Buying a new smartphone from the Xiaomi brand is always a joyous event, marking a transition to a more advanced level of digital capabilities. However, for wearable electronics owners, this process often involves technical headaches associated with data transfer and re-synchronization of gadgets. Many users face a situation when after initial setting up the phone, a smartwatch or fitness bracelet refuses to work correctly, losing its activity history or not getting notified.
The main challenge lies in the aggressive optimization policy of MIUI and its successor HyperOS, which strive to save battery power as much as possible, sometimes at the expense of background processes. Which is why a standard Bluetooth connection procedure that would work on other devices may require additional settings here. You will not just connect devices, but also adjust the permissions correctly so that the system does not “kill” the application for managing the clock.
In this article, we will discuss how to tie a watch to a new Xiaomi phone without data loss and disruptions. We will look at the nuances of working with the Mi Fitness app, Zepp and other services, and pay attention to hidden settings that are often overlooked.
Preparing for data transfer and resetting old connection
Before you start pairing with a new device, it is critical to properly complete the old phone. If you just throw away the old smartphone or reset it to factory settings without untidying the clock, ID conflicts may occur on the new device. The system may think that the gadget is still occupied by another phone, leading to endless connection attempts or authorization errors.
First, open the app that controlled the watch on the old device (such as Mi Fitness or Zepp). Find the device management section in the menu and select the option to unplug or delete the device. Only then go to the Bluetooth settings of the old phone, find the name of your watch and click "Forget this device."
⚠️ Note: If you have already reset your old phone but haven’t untied your watch, you’ll have to perform a full reset of the watch itself to factory settings through their menus so that it becomes searchable.
Now, to the new Xiaomi phone, make sure you have an up-to-date Mi Account, as it is key to the ecosystem, and check if Bluetooth and geolocation are enabled — without permission to access location, modern versions of Android will not allow scanning devices for pairing.
Choosing the Right Synchronization Application
One of the most common mistakes is installing the wrong software. Xiaomi's ecosystem has split into several platforms in recent years, and the choice of app depends on the specific model of your watch. The wrong choice of software will lead to the fact that the phone simply will not see the gadget or will not be able to reveal its full functionality.
For most modern devices, such as the Mi Band 7/8, Mi Watch and Redmi Watch, the main application is Mi Fitness (formerly known as Xiaomi Wear), which replaces the old Mi Fit and provides better integration with new firmware versions. If you use Amazfit brand devices (such as GTR or GTS series), you will need the Zepp app.
Download applications should be exclusively from official sources to avoid malicious code or stripped down functionality. Owners of new Xiaomi phones are advised to use the built-in GetApps store or the official Google Play.
- 📱 Mi Fitness: The main application for Mi Band 6 and later, Mi Watch and Redmi Watch.
- ⌚ Zepp: Required for Amazfit devices and older Mi Band models (up to version 5).
- 🏃 Google Fit / Health: Data aggregators where you can stream statistics from major apps.
After installing the app, take your time to search for the device, sign up for the app using your Mi Account or watchmaker account, which will save your statistics to the cloud and quickly restore them when you change your device in the future.
The process of pairing: step-by-step instructions
The process of connecting on Xiaomi phones has its own characteristics due to the features of the Bluetooth stack in the shell MIUI/HyperOS. Standard search through Bluetooth settings often does not work – you need to search for a device strictly inside the application.
Run the installed application (e.g. Mi Fitness) and go to the Device tab. Click Add Device or the plus button in the corner of the screen. The app will ask permission to search for devices nearby — be sure to agree. At this point, the watch screen may have a request to pair with the confirmation code.
