How to see what application spends the Internet on Xiaomi: detailed instructions

Mobile Internet on Xiaomi can melt at an alarming rate, especially if you use a limited tariff, most often due to application background processes, auto-updates or hidden synchronizations. But how to determine exactly which application is consuming traffic on your smartphone? In this article, we will analyze all the available methods, from standard MIUI tools to advanced methods for power users.

Many people mistakenly think that it is enough to go to Settings and look at the statistics, but Xiaomi offers several levels of traffic control, including hidden features for models with MIUI 13/14. And if built-in tools are not enough, third-party software will help. The main thing is to understand what data is counted (only mobile Internet or Wi-Fi), and how to interpret the results correctly.

In this article you will find:

• 🔍 Step-by-step instructions for checking traffic flow through standard settings MIUI.
• 📊 Methods Comparison: Which Way is More Accurate for Your Xiaomi Model (Redmi Note 8 to Xiaomi 14).
• ⚠️ Hidden Traps: Why Some Apps Hide Their Traffic and How to Get Around It.
• 🛠️ Additional tools: top-3 Applications for deep analysis of network activity.

1. Standard MIUI traffic statistics: where to look and how to read

The easiest way to check internet usage is to use the built-in MIUI statistics. It is available on all Xiaomi smartphones starting with MIUI 9, but the interface may vary depending on the firmware version.

To open up the statistics:

1. Go to Settings → Connections and Sharing → Traffic Use.
2. At the top of the screen, select a period (such as “Current Month” or “Last Week”).
3. Scroll down to a list of applications sorted by the amount of traffic consumed.

Pay attention to two key points:

• 📅 Data reset: Statistics are automatically reset at the beginning of a new billing period (usually the 1st). If you want to start counting from today, click ⋮ → Data resetting.
• 🔄 Background traffic: Next to each app, an icon is displayed 🔄 — This means that it's using up the Internet in the background).

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 14 on some models (e.g. Xiaomi) 13T) Traffic statistics may not be displayed correctly if you have dual applications or second space enabled. In this case, use the method in section 2.

Advanced monitoring: Battery and performance section

Few people know, but MIUI has a hidden tool for analyzing network activity that takes into account both mobile traffic and Wi-Fi, hidden in the Battery section, but provides more detailed information than standard statistics.

How to get there:

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Use
2. Click on the icon. ⋮ (three dots) in the upper right corner and select Traffic Use.
3. Here you will see a full list of applications with an indication of the consumption on the mobile network and Wi-Fi separately.

Advantages of this method:

• 📶 Separation by network type: you can clearly understand where the application “eats” traffic – on the mobile Internet or via Wi-Fi.
• 🕒 Time-specific details: some models (e.g, POCO F5) They show the clock activity schedule.
• 🔧 Fast Limit: There is a switch next to each app to block background traffic.

⚠️ Note: Some firmware (e.g. global version) MIUI 13.0.6) The traffic usage section may not be available, in which case update the software or use method 3.

Traffic Control via “Security” (for MIUI 12 and later)

In the latest MIUI versions, Xiaomi has integrated traffic monitoring tools into the Security app, a method that is suitable for owners of Redmi Note 12, Xiaomi 13 and other modern models.

Instructions:

1. Open the Security app (the shield icon).
2. Go to the Optimization section → Using traffic.
3. Here you'll see:

Features of this method:

• 🔍 Analysis by category: applications are grouped by types (social networks, instant messengers, games).
• 📉 Flow forecast: The system predicts how much traffic will remain by the end of the month.
• 🚫 Blocking at the threshold: you can set a limit after which the Internet for the application will be disabled.

Open the Security App

Go to “Optimization → Using Traffic”

Check the list of high-spending applications

Limit background traffic for suspicious applications

Set a consumption limit (optional)-->

If you have a custom firmware POCO or Redmi (such as Xiaomi.eu), this section may be called Security → Data Usage.

4. Hidden settings for power users: ADB and system logs

If standard methods don’t give the full picture (for example, you suspect that the app is hiding its traffic), you can use advanced tools. ADB.

What you'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB Tools (you can download from the official Android website).
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on a smartphone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times press to unlock the developer mode, then enable debugging in Additional settings → Developer parameters).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Teams for traffic analysis:

View the total traffic consumption for today (in bytes)


adb shell cat /proc/net/xt_qtaguid/stats | grep "tx_bytes" | awk '{print $3, $6}'




View the traffic of a particular application (replace com.example.app with an application package)



adb shell dumpsys netstats detail | grep "com.example.app"




Reset traffic meters (needed for accurate monitoring)



adb shell echo "reset" > /proc/net/xt_qtaguid/ctrl

This method will show the actual traffic consumption, including system processes that are not displayed in standard MIUI statistics. For example, it can be found that com.miui.analytics (the statistics collection service of Xiaomi) consumes up to 50 MB per month.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB It can cause crashes if you type commands at random!

5. Third-party applications for deep traffic analysis

If you don't like the built-in MIUI tools, you can install specialized utilities that offer advanced features such as:

• 📈 Day/week flow schedules.
• 🔔 Notifications when the limit is exceeded.
• 🌍 Separation by data types (video, audio, downloads).

Top.-3 applications:

How to install and configure:

1. Download one of the apps from Google Play.
2. At the first start, grant permission to access the Data Use (required!).
3. Set limits in the Settings section → Warnings.

💡

If, after installing a third-party traffic monitoring app, MIUI starts to show double consumption, that's OK. The system and the utility count data independently. Use only one tool for accuracy.

6.How to limit traffic for "gluttonous" apps

If you find an application that consumes too much Internet, you can limit it. There are several ways in MIUI:

Method 1: Block background traffic

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app you want (like TikTok or Facebook).
3. Click Data Use and turn off Background traffic.

Method 2: Restriction through “Security”

In the Security application (section Optimization → Traffic Use) you can:

• 🚫 Completely block access to mobile data.
• ⏳ Set a limit (for example, 500 MB per month).

Method 3: Using a VPN with traffic filtering

Applications like NetGuard (without root) allow you to:

• 🔒 Block Internet access for individual applications.
• 📡 Redirect traffic through VPN analyse.

⚠️ Attention: Restricting background traffic for instant messengers (such as WhatsApp or Telegram) will delay notifications.

💡

The most effective way to save traffic is to disable auto-update apps in Google Play and background sync for unnecessary services (such as Mi Cloud or Google Photos).

7.Frequent Causes of Hidden Traffic Spending on Xiaomi

Sometimes apps are spending the Internet quietly, and here are the most common reasons:

• 🔄 App Auto Update: Google Play and Mi App Store can update programs without you knowing.
• ☁️ Cloud Backups: Mi Cloud, Google Drive and Dropbox Sync Data in the Background.
• 📱 Xiaomi system services: com.miui.analytics - sends data about the use of the smartphone. com.xiaomi.market - updates widgets and recommendations.
• 🎮 Online Games: Even Closed Games (for example, PUBG Mobile or Genshin Impact can download updates in the background.

How to check system processes:

1. Install CPU Monitor or Network Monitor from Google Play.
2. Sort the processes by network activity.
3. If you see an unknown process (e.g. com.miui.daemon), check it out through Google.

On some firmware (e.g., the Chinese version of MIUI), system applications can spend up to 1-2 GB per month on analytics and advertising.

• 🔧 Disconnecting unnecessary services through ADB (Adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.analytics).
• 🛡️ Install custom firmware (for example, Xiaomi.eu without Chinese services).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions