Owning a modern smartphone like the Redmi 5 Plus gives you access to a huge number of services tied to your location, from navigating in an unfamiliar city to finding the nearest coffee shop to being able to mark a point on a map for friends – all of these features require proper work. GPS-However, users often face a situation where maps cannot see satellites or applications request access to coordinates indefinitely.
With the MIUI shell operating system installed on your device, geodata management is flexible but sometimes confusing for a beginner. It's important to understand the difference between simply turning on a toggle curtain and deeply adjusting coordinate modes. It's the right configuration that balances high positioning accuracy with reasonable battery power consumption.
In this article, we will take a look at all aspects of how your gadget navigates, going from basic activation to fine-tuning sensors to help if the navigator is lying or catching a signal for a long time. Follow the instructions so that your Xiaomi always knows where it is.
Basic activation via Quick Access Panel
The fastest way to start satellite searches is to use a standard notification interface, which is suitable for situations where you need to turn on navigation urgently, for example, before calling a taxi or launching a map. On Redmi devices, access to these settings is unified and does not require deep immersion in the menu.
To start, unlock your smartphone screen and swipe from the top edge of the display down. You'll see a control panel where the key function switches are located. Find an icon that looks like a location icon or a compass. Depending on the version of the MIUI shell, it can be called "Location" or "GPS."
Click on this icon once, if it's lit up in blue or green, it means the module is activated, and now the system is ready to transmit coordinates to applications that have the appropriate resolution, but it's worth remembering that this method often activates energy saving mode, which can reduce the accuracy of positioning.
- 📍 Swipe from top to bottom to open the “curtain” notifications.
- 🔘 Find an icon with an arrow or compass image.
- ✅ Press once to activate (the indicator will light up).
- 📡 Wait for the badge to come out. GPS top-line.
Once activated, look at the top status bar, and there's a little arrow or satellite icon that shows that geolocation is working, and you're sharing with external services, and if the icon flashes, you're looking for satellites.
Deep setting in the system menu
To make full use of all the navigation options, especially in urban or forest environments, it is recommended to go to advanced settings. Here you can choose the method of determining the coordinates that will be most effective for your current task.
Open the main app menu and find Settings. In the settings list, you need to find a section that deals with additional features or personal security. The path may vary slightly from firmware to firmware, but the logic remains the same.
Inside this menu, you'll see the main access switch. Make sure it's active. Below you'll see a list of location modes. That's where the navigator doesn't work exactly. The default mode is often Network Coordinates, which uses cell towers and Wi-Fi routers, which gives you an error of up to a few hundred meters.
⚠️ Attention: Selection of the “Only by” mode GPS-"Satellites" will significantly improve accuracy, but can increase the time of cold start navigation and faster use of battery power.
For maximum accuracy, select All Sources mode (or High Accuracy), in which case Redmi 5 Plus will use a combination of data from satellites, Wi-Fi networks and cell phone towers, which provides instant position determination even indoors, where direct signal from satellites can be weakened.
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If you're indoors, turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth without even connecting to the network, which will help your phone to determine your location faster by surrounding access points.
Managing permissions for applications
Even if GPS is enabled at the system level, a particular app may not be able to access that data. Android has a strict privacy policy that requires manual confirmation for each software installed. Without it, Yandex.Maps or Uber simply will not be able to show where you are.
Go to Settings → Applications → All apps. Find a program you want, like a navigator or messenger, and click on it to open the management page. You're interested in "Application Permissions" or "Access Rights."
In the list, find the item "Location." The system will offer you three behaviors: "Prohibit", "Ask" or "Allow". For the correct operation of background navigation or activity trackers, you must choose "Allow" or "Always Allow". The option "Only when used" can interrupt the recording of the track if you turn off the screen.
| Type of permit | Description of behaviour | Recommended use |
|---|---|---|
| Banned | The app won't get coordinates. | For programs that do not need geo-data |
| Ask | Request at each start of the function | For rarely used services |
| Permission. | Permanent access to the GPS module | For navigators and trackers |
Notice the bottom of the permissions screen. There's often the "Exact Location" switch. If it's turned off, the app will only get approximate coordinates based on the towers. For walking or finding a particular house, this setting must be turned on.
Improved accuracy and calibration of sensors
Sometimes, the navigation arrow on the screen is walking or pointing the wrong direction, which can be due to sensor desynchronization or magnetic interference, and in such cases, you need to calibrate it so that the Redmi 5 Plus can again start to determine the cardinal points correctly.
The easiest way is to use Google's built-in tools. Open the Google Maps app and click on the blue circle that indicates your current position. If a blue-filled cone appears around the circle, that means low accuracy. Click "Calibrate" and follow the instructions on the screen, turning the phone in different directions.
Another method is to use specialized tools from the Play Market, such as GPS Status & Toolbox, which allows you to see the number of satellites visible, the signal level and clear the almanac cache. A-GPS data reset helps if the phone can not catch the signal for a long time after a long downtime.
- 🧭 Open the map app and click on the location point.
- 🔄 Select the calibration option in the menu that appears.
- 📱 Turn the device in the shape of eight to adjust the magnetometer.
- 📡 Use utilities to reset the cache A-GPS data.
⚠️ Warning: Do not calibrate near powerful magnetic field sources such as speakers, microwave ovens or transformer booths.
☑️ Accuracy check GPS
Saving charge and working in the background
Continuing work GPS-The module is one of the most energy-intensive processes in the smartphone. Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus is equipped with a battery capacity of 4000 mAh, which is a good indicator, but aggressive optimization. MIUI It can kill navigation apps to save energy, causing the navigator to shut down at the most inopportune moment.
To avoid this, you need to configure exceptions for important programs: Go to Settings → Battery and Performance. Find “Applications” or “Applications Charge Consumption” and select your navigator (e.g. Yandex.Navigator or 2GIS).
In the power management menu, select No Limits mode, which will prevent the system from forcibly shutting down navigation even if the phone screen is turned off, and it is also useful to disable autostart for unnecessary programs to free up resources for GPS.
Why does GPS put the battery down so fast?
Another nuance is the use of offline maps: downloading maps over the mobile Internet in real time requires a constant 4G/LTE connection, which, combined with GPS, gives a double load on the radio module. Downloading maps in advance via Wi-Fi will reduce energy consumption during the trip.
Addressing common problems
Redmi users sometimes experience a situation where the GPS icon is on, but the coordinates are not updated. Often the reason lies in the wrong date and time. Satellite synchronization protocols require current system time. If the date is shot down, the phone will not be able to correctly calculate the position of the celestial bodies.
Check the date settings in the Settings menu → Additional → Date and time. Make sure the "Use Network Time" option is enabled. If the problem persists, try restarting the device in flight mode for 10 seconds and then turning it off. This will reconnect the radios to the network.
In rare cases, network resets help. This action will not delete your personal files, but will return the settings of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mobile networks to factory values. Path to function: Settings → Advanced Settings → Recovery and Reset → Reset settings Wi-Fi, mobile Internet and Bluetooth.
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If GPS is not working after all the settings and reboots, the antenna plume or the module itself may be damaged, which requires contacting the service center.
Physical factors are also important to consider: cheap metal-laced protective glass or thick covers can shield the signal, and if you notice navigation problems, try removing the case and checking the GPS in a clean field.