How to see steps on Xiaomi: all ways for phones and bracelets

Why Track Steps and How It Works in Xiaomi’s Ecosystem

Step tracking is one of the basic features of Xiaomi fitness trackers and smartphones that helps monitor activity levels, calorie consumption, and even sleep quality. Unlike specialized sports gadgets, Mi Band, Redmi Watch, or MIUI smartphones use combined sensors: an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and machine learning algorithms to recognize movement. But how exactly is this data collected, where is it stored, and how do you check it?

In the Xiaomi ecosystem, steps are automatically recorded if you turn on Activity Tracking in your device settings, and the smartphone and bracelet can duplicate counting, which is normal, but requires proper synchronization. For example, the Mi Band 7 and Redmi Note 12 Pro+ will show different numbers if not tied to the same Mi Account, and let's figure out where to look for this data and how to interpret it.

Important: the accuracy of the count depends on the location of the device. The wrist bracelet captures steps more accurately than a smartphone in your pocket, especially when walking stairs or riding a bicycle. Xiaomi algorithms take into account the amplitude of movements, but can be mistaken when jerks or vibrations (for example, in transport).

Method 1: View steps in the Mi Fitness (Zepp Life) app

The official Mi Fitness app (formerly Zepp Life) is the main tool for working with Xiaomi and Redmi fitness bracelets, and it collects data from all the attached devices, including smartphones with MIUI.

1. Open Mi Fitness and log in to your Mi Account.
2. On the main screen, tap the Steps card (or Activity in new versions).
3. Choose a period: Today, Week, Month or Year.
4. For a detailed analysis, click on the chart - hourly activity will be displayed.

The annex is also available:

• 📊 Compared to previous periods (e.g., 12% more than yesterday").
• 🏆 Achievements – Badge for 5,000, 10,000 steps, etc.
• 🔄 Sync with Google Fit (set up in Profile) → Settings → Connected services).

Nuance: If steps are not displayed, check:

• 🔋 Bracelet charge level (at a discharge below 10%, sensors are turned off).
• 📶 Synchronization status (in Mi Fitness) → Profile → My devices).
• 🔄 Update the bracelet firmware (hold your finger on the device screen in the list and select Update).

Method 2: Check steps through the widget on the MIUI smartphone

If you have a Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphone on MIUI 12+, the steps are displayed directly on the home screen via the standard Mi Fitness widget.

1. Click the empty space on the desktop and select Widgets.
2. Find the Mi Fitness (or Zepp Life) widget and drag it to the screen.
3. Select the size of the widget: small shows only steps, large - steps + pulse + calories.

The widget updates data every 10-15 minutes, but for instant synchronization:

• 🔄 Swipe down the bracelet screen to manually update data.
• 📱 Open Mi Fitness on your phone and wait for sync (cloud icon at the top of the screen).

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If the widget does not appear, check if the Mi Fitness app is installed and if the Display widgets option is enabled in the app settings.

Critical feature: the widget shows the total steps from all the devices attached. If you have both a bracelet and a smartphone, the data can be duplicated. To avoid this, turn off the tracking of steps on the phone in Settings → Google → Fit → Devices (if you use only the bracelet).

Method 3: Steps in Google Fit – synchronization and features

Google Fit is an alternative health data-collection platform that is compatible with Xiaomi devices, and is useful if you use other fitness apps (like Strava or MyFitnessPal) to set up syncs:

1. Install Google Fit from the Play Market.
2. Open Mi Fitness, go to Profile → Settings → Connected Services.
3. Activate the switch opposite Google Fit and confirm access.

Once synchronized, the steps will be duplicated in both applications, but there are key differences:

⚠️ Note: if you turn off sync with Google Fit, all historical steps will be stored in it, but new steps will stop coming. → Profile → Settings → Data management.

Method 4: Viewing Steps Directly on Xiaomi Fitness Bracelet

All Xiaomi bracelets (Mi Band, Redmi Watch, Xiaomi Smart Band) display the number of steps directly on the screen. The interface may differ depending on the model, but the general logic is the same:

1. Swipe up or down the bracelet screen to open the menu.
2. Find the Steps section (icon) 👟 or 🚶).
3. Snapping it to see current statistics and progress on the day's goal.

Newer models (such as Mi Band 8 or Redmi Watch 3 Active) offer additional options:

• 📅 Weekly statistics - swipe left on the step screen.
• 🏃 Activity modes – walking, running, cycling (automatic recognition).
• 🔋 Battery savings – disabling step counting in Settings → Screen. → Activity tracking (increases work time to 20%).

⚠️ Note: If Xiaomi bracelet doesn’t count steps, check it out: 🔒 Permissions in Mi Fitness (Settings) → Permits → Physical activity). 🔄 Update of the bracelet firmware (via the application). 🧲 Magnetic field - some cases or accessories may interfere with the sensors (>20%) Update the firmware in Mi Fitness Reboot the bracelet (press the button for 10 seconds) Disable / turn on synchronization in the settings--> Method 5: Exporting Step Data to File (for analysis) If you need detailed statistics for training or medical purposes, you can export step data from Mi Fitness or Google Fit in the format CSV or GPX. It's useful: 📈 Graphics in Excel or Google Sheets. 🏥 Providing a doctor (for example, for rehabilitation). 🤖 Integration with smart systems (e.g. Home Assistant). Export from Mi Fitness: Open the app and go to Profile → Settings → Export data. Select a period (maximum) 3 Click Export - file will be saved to Downloads. Export from Google Fit: Go to fit.google.com. → Data management → Export data: Specify the date range and confirm the export (the data will be sent to the post office within a few days). 24 Critical detail: steps are shown in column in exported files step_count_delta (For Google Fit or steps (for Mi Fitness), use the formula to convert them to distance: Distance (km) = (Steps. × Step length in metres) / 1000 Average length of step of an adult — 0.7 For accurate calculation, measure 10 step and divide into 10. Even with the right settings, Xiaomi users face errors in calculating steps. Consider typical scenarios and ways to fix them: 1. The steps are not synchronized between the bracelet and the phone. 📱 Solution: Restart Mi Fitness and enable Autosynchronization in your Mi Account settings. 🔌 Problem: If the bracelet is discharged to 0%, data over the last 2-3 days can be lost. 2. ⚖️ The reason: devices use different algorithms, the bracelet captures fine movements (such as cleaning), and the smartphone captures long walks. 🔧 Solution: Select one device as the main one in Mi Fitness → Profile → My devices. → Priority of data. 3 Steps are counted while driving by transport 🚌 Why: Vibrations in a bus or car simulate walking. ⚙️ How to fix: Turn off Transport Steps in bracelet settings (available on Mi Band 7 Pro and later? Xiaomi’s algorithms are optimized to motivate users, so they can round the numbers upwards (for example, 9800 steps will become 10,000). DC Rainmaker and Wareable, where the error bracelets Xiaomi was 5-12% compared to professional trackers. FAQ: Can you reset the step counter to Xiaomi? Yes, but only for the current day. Mi Fitness doesn't have manual reset, but you can: Wait until midnight, the counter will reset automatically. Delete the day's data via Google Fit. → Settings → Data management → Attention: this will delete all activity data for the selected day, including heart rate and calories. How to change the target in steps (for example, from 10,000 to 15,000)? → Settings → Targets: Select Steps and set a new value (maximum 30,000). On the Mi Band 8 and Redmi Watch 3, the target changes directly to the device menu: → Targets. Is it true that Xiaomi counts sleep steps? No, but there are nuances: Xiaomi bracelets automatically detect sleep and do not take into account movement at that time. If you get up at night, the steps will be recorded, but marked as "activity in the dark." Smartphones on the Internet. MIUI You may be wrong if you sleep with your phone in your hand (e.g. watching a video). Can you transfer the steps to a new Xiaomi bracelet? Yes, provided: Both devices are tied to the same Mi Account. You did not reset the bracelet to the factory settings (in which case the story is erased). To move data, plug a new bracelet into Mi Fitness. Wait for synchronization, the step history will come up automatically. MIUI stepping out? This is a common problem after major updates (for example, with the MIUI 13 on MIUI Decisions: 🔄 Reboot your smartphone. 📥 Update Mi Fitness to the latest version. 🔧 Reset your Google Fit settings (Settings) → Devices → Drop it). 🔑 Re-link your Mi Account in your phone settings (Accounts) → Mi Account → If the problem persists, check if the Mi Fitness permissions are disabled in Settings. → Annexes → Permits.