Do not work pedometer Xiaomi: what to do and how to fix

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a situation where the built-in step counter suddenly stops displaying data correctly or completely stops working. This problem can manifest itself in different ways: the numbers are frozen in place, the activity schedule is not updated in real time, or the Mi Fitness app (formerly Mi Wear) does not synchronize the accumulated daily indicators, usually a software malfunction associated with aggressive optimization of the MIUI or HyperOS system, which mistakenly “freezes” the background processes of the activity tracker to save battery power.

Before you panic and bring your device to the service center, you need to rule out software failures that can be easily fixed by yourself. The accelerometer and gyroscope are hardware components that rarely fail. In 95% of cases, the cause lies in incorrect application resolutions, a failure of Google system services or a conflict of firmware versions. It is important for the user to understand that the Android system on the shell of Xiaomi has a complex power management structure that often requires manual adjustment for stable work of fitness trackers.

What you do next depends on whether you use the built-in Health app or third-party services like Google Fit, Samsung Health or Strava. Each diagnostic algorithm will have its own nuances, but the basic principle of troubleshooting is the same: you need to ensure that the application has access to the motion sensors and prevent the system from forcibly closing it. Let's take a step-by-step look at how to return the pedometer to work and accuracy of measurements.

Diagnostics and verification of hardware

The first step should always be to check the physical condition of the sensors. If the phone fell, was hit or moisture, could damage the module accelerometer. Check its operation using the built-in engineering menu, which is available on all Xiaomi devices without obtaining root rights. To do this, open the standard application “Phone” and enter a special code # # # #64663#, which will start the CIT test mode.

In the menu that opens, you need to find the item associated with the accelerometer (usually called the Accelerometer or Acc). When you click on it, you will see a graph or numerical values that should respond to the change in position of the smartphone body in space. If you tilt the phone and the numbers are standing still or acting randomly, this indicates a hardware breakdown, in which case the software methods will not help, and you will need to replace the module in the service center.

⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to disassemble your smartphone yourself to check the accelerometer plume unless you have experience.A leakproof housing or careless connection of the plume can cause other components, such as the screen or motherboard, to fail.

If the CIT test sensor responds smoothly and correctly, then the hardware is good and the problem is software. Often users forget that the pedometer does not have to keep the screen on, but the background process must have constant access to the system. It is also worth noting that some cases with magnetic latches or metal inserts can interfere with the sensors, although this affects the compass rather than the steps.

Configuring Permits and Energy Saving

The most common reason why the pedometer stopped working on Xiaomi is because of an aggressive energy-saving policy: The system automatically “sleeps” applications that it believes are expending resources in the background. To fix this, you need to manually prioritize an application that counts steps. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps and find your tracker (for example, “Health” or “Mi Fitness”).

Inside the app menu, find Activity Control or Battery, and you select the No Limits option, which will prevent the system from forcibly stopping the tracker even if the screen is off for a long time, and without this step, the pedometer will only work when the app is open on the screen, making it meaningless to collect statistics for the day.

Next, check the permissions. In the same app settings menu, go to Application Permissions. Make sure the following are activated:

• 📍 Physical activity is a critical point, without which the pedometer does not have the right to read data from sensors.
• 📂 Memory or Files and Media Content – necessary to save step history and synchronize.
• 🔔 Notices – preferably included to receive reminders of achievements.
• 📍 Geolocation – some algorithms use GPS for calibration of step length, although for a base account this is not always necessary.

Also, look for the AutoStart feature: In the security menu or in the application settings, find the AutoStart option and turn it on for your fitness app, which ensures that the tracker will start immediately after the phone is turned on and will not “fly out” from memory after the device is restarted.

Working with Google Services and Synchronization

Many users prefer to use Google’s ecosystem to track activity. However, on Xiaomi smartphones, there is often a conflict between native MIUI services and Google Play services. If you don’t have the synchronization of steps between the Health app and Google Fit, the problem may lie in dissynchronizing accounts.

To start, check if sync is enabled in your Google account settings. Go to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google and make sure there’s a tick opposite the Fit box. If the tick isn’t ticked or it’s reset, try deleting your account and adding it again. This will update your authorization tokens and often solves the problem of “frozen” steps.

Another important aspect is cleaning up the cache of Google Play services. Sometimes accumulated temporary files cause errors in the health API. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Show System, find Google Play Services and click Clear → Clear cache. Fear not, your data is not going anywhere, but the services will restart from scratch.

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If you use third-party pedometer apps, be sure to add them to the Whitelist in the Security app → Battery → Background Process Limitations.

Sensor reset and calibration

If the software settings didn't work, you can try software calibration of the sensors. Some Xiaomi models have a hidden calibration menu available through the code ##6484## (engineering menu). Here you can find tests for the accelerometer and gyroscope. Put the phone on a flat horizontal surface and start calibration if this option is available in your firmware version.

A more radical but effective method is to reset sensor settings through a network reset or a full Health app reset. Go to Settings → Apps → Health (or Mi Fitness) and select Memory. Press Clear (not to be confused with “Erase Data” if you don’t want to lose history, although often that’s the only way out).

If the pedometer is not working properly (e.g., counting steps when you sit or not counting when you walk), you may need to enter your growth data manually. The algorithm calculates the length of the step based on your height. Check the user profile in the Health or Mi Fit app settings. Specify current height and weight, which will significantly improve the accuracy of the calculations.

⚠️ Note: Before clearing the app data, make sure your statistics are synced to the Mi Account or Google Fit cloud. Local reset can permanently delete the current day history if sync has been disabled.

Version conflicts and software updates

Often, pedometer problems occur after updating the MIUI or HyperOS operating system. The new firmware version may contain bugs in sensor drivers or change the logic of background processes. If the pedometer stopped working immediately after the update, you should wait for the patch to come out or try to clean the cache of the system application "Security", which controls access to the hardware.

It’s also worth checking the version of the tracker app itself. Updates can be available in the GetApps store or Google Play store to fix compatibility with the new version of Android. Outdated versions of apps can malfunction on fresh firmware builds, causing desynchronization or complete failure.

Sometimes it helps to temporarily disable the "Exact Location" (GPS) option at the time of checking the pedometer. Some users note that when the GPS pedometer is turned on, the pedometer "glues", since the system prioritizes the geolocation data, ignoring the accelerometer. Try to look like the GPS is turned off and compare the result.

Alternative solutions and third-party software

If Xiaomi’s built-in tools continue to run erratically, it makes sense to consider alternatives: the Android ecosystem allows third-party applications that often run more stable than native solutions on specific shells. Popular options are Google Fit (which now aggregates data from many sources), Health Sync (to move data from Mi Fit to Google Fit), and Pacer.

Use of the Smartphone bundle + The Mi Band also solves the problem, in which case the main load of step counting is taken over by the bracelet, which has its own accelerometer and memory. The smartphone only receives ready-made data over Bluetooth, which excludes the impact of the phone’s energy saving settings on the accuracy of the calculation.

For advanced users, there is a possibility of using ADB-commands to disable aggressive battery optimization at the system level, but this requires a computer connection and debugging. USB. The command can look something like this (to disable the optimization of a particular package):

pm grant com.xiaomi.hm.health android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION

But in most cases, the settings described in the previous sections are enough without the need for complex debugging tools.

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The main reason for the pedometer failure on Xiaomi is aggressive energy saving. The "No Limits" setting for the app solves the problem 90% of the time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)