How to completely disable steps on Xiaomi: smartphone, Mi Band and Zepp OS

The step meter on Xiaomi devices is a useful feature for monitoring activity, but not everyone needs it, some find it intrusive, some worry about battery consumption, and some just want to hide their travel data for privacy reasons. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to disable step counting on MIUI smartphones, Mi Band fitness bracelets and Zepp OS smartwatches.

It is important to understand that the steps counting mechanisms differ from device to device, for example, on Xiaomi smartphones, Google Fit or built-in MIUI services are responsible for this, and on Mi Band, Zepp Life firmware. We will look at each case separately, including hidden settings and possible limitations (for example, on some models you can not completely remove the function, but you can minimize its impact).

If you’re using a device with MIUI 14/15 or later, some of the instructions may be different — the manufacturer regularly changes the menu layout of options. For accuracy, here are the current screenshots and paths to settings for 2026.

Why the step counter can work even after shutdown

Many users complain that after disabling the function in the settings, the steps still count, because of the parallel operation of several services:

• 🔄 Google Fit (if installed) – syncs with MIUI and can restart the counting.
• 📱 Built-in motion sensor in the smartphone (accelerometer) - works at the system level.
• ⚙️ Mi Fitness or Zepp application background processes – even after deletion can leave cache.
• ☁️ Cloud sync – data can be restored when you log in to your Xiaomi account.

To make sure that you stop counting, you have to shut down each of these components, and below we'll look at all the options, from the simple to the radical (including the radical ones). ADB-Teams for experienced users).

Method 1: Disabling the step count on the Xiaomi smartphone (MIUI)

On MIUI smartphones, step counting is controlled through the Health app (or Mi Fitness in older versions).

1. Open the Health app (green leaf icon).
2. Go to Profile → Settings (cog icon in the upper right corner).
3. Select Data Management → Steps.
4. Turn off the step count slider.
5. Confirm the action by pressing OK in the dialog box.

If Steps are not on the menu, try an alternative path:

Settings → Applications → App Management → Health → Permits → Physical Activity (disable)

Close all background apps |Reboot phone |Check if the steps widget on the home screen has disappeared |Delete the Health app cache-->

Important: On some firmware (e.g. MIUI Global) the meter can be turned on automatically when you update your system after you turn off. To avoid this, block the auto-update for Health:

Settings → Appendices → Health → Triplet (⋮) → Disable Auto Update

💡

If steps still count after you turn off, check if you have Google Fit installed. It can duplicate the function — delete it or turn off sync in your Google account settings.

Method 2: Disable steps on Mi Band (all generations)

On the Mi Band fitness bracelets (from Mi Band 3 to Mi Band 8), the step counter is sewn into firmware, but it can be deactivated through the Zepp Life app (formerly Mi Fit).

1. Open Zepp Life and select your bracelet.
2. Go to Device Profile → Settings → Activity Monitoring.
3. Turn off the Steps Slider (some versions call Step Tracking).
4. Save the changes and sync the bracelet.

If you don’t have an option, try an alternative method:

• 🔧 Install a third-party app Notify & Fitness for Mi Band (available on Google Play).
• 📵 In the application settings, find the Activity Tracking section and disable Step Counter.
• ⚠️ Warning: Third-party applications may require additional permissions, which increases the risk of data leakage.

On Mi Band 7/8 with Zepp OS firmware, you can't completely turn off the step counter -- you can only hide the way it's displayed on the bracelet screen.

Zepp Life → Device Profile → Bracelet Screen → Remove the Steps widget

Method 3: Disconnect on Xiaomi smartwatch (Zepp OS)

Xiaomi smartwatches (such as Watch 2 Pro, Watch S3) run on the Zepp OS platform, where the step counter is integrated into the system. You can not completely remove it, but you can minimize the impact:

For power users, there is a radical method – disabling the motion sensor via ADB (requires an unlocked bootloader):

adb shell settings put global motion_sense_enabled 0

Method 4: Block sync with Google Fit and Mi Account

Even after disabling the step count on the device, data can be transferred to the Xiaomi or Google Fit cloud.

• 🔗 Turn off sync in Zepp Life: Profile → Settings → Accounts. → Disable Google Fit/Mi Account
• 📵 Remove permissions for Google Fit: Phone Settings → Annexes → Google Fit → Permits → Deactivate "Physical activity"
• 🗑️ Clear the data history: Zepp Life → Profile → Data management → Clear the history of steps

Note: If you use multiple Xiaomi devices (e.g., a smartphone + bracelet), the steps may be duplicated. To avoid this, disable cross-integration:

MIUI Settings → Xiaomi Account → Synchronization → Disable “Health and Fitness”

Method 5: Radical measures (for power users)

If standard methods fail, extreme measures can be taken, requiring technical skills and can lead to loss of warranty or unstable operation of the device.

• 🛠️ Removing System Applications (Requires root): Adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.mi.health ⚠️ Note: Removal of com.mi.health may disrupt other functions MIUI, sensory.
• 🔧 Configuration File Change (for Mi Band): With the Mi Band Tools tool, you can edit the config.ini file in the bracelet firmware, but it is risky.
• 📛 Blocking Xiaomi servers (via hosts): Add to file /etc/hosts line: 127.0.0.1 api.mi.com 127.0.0.1 account.xiaomi.com This will block the transfer of step data, but may disrupt other services.

💡

Before using radical methods, back up the device data. rollback changes may require a factory reset.

Frequent problems and their solutions

When you turn off your step count, you're going to see some common mistakes.

If none of these methods worked, check:

• 📱 The firmware version - on beta versions MIUI It could be bugs.
• 🔄 Application updates – New versions of Zepp Life sometimes have additional settings.
• 🛡️ Antivirus – some programs (e.g. Avast) block changes to system files.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions