Mi Band 4 doesn’t come with phone notifications: why and how to fix it

When Xiaomi Mi Band 4’s smart bracelet stops vibrating when the call is incoming or doesn’t display text, it’s one of the most common complaints users have: It seems that the device is connected, the synchronization of steps is successful, but the critical information just doesn’t reach the wrist. Most often the problem lies not in the hardware failure of the tracker itself, but in the settings of the smartphone operating system or the Mi Fit companion app (now Zepp Life).

Modern operating systems, whether Android or iOS, are very aggressive in controlling background processes to save battery life, which means that the system can kill the process of transmitting notifications to a wearable device, and to solve the problem, you need to conduct comprehensive diagnostics, from checking basic Bluetooth settings to deep energy saving parameters.

In this guide, we will look at all the possible reasons for the lack of push notifications on the Mi Band 4 and offer step-by-step instructions for eliminating them. Follow the recommendations consistently, as it often takes just one setting to fix the gadget again in normal mode.

Checking the basic Bluetooth connection settings

The first thing you need to do is make sure that the connection between the phone and the bracelet is stable. Sometimes the system thinks the device is connected, but the actual data channel is broken. Go to your smartphone's Bluetooth settings and find the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 in the list of paired devices. If the status is "Connected", try to break the connection and reconnect.

The main channel of communication is the Zepp Life app (formerly Mi Fit). If you see a gear icon next to the device on the Bluetooth menu, go there and click "Forget the device" or "Unpair" to control the entire application.

⚠️ Warning: Do not try to connect the bracelet through the standard Bluetooth menu of your phone settings.This will lead to a conflict of services, and notifications will stop coming even if the application status is "Connected".

It's also worth checking if your phone is Flight Mode activated or if the Bluetooth module itself is turned off. Sometimes it helps to simply reboot the Bluetooth module: turn it off, wait 10 seconds and turn it on again.

Set up access rights in the Zepp Life (Mi Fit) app

The main notification control is inside the app. If the switches are disabled, no other manipulations will help. Open the Zepp Life app, go to the device profile tab ("Profile" -> select Mi Band 4) and find the "App notifications" section.

In this menu, you'll see a list of all the apps you've installed on your phone. You'll need to manually activate the messengers and social networks you want to receive messages from on your wristband. By default, they can be turned off. Make sure that the sliders opposite WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber or SMS are green.

Also, the same section often has settings like "Only when the screen is off" or "Show content." If the first option is active, the bracelet will not be silent when you are using the phone actively, which is normal duplication protection. Make sure that the Mi Band 4 has permission to display content, otherwise you will only see the name of the application instead of the text of the message.

• 🔹 Open the Zepp Life app and go to the bracelet profile.
• 🔹 Find the "App Notifications" section).
• 🔹 Turn on switches for the right messengers and system notifications (Calls, SMS).
• 🔹 Make sure the "Display Content" switch is active if you want to see text.

Permissions of the Android and iOS operating system

Even if the app is all-inclusive, the operating system itself can block the program from accessing notifications. On Android, this is a critical step. Go to Settings → Apps → Zepp Life (or Mi Fit). Find Notifications and make sure that access is fully authorized.

On MIUI shell devices (Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO), there is an additional layer of protection. You need to find the Zepp Life app in the settings, go to "Other permissions" and turn on "Pop-up display" or "Background launch." Without this, the system can block the bracelet when the phone screen is turned off.

⚠️ Note: On Android 12 and later, there are restrictions on background processes. Make sure the app is allowed to run in the background without restrictions, otherwise the Mi Band 4 will lose communication after cleaning the RAM.

For iOS (iPhone) users, the situation is similar, but the settings are in the iPhone itself. Go to Settings → Privacy → Fitness Tracking (or just find the Zepp Life app in the list of programs) and make sure that access to notifications is allowed. Also check if the Do Not Disturb mode on the iPhone itself is enabled, as it can suppress vibration on paired devices.

Problems with energy saving and background work

Aggressive energy saving is the main enemy of wearables, and the system tends to shut down all heavy applications to extend battery life, and often the synchronization of the wristband is compromised, and to fix this, you need to add a companion app to the exceptions.

On most Android smartphones, you need to go to the battery settings, find a list of applications and for Zepp Life, choose “No Limits” or “No Saving Power.” On Xiaomi/Huawei/Honor phones, you may also need to lock the application in memory (lock it in the list of running processes) so that the system does not “kill” it when cleaning the RAM.

If you use third-party memory cleaners (Clean Master, DU Battery Saver, etc.), be sure to add the bracelet app to the whitelist, otherwise the cleaner will regularly interrupt the connection and notifications will stop coming until the next program opens.

Resetting and re-connecting of the device

If the software settings didn't work, there might have been a bug in the communication protocol, and in this case, the way to do this is to completely reset the pairing, so you don't have to reset the bracelet to the factory settings, you just have to remove it from the system.

Go to the Zepp Life app, select your bracelet, scroll down and press Unbind. After that, remove the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 from the Bluetooth list in your phone settings. Reboot your smartphone, open the app, and search the device again, which will allow you to create a new encryption key and update notification profiles.

In rare cases, a complete reset of the bracelet through the tracker menu itself helps. (Moreover → Reset) Use this option only if previous steps have failed, as you will have to reconfigure the dials and activity goals.

• 🔹 Untie the bracelet in the Zepp Life app.
• 🔹 Remove the device from your phone's Bluetooth settings.
• 🔹 Reboot the smartphone completely.
• 🔹 Perform the pairing again through the application.

Updating the firmware and reinstalling the application

An outdated version of the firmware bracelet or bugs in the app version can cause unstable work. Check in the device profile in the app if the firmware update is available. Often manufacturers release patches that fix problems with connecting to certain phone models.

It’s also worth checking if the latest version of the Zepp Life or Mi Fit app is installed from the official store (Google Play or App Store).If the problem has appeared since the last update, try removing it completely, clearing the cache (in the application settings) and installing it again, which will eliminate possible damage to the configuration files.

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Before updating the bracelet firmware, make sure the battery is more than 20% and the phone is near the bracelet.

⚠️ Note: If notifications don’t come after reinstalling the app and firmware, try installing an alternative app, such as Notify for Mi Band, which allows you to flexibly configure the notification filtering rules that are sometimes ignored by native software.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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In 90% of cases, the problem is solved by the correct resolution of the background operation of the Zepp Life application in the Android battery settings.