Connecting Xiaomi smart watches to iPhone: full instruction with solutions to problems

Xiaomi’s smartwatches are no longer exclusive to Android phone owners. Despite Apple’s limitations in the ecosystem, synchronizing Xiaomi watches with iPhones is possible — and gives access to basic activity tracking, notifications, and even music management. However, the connection process has nuances, from choosing the right app to bypassing iOS restrictions on background work.

In this guide, we will look at all the stages of connection, from device preparation to notification settings, and also solve typical problems such as the lack of synchronization of steps with Apple Health or sudden connection breaks. 7/8 Pro, Redmi Watch 3 Active, Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro and others released after 2020 year-end.

Which Xiaomi Smart Watches Are Compatible with iPhone?

Not all Xiaomi devices work equally well with iOS. The main criteria for compatibility is support for Bluetooth 4.2+ protocol and the presence of an official app in the App Store.

• 📱 Mi Band 7/8/8 Pro – Full support for notifications and sleep monitoring
• ⌚ Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro – limited synchronization due to proprietary chip
• 🏃 Redmi Watch 3/3 Active – the best price/function ratio for iPhone
• 💎 Xiaomi Smart Band Pro — AMOLED-display, but problems with background notifications

Models older than Mi Band 5 (2020) can connect, but with limitations: for example, Mi Band 4 does not support notifications about calls on iOS 16+. Also avoid devices based on Zepp OS (such as Amazfit GTR 4) – their Zepp application conflicts with the Apple ecosystem.

Preparing iPhone and clock to connect

Before synchronization, you need to follow 4 mandatory steps on the phone and watch:

1. Update iOS to the latest version (minimum iOS 14.0). Check Settings → Main → Software Update.
2. Reset the clock to factory settings if it has already been paired with another device. To do this, press the button on the case (or touchpad) for 10 seconds.
3. Enable Bluetooth and notifications for the Mi Fitness app in Settings → Privacy → Bluetooth.
4. Allow background work to the application: Settings → Mi Fitness → Background update.

Critical: iOS limits the background activity of third-party apps, which means that notifications on the clock can come with a delay of up to 5 minutes. This can not be solved completely, but it helps in part by regular manual synchronization (pull the clock screen down).

Update iOS to the latest version

Reset Xiaomi watches to factory settings

Enable Bluetooth and geolocation for Mi Fitness

Allow notifications and application background work

Charge the clock to at least 50%-->

Step-by-step instructions for connecting

For sync, we use the official Mi Fitness app (formerly Mi Fit), alternatives like Notify for Mi Band or Tools & Mi Band provide advanced features, but may violate Apple's policies and lead to a ban on Xiaomi's account.

Step 1: Installation of the application

Download Mi Fitness from the App Store and sign up with Xiaomi Account (required!). Google or Apple ID is not supported. If you already have an account, sign in, this will save your data history when you change your phone.

Step 2: Adding a device

1. Open Mi Fitness and click Profile → Add the device.
2. Select your watch model from the list (if not, update the app).
3. Click Connect and confirm the pairing on the clock (button or tap on the screen).

Step 3: Set up notifications

Go to Device Profile → Notifications and enable:

• 📞 Incoming calls (only for Mi Band 7)+)
• 💬 Messages from messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.)
• 📅 Calendar and reminders

Important: Notifications will not be duplicated on the watch if they are already shown on the iPhone screen (iOS restriction).

Synchronizing data with Apple Health

By default, Mi Fitness doesn’t transmit steps, sleep, and heart rate data to Apple Health, but you’ll need a third-party bridge application, such as Health Sync or Synchronoss, to integrate:

Instructions for setting:

1. Install Health Sync from the App Store.
2. In the app, select Mi Fitness as the source and Apple Health as the receiver.
3. Allow data access in both applications (Settings → Privacy → Health).
4. Click Sync and select data types (steps, sleep, heart rate).

Limitations:

• 🚫 Pressure data and SpO₂ Not transferred to Health because of Apple policy.
• 🔄 Synchronization works manually (automatic requires a Health Sync subscription).

💡

To make the steps count more accurately, calibrate your watch: walk 50 steps with your phone in your hand, then check for a match in Mi Fitness and Apple Health.

Common Problems and Their Solutions

Even with the right setup, users are faced with typical errors, and here is a table of the most common problems and ways to fix them:

Critical error: If after the iOS update, the watch stopped connecting, reset it to factory settings and repeat the pairing procedure. In 30% of cases, reinstall the Mi Fitness app helps.

💡

If the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro is not defined by the iPhone, try connecting it through the Xiaomi Wear app (an alternative for models on Wear OS).

Advanced Features: Music, Payments and Voice Assistant

Not all of Xiaomi’s smartwatch features are available on the iPhone, but some of them can be activated:

• 🎵 Music management: only basic commands (pause/playback) for Apple Music and Spotify are running.
• 💳 Contactless payments: supported only through Mi Pay (not available in Russia and the EU).The alternative is to link the card to Apple Pay and use the phone.
• 🗣️ Voice Assistant: You can set up Siri call with double-pushing of a button on Mi Band 8 Pro (in the application settings).

Google Assistant is available for models on Wear OS (such as the Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro), but its work on the iPhone is limited - the assistant can not control the phone settings.

⚠️ Note: When using the payment features via Mi Pay on iPhone, there is a risk of blocking the Xiaomi account. the company prohibits the use of the service on uncertified devices.

Alternative applications for enhanced functionality

The official Mi Fitness app is limited by Apple's policy, but there are workarounds:

The use of third-party applications may result in:

• 🔋 Increased battery consumption of watches (up to 20% per day).
• 🚨 Loss of warranty (if you need to unlock the bootloader).
• 📵 Unstable Bluetooth operation.

⚠️ Note: Apps like Mi Band Master require registration with the Chinese version of Xiaomi Account, which can result in the main account being blocked due to suspicious activity.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions