Setting time on Xiaomi smart watches: synchronization, manual editing and error elimination

Xiaomi smartwatches are not just accessories, but a full-fledged gadget that helps you track your health, manage notifications and, of course, show the exact time. However, many users face the problem when the watch begins to “lie” for a few minutes or even hours, especially after flights, changing the time zone or resetting. In this article, we will discuss all the ways to adjust the time on Xiaomi devices, from automatic synchronization with your smartphone to manual adjustments and solving typical errors.

It is important to understand that the configuration algorithm may differ depending on the model: fitness bracelets (for example, Mi Band 7/8 or Smart Band Pro) and smartwatches (Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro, Watch S3) use different firmware and applications for management. We will look at universal methods, as well as nuances for specific lines. If your Suddenly watch stopped updating the time after updating the software or changing the phone, here you will find a solution.

Why is Xiaomi Smart Watches Showing Wrong Time?

Before you start setting up, you should understand the causes of the failure, most often the problem lies in one of the following factors:

• 📱 No sync with your smartphone: the watch is connected to your phone via Bluetooth, but the Mi Fitness or Zepp Life app doesn’t update the data, this can be due to a service failure or a phone’s internet connection is disconnected.
• ⏰ Wrong time zone: If you're traveling or manually changing your phone's time settings, your watch can get stuck in the old belt. GPS.
• 🔄 Firmware failure: After a software update or hard reset, the watch sometimes resets the time settings to factory settings (for example, on January 1, 2020).
• 🔋 Low battery power: At a charge level below 10%, some models (Mi Band 6 and older) pause background processes, including time synchronization.

Less commonly, the problem is hardware malfunctions (such as a Bluetooth antenna dump), but 95% of the time it can be solved software, and we'll look at how to diagnose and fix each of the causes.

Method 1: Automatic time synchronization through the application

The simplest and most recommended way is to let the watch automatically take time from the smartphone.

1. Make sure your phone is on Bluetooth and internet (mobile or Wi-Fi).
2. Open the Mi Fitness app (for Mi Band) or Zepp Life (for Xiaomi Watch).
3. Go to the Profile section → My device. → [The name of your watch].
4. Find Time Settings or Data Sync and activate Auto Update.

If the option is already on, but the time is not updated:

Check if the watch is connected to the phone (Bluetooth icon in the status bar)

Update the Mi Fitness/Zepp Life app to the latest version

Reboot your smartphone and watch (hold the power button for 10 seconds on your watch)

Turn off the power saving mode on the phone for the watch application-->

For models Xiaomi Watch S3 and newer also available synchronization over Wi-Fi (if the watch is connected to the network), in this case, the time is updated even without the phone, but requires a stable Internet connection.

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If the clock is 1-2 minutes late, check your Time Zone settings on your phone. Auto Detection sometimes gets knocked off on Android – manually turn it on to Settings → System → Date and Time.

Method 2: Manual time setting (without synchronization)

If automatic synchronization doesn’t work or you want to set the time manually (for example, to test features), do the following:

1. On a smart watch, go to Settings (usually swipe down or click on the gear icon).
2. Select System → Date and time (on some models, the path may differ: Additional → Time).
3. Turn off the Auto Update option (if it is active).
4. Enter the current date, time and time zone manually. Mi Band may require confirmation on the phone.

Note: On models without a display (e.g. Mi Band 5 and older), manual time setting is only possible through the Mi Fitness app in Device → Time settings → Manually set.

After manually adjusting, the clock time may be lost when you reboot or disconnect from your phone for longer than 24 hours.To avoid this, return to automatic sync once the problem is resolved.

Method 3: Resetting time settings to factory

If the watch persistently shows the wrong time despite all attempts to fix it software, resetting will help, and this method is also relevant after a firmware update, when time “flys” to default values.

Instructions for most models:

1. On the clock, go to Settings → About Device → Resetting (or Recovery and Reset).
2. Confirm the action (it may be necessary to enter) PIN-code, if it is installed).
3. Once you reboot, connect your watch to your phone again through the Mi Fitness/Zepp Life app.

⚠️ Note: Reset will delete all local data from the clock (steps, workouts, alarm clocks), but information in the Xiaomi cloud will remain if synchronization was enabled.

For Mi Band models without display, the reset is performed through the application:

1. Open Mi Fitness and select your device.
2. Go to Settings. → Untie the device.
3. Confirm the junction and reconnect the bracelet.

Features of setting time on popular models

Each line of Xiaomi smart watches has its own nuances. Let's take a closer look at them:

Mi Band 7/8 and Smart Band Pro

These fitness bracelets don't have a full display to manually adjust, so the time is updated exclusively through the Mi Fitness app.

• 🔄 Reconnect the bracelet to your phone (forget the device in Bluetooth and connect again).
• 📲 Update the Mi Fitness app to the latest version (in Google Play or App Store).
• 🌍 Check if Time Zone Auto Detection is enabled on your phone.

Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro and Watch S3

These models support offline synchronization over Wi-Fi, which is useful for travel.

1. Connect the watch to Wi-Fi in Settings → Connections → Wi-Fi.
2. Activate the option of synchronizing time via the Internet.
3. If the clock is 30 hours late,+ minutes, check the settings NTP-servers (usually time1.cloud.tencent.com for China or pool.ntp.org for the global version).

Redmi Watch 3 and budget models

Budget hours often save energy by turning off background synchronization, so that time is updated consistently:

• ⚡ Turn off the energy saving mode in the settings of the clock.
• 🔋 Keep the battery above 20% – at a low level, the clock goes into hibernation mode».
• 📶 Manually update the time through Settings → Additionally. → Synchronize.

Solving Time Zone Failure Problems

One of the most common problems is that the clock shows time from a different time zone, even if the phone is set correctly, which is because Xiaomi defaults to China’s time servers (CN) rather than local time servers.

To correct:

1. On the phone, open Settings → System → Date and time.
2. Turn off Automatic Time Zone and select your region manually (e.g. Moscow, GMT+3).
3. Restart your phone and wait for the clock to sync (it can take up to 5 minutes).

For models Xiaomi Watch S3 and Watch 2 Pro is also available to customize Region directly in the hours:

1. Go to Settings → System → Region.
2. Select the country of residence (for example, Russia or Ukraine).
3. Confirm the change and wait for the time update.

⚠️ Note: If you are traveling and crossing multiple time zones, the clock can update the time with a delay of up to 1 hour, in which case forced synchronization through an app or manual editing will help.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When setting the time, users often make common mistakes that lead to new crashes.

• ❌ Turn off Bluetooth on your phone for a long time. Xiaomi watches don't have their own GPS-Time-Setting Module (except Watch) S3), It depends on the connection with the smartphone.
• ❌ Use third-party sync applications (e.g. Notify & Fitness) that may conflict with official software and disrupt settings.
• ❌ Changing the time zone on the watch and the phone separately, which leads to desynchronization. Always adjust the time first on the phone, then sync the clock.
• ❌ Ignore firmware updates. Older versions of software often have time-reflecting bugs (e.g., Mi Band 6 before 1.0.5.54).

If you are facing a perpetual time reset (the clock is reset every day at 00:00), this may indicate:

• 🔋 Faulty battery (watch loses settings when discharged).
• 🛠️ Hardware failure (microchip damage) RTC, time-responsive).
• 📱 Phone conflict (for example, iPhone with Mi Band sometimes requires reinstallation of the app).

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If the watch resets time after each disconnection from the phone, check the Background settings for the Mi Fitness/Zepp Life app on Android. In some firmware (such as MIUI or EMUI), applications are prohibited from running in the background by default.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions