How to make the photo Xiaomi Redmi display geolocation: a detailed guide

Why your photos don’t have geolocation and how to fix it

You took a great shot on your Xiaomi Redmi, but when you look in the gallery or on the computer you don't see the coordinates of the shooting location? The problem with the lack of geotags is common for many users, and the reasons can be different: from the GPS turned off to the specific camera settings. In this article, we will discuss all the ways to activate geolocation in the photo, including hidden MIUI settings, which are often overlooked.

It's important to understand that geotags are not just a nice bonus, they're a useful feature for organizing photo archives, that you can automatically sort your photos by location, quickly find photos from specific trips or events. However, not all photo viewing apps display geodata by default. For example, the standard MIUI gallery only shows coordinates when you look deep at the properties of a file, but Google Photos or Lightroom displays them directly on a map.

Before you go to settings, check the basic conditions: 1) your Redmi must have access to satellites (GPS enabled). 2 The Camera app must have permission to use geodata. 3) Some shooting modes (e.g., Portrait or Night) may block the recording of coordinates.

If at least one of these conditions is not met, the geolocation on the photo will not be displayed.

Step 1: Turning on GPS and checking location accuracy

The first thing to do is make sure your Xiaomi Redmi has a GPS module activated. Even if you see a location icon in the status bar, it doesn't guarantee that the camera can use that data.

Open Settings → Location and follow the following steps: 1. Translate the Location slider to Incl. 2. Click on Mode and select High Accuracy (this is a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile networks for maximum accuracy). 3. Activate the option Wi-Fi Scanning and Bluetooth Scanning – this will help to determine the coordinates in the premises faster.

• 📍 Problem: GPS It takes a long time to catch satellites or locate with a large margin of error. 1-2 In urban settings, tall buildings can screen the signal.
• 🔄 Reset GPS: If the coordinates are not correctly determined, try resetting the data. GPS. To do this, go to the Settings. → Annexes → Application management → Three dots (menu) → Show system-based → GpsProvider, then press Storage → Clear the data.
• ⚡ Saving charge: In energy saving mode GPS It may be unstable. Turn it off temporarily in Settings. → Battery → Energy saving regime.

⚠️ Note: If you use custom firmware (such as LineageOS or Pixel Experience), standard settings GPS It is recommended that the application be installed. GPS Status & Toolbox from Google Play for Diagnostics.

Step 2: Configure permissions for the Camera app

Even if GPS is enabled, the Camera app may not have access to the geodata. In MIUI, permissions are managed separately for each application, and after system updates, they are sometimes reset.

Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Camera → Permissions. You must activate: • Location (required!) • Storage (to save tagged photos) • Camera (if disabled, shooting will not be possible)

If the Location option is disabled, click on it and select Allow All the Time. Importantly, choosing Allow only while in use can cause geotags to not be saved when you quickly open the camera via a double press of the power button.

Make sure GPS is enabled in the system settings

Check the "Location" permission for the "Camera" application

Select the Allow All the Time mode

Reset the Camera app after the changes-->

Step 3: Activate geotags in Xiaomi camera settings

The most obvious but often overlooked step is to enable geodata saving directly in the Camera app, which may vary depending on the version of MIUI, but the general logic is:

Open the Camera app, then 1. Touch the gears (⚙️) or swipe left to open settings. 2. Find the Additional or Camera Settings section (in newer versions) MIUI It could be settings. → 3. Activate the option Save location or geotags (in English version - Save location info).

If you don’t have this option, your version of the camera doesn’t support it, and you can use alternative apps (discussed below), and note that some Redmi models (such as the Redmi Note 10 Pro or Redmi K40) have geotags disabled by default due to privacy policies.

⚠️ Note: On Redmi models with MediaTek processor (e.g. Redmi) 9A or Redmi 10C) There may be a bug in which geotags are stored only at the first start of the camera after turning on GPS. To get around this, open any app that uses a location (like Google Maps) before shooting, and then launch the camera.

Step 4: Checking geotags on the finished photo

You've turned on all the settings, but how do you make sure that the geolocation is actually saved? There are a few ways to check this out:

• 📱 Standard gallery MIUI: Open the photo. → press three points (⋮) → Select Details or Information. If you have geotagged data, you'll see coordinates and a mini-map.
• 🌍 Google Photos: Upload the photo to the app → Open it. → Swipe up. Under the photo, you'll see a map that tags the location.
• 💻 On a computer (Windows/macOS): Right-click on the file → Properties → Detailed (in Windows) or open in Preview (on macOS) and check the partition "GPS".
• 📊 Specialized applications: Install EXIF Viewer or Photo Exif Editor from Google Play – they will show all metadata, including coordinates.

If the coordinates are displayed incorrectly (for example, with a displacement of hundreds of meters), this may be due to:

• Bad GPS signal

• Using VPNs

• Firmware bug

💡

If you travel frequently, create self-sorted geotag albums in Google Photos, open the app, go to the Search tab, and select any place on the map, and the system will collect all the photos taken there.

Step 5: Alternative ways to add geolocation

If Xiaomi's standard camera refuses to save geotags, you can use third-party solutions.

1. Google Camera (GCam):

Many Redmi users install ported versions of Google Camera, which often save metadata better. Download the appropriate version for your model (for example, from the 4PDA forum or XDA Developers) and enable Location tags in the GCam settings.

2. Manual geotag applications: GeoTag Photos Pro or ExifTool let you manually link coordinates to a photo, which is useful if you forgot to turn on GPS while shooting. Just select a photo on a map, and the application will record the data to EXIF.

Automation through Tasker:

For advanced users, you can create a task in Tasker that will force GPS to be activated when you open the camera and save coordinates.

Event → Application → Camera → Task → Net → GPS On.

💡

If Xiaomi’s standard camera doesn’t store geotags, the best alternative is Google Camera, which not only adds coordinates, but also improves the quality of images through HDR+ algorithms.

Step 6: Solving Common Problems

Even after all the settings, geolocation may not work. Let's look at typical scenarios and their solutions.

• 🔋 The battery goes down quickly when turned on. GPS: In Location Settings (Settings) → Location → Additionally) disable the option of Finding devices nearby, which will reduce the load on the battery.
• 📵 Geotags missing after update MIUI: Reset the camera settings to factory (Settings) → Annexes → Camera. → Warehouse → Clear the data) and re-enable location saving.
• 🔒 Apps don't see geotags: Check if metadata is deleted when exporting. For example, some messengers (such as Telegram in "Compress Photos" mode) are erased. EXIF-data.
• 🌐 Coordinates are determined in another country: This may be due to the use of VPN or incorrect region settings. Check in Settings → Additionally. → Region.

If the problem persists, try rolling back the camera update.

1.

Settings → Applications → Camera → Three points → Remove updates

2.

3.

⚠️ Note: Some Redmi models (e.g. Redmi Note 8 Pro) will no longer have geotags after resetting to factory settings, in which case only manual firmware updates via the Mi Flash Tool with Clean All option will help.

FAQ: Frequent questions about geolocation in the photo Xiaomi Redmi