How to see the cost of the Internet on Xiaomi: full control of traffic

Owning a modern Xiaomi smartphone involves using mobile internet, which is often the main source of connectivity outside the home. Users often face a situation where a subscription plan unexpectedly ends in the middle of the month, which leads to communication lockdown or additional financial costs. Understanding where your traffic goes becomes a critical skill for saving budget and optimizing device operation. MIUI and its more recent HyperOS shell provide powerful built-in data monitoring tools that do not require the installation of third-party applications.

In this article, we will take a look at how to view the costs of the Internet on Xiaomi, learn how to analyze the behavior of each installed application and adjust automatic restrictions. You will learn why background processes can eat up gigabytes even when the smartphone screen is off. Properly adjusting these parameters will allow you to extend the life of the tariff plan and avoid unpleasant surprises from the operator. We will look at both standard methods through the settings menu and deeper ways of analysis through system security utilities.

Traffic control is not just a way to save money, it's also a digital hygiene tool that can detect malware or malfunctioning software. If you notice that the battery is running out faster than usual and the Internet packet is melting before your eyes, perhaps some application is behaving aggressively. The built-in Android mechanisms, adapted by Xiaomi engineers, allow you to instantly track such "voracious" consumers. Let's move on to specific steps of setting up and analyzing.

Use of the built-in Security application

The main resource management tool in Xiaomi smartphones is the system application Security. This is where all the key monitoring functions, including memory cleaning, antivirus and, of course, traffic control, are concentrated. To get to the desired section, you need to run an application with a green shield icon and find the Traffic or Data Transfer item. This interface provides a summary of how many megabytes or gigabytes were used during the current period.

At the top of the screen, you'll see a graph or digital indicators showing the total amount of data transmitted via the mobile network and Wi-Fi. The system automatically summarizes the readings, but it's important for the user to be able to separate these flows, since the charging of telecom operators is for mobile traffic. By clicking on the corresponding icon or arrow, you will go to detailed statistics. Here you will see information about when the limit was set and how many days are left before the end of your carrier's billing period.

⚠️ Note: The data in the Security app may differ slightly from the data in the operator's personal account due to late synchronization or rounding features in the data protocols. 5-10% from your fare.

One of the key features of this section is the ability to manually reset statistics, which you need to do on the day of connecting the new plan, so that the meter starts from scratch and shows the current picture of consumption. If you do not reset the statistics, the system will show the total data for the entire time you use the smartphone or since the last reinstallation of the system, which makes the analysis useless. To reset, look for the settings in the upper right corner of the screen (usually it is three dots or gear) and select the option “Reset statistics”.

Analysis of traffic consumption by application

The most important part of monitoring is understanding which program is using your Internet. There's a Statistics or Data Use section in the traffic management menu where you get app rankings. The list is usually sorted downwards, where the heaviest users are at the top, which can be video services, social networks, navigators, or even system updates. When you click on a particular application, you'll see the detail of how much traffic went in the background and how much went in active use.

And you have to pay special attention to background traffic. Many users are surprised to find that messengers or email clients have transmitted hundreds of megabytes when they're not actively used. This is because of the synchronization of media files, autoloading video in the feed or the operation of voice messages. In the settings of each application inside the traffic menu, you can limit the background data transfer, which will prevent the program from going online when it's folded, which will save you a lot of resources.

Let’s look at the typical traffic consumption leaders that are worth checking out first:

• 📹 YouTube and streaming services: high-resolution video (4K, HDR) consumes huge amounts of data, so when using the mobile Internet, it is better to force the quality of the Internet. 480p or 720p in the settings of the application.
• 📱 Social networks (Instagram, TikTok, VK): The infinite tape mechanism constantly loads new content, pictures and short videos, which imperceptibly consumes traffic even with short-term use.
• 🗺️ Navigators and maps: Downloading maps online, satellite imagery and building real-time routes require a constant connection, albeit less than video.
• 🎮 Online Gaming: Games themselves consume a bit of traffic to transmit player coordinates and actions, but updates and resource loads can be very “heavy».

Setting limits and warnings

To avoid relying on your mindfulness, it's wiser to trust control to automation. The Security app has a traffic limit setting feature that allows the system to independently track the flow and respond when certain thresholds are reached. To activate this feature, go to traffic settings and turn on the Traffic Limit or Limit option. You'll need to enter the volume of your data plan, such as 20 GB or 50 GB.

The critical parameter is the reset date. Each operator has its own billing period: someone starts on the 1st, someone starts on the day the tariff is connected. If you give the wrong date, the statistics will be reset in a wrong time, and the control will lose meaning. Enter the correct date so that the counter will reset automatically on the right day. After setting up, the system will start warning you when, for example, 80% or 90% of the package will be used.

There are several scenarios of the system behavior when reaching the limit that can be configured:

• 🔔 Notification only: the smartphone will simply show a pop-up message that the limit is close to exhaustion, but access to the network will remain.
• 🚫 Disabled data transmission: when the set limit is reached, the mobile Internet will be completely disconnected until the next period or before the user manually activates it.
• ⏳ Speed limit: some versions of the firmware available function is not a complete shutdown, and reduce the speed to a minimum (for example, 64 kbit / s), which allows you to continue using instant messengers, but makes it impossible to watch video.

