How to completely or selectively disable geolocation on Xiaomi: instruction 2026

Geolocation on Xiaomi smartphones is a two-way sword: on the one hand, it makes navigation, finding nearby establishments and working with many applications easier, on the other hand, it eats up battery power, transfers your location data to third parties and can pose a privacy threat. If you notice that the battery is running out too quickly, or just want to limit access to your coordinates, this article will help you understand how to completely or partially disable geolocation on Redmi, POCO and other Xiaomi devices.

It's important to understand that geolocation works not only through GPS, but also through Wi-Fi networks, mobile towers, and even Bluetooth, so to fully control privacy, you have to adjust several parameters. We'll look at all the ways available, from global shutdown to fine-tuning for individual applications, including hidden options in MIUI firmware.

1. Complete disabling of geolocation through the notification panel

The fastest way to turn off location is to use the Quick Settings Panel, which is suitable if you need to temporarily turn off geolocation (for example, to save battery power).

Instructions:

• 📱 Swipe down from the top edge of the screen to open the notification bar.
• 🔍 Find the Geolocation icon** (usually looks like an arrow or dot on a map).
• 🔘 Slip it once – the icon must go out (grey means the function is disabled).

Note: on some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro+ or POCO F5), the geolocation icon may be hidden behind the “More” button** (three dots or arrow down).

1. Click "More" in the notification panel.
2. Drag the geolocation icon to the active zone (top of the panel).

💡

If the geolocation icon disappears from the panel after rebooting, fix it: hold the icon for 2 seconds, then drag it to the "Fixed" section.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling geolocation completely through the notification panel will block coordinates for all applications, including maps, taxis and instant messengers. If you need to leave access for individual services, use the methods in the following sections.

2. geolocation setting in the menu "Security options"

MIUI has a separate geolocation control menu where you can not only turn the function on/off globally, but also adjust the accuracy mode (battery savings vs. high accuracy), which is suitable for permanent shutdown or fine-tuning.

How to open the settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Permissions → Geolocation.
2. At the top of the screen, move the slider "Geolocation"** to the off position.

If you need to keep your geolocation on, but optimize it:

• 🔋 Select the Battery Savings mode** - only used GPS (without Wi-Fi and mobile networks, which will prolong battery life.
• 🎯 Select “High Accuracy”** – all sources are used (GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile networks, but the battery will go down faster.
• 📡 Select Networks Only** – coordinates are determined by cell towers and Wi-Fi (without Wi-Fi). GPS), Accuracy is lower, but battery consumption is minimal.

💡 Tip: If you rarely use navigation, but want geolocation to work in the background for some applications (for example, for weather or food delivery), select Network Only mode** – this will save charge without completely disabling the function.

3. Disabling geolocation for individual applications

Not all apps need to access your location, like messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram) or games often request geodata without real need, and in MIUI you can selectively deny geolocation access for each application.

Instructions:

1. Select the application from the list (for example, Google Maps or Yandex.Maps).

Examples of applications that can be safely prohibited geolocation:

• 🎮 Games (PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact – They don’t need your coordinates).
• 💬 Messengers (Viber, Telegram – geolocation is only needed to send your location manually).
• 🛒 Stores (AliExpress, Wildberries – they have enough data about the region from the profile).

⚠️ Note: Some applications (e.g. Google Play Services or Mi Cloud) may automatically enable geolocation to enable system functions. If you notice a smartphone malfunction after you turn off (e.g., the weather or time has stopped updating), return permission for these services.

4. Hidden geolocation settings in MIUI (for power users)

MIUI firmware contains hidden settings that are not displayed in the standard settings menu, which can disable background location or block access for system services, a method suitable for users who want to limit the collection of geodata without root as much as possible.

How to open hidden settings:

1. Open the Phone app** and enter the combination: ##4636###.

🔧 If you want to block access to geolocation at the system level (including hidden services), you can use the system. ADB-For this, for this:

adb shell settings put global location_mode 0

This command will completely disable geolocation until the next reboot. To return the settings, use:

adb shell settings put global location_mode 3

5. Disconnection of geolocation through energy saving modes

If you want to save battery power rather than hide your location, you can use the built-in power saving modes in MIUI, which automatically limit the operation of GPS and other sensors.

How to turn on:

1. Go to Settings → Battery and Performance → Energy Saving Modes.
2. Choose one of the modes: 🔋 «Balanced: Geolocation works, but is less frequently updated. 🌙 «Energy conservation»** — GPS shut down after 10 minutes of inactivity. ⚡ «Super energy saving ** - geolocation is completely turned off (except for emergency calls).

📊 Comparison of regimes:

⚠️ Note: In the mode of "Super energy saving"** are turned off not only GPS, This can cause delays in receiving notifications (for example, from WhatsApp or Telegram).

6 How to check if geolocation is disabled

Sometimes, after disabling geolocation through settings, it continues to work in the background (for example, due to system services from Google or Mi Cloud). To make sure that the feature is indeed deactivated, use one of the methods:

Method 1: Verification through Google Maps

1. Open Google Maps.
2. Click on the blue dot (your location).
3. If the message “Geolocation disabled” appears, the function is turned off successfully.

Method 2: Using an engineering menu

1. Enter the phone app** code ##4636##.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions