Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to integrate third-party wearables into their ecosystem. Honor Band 3 is a popular fitness tracker that, despite its age, remains relevant due to its excellent AMOLED screen and water protection. However, the process of pairing with the MIUI shell can cause difficulties due to the aggressive policy of energy saving the system.
The main difficulty is that standard methods of finding devices through Bluetooth settings do not work here. You will need specialized software and the right permissions setup. It is critical to install the Huawei Health app (formerly Huawei Wear) or Mi Fit, since a standard search for Xiaomi Wear will not see the tracker. Without the right software, the device will be just hours.
In this article, we will cover all the nuances of synchronization, from operating system preparation to fine-tuning notifications, learn how to prevent the tracker from being turned off by the system and ensure stable transfer of health data. This guide will help avoid the typical mistakes that beginners make when they first start.
Preparation of the smartphone and installation of the necessary software
The first step is to prepare your Xiaomi device for external accessories. MIUI is known for its rigorous memory optimization, which often kills the background processes necessary for fitness bracelets to work. Before installing applications, make sure you have a stable Internet connection and enough free space.
You will need to download the official tracker management app. Although many users are used to Mi Fit, the Honor Band 3 is the most correctly used Huawei Health app (or its older version of Huawei Wear), downloaded from Google Play Store or the official AppGallery Store. Installation from third-party sources can lead to security errors.
Once installed, take your time to open the program. You must first provide the application with all the permissions requested. MIUI-based Android can block geolocation and Bluetooth access unless you explicitly confirm this. Open your phone settings, search the Applications section, and make sure that all the switches are activated for the selected software.
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Before you start setting up, turn on geolocation (GPS) on your phone. Many users ignore this, but Bluetooth Low Energy requires access to location to scan devices.
The process of pairing via Bluetooth
Now, to the direct connection of devices, it's important to understand that pairing is not done through the standard Bluetooth menu in the Android settings, but only within the application. If you try to connect the bracelet through the system menu, the app will later give an error "device is occupied."
Turn on the tracker by holding the touch button on the case before the logo appears. On the smartphone screen, launch the Huawei Health or Mi Fit app. Sign up or log in to your account. On the main menu, click the add-on button for a new device. The app will start scanning the space.
When the Honor Band 3 appears on the list, click on it. The bracelet and phone will have confirmation codes on their screen. Make sure they match, and confirm the action on both devices. The process can take anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds. If the connection is interrupted, restart the smartphone and repeat the procedure.
☑️ Checklist of successful connection
⚠️ Warning: If the app says "device is already connected to another phone," it means the tracker has not been untied from the previous owner.
Configure access rights in MIUI for stable operation
The most important step for Xiaomi owners is to set up autostart and work in the background. Without this step, the tracker screen will go out, notifications will stop coming, and pulse data may not sync.
Go to your phone's settings and find the Apps section. Select the app you have installed for your tracker (like Huawei Health). You need to activate Auto Start, which will allow the program to start immediately after you turn on your smartphone without waiting for your intervention.
Next, go to Battery or Energy within the application settings, select No Limits or No Limits mode, which will prevent MIUI from forcibly shutting down the synchronization process, and it is also useful to pin the application to the list of running tasks by pulling the notification curtain and pressing the lock next to the application icon.
| Setup parameter | Where to find in MIUI | Recommended value |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-start | Settings → Applications → Auto Launch | On (green) |
| Activity monitoring | Settings → Battery → Applications | No restrictions. |
| Notifications | Settings → Notifications → Notification Center | Important/No sound |
| Permits | Settings → Applications → Permissions | Allowed. |
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Without setting up Auto Start and removing battery restrictions, the tracker will work unstable, constantly losing communication with the smartphone.
Solving Notifications and Calling Problems
A common complaint of users is that they don't vibrate when they send messages from WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber, and the problem is that the intermediary app must have access to Notifications on Android, and without that right, it simply doesn't see that you've received a message.
Inside the bracelet management app, look for the Notifications or Push Notifications section, and here you will see a list of all messengers installed, activate the switches in front of the apps you want to receive notifications from on your wrist, and make sure that the smartphone itself has the ability to display notifications on the lock screen.
If notifications are late, try clearing the cache of the tracker management app. Go to Settings → Apps → Huawei Health → Memory → Clear the cache. Don't confuse "Clear Data" with "Clear Data" or you'll have to re-authenticate and customize your profile. Rebooting both devices often solves the problem of desynchronizing the time of arrival of messages.
⚠️ Note: On some versions MIUI There's a limit on the number of characters in the notification that you see, and long messages can be cropped or not displayed at all.
Synchronizing Health and Activity Data
The main function of the device is health monitoring. To properly operate the pedometer and pulsemeter, you need to calibrate your profile data, specify your exact weight, height and age in the application, and these parameters determine the calculation of burned calories and the analysis of sleep phases.
The data is synced automatically when you open the app. However, if you see discrepancies, try manually updating the data by pulling the app's main screen down.The Honor Band 3 stores pulse and sleep data in its memory, so even if the phone was turned off, the story won't be lost and will be transmitted the next time it connects.
Why do they lie about sleep?
For users using the Xiaomi ecosystem, integration with Mi Fit may be a topical issue. Officially, the Honor Band 3 is supported in Mi Fit, but the functionality may be trimmed compared to Huawei's native app. For example, some dials or detailed stress analysis may not work.
Frequent errors and ways to fix them
Despite the simplicity of the procedure, users often encounter error codes, the most common is "failed to find the device." Make sure the bracelet is not connected to other phones in range. The Bluetooth channel may be busy.
Another problem is the bracelet's quick discharge after you've connected, which often happens when you have the wrist-lift function on at high sensitivity, try to turn down the brightness of the screen or turn off the constant pulse monitoring by leaving the measurement on demand or every 30 minutes.
If the tracker has stopped responding to touch, reboot. On Honor Band 3, this is done through the settings menu of the bracelet itself (swipe left to end → Settings → Reboot) or by connecting to the charger. Hard reset via the app will help if a software failure does not allow the device to work correctly.