How to Set Traffic Limits on Xiaomi Phones: A Complete Guide

Controlling the flow of Internet traffic on Xiaomi smartphones is a pressing task for users with limited tariffs or slow connections. Even at unlimited rates, uncontrolled data consumption can lead to “brakes” of the network during peak hours or unexpected payments for exceeding the limit. In this article, we will discuss all the available ways to limit traffic on devices running MIUI (versions 12-14), including hidden settings and third-party tools.

It’s important to understand that Xiaomi offers both built-in monitoring features and flexible tools to block background traffic from individual applications. We’ll look at both approaches, and explain why automatic restriction doesn’t always work 100% and how to fix it. If you often find traffic leaking out of nowhere, here’s a solution.

Why is Xiaomi’s traffic being consumed too quickly?

Before setting limits, it’s worth understanding the main “eaters” of Internet traffic. On Xiaomi devices, this is often:

• 📱 Background synchronization of applications (especially messengers and social networks)
• 🔄 Auto Update Software and Applications via Play Market or Mi App Store
• ☁️ Cloud services (Mi Cloud, Google Drive, Yandex.Disk)
• 📹 High-resolution streaming video (YouTube, TikTok, streaming services)
• 📊 System Services (MiuiDaemon, Analytics, Push-service)

One little-known fact is that even in standby mode, Xiaomi’s smartphone can spend up to 100-300MB per day on background processes, due to MIUI’s aggressive policy of collecting analytics and push notifications, and fortunately, most of that traffic can be turned off.

Another common problem is that the system itself is not properly logged, for example, if you connect to multiple Wi-Fi networks, the statistics may be reset or duplicated, so it is recommended to reset the meters before setting the restrictions (more on this in the next section).

Resetting traffic counters before setting restrictions

To make the restrictions work properly, you have to reset the current statistics, which is especially important if you haven't been tracking data consumption before or have switched to a new tariff.

1. Open the Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Transfer of data.
2. Use Traffic (or Mobile Traffic in Older MIUI Versions)
3. In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) and select Reset statistics.
4. Confirm the action and indicate the date of the beginning of the new settlement period (usually the 1st day of the month).

For Wi-Fi, statistics are reset separately:

1. Go to Settings. → Wi-Fi.
2. Slip on the connected network and select Traffic Statistics.
3. Press Reset and confirm.

After the reset, wait 5-10 minutes for the system to update the data. Now you can start setting the restrictions. If the statistics are not reset, check if there are third-party traffic monitoring applications (such as GlassWire or NetGuard) that can block the system meters.

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If you still have the data after the reset, reboot the phone, which will help you synchronize the meters with the system services.

Method 1: Built-in mobile traffic restriction

The easiest method is to use the built-in MIUI feature to restrict mobile data, which is available on all Xiaomi devices starting with MIUI 9.

1. Open the Settings. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Transfer of data.
2. Choose. SIM-The card you want to set a limit for (if there are several).
3. Tap on Traffic Limitation (or Warning and Restriction in New Versions).
4. Activate the switch Set traffic restriction.
5. Specify the limit in megabytes (e.g., 5,000MB for 5GB).
6. Set up Warning – the threshold at which the system will notify you of approaching the limit (70-80% of the total limit is recommended).
7. Save the settings.

Once the limit is activated, the mobile internet will automatically shut down until the next billing period, and to turn the data back on, you will have to manually reset the restriction or wait for the statistics to be updated (usually at the beginning of the month).

Note that this restriction only applies to mobile traffic. You will need to use other methods to control Wi-Fi (see next section), and the built-in feature does not block background traffic for system applications, you need NetGuard or analogues.

Method 2: Limiting traffic for individual applications

If you need to block internet access for specific programs (like Facebook, which eats traffic in the background), use the built-in Traffic Manager:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app you want (such as TikTok or Google Play Store).
3. Tap on Data Transfer (or Mobile Data and Wi-Fi).
4. Turn off the switches: 📶 Mobile data – to block 3G/4G/5G; 📶 Wi-Fi – to block access via wireless networks.

For mass disabling background traffic:

1. Back to Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Transfer of data.
2. Select Background Data Transfer.
3. Turn off the switch for unnecessary applications or deactivate the Background transmission option globally.

Instructions for setting:

1. Download NetGuard from Play Market or APKMirror.
2. When you first start, provide access to the VPN (this is necessary to intercept traffic).
3. In the main window, you'll see a list of all the apps: 🚫 Wi-Fi – Block access via wireless networks; 🚫 Mobile data – block 3G/4G/5G.

Settings → Traffic Restrictions

NetGuard works even on blocked downloaders and does not require superuser rights, but note that the application itself consumes up to 5-10 MB of traffic per day for analytics (this can be disabled in the settings).

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NetGuard is the only application that can block MIUI system services (such as MiuiDaemon or Analytics) without root rights.

Method 4: Limiting traffic through a router (for Wi-Fi)

If you want to control traffic not only on your phone, but also on other devices connected to the same network, set the restrictions on the router. Most modern routers (including Xiaomi Mi Router) support this feature.

Instructions for Xiaomi routers:

1. Open the router’s web interface at 192.168.31.1 (or via the Mi Wi-Fi app).
2. Go to Device Management or Traffic Control.
3. Select your Xiaomi smartphone from the list of connected devices.
4. Activate the Speed Limit or Traffic Limit option.
5. Specify the maximum daily/monthly limit (e.g. 1 GB/day).
6. Save the settings.

Method 5: Hidden settings for power users

If standard methods do not help, you can use the engineering menu or ADB-These are the ways that advanced users can use, and they need to be careful.

Method 1: Engineering menu (to block background traffic)

1. Open the Phone app and enter the combination: ##4636##.
2. In the menu that opens, select Phone Information (or Usage Statistics).
3. Smash Wi-Fi data or Mobile data and manually disable unnecessary processes.

Method 2: ADB-commands to block traffic

Connect your phone to your PC and execute the commands:

adb shell settings put global captive_portal_detection_enabled 0


adb shell settings put global data_saver_enabled 1

The first command disables the portal check (saves up to 50 MB/month), the second activates the data saving mode.

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB Or an engineering menu can cause network failures. Before experimenting, back up your settings in Settings. → Additionally. → Backup.

What to do if traffic continues to be consumed?

If after all the settings the traffic still “leaks”, check the following points:

• 🔍 Viruses and malware: Download Malwarebytes and scan the system. Some Trojans masquerade as system processes and steal traffic.
• 🔄 Auto-update MIUI: Turn it off in Settings. → The phone. → Updating the system → ⋮ → Settings → Downloading.

Another possible cause is firmware errors, and if you use custom firmware (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience), check if the bug is related to a particular build, and then only flashing it to an official MIUI will help.

⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi devices (e.g. Redmi Note 8 Pro or POCO X3) The built-in traffic meter is not working properly because of a bug in the MediaTek core, so the solution is to use third-party applications like Traffic Monitor.

FAQ: Frequent questions about traffic restriction on Xiaomi