Ever wondered why your Xiaomi M365, Pro 2 or 4 Ultra sometimes brakes when releasing gas, as if someone had held you behind the wheel a little? It's not a breakdown, but the operation of the regenerative braking system, one of the key technologies that distinguishes modern electric scooters from their predecessors. Recovery (or regenerative braking) allows you to partially restore energy when you slow down, increasing the range by 5-15% depending on driving style.
In this article, we’ll explore how Xiaomi scooters work, what models support it, how to turn on/off the feature through the Mi Home or Xiaomi Scooter app, and uncover myths about its effect on battery wear. You’ll learn why the manufacturer defaults to activate recovery at the mid-level, and how to adjust it to its route — whether it’s urban traffic jams or country roads. For tech-savvy readers, we’ve added a section explaining the physics of the process and comparing it to similar systems in electric vehicles.
What is recovery on an electric scooter and why it is needed
Recovery (Latin recuperatio, "return") is the process of converting the kinetic energy generated by braking back into electrical energy to charge the battery. In traditional scooters, this energy is simply dissipated as heat through brake pads, and in Xiaomi, an electric motor is responsible for this, which switches to generator mode when slowed down.
How does this work in practice? Imagine you roll off a slide on a bicycle and start braking. Normally, you just heat the brake pads. On a recuperated electric scooter, the engine creates resistance to the wheels, but up to 30 percent of the energy is returned to the battery (according to tests of the Xiaomi Pro 2 model from Electrek magazine), the effectiveness depends on the speed, weight of the rider and the degree of braking.
- 🔋 Saving charge: up to +15% of the range in the urban cycle (frequent stops).
- 🛡️ Smooth braking: reduces wear of mechanical brakes.
- 🌿 Green: Less energy is wasted.
But there is a downside to the technology: Recovery, for example, can create an unusual sense of “sniffing” when releasing gas, especially on models with aggressive settings (as on the Xiaomi 4 Pro), and not all batteries are equally well tolerate frequent micro-charge cycles.
Pros and cons of recovery: whether it is worth using
The benefits of regenerative braking are greater than the disadvantages, but the latter are often the reason why users turn off the feature. Let's see what outweighs yours.
| Advantages | Deficiencies |
|---|---|
| ✅ Increase in range by 5-15% (up to 8 km on Pro 2 when driving around the city). | ❌ Unusual sensation of a “braking” scooter when releasing a gas handle. |
| ✅ Less wear of mechanical brake pads. | ❌ Additional load on the battery (microcharging reduces the life of lithium-ion cells on the battery) ~2-3% per year). |
| ✅ Smooth deceleration on descents without using hand brake. | ❌ Reduce maximum speed on climbs (the engine spends part of the power on recovery). |
| ✅ Green: Less energy is lost as heat. | ❌ In the cold (-10°C and below) recovery efficiency falls by 40–50%. |
It is important to consider the style of driving:
- 🏙️ Urban traffic: recovery is most efficient (frequent accelerations/braking).
- 🛣️ Long straight routes: benefits are minimal (rare braking).
- ⛰️ Mountainous terrain: Recovery helps control downhill speed, but can overheat the engine.
⚠️ Note: On scooters Xiaomi with a battery capacity less 10 Ah, for example, M365 Lite) recovery may reduce the total battery life 10–15% The manufacturer recommends turning off the function if the scooter is operated at lower temperatures. -5°C.
What Xiaomi models support recovery
Not all Xiaomi scooters are equipped with regenerative braking system, the feature appeared since the M365 (2017), but is fully implemented only in firmware version 1.3.6 and above.
| Model | Support for recovery | Levels of adjustment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| M365 (2017) | ✅ Yes. | Weak/Mediternary/Strong | It requires firmware updates to 1.5.4+. |
| Pro 2 / Pro 2 Lite | ✅ Yes. | 3 levels + Off. | The best implementation among budget models. |
| 1S / 1S Lite | ✅ Yes. | 2 levels | Recovery is weaker than that of the Pro 2. |
| 4 Pro / 4 Ultra | ✅ Yes. | 4 levels + adaptive mode | The most advanced system with a tilt sensor. |
| Essential / Electric Scooter 3 | ❌ No. | — | Budget models without recovery. |
To check if your scooter supports recovery:
- Open the Mi Home or Xiaomi Scooter app.
- Go to Settings → Regenerative braking.
- If there is no item, your model does not support the function.
⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi scooters with custom firmware (e.g. ScooterHacking Utility), the recovery settings may differ from the standard. Some firmware allows you to set up to 5 intensity levels, but this can lead to overheating of the controller on long descents.
How do I find out the firmware version?
How to turn on, disable or configure recovery
Recovery management is done through the official Mi Home app (for older models) or Xiaomi Scooter (for newer ones). The interface may vary slightly depending on the region and the software version, but the overall logic is the same.
Step-by-step:
- Connect the scooter to the phone via Bluetooth.
- Open the app and select your device.
- Go to the Settings section (Icon) ⚙️).
- Find the Regenerative Braking (or Energy Recovery in English).
- Choose one of the levels: Off. Recovery turned off. Weak is minimal resistance when releasing gas. Medium is the balance between efficiency and comfort (recommended for the city); Strong is maximum energy recovery, but sharp braking.
Save the settings and restart the scooter (turn off/on).
Accelerate to 15-20 km / h|Release the gas handle - the scooter should slow down slightly|Look at the display: if the icon of the battery with the arrow caught fire ⬆️, recovery works|Try to brake with the hand brake - recovery should be turned off-->
The 4 Pro and 4 Ultra models have an adaptive mode that automatically adjusts the intensity of recovery depending on the slope of the road.
- Enable recovery at Medium or Strong level.
- Activate Adaptive Braking in additional settings.
- The scooter will independently increase recovery on the slopes and reduce on the ascents.
⚠️ Warning: If after a fall or impact, recovery begins to work incorrectly (for example, the scooter brakes even when pressing the gas), immediately turn off the function and check the integrity of the engine cables!