Modern smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO, running shells MIUI and HyperOS, have powerful functionality that requires constant access to the location of the device. gadget owners often face intrusive requests from applications or the desire to hide their movements from system services. Geolocation is a tool that is useful for navigation, but can become a source of leakage of confidential data if not controlled.
Disabling GPS not only increases user anonymity, but also significantly extends smartphone battery life. Many background processes constantly poll satellites or use Wi-Fi databases to determine coordinates, consuming precious battery power. In this article, we will discuss all the methods of managing location services in detail.
It is important to understand that geo-location deactivation can affect maps, taxis and some banking applications that require location verification. However, a good setting balances the usability of an Android smartphone with the protection of personal information. We will look at both standard methods through the settings menu and more advanced options for power users.
Why to turn off GPS on Xiaomi devices
The main reason users are looking to turn off geolocation services is privacy concerns. Apps often collect movement data even when you’re not using it, forming a digital user profile. On Xiaomi devices, system services can also use this data for targeted advertising and improving MIUI.
The second important aspect is energy consumption. GPS It's one of the most energy-intensive components of a smartphone, and constantly searching for satellites or scanning your surroundings to determine your coordinates can drain your battery. 10-15% Turning off this feature when it is not needed helps to extend the life of the device during the day.
There are also situations where navigation is disruptive, such as in airplanes or places with poor signaling, the phone may be constantly trying to catch the signal, which leads to heating of the case and unnecessary load on the processor, in which cases manual geo-positioning control becomes necessary.
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Disabling GPS solves three tasks: increases privacy, saves battery power and reduces the load on the processor in areas of poor signal.
Quick shutdown through notification curtain
The easiest and fastest way to deactivate location is to use a quick access panel, which is ideal for situations where you need to temporarily hide your coordinates or stop battery discharge, and just swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notification curtain.
In the menu that opens, you need to find an icon that is labeled "Location" or "GPS" and it usually looks like a geolocation tag icon. If the icon is not on the first screen, swipe to the right to see the additional buttons. Pressing the icon switches its status: active mode is illuminated in blue, disabled is gray.
It's worth noting that some versions of the HyperOS shell or older versions of MIUI may have slightly different interfaces, and in some cases, the icon may be called "Geodata." Once pressed, the system will instantly stop polling satellites, and all applications will lose access to the current coordinates of the device.
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If you often forget to turn on or off GPS, add a switch widget to your desktop to access one tap.
Deep configuration of geolocation services in the menu
For more subtle management, you need to go to the main settings of the system. Open the Settings menu and find the Privacy or Privacy Protection section. Depending on the firmware version, the path can look like Settings → Privacy → Permit Management → Geolocation. This gives you full control over which applications have access to data.
In this section, you'll see a list of all the installed programs that request access to GPS. You can select a specific application and change its rights. There are three main modes available: "Allow always", "Allow only when used" and "Disallow", and it is recommended to choose the second option for most programs so that they do not follow you in the background.
☑️ Verification of geolocation settings
Special attention should be paid to Xiaomi system services, some of which, such as “Device Search” or “Google Play Services”, may require constant access. Disabling geolocation for system processes can disrupt the search for a lost phone, so you need to act carefully. The accuracy of geolocation can also be adjusted by disabling the use of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for scanning.
⚠️ Note: Complete disabling of geolocation for Google system services may lead to incorrect operation of Google Maps, time synchronization and the operation of some banking applications.
Managing permissions for individual applications
Control over who sees your location is through the Application Manager. Unlike global shutdown, this method allows you to leave the navigator running, but deny access to coordinates, for example, for a garbage app flashlight or game. Go to Settings → Apps → All applications.
Select the app you're interested in. In the menu that opens, look for App Permission or Data Access. Here's Geolocation. You can click on it to set your access policy in detail. Modern versions of Android allow you to even give access only once or deny exact location, providing only approximate data.
Using approximate coordinates is a great feature for applications that don’t need to be accurate to the meter (like weather widgets or news aggregators), which creates an additional layer of protection, since the app won’t be able to track your specific address, just the area of the city.
Why do apps require access to GPS?
It is important to review the permission list regularly, as applications may request extended permissions after updates. If you see a calculator or voice recorder requiring access to GPS, this is a clear sign of a violation of the logic of work or the presence of malicious code.
System services Xiaomi and Mi Cloud
Xiaomi's ecosystem is tied to cloud services that use geodata, and Find Device only works when GPS is on and the Internet is active, and it allows you to track a lost phone, lock it, or delete data remotely, and turning it off will make this feature useless.
Gallery and photo services are also worth mentioning: When you upload photos to the Mi Cloud, photo metadata (EXIF) containing the shooting coordinates can be transmitted to the company's servers. If you want to remain anonymous, you'd better turn off geotaging in the camera settings, not just the system GPS.
| Service | The need for GPS | Effects of disconnection | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find the device. | Tall. | Impossible to trace the phone. | Leave it on. |
| Maps and Navigation | Critical | The route construction is not working. | Include as necessary |
| Weather. | Medium | There is no automatic city. | We can turn it off. |
| Camera (geotege) | Low. | No coordinates on the photo. | Disconnect for privacy |
For users who do not trust the manufacturer’s cloud services, there is an option to limit data transfer in the Settings menu. → Mi Account. → However, a complete shutdown of system services can cause the shell to function in an unstable manner. MIUI.
Developer Mode and Location Debugging
For advanced users who want to have full control of the process, there is a developer menu available, and to get there, you need to quickly click on the build number 7 times in the About Phone section, and then the option option Additional or Advanced Settings will appear in the settings menu, where the Developer section is located.
You can find the option of Selecting a dummy location, which allows you to trick apps into telling them that you are in another place in the world while physically staying in place, and you will need to install a third-party relocation app from the Play Market.
There's also a "Show location updates" switch in this section, and if it's active, the GPS icon will flash in the corner of the screen every time an app requests coordinates, which is a great tool for identifying spyware that's surreptitiously spying on you.
adb shell pm grant com.example.app android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATIONThe above command, ADB (Android Debug Bridge), demonstrates how permissions can be software-managed, but for the average user, a standard interface is enough. Using the command line requires a connected PC and enabled USB debugging.
⚠️ Warning: Changing the settings in developer mode can lead to unpredictable system behavior.Be careful when disabling system services marked as critical.
Impact on autonomy and productivity
Many users are unaware that background geolocation is one of the main battery eaters: Constant surveying of GPS satellites, scanning of Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth beacons to clarify position puts a constant strain on the radio module. On older Xiaomi models, such as the Redmi Note of the early series, this can be critical.
Turning off GPS can add 30 minutes to 2 hours of screen time depending on the intensity of smartphone use, especially in areas of uncertain reception, where the module is working at maximum power in an attempt to catch a signal, in which conditions the phone can even heat up.
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In areas of poor signal reception (basements, subway, suburban areas), GPS shutdown prevents rapid battery discharge and heating of the housing.
In addition, RAM is freed up as system processes stop buffering movement data, which can make the interface a little more responsive on low-end devices with little RAM. However, for today’s flagships, the performance difference will be invisible.