How to connect a smart watch to a Xiaomi phone: the complete guide

Modern wearable gadgets have long ceased to be just an accessory for counting steps, turning into a full-fledged extension of your smartphone. Owners of Xiaomi devices, whether it is the flagship Mi 13 or the budget Redmi Note, often face the need to correctly integrate the activity tracker into the MIUI or HyperOS ecosystem. The process of pairing can seem trivial, but the specific algorithms of energy saving the Chinese operating system often make their adjustments, requiring the user to pay attention to the details of the settings.

The correct configuration of the connection allows not only displaying time and notifications, but also using advanced functionality such as music management, real-time weather and deep sleep analytics. Data synchronization occurs in the background, and if you miss the important step of setting permissions, you risk being left without timely notifications from messengers. In this article, we will analyze all the nuances that will help avoid typical errors when you first start the device.

Unlike standard procedures for connecting a conventional peripheral, it requires installing specialized software that acts as a bridge between the watch hardware and the phone's operating system. It is critical to choose the right app depending on the manufacturer of your watch, since there is no universal solution for all brands. Let's take a detailed look at the preparatory stage that will lay the foundation for the stable operation of the entire system.

Preparation of equipment and selection of applications

The first step before any manipulation is to charge both devices. Make sure your smartwatch has at least 50% battery life and your Xiaomi smartphone is connected to a stable Wi-Fi network. This is necessary for fast downloading firmware updates, which often come out immediately after unpacking a new gadget. Lack of fresh software can lead to unstable connection or lack of some features.

Next, you need to determine which app is required for your model. The wearable electronics market is divided between several key platforms. For devices branded Amazfit, Mi Band and Haylou most commonly used bundle of applications Zepp Life (formerly Mi Fit) or Zepp. Newer models may require the installation of Mi Fitness. Huawei or Honor watch users should look for the appropriate AppGallery or Google Play stores.

App downloads should be done exclusively from official sources to avoid malicious code. Xiaomi phone owners can use the built-in GetApps store, but the version in the Google Play Store is often updated faster. After installation, take your time to open the program - you first need to perform the basic settings of the smartphone itself.

Bluetooth and geolocation settings

Bluetooth is the primary communication channel between the phone and the watch. Unlike simple onboarding, some scanning features require an activated geolocation module to work, a system requirement that many overlook when trying to understand why the phone doesn't see the device on the list of available devices.

You need to go to your smartphone settings and make sure that Bluetooth sliders and geodata (or "Location") are active. Some versions of MIUI also require you to enable device visibility for all nearby gadgets, which is especially true if you've previously connected multiple devices and the list may be overflowing with cache.

To access advanced Bluetooth settings in the engineers’ hidden menu (which is rare but useful for problems), you can use the code in the Phone app. However, a regular menu is enough for a standard connection.

Settings → Bluetooth → Enable


Settings → Location → Include

It is important to note that when you first search, devices may appear with strange codes or names starting on MI Band or AMAZFIT. Don't try to connect the watch directly through the standard Bluetooth menu in your phone's settings, ignoring the companion app. This "direct" bundle often works incorrectly: the watch shows the time, but does not transmit health data and does not miss notifications.

⚠️ Warning: Never attempt to create a pair with a watch through the standard Bluetooth menu in Android settings before the in-app setup process is complete.This will lead to a connection conflict and you will have to remove the device from the paired list and reboot both gadgets.

The interface process through the application

Once prepared, you can start the direct linking procedure. Launch the selected application (e.g. Zepp Life) and log in to your account. The system will suggest adding a new device. Press the Add Device button or the plus in the corner of the screen. The application will request permission to use Bluetooth and geolocation - be sure to agree with all requests.

Now you'll start looking for devices around you. Bring your watch closer to your phone (no more than 1-2 meters away). When you see your watch or its name on the screen, click on it. You may see a request for confirmation of pairing (check or OK button) on the watch screen.

The initial synchronization process can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 2-3 minutes, and at that time, the progress bar can be displayed on the screen. You can't interrupt this process, because at that point, encryption keys are exchanged and profiles are first set up. If the process is frozen by 99%, try restarting the application without turning off Bluetooth.

Once the app is successfully connected, it will offer a firmware update. Firmware update is a critical step that fixes bugs and improves connection stability. It is recommended to connect the phone to the charger and Wi-Fi before starting this process, as it can require significant time and energy.

Configure permissions in MIUI and HyperOS

The hardest part for Xiaomi users is bypassing an aggressive energy-saving system. MIUI and the new HyperOS are known for killing application background processes to save battery. If you don't set the permissions correctly, the companion app will shut down and the watch will stop receiving notifications.

You need to find an app (like Zepp Life) in the installed program list. Click on it and hold your finger until the menu appears, then select About. Here you need to do a few things:

• 🔋 Autostart: Transfer the switch to the active position.
• 🔔 Notifications: Allow all types of notifications, including important notifications.
• 🛡️ Battery protection: select "No restrictions" option!
• 🔒 Lock in memory: Open the menu of running applications, find the window of the watch application and pull it down to make the lock appear.

In addition, check permissions for specific features. In the app permissions menu, make sure that access to contacts, microphone (for voice control, if any) and phone is enabled. Without access to contacts, callers' names will not appear on the clock screen, only the number.

⚠️ Note: If after system update MIUI Notifications are missing, first check "No Limits" in the battery settings. The system often resets this setting by default after major updates.

Synchronization of notifications and messengers

One of the main reasons for buying a smartwatch is that you can see messages without taking your phone out of your pocket. However, for push notifications to come in correctly, you need fine-tuning inside the companion app itself. Just connecting is not enough.

Go to the device profile in the app (for example, in Zepp Life go to Profile). → Mi Band → Settings → Notifications. Here you'll see a list of all the apps installed on your phone, and you'll need to manually activate sliders in front of the programs you want to receive signals from: Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber, Instagram and system calls./SMS.

Note that long text messages can be cut depending on the model of the watch, and some models (especially budget) can not answer the message, you can only read it, flagship models with support for eSIM or Bluetooth calls allow you to conduct a full dialogue.

For users who only want to receive notifications from their favorite contacts or at certain times, the app often has a Do Not Disturb feature or a quiet schedule, setting these settings to avoid unnecessary noise at night or during meetings.

Comparison of popular synchronization applications

Choosing the right software depends not only on the model of the watch, but also on the desired functionality. Different applications provide different levels of data detail and interface. Below is a table that helps determine the choice of software for various devices that are compatible with the Xiaomi ecosystem.

As you can see from the table, for old Mi Band activity trackers up to and including version 6, Zepp Life remains the “gold standard”. However, new models require a transition to Mi Fitness. Users of Amazfit watches should immediately focus on the Zepp application, which offers the richest functionality for sports analytics.

If you own a third-party watch (such as Colmi or Blackview), you will most likely need the Da Fit, FitPro or WearPro app. The principle of their work is similar: registration, search for a device, granting permissions. QR-code from instructions to specific watches, rather than looking for an app at random.

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Tip: If you use multiple apps for wearables (like scales and watches), try not to run them at the same time, which can cause a Bluetooth access conflict and lead to a search error.

Typical Problems and FAQs

Even with all the instructions, there can be technical difficulties, and often users find that the clock is constantly turned off or stops counting steps, and in most cases, the problem lies in updating the phone’s system or a failure of the Google Play Services service.

If the clock doesn't sync, try this algorithm: remove the device from the app, remove it from the phone's Bluetooth menu, restart the phone and pair it again, and 90 percent of the time, it restores stability, and check if the app's cache is full in the phone's settings.

⚠️ Note: When you reset your clock to factory settings (Reset), all the accumulated statistics on the device itself will be deleted. Make sure that the data has time to sync with the application cloud before performing the reset.

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Stability of smart watches on Xiaomi 80% It depends on the correct energy saving settings and permits in MIUI/HyperOS, Not the quality of the Bluetooth connection.

Below are answers to the most common questions users have when setting up.