Difference Between Wi-Fi and Mobile Traffic

Xiaomi’s data usage statistics clearly distinguish two types of connections: mobile network (antenna icon or 4G/5G) and Wi-Fi. This separation is crucial, as most users have unlimited or very capacious home internet, while mobile traffic is limited. In the standard statistics menu, you can switch between the Mobile Data and Wi-Fi tabs to see how much traffic each app consumed in each mode.

And if you look at this data, you can see some interesting patterns, like the Gallery app can use a lot of Wi-Fi traffic because it's synchronized with Google Photos or Xiaomi Cloud, which is fine, but if you see that same app is actively using mobile data, that's a good thing to be wary of, and maybe you have Mobile Network Sync enabled, which is better off to save gigabytes.

The table below provides examples of normal and abnormal consumption for popular application categories:

It’s worth noting that some apps, like navigators, can cache maps over Wi-Fi, but in the absence of a cache, they will actively download data on the way. The biggest hidden expense of mobile traffic is often caused by the “Auto-App Update” features on Google Play, unless you have a ban on downloading updates over the mobile network. Check the app store settings and make sure that auto-update is only allowed via Wi-Fi.

Background data transmission and its limitation

One of the most insidious features in Android is background data. Apps can keep running, send notifications, update news feeds and download content even if you swipe them off or just jump to the home screen. On Xiaomi smartphones, this process is managed quite flexibly. You can deny a particular app access to the Internet when it is in the background, while maintaining the ability to work online when you are actively using it.

To set up, go to the Data Transfer section of the security app, select the desired app from the list, and find the Background Connection (or Background Data) switch. Disabling this option means that the app won't be able to download or send anything until you open it again. This is perfect for programs you rarely use but like to "hang" in memory.

⚠️ Note: If you disable background data for messengers (WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram), you will stop receiving messages and calls until the application is opened. Use this setting with caution for critical communication. MIUI When activated, the system automatically limits background activity for all applications except those on the exclusion list (usually messengers and mail). This is a good way to dramatically reduce travel costs when you need to save every megabyte, and it is also worth mentioning the feature "Flight Mode" with the nuance: You can configure the mobile Internet to turn off automatically when connected to a known Wi-Fi network, preventing the simultaneous operation of two interfaces, which sometimes causes conflicts and unnecessary costs. For advanced users who do not have standard statistics, there are deeper methods of analysis. In the Developer Menu (which you need to activate by repeatedly clicking on the build number in the About Phone section), there is an item called “Use Statistics” or “Network Use”. Here, data may be displayed in more detail, including a breakdown by protocol and specific ports, although this information may be redundant for the average user. Also worth paying attention to the built-in traffic analyzer in the "Engineering menu" mode, accessed through a set of special codes in the call (for example, ##4636##, although on global versions). MIUI This code is often blocked). If the code works, you're taken to the Testing menu, where you can see a detailed log of network activity in the Usage statistics section. This is useful for diagnosing when the phone is "heating" and discharged due to constant network search or packet transfer to unknown servers. Another method is using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) commands from a computer. By connecting a smartphone to a PC and launching a console, you can get a detailed report of network activity: adb shell dumpsys netstats This command will give a huge array of data on how many bytes each UID (id ID) is transmitted from the computer, or those who want to find the interface from the network, "this is the network interface" that is not found by the system. Once you've figured out how to look at Internet costs in Xiaomi, it makes sense to move to the question of saving. Knowledge is power, but applying knowledge in practice is effective. The first step is to introduce the habit of using Wi-Fi wherever possible and safely. Cafe, shopping malls, office and home are places where mobile Internet can be turned off by switching your smartphone to Wi-Fi only mode or simply turning off data transfer. The second important tip is to optimize the settings within the applications themselves. Go to YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, Yandex.Music, and other places where you can select the "Envideo-quality" or "This is the video-based content-based content." The third tip concerns operating system and app updates. Make sure to check the settings in the Google Play Store (Settings section» → «Network settings» → «App Auto Update) is selected as "Only via Wi-Fi." Check the same in the settings of the smartphone itself in the "System Update" section. Download firmware updates MIUI or HyperOS, which weighs a few gigabytes over a mobile network, can instantly empty your data. How to turn off the Internet for a particular application forever? To completely deny the application access to the network (both Wi-Fi and mobile), go to Settings → Annexes → All applications → Choose the right one. → Access Rights (or Permits) → Internet. You can check the boxes here for "Wi-Fi" and "Mobile Network," and the app will work offline, and why traffic flow doesn't match the operator's data? The difference may arise because the phone counts only the payload, and the operator also takes into account the service headers of packets, retransmissions when a bad signal is received, and rounds the volume up to the start of a new block (kilobyte). In addition, the clock on the phone and billing system of the operator can be de-synchronized. Can you restore traffic statistics after reset? No, built-in system to restore the reset statistics is impossible. The data is stored locally in the device's memory and is deleted irrevocably when the reset command is commanded. The only way to keep records is to take screenshots of the statistics at the end of each month or rely on the history in the operator's personal account. GPS The Bluetooth modules themselves, and GPS traffic is not consumed. GPS It only receives signals from satellites. But the apps that use these modules (maps, trackers, smartwatches) are actively transmitting location data to the network. If you turn off the Internet, GPS will continue to determine the coordinates, but will not be able to transfer them to the server or download the map. To sum up, controlling traffic on Xiaomi smartphones is a process that requires initial setup, but then works almost automatically. Using the built-in MIUI tools, you get full control over what happens on your device. Don’t ignore the system’s high-spending notifications, update apps in a timely manner and adjust limits to stay online always without overpaying.