How to completely disable GPS on Xiaomi Redmi: a step-by-step guide

Geolocation on Xiaomi Redmi smartphones is a useful feature, but not always necessary. It allows apps to determine your location for navigation, food delivery or social networks, but it costs a lot of battery life and can pose a threat to privacy. If you want to save energy, hide your location or simply stop receiving unnecessary notifications about “visited places”, turning off GPS is the best solution.

In this article, we will explore all possible ways to deactivate geolocation on Redmi devices, from standard settings to hidden MIUI functions. You will learn how to turn off GPS completely or only for individual applications, as well as how the accuracy modes of location determination differ. The instructions are relevant for all models in the series: Redmi Note 12/13, Redmi 10/11, POCO X5 and others with a MIUI 12-14 shell.

1. Quickly shut down GPS via notification panel

The easiest way to turn off geolocation is to use a notification curtain, which takes no more than 5 seconds and does not require a deep knowledge of smartphone settings.

To disable GPS through the panel:

• 📱 Swipe down from the top edge of the screen to open the notification curtain.
• 🔍 Find the GeoData icon (usually an arrow or a dot on a map) if it's not there, swipe left for the extended menu.
• 🔘 Press the icon once if it's turned gray — GPS switched off.

⚠️ Note: On some Redmi models (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro), the geolocation icon may be hidden by default:

1. Open the curtain and tap on ⚙️ "Edit".
2. Find the "Geodata" list and drag it to the active area.

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If the geolocation icon disappears after the reboot, check the power saving settings – some modes automatically turn on GPS to optimize work.

2. Complete GPS shutdown in system settings

If you want to guarantee that you turn off geolocation for all applications, including system services, use the settings menu, which is more reliable than the notification panel, since it blocks access to GPS at the OS level.

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings app (cog icon).
2. Go to the Privacy section → geodata.
3. Move the slider "Geodata" to the position off.
4. Confirm the action if a request for permission appears.

After that, all applications, including Google Maps, Yandex.Maps and social networks, will lose access to your location. However, some system functions (for example, finding a device through Mi Account) may continue to use approximate geolocation over Wi-Fi networks and cell towers.

3. Disable GPS for individual applications

You don't always have to turn off geolocation completely. For example, you can leave it for Google Maps, but you can block social media, and in MIUI, you can do this through permission settings.

How to limit access to GPS:

• 📌 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔎 Choose the right app (such as Instagram or Instagram) VK).
• 📍 Slip on the Permits. → geodata.
• 🔘 Choose to Disallow or Disallow only during use.

⚠️ Note: Some apps (such as Uber or Delimobil) may stop working properly without access to geolocation, in which case they will either request permission again or show an error when running.

4.Use of power saving modes to turn off GPS

If you want to automatically turn off GPS when your battery is low, use energy saving modes. MIUI has two options: Balanced and Super Power Saving.

How to set up:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and performance.
2. Select Power Saving Mode.
3. Activate Super Energy Saving and click Settings.
4. Turn on the option to disable geodata.

GPS will now automatically turn off when the charge level is below 15%, which will help extend the phone’s life in a critical situation, but keep in mind that this mode also disables background data and notifications.

5. Hidden developer settings for GPS management

For power users who want to fine-tune geolocation, there are hidden options available in the developer menu. GPS-Satellites separate from network geolocation or change accuracy mode.

How to open the developer settings:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 7 times on the MIUI version (you will be notified "You became a developer").
3. Return to the main settings menu and open Additional settings → Developer settings.

Now you can:

• 🛰️ Disable Device Only (GPS) or high precision (GPS + network).
• 🔄 Reset geolocation settings to factory.
• 📡 Turn on/off Mock location (for testing).

Disable GPS via ADB (for advanced users)

If standard methods fail (for example, due to a MIUI failure), you can turn off GPS via ADB commands. This method requires connecting the phone to a computer and basic knowledge of working with the console.

Instructions:

1. Install ADB Tools on your PC and enable USB Debugging on your phone (Developer Options → USB Debugging).
2. Connect Redmi to your computer and type in the command line: adb shell settings put global location_providers_allowed -gps
3. To completely disable all types of geolocation, use: adb shell settings put global location_providers_allowed ""

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB If you are not sure about your actions, you should use the standard methods from the previous sections.

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ADB commands change system settings at a low level, and after applying them, you may need to restart the phone.

7 Problems after GPS shutdown and their solutions

Sometimes, after deactivation of geolocation, there are problems: from errors in applications to self-enabled GPS. Let's consider typical cases and ways to fix them.

Problem 1: GPS turns on itself after the reboot.

• 🔄 Check Auto Start Settings in Settings → Permits → Autorun. disable Autorun for applications that can activate geolocation (e.g. Google Play Services).
• 🔋 Turn off the Adaptive Battery in Settings → Battery.

Problem 2: Applications don’t work without GPS, even if it’s on.

• 📱 Reboot your phone – sometimes the module GPS "hanging".
• 🔄 Reset geolocation settings in Developer Settings.
• 📡 Check if the mode is on the plane.

Problem 3: The GPS icon is on, but the location is not determined.

• 🛰️ Possible antenna problem (relevant to Redmi Note) 8/9 After the falls, check the work. GPS GPSTest app.
• 🔄 Update. MIUI up to the latest version - in old firmware there are bugs with a geolocation module.

FAQ: Frequent questions about turning off GPS on Xiaomi Redmi