Wake on Wi-Fi on Xiaomi: how to completely disable the function and prevent spontaneous switching on

The Wake on Wi-Fi feature on Xiaomi devices often causes unexpected screen turns on, quick battery drain, and even network connection problems. While the technology was designed for convenience — such as remotely controlling a smart home or getting push notifications while asleep — many users are facing side effects, a particularly pressing problem for Redmi smartphone owners, POCO and Mi on base MIUI 12/13/14, where the function is activated by default and hidden in the depths of settings.

In this article, we’ll look at all possible ways to disable Wake on Wi-Fi on Xiaomi, including hidden developer settings, router settings, and alternative methods for rootless devices. You will also learn how to check if the function is deactivated, and what to do if the smartphone continues to “wake up” for no apparent reason. 2020–2026 years, including Xiaomi 13/14 Series, Redmi Note 12/13 Pro and POCO F5/X5.

What is Wake on Wi-Fi and why you should turn it off

Wake on Wi-Fi (WoW) technology allows a device to wake up from sleep when a particular network packet is received, originally used in corporate networks for remote control of PCs, but in mobile devices Xiaomi feature is adapted to:

• 📱 Push notifications – even in deep sleep, the smartphone can receive messages from Mi Cloud or third-party messengers.
• 🏠 Smart home – Mi Home devices (such as light bulbs or robot vacuum cleaners) can wake up a phone to perform scenarios.
• 🔄 Background tasks – some applications (such as Mi Fit or Google Play Services) use WoW to synchronize data.

However, in practice, the function often fails:

• 🔋 Increased battery consumption – Wi-Fi remains active even in sleep mode, consuming up to 5-15% of charge per night.
• 📵 Spontaneous awakenings – the screen is turned on without notifications, sometimes with the interface hanging.
• 🌐 Router conflicts – some routers (such as TP-Link or Keenetic) send “extra” packets, causing the phone to wake up.

When the shutdown is required:

⚠️ Note: If your smartphone is more than drained 20% post 8 Watch standby (with the screen off and background apps), check the activity of Wake on Wi-Fi. 7xx/8xx This feature may conflict with the processor’s energy-saving algorithms.

Method 1: Disconnect via Wi-Fi settings (basic method)

The easiest way to deactivate WoW is to use standard settings. MIUI. However, on some firmware, the option is hidden or otherwise named:

1. Open the Settings. → Wi-Fi.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Additional Settings (or Advanced Features on newer versions).
3. Scroll down to Wi-Fi Power Saving Mode (could be called Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep on global firmware).
4. Choose the option of Never.

If there is no such item, try an alternative path:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Battery Mode.
2. Choose the Energy Saving or Super Energy Saving profile.
3. Activate the option to limit background activity – this will indirectly turn off wake-up over Wi-Fi for most applications.

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ It doesn’t work on some custom firmware (e.g. Pixel Experience or LineageOS).
• ❌ May be reset after the update MIUI.
• ❌ Does not disable WoW for system applications (e.g. Mi Cloud or Finder).

Method 2: Deactivation through Developer Parameters

If the basic method doesn't work, you'll have to use hidden settings, so first, turn on the developer mode:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Click the MIUI version 7 times in a row until you become a developer!
3. Go back to the main settings menu and open a new section for developers.

Now find and disable the following options:

Important! After the changes, restart the device - some settings are only applied after the reboot. If the Wake-on-WLAN option is not on the list, then your firmware does not support its management through the developer menu (see alternative methods).

Method 3: Set up a router to block WoW packets

If you can't turn off the function on your smartphone, you can block wake-up packets at the router level, which is suitable for users who have:

• 📶 Router backs up MAC-Filtering or Parent Control (most Xiaomi Mi Router models, ASUS RT, TP-Link Archer).
• 🔧 Access to the router administrator panel.

Instructions for Xiaomi routers:

1. Open the Mi Wi-Fi app or go to 192.168.31.1 in your browser.
2. Select Devices → Device management.
3. Find your smartphone in the list and click on it.
4. Activate the option to block the awakening over the network (or Disable WoL on English firmware).
5. Save the settings and restart the router.

