The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 fitness bracelet remains a popular gadget even years after its release — its reliability, long battery life and precise sensors attract users. However, sooner or later, there is a need to untie the bracelet from the phone: when selling, transferring to another person, changing a smartphone or eliminating synchronization errors. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways to break the communication between the Mi Band 3 and a mobile device, from standard methods through the Mi Fit application to forced resetting.
It is important to understand that the procedure of untiing depends on several factors: the version of the bracelet firmware, the phone model (Android/iOS) For example, users from Russia may face restrictions due to sanctions blocking Mi Account servers. 2026 year.
If you've tried to untie the bracelet but it still connects to an old phone, don't panic. 90% of the time, it's a factory reset or a Xiaomi account deletion, and for those who are afraid of losing data, we'll show you how to save your activity history before you turn it off.
1. Uncoupling through the Mi Fit application (standard method)
The easiest and most recommended method is to use the official Mi Fit app (or its updated version of Zepp Life for some regions), which is suitable if you have access to the phone to which the bracelet is attached and you remember the data from the Xiaomi account.
The instructions are relevant for Mi Fit 4.6.0 and later (for Android/iOS):
- Open the Mi Fit app on your phone.
- Go to the Profile section → My devices.
- Click on the Mi Band 3 icon in the list of connected gadgets.
- In the menu that opens, select Remove the device (or Un Un Un Undo in older versions).
- Confirm the action by pressing OK in the pop-up window.
After that, the bracelet will be deleted from your account, and all data (steps, pulse, sleep) will no longer sync, but the bracelet will retain the latest firmware and settings in memory if you do not reset, which means that the new owner will be able to connect it to his phone without additional manipulation.
⚠️ Warning: If the bracelet does not appear in the list of available devices to connect to the new phone after detachment, try restarting it (press the button on the case for 10 seconds) or reset (more on this below).
Make sure the bracelet is charged (minimum 20%)
Connect your phone to the Internet (you need to sync with Xiaomi servers)
Log in Mi Fit under the account to which the bracelet is linked
Open the "My Devices" section and select Mi Band 3-->
2.Reset Mi Band 3 to factory settings
If the standard unsetting doesn't work (e.g., the app says "Device failed to delete"), or you don't have access to your old phone, a complete reset of the bracelet will help, which erases all data from the device, including account binding, activity history, and user settings.
How to reset to Mi Band 3:
- Remove the bracelet from your hand and place it on a flat surface with the screen up.
- Find a physical button on the case (it is located under the touch screen).
- Press the button for 10-15 seconds until the Mi logo and vibration appear on the screen.
- Release the button and the bracelet will start the reset process (it will take about 30 seconds).
- After the reboot, a welcome message in Chinese/English will appear on the screen.
Now the bracelet is completely clean and ready for new binding. Please note that after reset, you may need to update the firmware through Mi Fit, since some functions (such as displaying notifications) only work on current versions of the software.
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If the bracelet does not respond to the hold of the button, connect it to the charger and try again. Sometimes the discharged battery blocks the reset.
3. Delete the device from the Xiaomi account (if you do not have access to the phone)
Situation: you sold the phone that the Mi Band 3 was attached to, but forgot to untie the bracelet, or the Mi Fit app doesn't start because of bugs, in which case you can delete the device directly from your Xiaomi account via a web browser.
Step-by-step:
- Go to account.xiaomi.com and log in to your account.
- From the menu, select Devices (or Mi Cloud → Devices in the old interface).
- Find Mi Band 3 and click on the basket icon (Delete).
- Confirm the action by entering the password from the account.
This method doesn’t always work: if the bracelet hasn’t synced with servers for a long time, it can remain on the device list, in which case combine deletion via account with reset to factory settings (Section 2).
What to do if you can’t log in to your Mi Account?
4. Uncoupling via Zepp Life app (for users outside of China)
In some regions (Europe, USA) instead of Mi Fit, Zepp Life is used, which has a different interface, but functionally identical. If your Mi Band 3 was tied via Zepp Life, the instructions for disconnecting will be as follows:
- Open Zepp Life and go to Profile → My Devices.
- Slip on the Mi Band 3 icon.
- Select Device Settings → Delete the Device.
- Confirm the dialog in the dialog window.
After that, the bracelet will disappear from the list, but like the Mi Fit, it may need to be reset to completely remove the binding. Note: Zepp Life sometimes has a bug where the device remains on the list even after being deleted, the solution is to reinstall the application or clear its cache in the phone settings.
Mi Fit
Zepp Life
Other (write in the comments)
I don't know/don't use/-->
5. Forced Shutdown via Bluetooth (for Android)
If the bracelet is tied to the phone, but the Mi Fit/Zepp Life app doesn’t work (for example, due to errors in Xiaomi servers), you can try to disable it at the Android level.This method does not remove the binding to the account, but breaks the Bluetooth connection, which sometimes helps when connecting to a new device.
How to do this:
- Open your phone settings → Connected devices → Bluetooth.
- Find it on the Mi Band list 3 (usually displayed as MI Band 3_XXXX, where XXXX — unique identifier).
- Slap the gear icon next to the bracelet name.
- Choose Disable or Delete (depending on the Android version).
- Confirm the action.
This is a good way to temporarily disconnect, but it doesn't replace the full disconnect, so if you're selling a bracelet, for example, the new owner might expect to hear that the device is already linked to another account, and you'll still need to reset.
⚠️ Note: On some phones (e.g. Xiaomi or Redmi with shell) MIUI) The bracelet can automatically connect back through background processes. To avoid this, turn off auto-connection in Bluetooth settings.
6. Problem Solving: The bracelet doesn't untie
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where Mi Band 3 stubbornly does not want to "let go" old phone.
| Problem. | Possible cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| The app gives an error "Can't remove the device" | Xiaomi servers are not available or the bracelet has not synced for a long time | Check the internet connection, restart your phone and bracelet, try again |
| After resetting, the bracelet does not turn on. | Discharged battery or freeze firmware | Connect to charging for 30+ minutes, then reset again |
| New phone doesn't see bracelet after undocking | Residual binding to an old account or outdated firmware | Reset the bracelet, update the firmware through Mi Fit |
| Linking to another account is not possible | The bracelet is blocked by the previous owner (Anti-theft function) | Contact the previous owner to unlock or contact Xiaomi for support. |
If none of these methods worked, maybe the problem is that the bracelet is hardware-failed, and that's where you can just flash it through Mi Fit or call the service center, but for the Mi Band 3, that's unlikely, because the device is known for being reliable, and 99 percent of the problems are software-solved.
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Before selling or transferring the bracelet to another person, always reset to factory settings. This is the only way to guarantee that all data and bindings are deleted.
7. Pre-decoupling data storage
Many users worry that when they disconnect the bracelet from their phone, they will lose their activity history: steps, sleep data, exercise, in fact, all this information is stored not in the bracelet, but in the Mi Cloud cloud (if synchronization was enabled).
- 📱 Export History through Mi Fit → Profile → Export of data (available in format) CSV or PDF).
- 🔄 Sync with the cloud before unblocking: open Mi Fit, wait for the sync to complete (the cloud icon at the top of the screen should turn green).
- 📊 Take screenshots of important statistics (such as weekly sleep reports).
- 🔗 Connect another fitness tracker to the same Xiaomi account so that data is not lost when you delete Mi Band 3.
If you plan to use the bracelet further, but on a different phone, just log in to the same Xiaomi account in the Mi Fit app on the new device - the entire activity history will be adjusted automatically.