What can the fitness bracelet Xiaomi Mi Band 3: a full analysis of the functions and hidden features

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is one of the most popular fitness bracelets on the market, combining an affordable price, compact design and an impressive set of features. Launched in 2018, it is still the right choice for those who want to monitor health, receive notifications from their smartphone and control some of the phone’s functions right from the wrist, but many users are not even aware of the full capabilities of this device, limiting themselves to basic functions like pedometer and alarm clock.

In this article, we’ll go into detail about what the Mi Band 3 really does, from obvious options to hidden chips that aren’t mentioned in the manual, how to set up the bracelet for maximum efficiency, what data it collects about your health, and how to use it in your daily life, from training to managing a smart home, and we’ll answer frequent user questions and give practical tips for use.

The main functions of Xiaomi Mi Band 3: what does the bracelet “out of the box”

Even without any additional settings, the Mi Band 3 offers a wide range of features, and here are the key features that are available immediately after you connect to your smartphone:

• 📊 Activity tracking: pedometer, distance, burned calories, activity/inactivity time.
• ❤️ Heart rate monitoring: measuring heart rate in real time and in automatic mode.
• 😴 Sleep analysis: deep/light sleep, wake-ups, recommendations for improving the quality of rest.
• 🔔 Notifications: Call alerts, SMS, messages from messengers and social networks.
• 🏃 Training regimes: running, cycling, walking, swimming (with water resistance up to 50 meters).
• 🔋 Battery control: Up to 20 days of battery life with moderate use.

And it's particularly useful to automatically recognize activity, and it can detect when you've started running, cycling, or swimming, and it can trigger the exercise mode, so you don't have to manually activate the tracking, so you can just start moving, and it syncs with the Mi Fit app, where you can analyze the dynamics of a day, a week, or a month.

Another important option is a sedentary reminder, which is that if you sit still for too long (over 1 hour by default), the bracelet vibrates to remind you to stretch, especially for office workers or those who spend a lot of time at the computer, and you can adjust or turn off the function in the application.

Advanced features: hidden chips and non-obvious settings

In addition to the basic features, the Mi Band 3 hides a few useful options that are not known to all users.

• 🔍 Phone search: if the smartphone is lost at home, you can run the search directly from the bracelet – the phone will start ringing at maximum volume.
• 🎵 Music control: track switching and volume control (works with most players, including Spotify and YouTube Music).
• 🔄 Automatic synchronization: Step, pulse and sleep data updated in background without manually starting.
• 🌙 Do Not Disturb: Turns off notifications and vibrations at a given time (e.g. at night).
• 🔒 Smartphone unlock: bracelet can unlock Xiaomi phone without entering password (requires setting in Mi Fit) → Device profile → Unlocking the phone).

One of the most useful hidden features is gesture setting, for example, you can enable the option to raise your hand to light up so that the bracelet screen lights up when you move your wrist, which is convenient when you need to quickly look at the time or notification without pressing a button. Settings → Raising your hand.

Also, few people know that the Mi Band 3 can show weather forecasts, so you need to allow access to geolocation in the Mi Fit app and turn on the weather in the bracelet settings, then an icon with current conditions (sun, rain, cloudy) and temperature will appear on the screen, and information will be updated when synchronized with the phone.

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If the bracelet stopped vibrating at notifications, check the settings in Mi Fit → Notifications → Vibration. Sometimes the option is reset after the app updates.

Health monitoring: pulse, sleep and physical activity

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is positioned as a device for health control, and here it really shows its best side.

• ❤️‍🩺 Continuous pulse monitoring: measurement every 5–30 minutes (configured in the app).
• 📈 Heart Rate Analysis at Rest: Helps Track Stress and Overwork.
• 😴 Detailed sleep statistics: deep/light sleep phases, wake-up, tips for improving rest.
• 🏃‍♂️ Tracking 5 types of activity: walking, running, cycling, gym, swimming.

The feature that automatically measures your sleep pulse is particularly valuable, and the bracelet analyzes your heart rate during the night and plots a graph that can measure your rest quality, such as if your heart rate is constantly elevated at night, it can indicate stress or sleep problems. The data is displayed in the Mi Fit app in the Sleep section → Details.

Athletes can use a detailed training tracker, such as a running bracelet that captures not only distance traveled, but also average pace, calories, and a heart rate chart during exercise. This data helps to adjust the intensity of the training and avoid overwork. To start tracking, you need to choose the type of activity on the bracelet. → Training) or in an annex.

⚠️ Note: Mi Band 3 data is not a medical diagnosis.If the bracelet shows an abnormally high or low heart rate, consult your doctor for professional advice.

Notifications and communication with a smartphone: how to configure alerts

One of the most popular features of the Mi Band 3 is the ability to receive notifications from a smartphone right on your wrist.

• 📞 Calls (with the number or contact name displayed).
• 💬 SMS and messages from messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, etc.).
• 📧 Mail (Gmail, Yandex Mail and other clients).
• 📱 Social networks (Facebook, Instagram, VK).
• 🎮 Applications (e.g. notifications from games or services such as Delivery Club).

To set up notifications, you need to:

1. Open the Mi Fit app and go to Profile → Mi Band 3 → Notifications.
2. Enable the Notifications option and select the applications from which you want to receive alerts.
3. Set up the Notification Style (full text or only the app icon).
4. If necessary, disable notifications for the night in the section Do not disturb.

An important nuance: the bracelet only shows the text of notifications, but does not allow you to respond to them, so you can read the message, but send a response or like – no. It is also worth considering that with a large stream of notifications (for example, in Telegram chats), the bracelet can vibrate too often, which drains the battery, in which case it is better to turn off the alerts from unimportant applications.

Enable notifications in Mi Fit|Select the desired applications|Set up the display style|Disable unnecessary alerts|Check the vibration.-->

⚠️ Warning: If notifications don't come, check: Is Bluetooth on your phone, is Mi Fit notifications allowed in your smartphone settings, is the phone in power saving mode (it can block the background of apps).

Managing Music and Other Smartphone Functions

The Mi Band 3 can act as a remote control for some of the phone's features.

• 🎵 Player control: play/pause, next/previous track, volume control.
• 🔍 Phone search: If the gadget gets lost within Bluetooth range, the bracelet will make it ring.
• 📸 Camera Control: You can take a photo remotely (useful for selfies or group shots).
• 🔄 Quick access to features: setting shortcuts for frequently used options.

To control music from the bracelet, you need:

1. Run a player on your phone (such as Spotify or YouTube Music).
2. On the bracelet swipe up from the main screen to open the menu.
3. Select the Music item (note icon).
4. Use buttons on the bracelet screen to control playback.

Important: the camera control function works only with the Mi Camera app on Xiaomi smartphones. For other cameras (for example, Instagram or the standard Android app), this method is not suitable. To take a photo, you need to open the Mi Camera, then on the bracelet select More → Camera and press the shutter icon.

Compatible with smart home and other Xiaomi devices

The Mi Band 3 can interact with other Xiaomi ecosystem gadgets, making it even more functional.

• 🏠 Smart home management: Turning on/off lights, sockets or other Mi Home devices right from the bracelet.
• 🔑 Unlocking your smartphone: If you have a Xiaomi phone, the bracelet can unlock it without a password.
• 📱 Mi Fit and Mi Home sync: All health and activity data is collected in one place.
• 🔋 Charge control of other devices: for example, you can receive notifications about low battery charge on Mi AirDots headphones.

To set up the management of a smart home, you need:

1. Make sure that all devices (bracelet, phone, smart gadgets) are connected to one Xiaomi account.
2. Open the Mi Home app and add the bracelet to the list of control devices.
3. In bracelet settings (Mi Fit) → Device profile → Smart home: Choose the gadgets you want to manage.
4. On the bracelet in the menu will also appear the item Smart home, where you can turn on / off devices.

Example of use: you go to bed and forget to turn off the lights in the hallway. Instead of getting up, you can just open the smart home menu on the bracelet and turn off the Yeelight light bulb or the Mi Smart Plug socket. This is convenient if the phone is lying far away or discharged.

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To manage a smart home from a bracelet, all devices must be connected to one Xiaomi account and be on the same local network.

Autonomy and tips for extending battery life

The officially announced lifetime of the Mi Band 3 is up to 20 days, but in practice, it depends on the intensity of use.

• ⚡ The frequency of pulse measurement (the more often, the faster discharged).
• 🔔 Number of notifications (vibration and backlighting of the screen consume energy).
• 📶 Constant synchronization with the phone (especially if background data is enabled).
• 🌡️ Use of screen backlight (automatic activation when raising your hand).

To extend the bracelet’s working time, follow these tips:

1. Reduce the frequency of automatic pulse measurement to 30 minutes (in Mi Fit) → Device profile → Monitoring of heart rate).
2. Disable notifications from unnecessary applications.
3. Use the Do Not Disturb at Night mode to prevent the bracelet from vibrating from night alerts.
4. Turn off the automatic screen light when raising your hand if it works too often.
5. Regularly update the firmware of the bracelet – new versions often optimize power consumption.

If the bracelet discharges too quickly (for example, it lasts less than 5 days), this may indicate a battery malfunction or a software failure.

• Reset the bracelet to factory settings (Settings) → Reset).
• Reinstall the Mi Fit app on your phone.
• Update the bracelet firmware through Mi Fit → Device profile → Firmware update.

⚠️ Note: If the bracelet is still rapidly discharged after resetting, the battery may be worn out. In this case, contact the service center - the battery in the Mi Band 3 is not designed to be self-replaced.

FAQ: answers to frequent questions about Xiaomi Mi Band 3