How to connect Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 to a smartphone: instructions with photos and tips

The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 fitness bracelet remains one of the most popular gadgets for tracking activity, despite the release of new models, its main advantages are an accurate pulsemeter, 11 sports modes, 14-day autonomy and bright bright brightness. AMOLED-But before you use it, you need to connect it to your smartphone correctly, otherwise some of the functions will be unavailable.

In this article, you will find step-by-step instructions on pairing the Mi Band 5 with an Android and iOS phone, as well as solving typical problems: why the bracelet does not find the phone, how to update the firmware without errors and what to do if notifications do not come. We took into account all the nuances of the latest versions of the Mi Fitness app (formerly Mi Fit) and the peculiarities of working with different models of smartphones.

1.What to do to connect Mi Band 5 to your phone

Before you start pairing, check if your hardware meets the minimum requirements. Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 is compatible with most modern smartphones, but there are important nuances:

• 📱 Android 5.0+ or iOS 10.0+ — Older versions of the OS are not supported.
• 📶 Bluetooth 4.2 LE — The bracelet uses an energy-efficient low-consumption protocol, and very old phones (before 2015) may have connection problems.
• 🔋 Charge bracelet at least 20% - at a low level of the battery, the pairing process can be interrupted.
• 📲 Free space on the phone – the Mi Fitness app weighs ~100MB, plus space for the data cache.

Also make sure your phone has power saving turned off — it can block the background work of Bluetooth, which will lead to a connection break. On Android, check this in Settings → Battery → Power Saving Mode, on iPhone – in Settings → Battery.

⚠️ Note: If you have previously used the Mi Band 4 or other Xiaomi model, remove it from the Bluetooth device list manually (Settings) → Bluetooth → Mi Band 4 → Forget the device. Otherwise, there may be a connection conflict.

2. Installation and configuration of the Mi Fitness application

The official Mi Band 5 management app is called Mi Fitness (formerly Mi Fit), which can be downloaded for free from Google Play or the App Store, and it is important to use the latest version, as older releases may not support new bracelet features.

Installation instructions:

1. Download Mi Fitness at the link: 🤖 Google Play (Android) 🍎 App Store (iOS)

register

Xiaomi Account

Google

Facebook

notice

geolocation

fitness-data

Profile → Add the device → Bracelet → Mi Smart Band 5

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If the app doesn’t find the bracelet, try restarting Bluetooth on your phone or rebooting the Mi Band 5 itself (press the touch button for 10 seconds).

Once you add the device, the app will suggest you update the firmware. Don't miss this step, because older versions of the firmware may have data sync errors and notification bugs. It will take 2-5 minutes to update, so don't turn off Bluetooth at this time.

3. Step-by-step instructions for connecting Mi Band 5

Now, to the process of pairing, follow the instructions carefully, the order of action is important.

Turn on Bluetooth on your phone

Charge the bracelet to 30% or more

Remove old Mi Band devices from your phone’s memory

Make sure the bracelet is near the phone (no more than 1 meter)

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Step 1: Activate the bracelet.

1. Connect the Mi Band 5 to the charger (even if it’s already charged).
2. Touch the touch button below the screen – the bracelet should vibrate and show the Mi logo.
3. Unplug from charging. The bracelet is ready to pair.

Step 2. In the Mi Fitness app:

1. Click Add the device (the + icon in the upper right corner).
2. Select the Mi Smart Band 5 from the list.
3. Press Hide and confirm the action on the bracelet (touch the ticks on its screen).

Step 3. Wait until you complete the sync. The bracelet vibrates, and the phone screen will see a message "Connected successfully." Now you can configure the basic parameters:

• 🔔 Notifications – Select applications that will duplicate alerts on the bracelet.
• 🏃 Sports modes – activate the necessary activities (running, cycling, swimming, etc.).
• 🌙 Sleep mode – set up automatic sleep phase tracking.

⚠️ Warning: If the bracelet doesn't show notifications after you're connected, check the permissions for Mi Fitness in your phone settings. On Android 12+ You need to manually allow access to alerts in Settings → Annexes → Mi Fitness → Permits → Notifications.

