How to Allow Location Access on Xiaomi Smartphones: A Complete Guide to 2026

Xiaomi’s current MIUI-based smartphones are using geolocation data to power maps, navigators, weather widgets, and even some social networks. However, users often face problems: apps don’t determine coordinates, GPS is intermittent, or the system constantly requests permissions. In this article, we’ll look at all the ways to configure location access, from basic parameters to hidden firmware functions.

The MIUI feature is that geodata management is spread across multiple menus, including global system settings, individual permissions for each application, and even individual options for energy saving mode. We will show you how to avoid typical errors (for example, when Google Maps does not see your location, although permission is given), and explain why it is sometimes necessary to manually activate high-precision GPS mode through an engineering menu.

Why Xiaomi asks for location access and can it be turned off?

Geo data requests are made for a reason, as part of Android and MIUI privacy policies, and the system and applications use coordinates to:

• 📍 Navigation: Google Maps, Yandex.Maps, Waze.
• 🌦️ Weather Services: Automatic City Definition for Forecasting.
• 📸 Photos: geotags in the Xiaomi Gallery or Google Photos.
• 🔒 Security: Find My Device or Anti-Theft MIUI.
• 🛒 Advertising and recommendations: targeted offers in Mi Browser or GetApps.

You can turn off access completely, but it will cause some disruption to key functions, like without geolocation.

• 🚗 Yandex.Navigator will not be able to build a route.
• 📱 Mi Fit will stop fixing runs.
• 🔍 Search engines (like Google) will show results for another region.

⚠️ Note: If you are using a child regimen or senior profile in the United States MIUI, Geolocation access can be blocked at the system level. To change this, you need to disable the restrictions in Settings. → Special facilities → User profiles.

Basic location access settings in MIUI

The first step is to check the global system settings. In MIUI 14/15, the path to the menu may differ depending on the model (Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T, etc.), but the general logic is maintained:

1. Open Settings (the gear icon on the main screen).
2. Go to Privacy → Permits → Location.
3. Activate the location access slider (at the top of the screen).
4. Select Precision Mode: High – uses GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile networks and sensors (maximum accuracy but quick battery consumption); battery savings are only Wi-Fi and mobile networks (more precisely in the city, worse in nature); only the device is GPS only (slower determines coordinates, but less drains the battery).

For models with MIUI 16+ (such as Xiaomi 14 or Redmi K70), the option “Improving accuracy” has been added – turn it on if you notice errors in the positioning. This feature uses Google Location Services data to adjust the GPS signal.

Is location access activated in settings? |

Selected accuracy mode "High" for navigators? |

Is accuracy improvement included (if any in firmware)?|

Are permissions checked for key applications (Maps, Navigator)?

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How to give access to geolocation for a specific application

Even if global access is enabled, individual programs can be blocked to check this:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the application you want (e.g. Google Maps or 2GIS).
3. Slip on the Permits. → Location.
4. Set one of the values: Allow all the time for navigators and trackers; Allow only during use for weather widgets; Disallow if the app does not need coordinates (for example, Mi Calculator).

On some models (POCO F5, Redmi 12) there is an additional Toggle (Exact Location) on this menu, and if it is disabled, the app will only receive approximate data (for example, a city, but not an exact address).

⚠️ Note: Some apps (such as TikTok or AliExpress) request geolocation for targeted advertising. If you do not want to share data, deny access - this will not affect the main functionality.

Xiaomi GPS problems: Why not locate them?

If, after all the settings, Google Maps still doesn’t see your location, the problem may be:

• 📶 Weak signal GPS — especially indoors or in cloudy weather.
• 🔋 Energy saving regime — MIUI disables background geolocation to save charge.
• 🛠️ Sensor malfunction – calibration or resetting of settings is required.
• 📲 Older versions of the old version MIUI There were coordinate-detection bugs.

To diagnose the problem:

1. Open Settings → About Phone → MIUI version and check the relevance of the firmware.
2. Run Google Maps and look at the location icon (blue circle with dot) if it flashes, the signal is weak.
3. Install the GPS Status & Toolbox app from Google Play and check the number of satellites visible (should be at least 8-10).

If the problem persists, try resetting your network settings:

→ SIM-maps and mobile networks → Network reset

This will remove stored Wi-Fi networks and mobile internet settings, but often helps restore GPS.

Hidden geolocation settings: engineering menu and ADB-team

For power users who want to maximize GPS, MIUI has hidden features. Careful: wrong actions can disrupt the stability of the system.

Method 1: Engineering menu (works on most models, including Redmi Note 11, POCO X4):

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Enter the code: ##4636###.
3. Go to the Location tab.
4. Check that the GPS Status bar is Enabled.
5. If necessary, press Delete AGPS Data and restart your phone.

Method 2: ADB-commands (requires a computer and enabled debugging on the USB):

adb shell settings put global gps_enable_debug_logging 1


adb shell settings put global location_mode 3

The first command includes a GPS debugging log (useful for diagnosis), the second - forcibly sets a high-precision mode.

💡

If your GPS stopped working after the MIUI update, try to roll back to the previous firmware version via Fastboot. Instructions are available on the 4PDA forum in your model’s theme.

How to turn off geolocation to save battery

Using GPS and mobile data to determine your position significantly reduces battery life, and if you don't want high accuracy, you can optimize your consumption.

• 🔄 Switch to Charge Savings mode in Location Settings.
• 🚫 Disable background access to geodata for unnecessary applications (such as Facebook or Facebook) VK).
• ⏳ Set a time limit: in Settings → Battery → Energy saving mode add geolocation to the list of limited features.
• 📴 Use the mode on the plane in places where GPS Not required (e.g. at home or work).

On models with MIUI 15 (for example, Xiaomi 14 Pro), the function Adaptive geolocation has appeared, which automatically switches the accuracy mode depending on the user’s activity: high accuracy for navigation, economical mode in the background.

💡

Disabling geolocation for social networks and advertising services can increase the life of a smartphone by 10-15% without recharging.

Security: How to Protect Your Geolocation Data

Geodata is personal information that can be used by attackers or advertising companies to minimize the risks:

• 🔐 Regularly check the list of applications with access to the location in Settings → Confidentiality → Permits.
• 📱 Turn off Google Location History (if not used): Google Settings → Account management → Data and confidentiality → Location history.
• 🚫 Disable access to geodata for unknown applications (especially if they request permission immediately after installation).
• 🔄 Use it. VPN with location masking (e.g. ProtonVPN) if you don’t want sites to know your real region.

MIUI has a built-in Privacy Protection feature that hides your exact location from certain apps, to activate it:

Settings → Privacy → Privacy Protection → Location → Enable “Approximate Location”

After that, the app will only see the area, but not the exact coordinates.

FAQ: Frequent questions about geolocation on Xiaomi