Is Honor and Xiaomi compatible?
The Honor Band (5/6/7/8 series) fitness bracelets and Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi and POCO) operate on different ecosystems: the former are tied to Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), the latter to MIUI with Google services, which creates the illusion of incompatibility, but in practice synchronization is possible through the official Huawei Health app or workarounds.
The main problem users have is the first connection errors due to a conflict of background services or the absence of Google Play Services on some Xiaomi firmware. In this article, we will discuss 3 working methods of synchronization, including solving common errors like “cannot find the device” or “persistent communication breaks.”
Important: the instruction is relevant for the Honor Band 5/6/7/8 bracelets and Xiaomi smartphones on MIUI 12–14 (Android 10–14). If your model is older, check the support in the compatibility table below.
Method 1: Officially Connected to Huawei Health
This is the main and most reliable way recommended by the manufacturer. Huawei Health is available in Google Play and AppGallery, but for Xiaomi it is better to download from the Play Market - the version from AppGallery may not work correctly on MIUI.
Before starting, make sure that:
- 📱 The phone is enabled Bluetooth 4.2+ (Check in the settings → Compounds → Bluetooth).
- 🔋 Bracelet charged at least 20% (at low charge synchronization may be interrupted).
- 📲 The latest Google Play Services updates are installed on the smartphone (open Play Market) → Search for “Google Play Services" → refresh).
Connection steps:
- Download and install Huawei Health with Google Play.
- Register for a Huawei ID account (via email or phone number).
- Turn on Bluetooth on your phone and launch the app.
- Click Devices → Add Device → Select your bracelet model (e.g. Honor Band 6).
- Follow the instructions on the screen: confirm the pairing on the bracelet (press the button) and wait for the synchronization to complete.
Bluetooth on your phone
Honor bracelet charged (>20%)
Huawei Health app installed (version 12.0+)
Smartphone connected to the Internet (for data download)
Power saving modes for Huawei Health are turned off-->
If the bracelet is not present, try:
- 🔄 Reboot the phone’s Bluetooth module (turn off/on Bluetooth in the settings).
- 📵 Remove the bracelet from the list of conjugate devices in the Android settings and repeat the search.
- 🛠️ In Huawei Health, click “Update Device List” (Update icon in upper right corner).
What if Huawei Health doesn’t see the bracelet?
Method 2: Connecting with Notify & Fitness (for advanced users)
If Huawei Health refuses to work or you don’t like its interface, you can use the third-party Notify & Fitness app.It supports most Honor bracelets and allows you to configure notifications flexibly, but requires manual adjustment.
Advantages of the method:
- ✅ No binding to Huawei ID.
- ✅ More opportunities to customize notifications.
- ✅ It works on custom firmware (for example, LineageOS).
Disadvantages:
- ⚠️ No official support from Honor - bugs are possible.
- ⚠️ Not all bracelet functions can work (for example, SpO₂ or stress monitoring).
Instructions:
- Download Notify & Fitness.
- Turn on Bluetooth and launch the app.
- Select "Add device" → "Honor Band" → specify the model.
- Follow the Connection Wizard. Allow notifications and physical activity when requested.
- After pairing, configure the display of notifications in the "Apps" section.
⚠️ Note: When using Notify & Fitness, step and sleep data may be duplicated in Google Fit. To avoid this, turn off Google Fit sync in Huawei Health settings (if it is installed).
Huawei Health
Notify & Fitness
Other (write in the comments)
Not yet plugged in.-->
Method 3: Hand-offs for phones without Google Play Services
On some Xiaomi smartphones (especially Chinese firmware or Google remote services), Huawei Health may not launch due to the lack of Google Play Services.
- Install Google Play Services manually: Download the latest version of Google Play Services (choose for your architecture: arm64, armeabi or x86). Install APK through any file manager (allow installation from unknown sources in security settings).Reboot your phone and re-install Huawei Health.
- Use of the APK-Huawei Health without Play Services: Download a modified version of Huawei Health from forums like 4PDA (Find out more about Huawei Health without HMS"). Install. APK, But note that some features (such as cloud sync) won’t work.
