Lost your smartphone at home or at work, and it's in silent vibration? Xiaomi smartwatch can be your salvation — even if the phone is silent or under the pillow. In this article, we'll look at all the possible ways of searching, from the standard feature "Find the phone" to the hidden features of Mi Fitness and Zepp Life, which work even on older models like the Mi Band 3.
Many users are unaware that their Xiaomi Watch S3 or Mi Band 7 can not only display notifications, but also force the sound on the phone via Bluetooth — and this works even if the smartphone turned off all sounds. We tested all methods on the current firmware in 2026 and found nuances that are not written in the official instructions, for example, why sometimes search does not work through Zepp Life, but works through Settings → Connected devices.
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1. The standard feature of "Find the phone" in Mi Fitness/Zepp Life
The most obvious way is to use the built-in option in Xiaomi’s official apps, which works on all watch models starting with the Mi Band 2, but there are important limitations.
To activate the search:
- 📱 Open the Mi Fitness app (for old bracelets) or Zepp Life app (for new watches and bracelets after 2021).
- 🔍 On the main screen, find the Profile tab → My devices (or just swipe left to the watch section).
- 🔔 Slip on the icon Find a phone (usually a bell or phone with waves).
- 🎵 The phone will start to emit a loud signal (even if it was silent) within 60 seconds.
Why sometimes doesn't work? If the phone and watch break the connection (for example, it's out of Bluetooth range), the function will be inactive, and on some MIUI firmware, the sound may be blocked if Do Not Disturb mode with priority contacts is enabled.
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If the Find Phone button is grey, check if the phone is Bluetooth enabled and if the distance between the devices is 10 meters (maximum for Bluetooth 5.0).
2. Search through the clock menu (without phone)
Few people know, but most Xiaomi smartwatches (like the Watch 2 Pro or Watch S1) can run a phone search directly from the watch screen without opening the app.
Instructions:
- Swipe your finger from the bottom up on the watch screen to open the Quick Settings panel.
- Find the icon. 🔔 Find the phone (in some models it is hidden behind the button "More").
- Slap it on, the phone will begin to vibrate and make sound at maximum volume.
On the Mi Band bracelets (for example, Mi Band 8), this method also works, but the way is different:
- 🔄 Scroll through the menu of the hours to the section Additional (or More).
- 🔍 Select Find the phone – the bracelet will send a signal to the smartphone.
What if the “Find Your Phone” icon is not on the menu?
3. Voice use (for Alexa or XiaoAI watches)
If your watch supports voice assistant (e.g., Xiaomi Watch S3 with XiaoAI or Watch 2 Pro with Alexa), you can start a search for your phone with a voice command.
Algorithm of action:
- Activate voice assistant: For XiaoAI, hold the button on the clock for 2 seconds or say "Hey, XiaoAI." For Alexa, say "Alexa" or press the microphone icon on the menu.
- 🗣️ "Find my phone"
- 🗣️ "Where's my smartphone"
- 🗣️ "Turn on the phone"
- The assistant will confirm the command and the phone will ring.
Why is it more reliable than an app search? System search via Bluetooth works at the Android level, so it doesn't get blocked by Do Not Disturb settings or energy saving modes. However, the sound will be quieter than when searching through Zepp Life.
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If your phone is in another room, use Bluetooth search as it consumes less than a constant connection to Zepp Life.
6 What to do if the phone is turned off or discharged
Unfortunately, if the phone is completely turned off or discharged, none of the above methods will work - Xiaomi watches do not have the function of a GPS tracker offline (unlike the Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch).
- 🔋 Last known location: Open Google Maps on another device and check location history (if sync is enabled). → Chronology → Today.
- 📡 Network operator: Call the phone from another number – even if it is turned off, some operators (for example, MTS or Beeline) show the last tower to which the device was connected.
- 🔄 Auto-on: Some Xiaomi models (like the Redmi Note 12) have an automatic on-on feature when connected to charging. Bring the watch to possible locations where the phone with the cable may have been lying.
⚠️ Warning: If your phone is stolen, don’t try to search for it yourself – immediately lock your device through Mi Cloud (Find the device section) and contact the police. Using search functions through the clock in this case can reveal your location to attackers.
Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Many users find that searching for a phone through Xiaomi watches doesn’t work, and here are the most common reasons and solutions:
- 🔕 Phone in "Airplane" mode: In this case, Bluetooth shuts down and the watch can't send a signal. Solution: check if the Bluetooth indicator on the phone is on.
- 🔋 Watch discharged: If the bracelet's charge is below 5%, it may not send commands. Charge the watch to at least 10%.
- 📵 Sync failure: Reconnect the clock to your phone: Bluetooth settings → Forget the device → Reconnect.
- 🔒 Power saving restrictions: On Xiaomi phones, Ultra-savings shuts down app background activity. Add Zepp Life to exceptions: Settings → Battery → Optimizing the battery → All applications → Zepp Life → No restrictions.