How to completely or selectively disable geolocation on your Xiaomi phone

Geolocation on Xiaomi smartphones is a powerful tool that makes your phone smarter, from accurate navigational clues in Google Maps to automatically detecting the weather by your location. However, constant coordinate transfer eats up battery power, and some apps collect this data without the explicit consent of the user. If you notice that the battery is going down too quickly or worry about privacy, it’s time to figure out how to manage geolocation on MIUI.

In this article, we will look at all possible ways to turn off GPS and location services, from completely turning off the chip to fine-tuning the rights for individual applications. The instructions are relevant for all modern Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models based on MIUI 12-14 (including global and Chinese versions of firmware).

Why geolocation drains the battery and how to check it

The GPS/GLONASS module in Xiaomi smartphones consumes power even when you’re not using it, because many system services and applications (such as Google Play Services or Mi Location) periodically ask for your coordinates to “optimize work.” To understand how much geolocation affects autonomy, follow the following steps:

• 📊 Open the Settings. → Battery and performance → Battery utilization.
• 🔍 Scroll down the list and find “Geolocation” or “Location Services".
• ⚡ If a percentage is displayed next to this item >5% – Your phone is actively using your phone GPS background.

On some models (such as Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12), you can see detailed statistics on each application that requested geodata on this menu, and if it includes a messenger or social network, this is an occasion to think about the security of your data.

Method 1: Completely disable geolocation through the notification panel

The quickest method is to use the Quick Settings Panel, which is suitable if you need to temporarily turn off your GPS (for example, to save charge while traveling).

1. Swipe your finger down from the top of the screen to open the notification bar.
2. If the panel is rolled up, swipe down again to turn it completely.
3. Find the Geolocation icon (usually an icon with a dot on the map or an arrow).
4. Touch the icon once, it will change color to gray, and the GPS will turn off.

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware MIUI (Especially Chinese) the geolocation icon may not be in the default panel, in which case it must be added manually:

⚠️ Attention: If after disabling the geolocation through the notification panel it turns on itself again - the background applications are to blame. → Annexes → Autostart control.

• 🔧 Click on the icon "⚙️" (or "Edit" in the upper right corner of the panel.
• 🔍 Find in the list of unavailable icons "Geolocation" and drag it to the active area.
• 📌 Make sure you change the changes by clicking on "Ready".

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If the geolocation icon disappeared from the panel after the MIUI update, try resetting the panel settings: Settings → Notification Panel → Reset settings.

Method 2: Disconnect via system settings (for MIUI 12–14)

If you need to fully deactivate the geolocation module (including background services), use system settings.This method ensures that no application can access your coordinates. The instruction is universal for all Xiaomi models, but the path may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI.

Close all navigation applications (Google Maps, Yandex.Maps)

Check if you use taxi services (Uber, Yandex.Go)

Turn off Bluetooth (some devices determine location via beacons)

Take a screenshot of the current settings (in case of recovery)-->

Follow the path:

Settings → Privacy → Geolocation

On the menu that opens:

1. Transfer the slider "Geolocation" to the position Off (it will turn gray).
2. Confirm the action if a warning system appears.

After that, all applications will lose access to your coordinates, but some system services (such as Mi Location for device search) may continue to work in limited mode.

• 🔄 Back to Settings → Confidentiality.
• 🔍 Select "Special Access to Applications" → "Access to geolocation".
• 🚫 Disable access to all unnecessary apps (especially those you don’t use).

Method 3: Selectively disabling for individual applications

You don't always have to turn off geolocation completely. For example, you might want Google Maps to work with GPS, but you can block access for social networks. In MIUI, this is done through application permissions. Here's how to set up selective access:

Open up:

Settings → Applications → Application Management

Next:

1. Select the app you want to change your settings for (such as Instagram or VK).
2. Go to the "Permissions" section.
3. Find the "Geolocation" item and click on it.
4. Choose one of the options: 🚫 "Prohibited – Full access block. 🔄 "Allow only during use" — GPS Only when the application is active. ✅ "Allow Always – Permanent Access (not recommended for social media).

For convenience, you can sort applications by type of access to geolocation:

1. Go back to Settings → Privacy → Geolocation.
2. Click on “Last Requests” – here are the apps that recently requested your location.
3. Tap any app on the list to change its permissions.

To activate flight mode:

1. Open the Quick Settings panel (swipe down from the top edge of the screen).
2. Find the Flight Mode icon (airplane) and touch it.
3. Confirm the inclusion if a request appears.

To return to normal, repeat the action or restart the phone. Note that on some Xiaomi models (such as the POCO F5) in flight mode, you can selectively turn on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, but the GPS will remain disabled.

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Flight mode is the only way to guarantee that GPS will be disabled at the hardware level, and even if the application has root access, it won't be able to activate the geolocation module.

What to do if the geolocation is not turned off

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the GPS continues to work despite all the manipulations, and this can happen for several reasons:

1. Firmware with pre-installed services: Some Chinese versions of MIUI have privileged geolocation access for system applications (e.g. Mi Browser or Mi Video).
2. Root access: If the phone is rooted, some apps can bypass standard Android restrictions.
3. Update Google Services: After updating Google Play Services, privacy settings are sometimes reset.

Here's what we can do:

• 🔧 Reset your network settings: go to Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Reset network settings. This will delete all stored Wi-Fi networks and cellular settings, but can help reset background processes.
• 🔄 Update. MIUI: Sometimes geolocated bugs are fixed in new firmware versions. Check the updates in Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🛠️ Use third-party utilities: Apps like AppOps or Greenify (require root) allow you to block access to the app. GPS nucleus-level.

⚠️ If you suspect that your Xiaomi is spying on you through a GPS (For example, coordinates leak to unknown servers, check your phone for malware with Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light. Some viruses disguise themselves as system services and enable geolocation to bypass settings.

FAQ: Frequent questions about geolocation on Xiaomi