How to Track a Person’s Location through Xiaomi: Official Techniques and Important Warnings

Xiaomi smartphones offer several legal ways to locate a device — but all require prior setup and consent. This article will help you understand how to use the built-in Mi Account, Find Device and Family Sharing features without violating privacy laws.

It is important to understand that tracking without the knowledge of a person can be qualified as a violation of Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (privacy) or Article 138 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of the secrecy of correspondence).We will only talk about legal methods with prior approval, which work on all modern Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models (including the 13/14 series, Note 12/13, K50/K60).

1.Official Find Device service: how it works and what you need to activate

Find Device (formerly Mi Cloud Find Device) is Xiaomi’s primary tool for finding lost or stolen smartphones, not only to see the last known location, but also to lock the device, erase data, or make it make sound.

• 🔹 Mi Account (associated with the device)
• 🔹 Enabled Geolocation Services and Transfer Location Data in Settings
• 🔹 Active Internet connection (mobile network or Wi-Fi)
• 🔹 Permission to Remote Device Search in Security Settings

If at least one of the conditions is not met, the service will show the last known point, which may be outdated, for example, if the smartphone is dead or in the zone without communication, the data will not be updated.

To check your current settings on your target device, go to: Settings → Google → Security → Find My Device (for Android 12+)

or

Settings → Mi Account → Find Device

⚠️ Note: If the device is enabled with the function of Stealth mode (in some firmware Xiaomi.EU), the service Find Device may show inaccurate data or not work at all. GPS-background.

2. Step-by-step: how to track Xiaomi through Mi Account

If all conditions are met, monitor the device as follows:

1. Step 1. Go to the official Mi Account website and log in under the same login as your target smartphone.
2. Step 2. From the menu, select Find Device (or Device Management in the Russian version).
3. Step 3: The map will show the last known location, and the accuracy depends on the GPS satellites available and the energy saving settings.
4. Step 4: Use additional options if necessary: 🔔 Play Sound – the device will start to ring loudly (even in silent mode) 🔒 Lock Device – lock with a new password 🗑️ Erase Data – Full reset to factory settings (irreversibly!)

Make sure that geolocation services are enabled on the device |

Check if your smartphone is connected to Mi Account|

Ask the owner for permission to track (if it is not your device)|

Check battery power (at a level below 15%, GPS may be turned off)

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On some models (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra or Redmi Note 12 Pro+), you can enable the High GPS Accuracy option in location settings to improve accuracy, which will increase battery consumption but reduce the error to 5-10 meters.

Family Access: How to Track Relatives With Consent

Family Sharing (or Mi Family) allows parents to monitor the location of their children or to monitor elderly relatives.

1. On both devices, install the Mi Family app (available from Google Play or App Gallery).
2. Create a family group and send an invitation to the second user.
3. After confirming in the group settings, enable the location exchange option.
4. Set the interval of coordinate update (from 15 minutes to real time).

In all other cases, the person’s written consent is required, for example, to track a spouse through Xiaomi, you need to:

1. Make an agreement on voluntary provision of location data.
2. Specify the purposes of use (e.g. “security”).
3. Certify the document with the signatures of both parties.

Violation of these rules may result in:

• 📜 Administrative fine of up to 50,000 ₽ (under article 13.11 of the administrative code of the Russian Federation).
• ⚖️ Criminal liability (if proven intent).
• 🔒 Blocking of Mi Account for Abuse of Services.

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If you need to track a lost smartphone, not a person, lock the device immediately through Find Device and contact the police. Provide them with an IMEI (indicated on the box or in the About Phone settings → General information).

Frequent problems and their solutions

If tracking is not working, check:

On devices with MIUI 14 and later, surveillance protection can be triggered, the system blocks background coordinate transmission if the Detects are suspicious activity.

1. Go to Settings → Privacy → Special Access → Location Access.
2. Find a tracking app and allow Always (not just "During Use").
3. In Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization Turn Off Optimization for This Application

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Even if you set it up correctly, the accuracy of GPS depends on the environment, and in cities with tall buildings, the error can be as high as 100 meters, and in forests or mountains, it can be up to 500 meters.

7. How to Protect Your Xiaomi from Unauthorized Tracking

If you are concerned that someone may be trying to monitor your location, follow these steps:

• 🔐 Turn off Find Device in Mi Account settings if you are not using this feature.
• 📍 Limit location access for unnecessary applications in Settings → Confidentiality → Permits → Location.
• 🔄 Check active sessions regularly in Settings → Mi Account → Manage devices and remove unknowns.
• 🛡️ Enable two-factor authentication for Mi Account and Google.
• 🔍 Check installed apps for suspicious trackers (e.g. Spyera, mSpy).

Xiaomi has a built-in Security Monitoring feature with MIUI 13/14 that alerts you to suspicious activity.

1. Go to Settings → Privacy → Security Monitoring.
2. Activate malware scanning and application permissions check options.
3. Include notifications about new installed programs.

If you suspect that your device is already being tracked, reset to factory settings (Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset), but save important data beforehand – it will not be possible to recover it after resetting.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions