Owning a modern Xiaomi smartphone or a smart bracelet of the Mi Band series is often accompanied by constant monitoring of physical activity. This is convenient for those who monitor health, but sometimes there is an urgent need to turn off this feature. The reasons can be different from the banal savings in battery power to the desire to hide the real statistics of movement or simply turn off intrusive notifications.
In MIUI and HyperOS, the step counter is integrated quite deeply, and it works as a system service that is activated when you first turn on the device. You can't completely shut down the hardware accelerometer by software without superuser rights, but we can stop data collection, synchronization and display, and that will allow you to effectively manage your energy consumption.
In this article, we’ll look at all the available methods, from simple settings in the Zepp Life app to more complex manipulation of permissions on the Android system, and learn how to stop transferring data to the company’s servers and stop sharing geo-location. The instructions will be useful to owners of smartphones Redmi, POCO and wearable electronics brand.
Disconnect via the Zepp Life app (formerly Mi Fit)
Most users use a bundle of smartphone and fitness bracelets, and the main management tool here is the Zepp Life app (or its Mi Fitness analog), which is where all your activity data is collected, and you need to change your profile or device settings to stop tracking your steps through the bracelet.
The first thing you need to do is to log in to Profile, and that's where you manage your account. If you want to stop collecting data completely, you can delete your account or turn off your cloud sync. However, the softer option is to turn off a particular tracker. Click on your bracelet name in your device list and find Settings.
Inside the device menu, you can often find switches for various monitoring functions, and if your goal is simply to remove the meter from the lock screen or from the widgets, you can look for settings in the "Settings" section of the smartphone itself, in the "Lock screen" section, where you can turn off the display of steps.
⚠️ Note: Disabling the sync in the application will result in loss of training history.Data accumulated over past periods can be deleted without the possibility of recovery, if it was not exported in advance.
Also worth paying attention to is the notification settings. It's often not just the counting that annoys you, but the vibrations you get when you reach your goal. In Zepp Life, go to your profile, select your bracelet, and find the Notifications or Goals section, where you can turn off the vibration or change your daily step rate to the unattainable.
Configure system resolutions in MIUI and HyperOS
If you don't have a bracelet and the pedometer is built directly into the Xiaomi smartphone, the control is done through the Android system settings. The service responsible for counting is usually called "Mi Fitness", "Google Fit" or the system process "Step Tracker", and limiting their work is the most effective way.
First, go to the App Management menu. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps. Find the app you use to track (like Google Fit or System Mi Fitness). If you can't find a specific app, look for fitness or health.
Inside the app card, we're interested in the "Permissions" section, and you're going to look for a item that's associated with "Physical Activity" or "Body Sensors." Disable that access. Without that permission, the app won't be able to read the data from the accelerometer, and the meter will stop at zero or stop updating.
☑️ Checking privacy settings
Additionally, it is recommended to limit background activity. In the same app menu, find the "Start" and "Battery Savings" option. Set background activity restriction to "Strictly Limit", which will prevent the service from starting immediately after the phone is restarted.
Control widgets and lock screen
Often, users are not concerned about the counting process itself, but about the visual display of numbers on the screen. In the MIUI shell, pedometer widgets can be located on the desktop, in the notification curtain or on the lock screen, removing these elements does not stop the sensor, but removes visual noise.
To remove the widget from your desktop, click on it and hold your finger until the menu appears. Select "Delete" or drag to the basket. For the lock screen, the path may vary depending on the firmware version. Usually these are Settings → Always on screen and Lock screen.
Some firmware versions have a separate app called Stepmer or Mi Sport, which cannot be removed by standard methods, as it is a system component, but it can be either frozen or hidden, and click on the app menu to click three dots in the corner and select Hide apps.
| Place of display | Method of disconnection | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop | Long pressing → Delete | Low. |
| Lock screen | Settings → Lock screen | Medium |
| Notification curtain | Control panel editing | Low. |
| Health Annex | Disabling permits | Tall. |
Hidden widgets in MIUI
Statistics resetting and data cleanup
If your goal is not just to stop the meter, but to reset the statistics you have already accumulated (for example, before selling your phone or starting a new training program), you will need to clean the application data, which will return the meter to zero.
Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find an app that collects statistics (like Google Fit). Click on the memory or storage button. From the menu that opens, select Clear → Clear all data.
It's important to understand the difference between Clear Cache and Clear Data. Cache is a temporary file that doesn't contain your personal statistics. Cache clearing won't reset the step counter. You have to choose to clear the data.
⚠️ Warning: Cleaning up the application data without linking to a cloud account will lead to the irretrievable loss of the entire activity history.
After this procedure, the app will look like you just installed it. All achievements, charts and records will be erased. If the application was synced with a Google or Mi Account account, the data can be restored when you re-enter.
Effect of pedometer on battery consumption
One of the big questions users are concerned about is whether to turn off the pedometer to save energy? The accelerometer is a low-voltage sensor that consumes minimal energy in the background. The main load is created by the processor processing data and the screen if it is constantly on fire.
However, if you have a lot of fitness apps that are constantly polling the sensor and transmitting data over the Internet, the total cost can become noticeable, especially for older models of Redmi smartphones with worn-out batteries.
Disabling background health services activity can extend battery life 3-5% It's not critical, but if you're on a long trip without charging, it can be critical, and if you're not using health care, turning it off is a smart step to optimize.
💡
For maximum charge savings, turn off not only the pedometer, but also the “Lift to Turn on Screen” function and constantly search for Bluetooth devices if you do not use headphones.