How to see where the Internet goes on Xiaomi phone: a complete guide

Have you noticed that mobile Internet on your Xiaomi is running out too fast, even though you barely used the network? Or the tariff with “unlimited” traffic suddenly began to slow down after 10 GB? The reasons may lie in background processes, application updates or even viruses. In this article, we will examine all the ways to track Internet consumption on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones – from standard MIUI tools to hidden settings and third-party utilities.

The problem of “gluttonous” Internet is relevant for all models – from the budget Redmi Note 12 to the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra.

• 📱 Social networks (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook) – consume traffic even in the background.
• 🔄 Auto-update apps via Google Play or MIUI App Store.
• 📊 Data synchronization (Google Drive, Mi Cloud, email clients).
• 🛡️ Viruses and Advertising Software that Hiddenly Upload Content.

We will show you how to find and disable the most voracious traffic consumers without resorting to radical measures like resetting.

1. built-in traffic monitoring in MIUI

MIUI has its own mobile data tracking tool, which works on all Xiaomi smartphones, including Redmi and POCO, but it has limited capabilities.

Open the Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Traffic usage. You'll see here:

• 📊 Total current-period expenditure (can be manually reset).
• 📱 List of applications sorted by the amount of traffic consumed.
• 🔄 Background traffic – a separate string for data transmitted in the background.

Now, if you look at the apps at the top of the list, if you're talking about messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram) or streaming services (YouTube, Twitch), that's OK, but if you're talking about Google Play Services or an unknown app, that's a good thing to be wary of.

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 14 and later, traffic data is automatically reset at the beginning of each month. If you want to keep records for a different period (for example, according to the operator's tariff plan), set the Reset Period manually in the same menu.

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To see traffic on a specific basis SIM-map, switch between them at the top of the screen Traffic usage. This is useful if you have two SIMs with different rates.

Detailed statistics on annexes

The built-in MIUI monitoring only shows the total numbers, but it doesn't reveal the details. For example, you'll see that Chrome has spent 500MB, but you don't know which sites. You need additional tools to do that.

Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management, then select the app you want (like Instagram) and open the Data Use section.

• 📶 Mobile traffic – how much data the app spent through the cellular network.
• 🌐 Wi-Fi – the cost of connecting to wireless networks.
• 📵 Background traffic – data transmitted when the application was running in the background.

If an app spends too much data on a background (like Facebook with 1GB of background traffic), limit its activity:

1. In the same Data Use menu, activate Limit Background Data.
2. For a radical solution, disable AutoRun in the application settings.

3. Hidden MIUI settings for traffic control

MIUI has hidden features that help you track data consumption more accurately, one of which is a traffic saving mode that not only reduces consumption, but also maintains detailed logs.

Activate it like this:

1. Go to Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Saving traffic.
2. Turn on the switch and add only critical applications (e.g. instant messengers) to the exceptions.
3. Return to Traffic Use – now detailed statistics will be displayed here, with notes on what data was transferred in Saving Mode.

Another hidden tool is the Network Activity Log, which is available through the engineering menu:

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In the menu that opens, select Usage Statistics, and you'll see real-time traffic consumption, including system processes. Careful: don't change other settings in the engineering menu unless you're sure they're there!

4. Third-party applications for traffic monitoring

If built-in MIUI tools aren’t enough, use specialized utilities that offer advanced reports, limit notifications, and even block voracious applications.

For most Xiaomi users, My Data Manager is the best choice. It's easy to set up and doesn't require superuser rights. Install it from Google Play, then:

1. Set a monthly traffic limit (which is the same as your tariff).
2. Enable notifications when you exceed 50%, 80% and 100% of the limit.
3. Check the Application section – this shows the data consumption in real time.

⚠️ Note: Some traffic monitoring apps (like NetGuard) create local traffic VPN-This may conflict with corporate networks or banking applications!

5.How to Find and Disable Hidden Traffic Eaters

Sometimes the Internet goes into processes that don't show up in standard statistics.

• 🔄 Auto-update MIUI — system downloads updates in the background.
• 📦 Backup in Mi Cloud – syncs photos, contacts and notes.
• 🛡️ Viruses or Advertising Software – especially if you have installed APK unverified.

To disable the auto-renewal of MIUI:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Settings.
3. Turn off Automatic Booting via mobile network.

To disable synchronization with Mi Cloud:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Cloud
2. Turn off sync for unnecessary data (such as Gallery or Notes).
3. In the Synchronization Settings section, uncheck the box with Synchronize via the mobile network.

Install Malwarebytes from Google Play|Run a full scan.|Check the list of installed apps for suspicious ones (for example, with names in Chinese)|Disable Administrator Rights for Unknown Applications in Settings → Passwords and security → Administrator privileges-->

6. Traffic analysis through the communications operator

If you suspect that your phone is wasting data, but can’t find the reason, look at your mobile operator’s statistics. Most providers (MTS, Beeline, MegaFon, Tele2) have personal accounts with detailed reports.

For example, in the personal office of MTS:

1. Log in to the website or in the application My MTS.
2. Go to the Services section → Internet.
3. Select Traffic Details – here will be a graph of data consumption by day or even hours.

If the discrepancies are significant (for example, the phone shows 1 GB and the carrier shows 3 GB), this may indicate:

• 📡 Problems with the communication module (the phone “loses” packets and re-sends them).
• 🛡️ Viral activity masquerading as systemic processes.
• 📱 Mistakes in firmware (especially relevant for customized ROM).

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If the operator shows traffic consumption at night when the phone was lying dormant, it is a 100% sign of background virus activity or system errors.

7 Advanced Methods: ADB and Log Analysis

For experienced users who are ready to dive into the technical details, there is a way to analyze network activity through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which will help to identify even those processes that are not displayed in the standard settings.

You'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-tool.
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Press 7 times, then return to the Additional Settings → For developers).

Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command:

adb shell dumpsys netstats detail

This command will provide a complete report of network activity, including:

• 📊 Traffic consumption for each UID (user or application ID).
• 🕒 Activity time stamps.
• 📡 Type of network (mobile or Wi-Fi).

To simplify the analysis, redirect the output to the file:

adb shell dumpsys netstats detail > netstats.txt

Then open netstats.txt in the text editor and find the lines with the highest values in the column. rx_bytes (data obtained and tx_bytes (data).

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB Do not follow commands that you do not understand, which can cause malfunctions in the phone!

FAQ: Frequent questions about the cost of Internet on Xiaomi