MIUI 12 update battery drain hitch continues to affect phones like the POCO F1, Redmi Note 8 Pro, and Xiaomi Mi 9 with no official fix in sight

The familiar problem of rapid battery drain has reared its unwanted head in regard to smartphone users installing the latest MIUI 12 update from Xiaomi. There was a similar issue with MIUI 11 sucking the life out of devices like the Xiaomi Mi 9T and Redmi K20, and there is now a repeat situation with MIUI 12 across a growing variety of smartphones (or possibly even all of them according to a Mi Community moderator).

While owners of the Redmi Note 8 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 9, Mi 9T, and POCO F1 have taken to online forums to seek a solution to the battery drain issue, it seems apparently not everyone has faced the bug after updating to MIUI 12. Owners of phones like the Mi 9T Pro and Mi 8 SE have even reported an improvement in battery life, so it could be down to how a particular user operates their device of choice and the settings they have.

A Mi Community mod posted this comment in reply to a POCO F1 owner bemoaning the reduced lifespan of their device: “Apparently it’s the same with all devices. MIUI 12 is really heavy on the battery. It’s a known issue and hope they get optimized in coming builds”. With features such as Super Wallpapers draining the battery that would seem like a fair statement, but some of these new energy-sapping additions are only available on select devices – not the Redmi Note 8 Pro, not the POCO F1, not the Mi 9T etc.

Numerous fixes have been offered up for assistance with the MIUI 12 battery drain issue. The battery can be recalibrated, a factory reset can be carried out to make sure everything is in working order (back your data up first though), making sure all necessary updates are installed, and it has even been suggested to not use Mi Account because of its background processes. But at the end of the day, it is up to Xiaomi to issue official firmware updates to optimize battery consumption and leave customers feeling satisfied with their phone’s performance.