When the weather widget on the lock screen or desktop stops showing up-to-date data, is one of the most common complaints of owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones. Users often face the fact that the temperature has frozen at yesterday’s values, and the forecast disappears altogether. This is due to the aggressive policy of energy saving MIUI system or the new HyperOS, which forcibly ends the background processes to save battery power.
In addition to system limitations, the problem may lie in the malfunction of network protocols or malfunctions in the Weather application itself. Often, data updates are blocked after changing privacy settings or using an unstable connection. In some cases, the source of data itself, which is temporarily unavailable, becomes the culprit.
In this article, we will take a look at all the possible causes of problems and suggest step-by-step algorithms for fixing them. You will learn how to properly configure permissions, clear the cache, and what hidden parameters affect the synchronization of widgets.
Aggressive energy saving and background activity
The main reason why Xiaomi’s weather has stopped updating is because of its built-in power optimization mechanism, which automatically “sleeps” apps it believes are not currently in use, causing widget synchronization to stop, and to fix this, the system must manually prevent the system from restricting the Weather app.
You should go to the battery settings and find a specific application in the list, and it's important to change the mode from "Energy Saving" to "No Limits" that allows the application to run in the background and periodically request data from the server, even if the smartphone screen is turned off.
- 🔋 Go to Settings. → Battery and productivity.
- 🔋 Find the Weather app (or Weather) in the list).
- 🔋 Select the option Without restrictions for background activity.
⚠️ Warning: Setting the “No Limits” mode may slightly increase battery consumption, as the application will constantly support the network connection.
After changing the settings, it is recommended to force the application to close and reopen it, which will start the initial sync process. If the widget still shows old data, try pulling the screen down for an update or restart the device.
Problems with permits and access to geolocation
The proper operation of the weather widget is directly dependent on access to your location. If the Weather app is denied the rights to determine the location, it will not be able to download data for your region. Often the rights are lost after updating the firmware or clearing the permissions in the privacy settings.
You need to make sure that the app is allowed to locate not only when in use, but also in the background. Without this setting, the desktop widget won’t be able to update when you haven’t opened the app directly.
It’s also worth checking if the “Exact Location” mode is turned on if it’s required for your region, or vice versa, turned off if the app requires rough data.In some cases, re-granting permission helps: first turn it off, then turn it on again.
- 📍 Go to Settings. → Annexes → All applications.
- 📍 Find the weather and select Permissions.
- 📍 Make sure you check the GeoData box (always allowed or when using it).
Pay particular attention to permission to access the network. Make sure the application is allowed to use both Wi-Fi and mobile data. Restricting only one type of connection can cause disruptions if the current network is unstable.
Application failures and data cleanup
The accumulation of temporary files and cache can lead to malfunctioning of MIUI system services. If the weather widget freezes or shows a network error, the solution is a complete reset of the application data, which will return the weather settings to factory values.
It is important to understand the difference between cleaning the cache and cleaning the data. Cache cleanup only removes temporary files, whereas data cleanup resets all your settings, list of cities and preferences within the application. Before performing this procedure, make sure that you remember your settings or they are not critical.
What happens after the data reset?
Once the data is cleaned, you will have to re-add your city, adjust the units of measurement (Celcius/Fahrenheit) and the time format. All widgets on the desktop may temporarily disappear or show default values before the first synchronization: 🗑️ Open the Settings. → Annexes → All applications. 🗑️ Find the weather and click Clean. 🗑️ Choose Clear Everything (or Reset) and after reset, be sure to restart your smartphone, which will restart the system services and allow the Weather app to properly initialize with the clean settings. Synchronizing weather data requires precise timing on the device and on the server. If the system time is downed or the time zone is set incorrect, security protocols can block the connection. The server simply won’t accept a request from a device with a time out of sync, and it’s recommended to use automatic time synchronization over the network. This ensures that your watch will go exactly, which is critical to the operation of many Xiaomi system applications, including theme store and weather. → Additional → Date and time Time Zone Current Region Settings → Additional → Date and time Region Country of residence Settings → Additional → Language of the system Russian (or necessary) Settings → Advanced settings → Language is also worth paying attention to the settings of the region. If you are in Russia, but the settings are different region, this can affect the source of data and the frequency of its update. Conflicts of network settings and DNS Sometimes the problem isn't with the smartphone itself, but with the way you connect to the Internet, and providers can block certain ports or domains that are necessary for Xiaomi's weather servers to operate. DNS-servers to more reliable ones, such as Google or Cloudflare. DNS Go to the settings of Wi-Fi or mobile networks. in the section "Private" DNS» (Private DNS) Try to prescribe a dns.google address or 1.1.1.1. This can solve the problem if your ISP uses traffic filtering, and it is worth checking whether the traffic saving mode is included. If it is activated, the system can disable background data loading for widgets to keep your megabyte limit. 🌐 Go to Settings. → Wi-Fi. 🌐 Click on your network name (or the arrow next to you). 🌐 Find the settings. DNS And change them to static or private. VPN-Some virtual networks can redirect traffic through countries where Xiaomi services are unstable or blocked, leading to a connection timeout. If the Weather app continues to malfunction despite all the manipulations, it makes sense to consider alternatives. The Android ecosystem allows you to use third-party widgets that may be even more informative than standard ones. However, if you want to stay within the interface MIUI, You can try to clean up the system component of the Mi Service Framework, and sometimes the failure happens at the level of interaction of applications with each other. 📊 Standard widget Xiaomi Third-party app (Gismeteo, Yandex)Vidget Google Smartwatch/bracelet Many users successfully replace the standard widget widget from Google or Yandex.Weather. They are often updated more often and have more detailed settings. To install the Google widget (hold your finger long) on your desktop, select “Widgets” and find “Weather». ⚠️ Note: When installing third-party widgets, make sure they also have permission to work in the background, otherwise you will face the same issue of delaying the upgrade. As a last resort, you can remove Weather app updates (if available in your firmware version) or perform a full reset of your phone’s settings.But before you do, make sure the problem isn’t related to a global glitch on the data provider’s servers. 💡In 90 percent of cases, the solution is to remove battery restrictions and re-issuance of geolocation permits. Radical measures are rarely required. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) Why does the weather only update when you open an app? This is a classic sign of the power saving mode, the system kills the application process as soon as you turn it down, you need to select the "No Limits" mode in the battery settings for the Weather app and allow auto-start. Can the weather widget not work because of the antivirus? Yes, third-party antiviruses or Xiaomi's built-in "Security" can block the network activity of widgets. Check the history of locks in the Security app and add weather to exceptions. What if the widget shows temperature but doesn't show forecast? Most likely a problem with a specific data source or display format. Try changing your city, then returning yours. Also check if the mobile background data restriction is worth it. Does the change of theme affect the widget? Some third-party themes may not display system widgets correctly or block them from updating. If the problem occurs after the theme change, return the standard Classic or Default theme for verification.