⚠️ Attention: Installation of modified APK This could lead to the blocking of Huawei accounts. ID We recommend this method only for experienced users who are ready for risks.
If none of these methods worked, check if MIUI Optimization blocks the background of the applications.
- Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Huawei Health.
- Select "Battery" → "No restrictions".
- Turn on "Autostart" and "Background Activity."
Table compatibility of bracelets Honor and Xiaomi smartphones
Not all Honor bracelets work equally well with Xiaomi, and here is a compatibility table based on user tests (data is up to date for 2026):
| Model bracelet | Xiaomi (Global) | Xiaomi (China ROM) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honor Band 5 | ✅ Complete. | ✅ Manually installed GMS | Call notifications may not work. |
| Honor Band 6 | ✅ Complete. | ⚠️ Partial (no) SpO₂) | Huawei Health 11.0+ is required. |
| Honor Band 7 | ✅ Complete. | ❌ Not stable. | There may be a connection break on China ROM. |
| Honor Band 8 | ✅ Complete. | ⚠️ No NFC-pay | NFC only works with Huawei Pay. |
Critical information: The Honor Band 6 and later require a firmware update through Huawei Health on first connection, without which some features (such as sleep monitoring) will not be available.
Solving common problems
Even after a successful connection, users encounter bugs, and here are the most common ways to fix them:
1.The bracelet shuts down in a few minutes
Reason: MIUI aggressively closes the background processes.
Decision:
- 🔧 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Huawei Health → Battery and select "No restrictions".
- 🔧 Add Huawei Health to Secure Apps (same battery settings).
- 🔧 Turn off the "Adaptive Battery" in Settings → Battery.
2. no notifications are coming.
Reason: Lack of permissions or conflict with other applications.
Decision:
- 📱 Check that Huawei Health has notifications for the right apps (Devices) → your bracelet → Notifications).
- 📱 In Android settings, allow Huawei Health to access notifications (Settings) → Annexes → Huawei Health → Notifications).
- 📱 If you use Notify & Fitness, set up notification filters manually.
3. Step/sleep data is not synchronized
The reason: a failure in the cloud Huawei Health or a conflict with Google Fit.
Decision:
- 🔄 Reset the bracelet (press the button for 10 seconds).
- 🔄 In Huawei Health, click on “Sync Data” (cloud icon in the upper right corner).
- 🔄 Turn off sync with Google Fit in Huawei Health settings (Profile) → Settings → Accounts and synchronization).
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If the bracelet stopped syncing after the MIUI update, try rolling back Huawei Health to the previous version. To do this, download APK from APKCombo and install manually.
Configure notifications and additional functions
Once connected, the Honor bracelet can be customized to suit your needs.
1. Notifications
To choose which notifications will come to the bracelet:
- Open Huawei Health → “Devices” → select your bracelet.
- Go to "Message Notifications."
- Turn on the “Notifications” switch and select apps (for example, WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS).
- Set up the “Notification Style” (full text or title only).
2. Health monitoring
Honor bracelets support:
- 🩺 Pulse measurement (included in the Devices) → Heart monitoring).
- 😴 Sleep tracking (automatically or manually).
- 🩸 SpO₂ (oxygen saturation – available on the band 6/7/8.
- 🧘 Stress monitoring (requires inclusion in bracelet settings).
For accurate measurement:
- Wear the bracelet 2-3 cm above the wrist.
- Avoid moving your hand while taking your pulse/SpO₂.
- Update the bracelet firmware through Huawei Health (Section "Software Update").
3. Music management
From the bracelet, you can control the playback of music on the phone:
- 🎵 Swipe through the tracks on the screen.
- 🎵 Pause/replay by pressing the screen.
- 🎵 Adjust volume (on some models).
To do this, in Huawei Health, enable the option “Music Management” in the bracelet settings.
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To ensure that notifications are displayed correctly, Android for Huawei Health must allow “Show on top of other apps” (Settings → Apps → Permissions → Special Access).