics on the first day of the new month so that the data does not mix with the previous period.
Detailed analysis of consumption by application
The most interesting thing for a user is usually a list of apps, sorted by the amount of traffic consumed. In the Traffic Consumption menu, you will find a list of all programs that have access to the network. Here you can see that video services like YouTube or Netflix occupy the top ranks, which is the norm for streaming content. However, if the messenger or game you rarely play shows gigabytes of consumption, this is cause for concern.
Each app on the list has two metrics: data sent and received. The sum of these values gives the total volume. Background traffic is the data that an app uses when you haven't run it. For example, messengers receive messages, and email clients sync emails. Some unscrupulous programs can mine cryptocurrency or download ads in the background, which quickly empties the packet.
For ease of perception, data is often presented as a graph or color indication. Red usually highlights the most expensive apps. You can click on a specific program to see the details by day. This will help you understand exactly what day the sharp jump in consumption occurred, for example, you may have forgotten to turn off the mobile Internet while watching a movie on a trip.
- 📱 Social media: often consumes a lot of traffic due to automatic video playback in the feed.
- 🎮 Games: can download resources and updates in the background without notifying the user.
- ☁️ Cloud storage: Services like Google Photos or Mi Cloud can upload large amounts of data if you don’t set up a Wi-Fi restriction.
Setting limits and warnings
To avoid unpleasant surprises in the form of a blocked SIM card or additional charges from the operator, Xiaomi can set strict limits. In the traffic consumption menu, there is a function “Traffic Limit”, activating it, you can set the date of resetting statistics (usually the 1st day of the month) and the maximum amount of available gigabytes. When you approach the set threshold, the system will issue a warning.
There are two types of restrictions: soft and hard. A soft limit will just notify you that you've used, say, 80% or 90% of the package. A hard limit will shut down mobile internet completely when you reach the 100% limit. This is a critical feature for those who use prepaid rates or are on roaming. The shutdown happens at the system level, so even if the application tries to send data, it will get a connection error.
The settings are made through the settings menu → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Traffic limit. You can also specify your carrier's tariff plan, if it's in the database, or enter the data manually. 5-10% less than the real tariff.
☑️ Setting up the traffic limit
Network Access Management for Individual Programs
One of the most useful features of the MIUI shell is the ability to completely deny Internet access to selected applications. It doesn't require removing the program, it will continue to work, but only in offline mode. It is ideal for games that do not require constant connection, or for calculators and voice recorders, which sometimes try to transmit analytics.
To manage access, go to the Security → Data Transfer (or Traffic Consumption) app. At the top of the screen, you'll see a list of apps with two columns of icons: a green arrow down (mobile data) and a green arrow up (Wi-Fi). By clicking on them, you can change status to a red crossed-out circle, which means a complete ban.
Disallowing access via Wi-Fi can be useful if you want the application to work only over the mobile network, or vice versa. However, most users block access to mobile data so that the application only works at home, for example, allowing the Yandex.Maps navigator to work only through Wi-Fi to update maps, but prohibiting it from spending mobile traffic if you have preloaded offline maps.
⚠️ Note: If you deny access to the network to system applications such as Google Play Services or System Updates, your phone will stop receiving notifications, syncing contacts and updating security.
Hidden Consumers: System Processes and Updates
Users are often surprised to find that the traffic leader list is not known applications, but system processes with names like Android System, Download Manager or MIUI, which are responsible for the basic functionality of a smartphone, and they can spend traffic synchronizing time, checking security certificates, sending telemetry or downloading component updates.
Special attention should be paid to automatic updates. Google Play and GetApps (Xiaomi store) are set to automatically update applications by default. If you have many programs installed, they can start updating simultaneously when you connect to Wi-Fi, but if you switch to the mobile network, they can continue downloading, unless there is a restriction “Only via Wi-Fi”.
It’s also worth checking the sync settings of the gallery and cloud services. If you shoot a lot of high-resolution photos and videos, automatically uploading them to the cloud can eat the entire package in a couple of days, and it’s recommended to go to the settings of each cloud service and select the option “Sync only over Wi-Fi”.
| Process/Application | Type of traffic | Impact on the battery | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Play Services | Background, periodic | Average. | Not to limit |
| System updates | Rare but voluminous | High (during loading) | Only Wi-Fi. |
| Synchronization of photo | Background, voluminous | Average. | Only Wi-Fi. |
| Advertising Services (MSA) | Background, permanent | Low. | Can you limit it? |
What is MSA on the list of processes?
Saving traffic: built-in tools and tips
In addition to manual control, Xiaomi smartphones have a mode “Saving traffic” when activated, the system restricts background data transfer and compresses traffic in the browser (if you use a built-in browser), which is a useful feature on trips where communication is unstable or minute-by-minute/second-by-second charging.
Also worth noting is the settings inside the apps themselves: Telegram can prevent autoplay of videos, Instagram can save data, and YouTube can reduce the default playback quality when using the mobile network, which are often more effective than system constraints, because they do not break the functionality of the application, but simply optimize its operation.
Another tip is to (periodically) check the list of applications that have permission to use data, remove access to the network from those programs that do not need it for basic functionality, such as a flashlight or a scanner. QR-Internet codes are not exactly needed, and access to it is often requested by default.
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Use Plane mode in areas of poor reception. The phone is constantly searching for the network, using up battery power and trying to send accumulated data packets, which increases traffic consumption.