4. Set up notifications and calls on Mi Band 5

One of the key functions of the wristband is to duplicate notifications from your smartphone, so that they work correctly, do the following:

On Android:

1. Open Settings → Applications and notifications → Notifications.
2. Find Mi Fitness and turn on the Allow Notifications switch.
3. In the Mi Fitness app itself, go to Profile → Mi Smart Band 5 → Application Notifications.
4. Select the apps you want to see on your bracelet (for example, WhatsApp, Telegram, Gmail).

On iOS:

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Notifications → Mi Fitness.
• 🔔 Enable Allow Notifications and select the Alert Style (Banners or Pop-ups).
• 🔄 In the Mi Fitness app, activate the option to Sync notifications.

For incoming calls, the setting is similar:

• 📞 On Android, enable Call Notifications in bracelet settings.
• 🍎 On the iPhone, check what is in the settings. → Phone. → Call forwarding no active rules blocking alerts.

5. Update firmware and fix connection issues

Regular firmware updates fix bugs and add new features to update Mi Band 5:

1. Make sure the bracelet is charged 50% or more.
2. Connect your phone to a stable Wi-Fi network (update via mobile internet may be interrupted).
3. Open Mi Fitness, go to Profile → Mi Smart Band 5 → Firmware Update.
4. Click Update and wait until the process is complete (don’t close the app!).

If the update has been delayed or an error has occurred:

• 🔄 Reset the bracelet (hold the touch button for 10 seconds).
• 📱 Restart the Mi Fitness app and try again.
• 🔌 If the error is repeated, try updating from another phone.

⚠️ Warning: If the bracelet is out of service or the connection is interrupted during a firmware update, it may stop turning on, in which case plug it into charging for 30 minutes, then repeat the refresh process. If the problem persists, contact Xiaomi support with the error code (displayed in the app).

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Update your firmware only when you have a stable Internet connection and the bracelet charge is above 50%. Interrupted updates can cause the device to crash.

6 Additional settings and hidden features of Mi Band 5

In addition to the basic features, the Mi Smart Band 5 supports a number of hidden features that many users are unaware of:

• 🎵 Music control – you can switch tracks and adjust volume directly from the bracelet (works with Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music).
• 🔦 Flashlight – Hold the touch button for 2 seconds to turn the screen backlight on at maximum brightness.
• 🏊 Swimming mode – activated manually in the bracelet menu (automatic definition does not always work).
• 🔒 Locking the phone screen – if you move away from the smartphone at a distance of more than 10 meters, the bracelet vibrates, and the phone automatically locks (configured in Mi Fitness).

To activate these functions:

1. Open Mi Fitness and go to Profile → Mi Smart Band 5 → Additional Features.
2. Select the option you want and follow the instructions on the screen.
3. To control music, you may need to provide Mi Fitness with media access in your phone settings.

There's also a Do Not Disturb mode in the wristband that turns off all notifications for a given amount of time, which is useful during sleep or important appointments.

• 📱 Application Mi Fitness (Profile) → Mi Smart Band 5 → Don't disturb).
• ⌚ Bracelet menu (slip down to the icon) 🌙).

7.How to reset Mi Band 5 to factory settings

If the bracelet is starting to glitch, it's not syncing with your phone, or you want to sell it, do a factory reset. There are two ways:

Method 1. Through the bracelet menu:

1. On the bracelet, scroll down to the point More (batch icon) ⋯).
2. Select Settings → Reset.
3. Confirm the action by touching the tick.

Method 2. Through the Mi Fitness app:

1. Open Profile → Mi Smart Band 5 → Untie the device
2. Confirm the uncoupling.
3. Add the bracelet as a new device.

After resetting, all data (steps, sleep history, settings) will be deleted. If you want to save it, pre-sync in Mi Fitness (Profile → Mi Smart Band 5 → Sync data).

⚠️ Warning: If you drop the bracelet before selling, be sure to untie it from your Xiaomi account. otherwise, the new owner will not be able to connect the device to their phone.

FAQ: Frequent questions about connecting Mi Band 5