For other routers (ASUS, TP-Link, Keenetic):

1. Go to the control panel (usually 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1).
2. Find the Wireless section → MAC Filter or Parent Control.
3. Add in. MAC-Address of your smartphone (can be found in Settings) → The phone. → General information) in the list of devices blocked for waking.
4. Turn on the filtering by ARP-Magic Packets or Magic Packets (if you have such an option).

iptables -A FORWARD -p udp --dport 7 -j DROP

This will block all packets to the port. 7 (standard WoL/WoW).-->

Method 4: Using ADB to Forced Shutdown

If the previous methods did not work, the shutdown remains through ADB (Android Debug Bridge: This method requires connecting your smartphone to your computer, but it works on all firmware. MIUI.

Step 1: Preparation

1. Download and install Google’s Platform Tools.
2. Turn on your smartphone to debug by USB (Settings → For developers → debugging by USB).
3. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.

Step 2: Execution of commands:

1. Open the Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS/Linux) in the folder with the platform-tools.
2. Enter it in turn:

adb shell


settings put global wowlan_enabled 0




settings put global stay_on_while_plugged_in 0

These commands will disable Wake on Wi-Fi and prevent the device from remaining active when connected to a charger.

Step 3. Verification:

1. Follow the command:

settings get global wowlan_enabled

If 0 is disabled. If 1, repeat step 2 or check the rights. ADB.

💡

Teams. ADB They are reset after you reset your settings or update your firmware. To keep the changes, create a script to automatically execute commands when you connect to your PC.

Method 5: Alternative methods (root, Magisk, third-party applications)

If none of these methods worked, radical measures remain, requiring root rights or the installation of modified modules.

Method 1: Using Magisk:

• 🔧 Install Magisk and WakeBlock from the repository.
• 📱 In the module settings, select Block Wake-on-WLAN.
• 🔄 Reset the device.

Method 2. editing system files (only for power users!):

1. with the help of Root Explorer or ADB open the file /system/build.prop.
2. Add a line:

ro.wowlan.support=false

1. Save the file and restart it.

Method 3: Applications for energy management:

• 📌 Greenify – allows you to freeze background processes, including WoW.
• 📌 Battery Guru – monitors wake-ups and blocks unnecessary ones.
• 📌 Wake Lock Detector – Shows which applications use WoW.

⚠️ Attention: Using root methods can lead to loss of warranty, unstable system operation or locking of the bootloader (on models with Anti-Rollback). TWRP.

How to Check if Wake on Wi-Fi is Turned Off

Even after the feature is turned off, the smartphone may continue to wake up for other reasons. To make sure that WoW is deactivated, follow the following steps:

Step 1. Check through ADB:

adb shell dumpsys wifi | grep"wowlan"

If the answer is wowlan enabled: false, the function is disabled.

Step 2: Monitoring the awakenings

• Install the BetterBatteryStats app (requires) ADB root).
• Go to Kernel Wakelocks.
• Check if there's any on the list. wlan_rx_wake or wlan_wow_wake. If so, WoW is still active.

Step 3: In-plane test:

1. Activate Flight Mode.
2. Wait 10-15 minutes.
3. Turn on Wi-Fi (without turning off flight mode!)
4. See if the smartphone will spontaneously wake up. If it doesn't, the problem is solved.

Step 4: Checking through logcat:

adb logcat | grep -i"wowlan\|wake_on_wlan"

If the log is empty, the function is disabled. If the logs appear, look for the source of the awakenings (for example, the application com.miui.cloudservice).

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after turning off Wake on Wi-Fi, users experience side effects, including:

Additional advice:

• 🔄 If the problem persists, try resetting the network settings (Settings) → System system → Resetting settings → Resetting the mobile network/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth).
• 📱 In the models with MIUI 14+ Check the Settings section → Connections and sharing → Special features – there may be a hidden option WoW.
• 🔋 If the battery is still running out, use the AccuBattery app to analyze the flow rate.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions