Xiaomi’s smartphone weather widget is one of the most popular tools among users, displaying temperature, humidity, rainfall probability and even UV index right on the home screen. However, many face the problem: the app persists in showing data for another city, but it can’t change location in standard ways. In some cases, the widget gets stuck in Beijing or Shanghai at all — a typical MIUI firmware error for global regions.
In this article, we will look at all the current ways to change the location in the weather on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices, including hidden settings, geolock bypasses and alternative applications. Particular attention will be paid to the problems that arise after the MIUI 14/15 updates, when the widget ceases to respond to GPS changes or manually entering the city. If you are tired of seeing a forecast for a foreign region, read on.
Why does the weather on Xiaomi show the wrong city?
Before you change your settings, it’s important to understand the root of the problem, and 80% of the time, the incorrect location in the weather widget is due to one of these reasons:
- 📍 Automatic determination of GPS Disabled – the smartphone uses mobile network data, which is often mistaken.
- 🌍 Regional settings MIUI — If the firmware lists China as the main region, the widget may ignore your real location.
- 🔄 Weather app cache – outdated data sticks after updates or changes SIM-map.
- 📱 Limitations of the Global Version MIUI — Some models (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro)+) Blocking manual entry of cities for individual countries.
- 🚫 Conflict with VPN Proxies – if you use the services to change IP, They can affect geolocation.
Interestingly, devices with MIUI for Russia (such as Xiaomi 13T Pro or POCO F5) are less likely to have problems than global firmware, because the Chinese version of Mi Weather is default-oriented to Asian cities, and adaptation to other regions sometimes fails.
Yeah, and it's annoying.|
Yeah, but I'm used to it.|
No, it's working right |
I'm a different brand.-->
Method 1: Change location through widget settings
The most obvious method is to manually change the city directly in the weather app interface, but not everyone knows where to look for this option, as its location depends on the version of MIUI.
Instructions for MIUI 14/15:
- Click on the weather widget on the home screen (or open the Weather app from the menu).
- Slip the current name of the city at the top of the screen.
- In the window that opens, enter the name of the desired city manually or select it from the list of proposed ones.
- Confirm the selection – the data will be updated within 10-30 seconds.
If the field to enter the city is inactive or there is no change button, then your firmware is blocking this function, in which case move on to the following methods.
Check your internet connection |
Update the Weather app on Google Play|
Turn off VPN or proxy |
Make sure the GPS is on-->>
Method 2: Resetting cache and data of the Weather application
Accumulated cache can cause the widget to hang on to old data, even if you've changed town, and cleaning helps in 60% of cases where the standard method doesn't work.
How to reset your settings:
- Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
- Find the weather list (or Mi Weather) and tap it.
- Select Warehouse → Clear cache and Clear data.
- Reboot your smartphone.
⚠️ Warning: Once the data is cleaned, the app will go back to factory settings. If you used saved cities, you'll have to add them again.
If the widget still shows the wrong city after reset, try removing updates for the Weather app (if any were installed via Google Play). To do this, click on the three dots in the top right corner of the app's management menu and select Remove Updates.
Method 3: Change the MIUI regional settings
One of the lesser-known but effective methods is to change the firmware region, which is especially true for devices with global MIUI, where the default weather service can be tied to China.
How to change the region:
- Open Settings → Additional → Region (or Settings → System → Language and Region in new versions).
- Select your country from the list (e.g. Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan).
- Confirm the change and restart the device.
| Region in MIUI | Impact on weather widget | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| China | Shows only Chinese cities, manual input blocked | Change to your country |
| India | Works with a limited list of CIS cities | It is better to choose Russia/Europe |
| Europe (EEA) | Full support of European and Russian cities | The best option |
| Global (Global) | Depending on the model, there may be failures. | Try cache dumping. |
After changing the region, the weather widget may temporarily stop working – this is normal. wait for automatic data update (up to 5 minutes) or manually update the information by pulling the screen down in the Weather app.
Method 4: Using third-party weather applications
If Xiaomi’s regular widget stubbornly refuses to show the right city, the most reliable solution is to install an alternative app.
- 📌 Precise location determination by GPS.
- 🌎 Supporting all cities without regional restrictions.
- 🔄 Regular updates to data (more often than in the MIUI).
- 🎨 Possibility of customization of the widget (size, color, displayed parameters).
Top.-3 Applications to replace standard weather:
- Yahoo Weather is a simple interface, accurate data from AccuWeather, support for widgets.
- Windy is the best choice for weather-dependent users (showing wind, precipitation, pressure in real time).
- 1Weather – beautiful design, minimalistic widgets, no advertising.
To install a widget from a third-party application:
- Download and install the selected application from Google Play.
- Add its widget to the main screen (clasp your finger in the free space → Widgets → choose the right one).
- Configure the displayed city in the application interface.
💡
If you use a third-party launcher (like Nova Launcher), weather widgets can run more stable than on a standard MIUI launcher.
Method 5: Manual editing of configuration files (for advanced ones)
This method is only suitable for users with unlocked bootloader and root rights, and allows you to manually write the desired city in system files, bypassing the limitations of MIUI.
Instructions:
- Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or Solid Explorer).
- Cross the path: /data/data/com.miui.weather2/shared_prefs/
- Find the file. weather_settings.xml Open it in the text editor.
- Find the lines with the parameters current_city and custom_city_list. Replace the values with the desired ones (for example, for Moscow use Moscow,RU).
- Save the file, restart the device.
⚠️ Warning: Incorrect editing of system files can lead to malfunctions MIUI. Before making changes, back up the file. This method is not recommended for beginners!
What if the weather stopped working after editing the file?
Frequent mistakes and their solutions
Even after a successful location change, users sometimes face additional challenges.
| Problem. | Possible cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| The widget is not updated | No Internet or MIUI servers blocked | Check the connection, disable the VPN, restart the application |
| City reset after reboot | Failure of the geolocation service | Clear the Google Play Services cache and weather |
| No city on the list. | Restrictions of regional firmware | Use a third-party app or change region in MIUI |
| Weather shows data for yesterday | Unsynchronized time on the device | Enable automatic time synchronization in the settings |
If none of these methods worked, consider flashing the device to a more recent or localized version of MIUI. For example, for Russian users, the best choice will be firmware marked RU (for example, MIUI 15 RU for Xiaomi 14), which is guaranteed to solve the problem with binding to Chinese servers.
💡
Before flashing, be sure to back up your data via Settings → About Phone → Backup. Incorrectly selected firmware can result in a loss of device functionality.