Xiaomi Removes Background Playback Feature in Latest HyperOS and MIUI Updates

In February, OPPO announced that it will be removing the “Background Stream” option from ColorOS’ Smart Sidebar in its next update. Following that, it has been tipped that Xiaomi is also removing its own version of Background Playback (for YouTube) feature via a series of OTA updates.

Xiaomi Ends Background Playback on Both MIUI and HyperOS

The Background Play feature, specifically “Play video sound with screen off,” was slowly removed from a number of Xiaomi and POCO devices, before the issue was taken up publicly to online forums.

For reference, this feature allowed users to listen to YouTube in the background, even without a YouTube Premium subscription. They could simply start a video, switch to another app, or turn off the screen, essentially replicating a paid functionality.

Now, according to Xiaomi’s recent set of OTA updates, both HyperOS and MIUI devices will be affected by this decision. The list below details which security updates will remove background playback functionality on various devices.

Like seen in the image above, the list also details the security patches that’ll remove the “Turn off screen” feature inside the Game toolbox.

Reasons for Removal

At this point in time, Xiaomi or OPPO have not made any definitive statements explaining why this step was deemed necessary. For all we know, Google may have pressured both companies into complying with its existing set of regulations.

After all, Google has been hard in cracking down on companies that essentially offer an alternative route to circumvent certain paid restrictions. We’ve seen YouTube Vanced, ReVanced, NewPipe, and others being forcibly shut down, and now with Xiaomi, it appears that the same pattern is being followed.

The Fix

While there isn’t much you can do to bring back the same functionality, there is a temporary fix, which involves going back to the previous version of your phone’s OS. We have a detailed guide on that too if you want to follow along the process.

This is all we know for now, but rest assured that we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.