How to turn on Bluetooth on Xiaomi fitness bracelet: instructions for all Mi Band models

The Xiaomi Mi Band fitness bracelets have become an integral part of the daily lives of millions of users. These compact devices not only track physical activity, but also sync with the smartphone via Bluetooth, allowing access to notifications, music management and other functions. However, many owners have difficulty first connecting or re-activating the wireless module.

In this article, we will discuss how to properly enable Bluetooth on Mi Band bracelets from different generations – from Mi Band 3 to the latest Mi Band 8. You will learn not only the basic steps, but also the nuances of settings, typical errors and how to fix them.

Preparation of the bracelet for the first connection

Before you activate Bluetooth, make sure your Mi Band is ready to sync. Start by checking the battery charge - the discharged device may not respond to commands. The minimum charge level for a successful connection is 20%, but it is recommended to charge the bracelet to 50% or higher.

Also make sure your smartphone has the official Mi Fitness app (formerly Zepp Life) installed, which can be downloaded for free from Google Play or the App Store. The app version must be at least 5.10.0 to work with the latest bracelet models. Check this in the app settings in the About section.

• 🔋 Bracelet charge level - at least 20%
• 📱 Mi Fitness app installed (version 5.10.0)+)
• 🔄 Bluetooth enabled on your smartphone (Settings section) → Connections)
• 📶 Stable Internet connection to download updates

If you have previously used the bracelet but have problems connecting, try resetting it to factory settings. To do this, press and hold the touch button on the Mi Band screen for 10-15 seconds until the vibration and the Mi logo appear. After reset, all data will be deleted, and the bracelet will return to its original settings.

How to turn Bluetooth on different Mi Band models

The activation process of Bluetooth depends on the generation of your bracelet.

For Mi Band 5 and newer models, the process of turning on is more intuitive. For example, on Mi Band 7, you just swipe down from top to bottom to open the notification panel, and you'll see a Bluetooth icon -- tap it once to activate it. If the icon is illuminated in blue, the module is turned on. Gray means Bluetooth is turned off.

An important nuance for the Mi Band 6/7/8: these models support simultaneous connection to two devices (for example, a smartphone + tablet), but only if both devices are authorized in the same Xiaomi account.

Step-by-step instructions for connecting to a smartphone

Now, let's get to the practical part of syncing the bracelet to your smartphone, and follow this instruction to avoid the typical mistakes.

1. Turn on Bluetooth on your smartphone (Settings → Connections → Bluetooth).
2. Launch the Mi Fitness app and log in to your Xiaomi account.
3. Click on the + icon in the upper right corner or select Add Device.
4. In the list of available devices, select your Mi Band model.
5. Bring the bracelet to the smartphone at a distance of no more than 10 cm and confirm the pairing on both devices.
6. Wait for the synchronization to be completed (it can take up to 2-3 minutes on the first connection).

If the bracelet does not appear in the list of available devices, follow the following steps:

Check the charge level of the bracelet (minimum 20%)

Reboot your smartphone and bracelet

Make sure your smartphone is on GPS (required for some models)

Update the Mi Fitness app to the latest version

Try connecting from another device for diagnosis-->

On Mi Band 7/8 models, a notification will appear after a successful connection about the availability of the firmware update. We recommend installing it immediately, as new versions of the software often fix connection errors. For an update, go to the Device Profile → Firmware Update in the Mi Fitness application.

Common mistakes and their elimination

Even if you follow the instructions correctly, users sometimes encounter problems, and consider the most common errors and ways to solve them:

• 🔴 "Unconnected" error - check if the bracelet is connected to another device. 6/7/8 You can see the current connection in the Settings menu → Status.
• 🔴 The bracelet vibrates but does not connect – reset the bracelet settings (hold the 10 seconds button) and repeat the synchronization procedure.
• 🔴 The app doesn’t see the bracelet – make sure Mi Fitness has location and Bluetooth permissions (configure in Smartphone Settings) → Annexes → Mi Fitness → Permits).
• 🔴 Permanent connection breaks – Turn off power saving modes for the Mi Fitness app and add it to the battery optimization exception list.

For smartphone owners Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO There is an additional nuance: in the system MIUI The default is Background Limitation for Applications, which can block Mi Fitness from running in the background:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Mi Fitness in the list and select Battery Limitation.
3. Set the value without limits.
4. Go back and activate the Auto Start option.

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If the bracelet periodically shuts down, try turning off Bluetooth on your smartphone for 30 seconds, then turn it on again.This resets the cache of connections and often solves the problem.

Configure notifications and additional functions after connection

Once you've successfully synchronized, you can set up the notifications from your phone to your bracelet.

1. Open the Mi Fitness app and go to your bracelet profile.
2. Select the Notifications or Reminders section (the name depends on the version of the app).
3. Activate switches for the desired types of notifications: 📞 Incoming calls 💬 Communications (SMS, messengers) 📅 Calendar 🎵 Managing music

Reminders of inaction

On the Mi Band 7/8, you can answer calls directly from your bracelet (when you connect to your Android smartphone). To do this, activate the Call Answer option in the notification settings. Please note that this feature only works with the original bracelet firmware and may not be available in some regions.

You can also set up automatic sleep tracking and heart rate monitoring, which require a constant Bluetooth connection, so make sure your smartphone has all the power saving modes turned off for the Mi Fitness app.

Advanced Bluetooth settings for experienced users

If you want to gain more control over your Bluetooth connection, you can use hidden bracelet features, for example, on the Mi Band 6/7/8, you can have a developer mode that allows you to manually control the connection settings, to activate it:

1. Open the Mi Fitness app and go to the bracelet profile.
2. Click on the icon. ⚙️ Settings in upper right corner.
3. Scroll down and find the About section.
4. Tap the firmware version number 5-7 times until the notification appears Developer Mode is activated.

In the developer mode, additional options will be available, such as:

• 📡 Bluetooth Logs – Recording the history of connections for diagnosis
• 🔄 Synchronization interval – setting the frequency of data exchange
• 📶 Signal strength – displaying the Bluetooth connection level in real time

Caution: changing these settings can cause the bracelet to function unstable. It is not recommended to edit the settings if you are not sure about their purpose. For example, reducing the synchronization interval increases battery consumption, and too frequent connection requests can cause errors on Android 12+ smartphones due to background activity limitations.

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Developer mode is useful for diagnosing problems, but activating it can cause crashes. Use this feature only when necessary and after you have backed up your data.

Compatibility with different operating systems

The Mi Band bracelets officially support Android 6.0+ and iOS 10.0+, but there are nuances that you should know about:

On the iPhone, for the correct operation of notifications, you need:

1. Go to Settings → Bluetooth and make sure that the Mi Band is displayed in the list of associated devices.
2. Open Settings → Notifications → Mi Fitness and activate all switches.
3. In the Mi Fitness app itself, in the notification section, enable the option to Show Preview.

For Android users with non-standard firmware (for example, LineageOS), you may need to install an additional GApps module for the correct operation of Google services, on which data synchronization in Mi Fitness depends.

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If you’re using an iPhone and don’t get notifications from WhatsApp or Viber, try disabling and enabling notification permissions for those apps again in your iOS settings.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions