Xiaomi Watch 5: Complete setup instructions for beginners

Xiaomi Watch 5

all stages of adjustment

Xiaomi Watch 5 is powered by proprietary firmware Mi Wear, which is closely integrated with the Xiaomi ecosystem, which means that it will require not only the device itself, but also the official Xiaomi Wear app (formerly Mi Fit) to work properly. Without it, most of the features will not be available. It is also important to consider that some options may differ depending on the firmware region and the software version.

If you’ve just unpacked your watch or upgraded it to version five, this guide will help you avoid the typical bugs. We’re not going to limit ourselves to superficial tips like “plug Bluetooth” — here you’ll find deep settings, hidden features, and solutions to common problems. For example, how to set up SpO₂ manually or why notifications are duplicated on the clock and phone.

Note for iPhone owners: The functionality of the Xiaomi Watch 5 on iOS is limited compared to Android.Some options (such as quick responses to messages) may not be available.

1.Preparation for the first setup: what to do before turning on the clock

Before you start setting up, make sure you have everything you need, which will save you time and eliminate the need to interrupt the process.

• 📱 Smartphone on Android 8.0+ or iOS 12.0+ (iPhone will require the latest version of the Xiaomi Wear app from the App Store).
• 🔋 Charger (complete with the clock is a magnetic cable, but any suitable USB-exit-adapter 5V/1A).
• 🌐 Stable Internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile Internet) for downloading updates.
• 📌 Xiaomi account (you can create it directly in the app, but it is better to do it in advance on account.xiaomi.com).

Note regional restrictions: if you bought a watch in China, you may need to change firmware to a global version. Otherwise, some features (such as Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa) will not be available. Chinese firmware watches do not support Russian in the default interface - it must be added manually through the region settings.

⚠️ Note: If you are upgrading with the Xiaomi Watch 4 or earlier, reset the settings of the previous clock in the Xiaomi Wear app before connecting the new model.

Before you first turn on, charge the watch to at least 50%. The full charging cycle takes about 2 hours, but for basic settings, this is enough. Make sure the smartphone has turned off the power saving mode - it can block the background operation of the Xiaomi Wear application.

2. First on and binding to a smartphone

Press and hold the physical button on the right side of the case until the Xiaomi logo appears on the screen. The first turn on can take up to 30 seconds - this is normal. After downloading, you will be asked to choose a language. If the desired language is not in the list, check the firmware region (we talked about this in the previous section).

The watch will then automatically go into smartphone search mode.

1. Install the Xiaomi Wear app from Google Play or the App Store.
2. Launch the app and log in to your Xiaomi account.
3. Click Add Device and select Xiaomi Watch 5 from the list.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen by confirming the pairing on the watch and phone.

If the watch does not find the smartphone, check:

• 🔄 Is Bluetooth on your phone (and is it in "Invisible to Other Devices" mode").
• 📶 Distance between devices (should not be more than 1 meter).
• 🔋 Charge level of the clock (if less than 20%, the pairing may be interrupted).

⚠️ Note: After pairing, the iPhone may request permission for notifications for the Xiaomi Wear app. If you refuse, the watch will not be able to show incoming calls and messages.

Once successfully connected, the watch automatically syncs time, weather and basic settings.This process can take several minutes.Do not interrupt it or close the Xiaomi Wear app on your phone.

Conjugation completed (tick in annex)|The time on the clock coincides with the smartphone|The weather is updated automatically|Call notifications come on the clock-->

3. Set up the main parameters: time, notifications, screen

Now that the watch is connected, we can start personalizing, and we'll start with the most important thing, which is displaying information and managing notifications.

Change of dial:

1. Touch and hold the main screen of the watch.
2. Scroll left/right to select your favorite dial.
3. Click on the screen to apply the changes.

Additional dials can be downloaded from the Xiaomi Wear app under "Dials" and some of them support Always-On Display (AOD) — It's a constant time mapping, so you can turn on this function:

Settings → Display → Always-On Display →

Configuring notifications:

By default, the watch shows notifications from all apps, but this can be changed:

1. Open Xiaomi Wear on your phone.
2. Go to Notifications" → "Management of notifications".
3. Select applications that must be duplicated on the clock.
4. Activate the "Show Content" switch if you want to see text messages (only the sender name is displayed by default).

⚠️ Attention: On Android 12+ For the correct operation of notifications, you must manually allow the Xiaomi Wear application to access notifications in the system settings (Settings) → Annexes → Xiaomi Wear → Without this, the clock won't vibrate when incoming calls.

Brightness and screen timeout:

To save battery power, adjust the brightness and time of automatic screen shutdown:

Settings → Display → Brightness (recommended 3-4 divisions)


Settings → Display → screen timeout (optimum 10-15 seconds)

If the screen is too dim in the sun, turn on Auto Brightness or manually set the maximum value. However, remember that high brightness reduces battery life on the screen. 15-20%.

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To quickly turn on the screen light, just raise your hand - the "Raise to wake up" function is activated by default. If it does not work, check the gesture settings in the Settings menu. → Gestures.

4. Customization of health and sports functions

Xiaomi Watch 5 equipped with sensors for monitoring heart rate, SpO₂ (We're going to have oxygenation, stress, sleep, but by default, many of these functions are turned off to save energy.

Heart rate monitoring:

The watch can measure the heart rate manually or automatically at a given interval, to adjust the automatic measurement:

Settings → Health → Heart Rate → Continuous Monitoring

The recommended interval is every 10 minutes, and more frequent measurements (e.g. every 5 minutes) greatly reduce battery life.

Measurement SpO₂:

Blood oxygen levels are measured only by hand.

1. Open the app menu on the clock (swipe up from the main screen).
2. Choose "SpO₂".
3. Place your hand on a flat surface and do not move. 30-60 seconds before the measurement is completed.

For automatic monitoring SpO₂ In your dream, activate the option:

Settings → Health → Oxygen Saturation → Sleep Monitoring

Sleep tracking:

The clock automatically recognizes the phases of sleep (deep, light, REM), but:

• 🛌 Make sure the watch is on your hand before bedtime.
• 📵 Turn off the "Do Not Disturb" mode (otherwise the data may not be saved).
• 🔋 Battery charge must be at least 30% (otherwise monitoring will be turned off to save energy).

Sporting regimes:

The Xiaomi Watch 5 supports more than 150 sports, including running, swimming, cycling and yoga.To add the frequently used modes to quick access:

Settings → Sports → My Sports → Add

To swim, activate the “Pool” or “Open Water” mode – the watch automatically recognizes the swimming style and counts the number of strokes.

⚠️ Warning: When swimming in the pool, turn off the function "Automatic activity detection" (Settings) → Sport → Autodetermining, otherwise the clock may mistakenly record other movements as swimming.

Training data is synced with Google Fit, Apple Health and Strava apps (set up in Xiaomi Wear) → Profile → Related accounts).

5. Battery optimization and energy saving

The official life of the Xiaomi Watch 5 is up to 16 days in standard mode and up to 7 days in active use, but in practice these figures depend on the settings.

The main "eaters" of the battery:

Energy saving mode:

If the charge drops too quickly, activate the "Energy Saving" mode:

Settings → Battery → Energy saving mode

In this mode, switch off:

• 📶 Automatic data synchronization.
• 🔍 Continuous monitoring of heart rate.
• 📱 Notifications from third annexes.

The main functions (time, pedometer, alarm clock) remain operational.

Calibration of the battery:

If the clock is suddenly turned off 20-30% charge, perform calibration:

1. Discharge the clock until the automatic shutdown.
2. Charge to 100% without interruptions (about 2.5 hours).
3. Turn off the charge and use until full discharge more 2-3 once.

This will help the battery controller to more accurately determine the actual charge level.

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The most effective way to save battery is to turn off Always-On Display and reduce the frequency of automatic heart rate measurement to 1 It's gonna extend autonomy by 30-40%.

6 Additional Features: Payments, Voice Assistant, Music

Xiaomi Watch 5 supports a number of advanced features that many users do not use simply because they do not know about their existence.

