How to completely disable geolocation on Xiaomi phone: all ways

Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi models and POCO) They're using geolocation data to run maps, weather widgets, advertising services and system functions, but constant location tracking not only consumes battery power, but it also raises privacy issues. If you want to restrict access to your coordinates or completely deactivate GPS-This module will help you do it correctly without losing the functionality of your phone.

Depending on the version of MIUI (12-15) and Android (11-14), the process may differ slightly, but the general logic remains the same. We will look at all possible scenarios, from temporarily disabling geodata for individual applications to completely locking the GPS module hardware through the engineering menu, and pay special attention to the pitfalls — for example, why some applications continue to determine location even after the GPS is turned off, and how to deal with this.

Why does geolocation work even after shutdown?

Many Xiaomi users are faced with the situation when the phone still determines the location after the GPS is turned off in the settings, this is due to a combination of several technologies:

• 📡 Satellite navigation (GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou) — The most accurate method, but requires a line of sight of the sky and a lot of energy.
• 📶 Cellular towers – the mobile operator approximately determines your location by the nearest towers (accuracy) ~500–2,000 m).
• 📶 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth – The phone scans nearby networks and devices by comparing them to a Google or Xiaomi database.

By default, MIUI has High Accuracy, which uses all three methods, and even if you turn off GPS in the notification curtain, the phone can continue to use cell tower and Wi-Fi data for geolocation, and to stop tracking completely, you need to deactivate all channels, more on that in the next sections.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi system applications (such as Mi Security or Mi Cloud) may automatically enable geolocation to “improve security.

Method 1: Quickly shut down via notification panel

The easiest way to temporarily deactivate geolocation is to use the Quick Settings Panel, which is suitable if you need to turn off GPS for a short time (for example, to save battery power).

Instructions:

1. Swipe your finger down to open the notification panel.
2. Find the Location icon (usually an arrow or pin) and if it's not, swipe down again to turn the full panel around.
3. Touch the icon once. If it's gray, geolocation is off.

Note that this method only disables satellite navigation (GPS), but does not block location over Wi-Fi or cell towers.

Method 2: Completely disabling in system settings

To ensure that all types of location tracking are stopped, you need to change the settings in the Settings menu, which works on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones with MIUI 12-15.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the Settings app (cog icon).
2. Go to Privacy → Application Permissions → Location.
3. At the top of the screen, find the “Access to Location” switch and deactivate it.
4. Confirm the action in the window that appears (click Disconnect).

After that, all applications will lose access to your coordinates, including system services. However, some features (such as finding nearby Wi-Fi networks to connect) may continue to work — this is not related to geolocation, but is part of the standard Android work.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro)+) After disabling geolocation, the Emergency Alerts function (e.g., disaster warnings) can continue to work in the settings. GPS. To turn it off, go to Settings. → Passenger mode → Emergency alerts.

Method 3: Disabling geolocation for individual applications

If you need to leave GPS enabled for your navigator (e.g. Google Maps or Yandex.Maps) but limit location access for other applications (social networks, games, advertising services), use flexible permission settings.

How to set up:

1. In the list, select the app you want to change access to (such as Instagram or TikTok).

For convenience, you can sort applications by resolution status by clicking on three dots in the upper right corner and select Sort by: Permissions. Pay attention to applications marked Systems** - their permissions are best not changed unnecessarily, as this can cause malfunctions in the phone.

💡

To quickly find the app on the list, use a search (the magnifier icon in the upper right corner), for example, type "facebook" or "vk" to restrict access for social networks.

Method 4: Hardware shutdown of GPS via engineering menu

For advanced users who want to completely deactivate GPS-It's a hardware-level module, there's a way through an engineering menu, and it's going to stop the phone from seeing satellites even after you've turned on geolocation in the settings. POCO).

Instructions:

How to turn on:

1. Open the notification panel.
2. Find the Flight Mode icon** and touch it.
3. Confirm the inclusion if a request appears.

To get your phone back on track, re-click the flight mode icon, which is convenient for short-term geolocation shutdowns, but not for permanent use.

What happens if you turn off geolocation forever?

Constantly shutting down GPS and location services has both pros and cons. Consider the main consequences:

If you decide to completely abandon geolocation, consider that some MIUI functions may not work properly.

• 🔍 Finding a lost phone through Mi Cloud will be impossible.
• 🎧 Wireless headphones (such as Xiaomi Buds) may be worse at determining the distance to the phone for automatic connection.
• 🛒 Some promotions and discounts in the Mi Store are region-specific and will not be displayed.

💡

Turning off geolocation doesn't make your phone completely invisible. The mobile operator still knows your approximate location from the tower data, and some apps can identify the region by the location of the phone. IP-address when connecting to Wi-Fi.

FAQ: Frequent questions about disabling geolocation on Xiaomi