How to find out the traffic consumption of Xiaomi: a complete guide

Today’s Xiaomi smartphones consume a significant amount of data, even when you just keep it in your pocket. Background synchronization, instant messenger notifications, and automatic app updates can stealthily “eat” your entire mobile Internet bundle, which is why how to find out traffic on shaomi becomes critical to saving budget and controlling gigabyte consumption.

MIUI offers built-in and powerful tools to monitor network activity, so you don't have to install third-party programs to see detailed statistics, but you just need to set up the system monitor correctly, which is hidden from the surface by default, but provides comprehensive information.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can get accurate traffic data, from standard settings to hidden engineering menus, and learn how to set limits, block individual applications from the network, and understand where your megabytes are going, and this knowledge will help you avoid unpleasant surprises at the end of the billing period from your carrier.

Use of the built-in Security application

The fastest and most reliable way to check your current data consumption is to use a pre-installed system app, which is called "Security" on all Redmi and Poco smartphones, and has a green icon with a shield, and is integrated deep into the system, which guarantees accuracy, unlike third-party meters.

To get information, you need to run the app and find the Traffic section, which is usually located in the toolbar or on the app's home screen as a graphical widget, and it shows the total amount of data you've used for the current period, as well as the detail by day.

Inside the section, you'll see not only the total numbers, but you can also set up automatic resetting, which is especially useful if your plan is not updated on the first day of the month, and the system will keep records within your billing cycle, which makes monitoring as convenient as possible.

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Set the date of the reset statistics in the application "Security" exactly on the day of the change of the tariff period of your operator, so that the data is always relevant for the current month.

Importantly, the Security app also shows you real-time connection speeds, so you can instantly see if there's some kind of Internet-devouring process going on right now, and if you see a lot of activity without you doing something, you should check the list of apps that are working right away.

Detailed statistics in system settings

If you want more in-depth analytics, the built-in Android Settings Bar will provide it in a user-friendly way. To get there, go to the Settings menu. → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Traffic statistics: This information is presented in a more structured way than in a security application.

The system splits traffic between mobile internet and Wi-Fi connections, a key difference, as users often confuse packet data consumption with downloading files over the home network, and in this section you can see which app has spent a gigabyte.

Statistics are sorted downward, so heavy apps are at the top of the list, and social media, video, and navigators are often the top performers, and if you notice anomalously high consumption on a program you rarely use, that's a reason to think about removing it or limiting background activity.

And you'll pay special attention to the background traffic section, and many applications continue to transmit data even when the screen is off, and you can see in the statistics settings how much of the total volume is in the background work, and for some programs, this figure can be as high as 40-50%.

Setting limits and warnings

To be sure, how much is left to the end of the package, the smartest thing to do is set up automatic restrictions. Xiaomi smartphones are able to block mobile Internet when you reach a certain threshold. This will save you from paying megabytes at a higher rate.

To activate this feature, go to traffic settings and click on the gear or menu icon. You will need to set two parameters: monthly limit and reset date. Once you enter this data, the system will start counting and alert you when you reach 80% and 100% limit.

There is also the option to customize behavior when you exceed the limit, so you can choose to shut down your mobile Internet completely or only warn, the first option being preferred for those who want to control costs tightly and avoid risking unnecessary costs.

• 📱 Daily limit: allows you to limit consumption per day, which is useful for tariffs with daily packages.
• 🔔 Audible Alert: The phone will signal when you use up a predetermined percentage of traffic.
• 🚫 Data Blocking: Completely stops data transmission over the mobile network after the limit has been exhausted.
• 📊 Period Report: Possibility to view statistics for a week, month or any period.

Analysis of consumption by application

The most interesting thing for the user is the detailed program by program: the MIUI traffic statistics menu provides a complete list of all installed applications with an indication of the amount of data transmitted, which allows you to identify the “hidden eaters” of traffic.

Click on any app in the list to see a detailed report, you will know how much data was used in the background and how much when you actively used the program. If background traffic is high, the system will suggest limiting background activity to save.

Some applications, such as instant messengers or email clients, require constant background synchronization, and their restriction can cause notification delays, while others, such as games or offline navigators, can work without access to the network in the background.

Look at Google Play Services, which can consume traffic to sync contacts, back up and check for updates, and their increased activity may indicate a failure to sync or update large amounts of data.

Hidden functions and engineering menu

For advanced users who want to access technical information about a network connection, there is an engineering menu that allows you to see not only the amount of traffic, but also the signal quality, network type and other parameters that affect speed and flow.

Enter the engineering menu via a special code in the dial. Dial ##4636##. If the code doesn't work, your version of the MIUI shell or regional firmware may be blocking that access, so you can use Activity Launcher.

In the menu that opens, select Statistics, which displays detailed statistics of packets sent and received since the last reboot or reset, and is useful for diagnosing connection problems when standard meters are silent.

⚠️ Warning: Do not change the settings in other sections of the engineering menu if you are not sure of your actions.This can lead to loss of communication or incorrect operation of the smartphone modules.

And also, adb is a command to get traffic logs through your computer, and you can connect your phone to your PC, and you can upload a very detailed report of the network activity of all the processes, and it's a tool for developers, but it gives you the most complete picture of what's going on in the system.

Ways to save mobile Internet

Once you have learned how to view traffic on shaomi, it is logical to move on to the issues of its economy. MIUI offers several built-in mechanisms that help to significantly reduce data consumption without losing functionality.

The first and most effective method is to turn on traffic saving mode, which blocks background data transfers for all applications except those added to the exceptions, ensuring that the Internet is only consumed when you are actively using your phone.

The second method is to limit background activity for heavy applications, so you can prevent specific programs from using mobile Internet in the background, leaving them only accessed via Wi-Fi, which is especially true for cloud storage and video services.

• 📉 Traffic compression: In the Chrome browser, you can enable a saving feature that compresses pages before loading.
• 📺 Video quality: Configure YouTube and other streaming services to play in lower resolution when using mobile data.
• 🔄 Auto Update: Stop Google Play and App Store from updating apps over mobile.
• 🗺️ Offline maps: download navigator maps in advance via Wi-Fi, so as not to waste traffic on the road.

Remember that even desktop widgets can consume traffic by updating in real time. Check the settings of weather, news and currency widgets. Disabling their auto-updates or increasing the interval will help save precious megabytes.

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The combined use of saving mode and banning background activity for heavy applications can reduce traffic consumption by up to 40%.

Frequent questions and problem-solving

Users often face a situation where statistics are not updated or show incorrect data, most of which is solved by restarting the device or cleaning the cache of the Security app, and it is also worth checking whether the statistics are set to the correct date for resetting.

Sometimes traffic goes away even when mobile internet is turned off, and this may be due to Wi-Fi Assist, a feature that switches you to mobile data if the Wi-Fi signal is too weak, and disable this option in your Wi-Fi settings to avoid unexpected consumption.

⚠️ Warning: Resetting statistics doesn't shut down the Internet or delete applications, it just resets the counters, allowing a new cycle of observations to start from scratch.

If none of the methods can track the source of traffic, there may be malware on the device. Conduct a full antivirus check built into the system. Miner viruses or ad modules can hide and actively use the network.