Contactless payments (NFC):

The watch is equipped with a module NFC, It allows you to pay for your purchase without your phone:

1. Open Xiaomi Wear on your phone.
2. Go to the purse" → "Add a map".
3. Follow the instructions for linking a bank card (Mastercard and Visa are supported by most Russian banks).

To pay for the purchase:

1. Twice press the physical button on the watch.
2. Bring the clock to the terminal (distance not more than 5 cm).
3. Wait for the beep to signal a successful payment.

⚠️ Note: For security after adding the card, the clock will be requested PIN-The code on the first payment, do not tell it to strangers and do not store it with the clock.

Voice Assistant (Alexa or XiaoAI):

The watch supports voice assistants, but you need to configure them:

Settings → Voice Assistant → Select an Assistant (Alexa or XiaoAI)

Amazon Alexa will require:

• 📱 Install Amazon Alexa app on your phone.
• 🔗 Link Amazon account to Xiaomi Wear.
• 🎤 Permission to access the microphone.

After setting up, hold the button on the clock to activate the assistant with your voice.

Music management:

The watch can store up to 2GB of music and play it through Bluetooth headphones to download the tracks:

1. Connect your watch to your phone via Xiaomi Wear.
2. Go to "Music" → "Local music".
3. Select tracks from your phone’s memory (formats are supported) MP3, AAC, WAV).

To listen, connect Bluetooth headphones directly to the clock:

Settings → Bluetooth → Searching for devices

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To quickly switch tracks, use swipe left/right gestures on the play screen. Double-clicking puts the track on pause.

7. Solving common problems

Even after you set it up properly, users sometimes have problems, and these are the most common problems and solutions.

The clock is not synchronized with the phone:

• 🔄 Reboot both devices.
• 📱 Remove the watch from the list of Bluetooth devices on your phone and reconnect.
• 🔧 Update the Xiaomi Wear app to the latest version.
• 🌐 Check your internet connection (synchronization requires networking).

Notifications are not coming:

• 📵 Make sure the phone is not activated with "Do Not Disturb" mode".
• 🔕 Check the permissions for Xiaomi Wear in your phone settings (Settings) → Annexes → Xiaomi Wear → Notifications).
• 🔄 Reconnect the clock to the phone.

Fast battery discharge:

• 🔋 Check which features are active (turn off Always-On Display and continuous heart rate monitoring).
• 📡 Turn off Wi-Fi if you don’t use weather or updates.
• 🔄 Reset the clock settings to factory (Settings) → System system → Data resetting).

The clock doesn't measure heart rate./SpO₂:

• 🩺 Make sure the watch fits tightly to the wrist (the sensor should touch the skin).
• 🔄 Reset the clock (hold the 10 seconds button).
• 📱 Update the firmware through Xiaomi Wear.

⚠️ Warning: If after updating the firmware clock stopped turning on, connect them to charging and hold the button 15-20 If that doesn't work, please contact the service center, there may have been a firmware error.

Diagnosing more complex problems (e.g., non-functioning) NFC or GPS) Use the built-in test menu:

Settings → About the phone → Equipment test

Here you can check the operation of all sensors and modules.

8. Update firmware and reset to factory settings

Regular firmware updates add new features and fix bugs to check for updates:

Settings → System → Software Update

If an update is available:

• 📱 Make sure your watch is connected to Wi-Fi (mobile internet updates may not work).
• 🔋 The battery charge must be at least 50%.
• ⏳ Do not interrupt the process – this can cause system failure.

⚠️ Note: After updating, some settings (such as dials or notifications) may reset.We recommend taking screenshots of current settings before updating.

Reset to factory settings:

If the watch is unstable or you plan to sell it, do a full reset:

Settings → System → Data Reset → Reset all settings

After resetting the watch:

• 📱 They'll disconnect from their smartphone.
• 🔄 Delete all health and activity data.
• 🔧 Return standard brightness settings, notifications and dial.

To associate the watch with another phone after reset, repeat the pairing process described in Section 2.

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Before selling the watch, be sure to untie them from your Xiaomi account through Xiaomi Wear. → Profile → My devices. → This will protect your data and allow the new owner to connect the watch to his phone.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi Watch 5