Connecting Honor Band 5 to Xiaomi smartphone: a complete guide with error solutions

What you need to know before connecting

Huawei’s Honor Band 5 fitness bracelet remains a popular gadget among Xiaomi users due to its combination of affordable price and wide functionality. However, synchronizing devices from different brands sometimes raises questions — especially if you’re first to encounter the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) ecosystem.

It's important to understand that the Honor Band 5 doesn't support Xiaomi's official Mi Fit app, but instead uses Huawei Health, which means you'll have to work with two ecosystems at the same time: MIUI on your phone and HMS for your wristband, but don't worry, the setup process takes less than 10 minutes if you follow the instructions.

Another point: Xiaomi phones with MIUI below 12.5 may require manual auto-start permission for Huawei Health, otherwise notifications will be delayed or not at all, and we will explain this in detail in the section on settings.

Telephone and bracelet requirements

Before you start connecting, make sure your devices meet the minimum requirements:

• 📱 Xiaomi smartphone with Android 6.0 or later (all models from Redmi are supported) 4X Xiaomi 14).
• 🔋 The phone must have at least 500MB of storage available to install Huawei Health and related services.
• 📶 A stable internet connection (wi-fi or recommended) 4G/5G download).
• 🔄 Honor Band 5 with at least 20% battery charge (it is better to charge up to 50% to avoid failures during synchronization).
• 🔒 Turn it off. VPN Proxy servers – they can block access to Huawei servers.

If your phone is running on the phone MIUI Global, Huawei Health will not be a problem. MIUI China or custom firmware (e.g. Pixel Experience) may require manual installation APK-Application file – we will tell about this in the corresponding section.

Step-by-step instructions for connecting

Follow this algorithm to sync the Honor Band 5 with a Xiaomi phone:

1. Download the official app from Huawei AppGallery or Google Play. If you have MIUI without Google services, use APK from a trusted source (e.g. APKPure).
2. Registration of Huawei account ID When you first launch, Huawei Health will offer to create an account or sign in to an existing one. ID, Sign up via email or phone number. Don't use a Xiaomi account - these are different ecosystems!
3. Turn on Bluetooth on your phone Activate Bluetooth in the notification panel or via Settings → Connections → Bluetooth. Make sure Visibility for All is on (2-3 minutes).
4. Add device to Huawei Health In the app, click Devices → Add device → Bracelet → Honor Band 5. Follow the instructions on the screen.
5. On Honor Band 5, you will receive a request to confirm the connection - tap the bracelet screen for consent. If the screen does not respond, reset the bracelet (press the button for 10 seconds).
6. After pairing, the app will suggest updating the bracelet software. Do not interrupt the process - this can lead to sensor malfunctions.

If at the interface stage there is an error "Can not connect", try the following actions:

• 🔄 Reboot your phone and bracelet.
• 📱 Remove Honor Band 5 from the list of conjugated devices in your phone’s Bluetooth settings.
• 🔧 At Huawei Health, go to Profile" → "Settings" → "Reset data and reconnect.

Setup of notifications and data synchronization

After successful connection, we will set up notification reception and synchronization of health data:

1. Notifications permission in MIUI Go to Phone Settings → Applications → Application Management → Huawei Health → Notifications and turn on all switches. Also activate Autostart and Background Operations.
2. In the app, open Devices → Honor Band 5 → Notification Management. Here you can choose which apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, etc.) will be duplicated on the wristband.
3. If you use Google Fit, connect it to Profile → Settings → Accounts and Sync, which will allow you to export your steps, sleep and workout data to other fitness services.

An important nuance for MIUI 14+ users: in newer versions of the shell, Xiaomi limits background activity of third-party applications. To ensure notifications arrive on time, add Huawei Health to "No Limits" via Settings → Battery → Power Mode → App Settings.

💡

If notifications don’t come, check to see if the Security app blocks them in MIUI. Add Huawei Health to the exceptions.

Typical problem solving

Even with the right connection, there can be failures, and let's look at the most common ones and how to fix them:

If notifications stop coming after the MIUI update, try the following:

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 13+ There's a new battery optimization mechanism called Deep Optimization, which can block Huawei Health's background work. To turn it off, go to Settings. → Battery → Power regimen → Deep Optimization and Deactivate the Option for the Application.

Compatible with different Xiaomi models

While the Honor Band 5 officially supports all Android 6.0+ phones, there may be some nuances in practice depending on the Xiaomi model:

• 📱 Redmi Note 8/9/10: Possible problems with Bluetooth 5.0 — Try to disable "Dual Connection" in Bluetooth settings.
• 📱 POCO F1/F2/F3: Manual permission is required for "Exact Location" in the application settings (although the bracelet does not use the device). GPS).
• 📱 Xiaomi Mi 11/12/13: Can block background activity of Huawei Health due to aggressive optimization MIUI.
• 📱 Old models (Redmi) 4/5, Mi A1/A2): possible lags during synchronization due to a weak processor.

Phones with MIUI China ROM (such as Xiaomi 12S Ultra) may require:

1. Installation of Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) via APK.
2. Using a VPN with servers in China to register a Huawei ID
3. Manually add permission for com.huawei.health via ADB: adb shell pm grant com.huawei.health android.permission.ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION

Phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (Xiaomi 13 Pro, Redmi K60 Pro) may experience increased battery consumption when synchronized with Honor Band 5 due to conflict between Qualcomm's Bluetooth stack and bracelet firmware, in which case it is recommended to disable automatic data synchronization in the background.

Alternative ways of connecting

If the standard method doesn’t work, try alternatives:

• 🔄 Use of Notify & Fitness app (for advanced users): This third-party software allows you to connect Honor Band 5 without Huawei Health. Supports notifications, sleep monitoring and steps. Minus: no official sync with Huawei Health or Google Fit.
• 📱 Connecting via second phone: If your Xiaomi flatly refuses to work with the bracelet, you can use a second phone (like Huawei or Honor) to initially set up and then move the bracelet back.
• 🔧 Manual add-on via Bluetooth menu: In some cases, it helps to first stitch the bracelet through the phone's standard Bluetooth menu, then open Huawei Health to complete the setup.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party apps like Notify & Fitness, you lose your wristband warranty because it violates Huawei’s terms of use, and these apps may not support all of the Honor Band 5’s features, such as measuring blood oxygen (SpO2) stress.

Optimizing the work of the bracelet with Xiaomi

To ensure that the Honor Band 5 is stable, follow these tips:

• 🔋 Bracelet battery savings: Turn off automatic measurement SpO2 At night (this reduces autonomy from 14 to 7 days).
• 📶 Stable connection: If you often cut off your connection, turn off Bluetooth Energy Saving in your phone settings.
• 🔄 Regular updates: Check the firmware updates of the bracelet in Huawei Health at least once a month.
• 🛡️ Data Protection: If you use it MIUI China, disable Advertising Personalization in Huawei Settings ID, to avoid data leakage.

For those who are active in sports, it is useful to know:

The Honor Band 5 supports 10 workout modes, but only 6 of them (running, walking, cycling, swimming, ellipsing, rowing) sync with Google Fit. To add missing activities, use the Strava or Endomondo app to manually enter data.

💡

For maximum accuracy of pulse measurement, wear a bracelet 2-3 cm above the wrist bone and tighten the strap so that there is no gap between the sensor and the skin.

FAQ: Frequent questions