☑️ Checklist of successful pairing
If the watch is new, it will automatically go into search mode. If it has been used before, make sure it is not connected to another phone. In rare cases, you need to manually pair the watch through the settings menu on the device itself. Once you select your device in the list, the application will begin the process of installing the necessary components and synchronizing the time.
| Model clock | Recommended annex | Features of connection |
|---|---|---|
| Mi Band 8 / 8 Pro | Mi Fitness | Requires firmware updates at first start |
| Redmi Watch 3 / 4 | Mi Fitness | Quick pairing through a pop-up window |
| Amazfit GTR 4 | Zepp | You need a separate registration with Zepp. |
| Mi Watch Lite | Mi Fitness | May require resetting to change region |
Wait until the synchronization process is over, and at that time, the watch screen may display logos or progress bars, and interrupting this process can cause the watch to freeze and require a reboot.
Configure permissions in MIUI and HyperOS
This is the most important section of the instruction, which is often ignored, leading to unstable performance. Xiaomi's default system limits the background activity of applications to save energy. Without manual adjustment, the watch will constantly lose communication and notifications will not come.
Immediately after pairing, the system usually suggests setting up autorun. If the pop-up doesn't appear, go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find your watch app (e.g. Mi Fitness) on the list. Here you need to change a few critical settings.
First, turn on Autostart, which will allow the app to start immediately after the phone is turned on without waiting for the user to act. Next, go to Activity Control (or Charge Saving) and select No Limits mode, which will prevent the system from putting the app to sleep when the phone screen is off.
⚠️ Note: Without setting the “No Limits” mode, notifications from messengers will stop coming to the clock through the 15-20 minutes after turning off the phone screen.
Also, be sure to check permissions. Search the App menu for Permissions and make sure that geolocation access is set to Always Allowed or Allowed, and notifications, contacts, and phone access are activated. Without that, smartwatch functionality will be severely limited.
💡
If notifications still don’t come, try finding your watch in Bluetooth settings, clicking on the gear next to them and enabling the “Show notifications” and “Contact Sync” option.
Solving synchronization and notification problems
Even when set up correctly, there can be situations where the clock stops synchronizing or step data is not updated, often because the system forcibly closes background processes or conflicts with the Security antivirus built into the shell.
If you notice that your activity history is over, open the watch management app and pull the list down for forced synchronization. If the data isn't updated, try rebooting both your phone and your watch, and 90% of the time, this solves temporary software failures of the Bluetooth module.
To diagnose notification problems, check whether the phone is on Do Not Disturb or Sleep mode, which can block the phone from sending signals to external devices, and make sure that the watch app itself has switches on for the apps you need (WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS).
- 🔄 Reconnect: Remove the device from the app, turn off Bluetooth, turn it on again and add the watch again.
- 🗑️ Clearing the cache: In the app settings, click “Clear Data” (without deleting the account), then log in again.
- 📶 Network reset: In extreme cases, reset your network settings on your phone, but this will delete saved Wi-Fi passwords.
Sometimes the problem is with the outdated firmware version of the watch itself. Go to the app, find the Profile or Device Settings section, and check for updates. Installing a new version of the software often fixes connection stability errors.
What if your phone doesn’t see the clock?
Frequent errors and ways to fix them
Owners of new Xiaomi phones often experience a “failed to connect” or “server busy” error, which may be due to regional restrictions. If you bought a global version of the watch and the app selected the region “China”, the devices may not see each other or work unstable.
Check the region in the app settings. For devices purchased officially in the CIS and Europe, the “Russia” or “Germany/Netherlands” region is usually suitable. Changing the region in the application may require re-entering the account, but this often solves problems with data synchronization.
Another common problem is time desynchronization, so if you're constantly running out of time, check if the app is allowed to access the exact location, the watch takes time from the phone, and the phone determines the time zone by GPS, and without access to geolocation, the automatic time setting won't work.
⚠️ Warning: Don't try to connect the watch to two phones at once. Smartwatches only support one active connection. To switch, you need to unplug the device in the app on your old phone.
If neither of these methods works, it may be hardware compatibility or defectiveness, but in the vast majority of cases, carefully configuring permissions and autoruns in MIUI solves all the problems.
💡
The main secret of stable operation is the removal of all energy saving restrictions for the watch manager application in the MIUI settings.