How to turn off GPS on Xiaomi phone: all the ways to MIUI 14/15

Geolocation on Xiaomi smartphones is a useful feature, but far from always necessary. GPS/GLONASS consumes battery power, transmits your location to applications, and can even reduce the performance of your device in the background. If you want to save energy, increase privacy or just temporarily hide your location, shut down. GPS It will be the best solution.

In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to deactivate geolocation on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO phones running MIUI 14/15 and Android 13/14. You will learn how to turn off GPS completely, for individual applications or only in power saving mode.

Before you start, consider that some applications (such as maps, taxis, or fitness trackers) will not work properly without access to geodata, but if your goal is maximum autonomy or anonymity, then the victims are justified.

1. Quickly shut down GPS via notification panel

The easiest way is to use a notification curtain.It is suitable for temporary geolocation disabling and works on all Xiaomi models, including the Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 and Mi 13.

How to do this:

1. Swipe your finger down from the top of the screen to open the notification bar.
2. If you see a Location icon (an icon with an arrow or dot on a map), click on it once. If it doesn't, swipe down again to turn the full panel around.
3. Hold your finger on the icon for 2-3 seconds – this will open the Settings → Location menu.

⚠️ Attention: On some firmware MIUI The geolocation icon may not be in the curtain by default, in which case add it manually through the panel editing (the pencil icon in the upper right corner).

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If the geolocation icon is gray — GPS If it's blue, it's on and it's active.

2. Complete GPS shutdown in system settings

To fully deactivate the geolocation module (including GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo) go to the basic settings:

1. Open the Settings app (cog icon).
2. Select Location (on some versions of MIUI – Security and Privacy → Location).
3. Transfer the top slider "Location"** to the position "Off".

After that, all applications will lose access to your coordinates, and the GPS module will no longer consume power. To check the result, open any application with maps (for example, Google Maps or Yandex.Maps) - it will show a location error.

3. Disable GPS for individual applications

You don't want to turn off geolocation completely, but you need to block access to specific programs? In MIUI, this is done through application permissions:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app you want to deny access to GPS (such as Instagram or TikTok).
3. Press Permissions. → Location.
4. Select the option “Disclaim” or “During Use Only” (if you want to restrict access).

⚠️ Note: Some applications (e.g., banking or taxi services) may stop working correctly without access to geodata, in which case they will either request permission again or show an error notification.

• 📱 Social media (Facebook, VK) — Often collect geodata for targeted advertising.
• 🚖 Taxi services (Yandex Go, Uber) - without GPS They will not be able to determine your location.
• 🏃 Fitness trackers (Strava, Google Fit) – will stop recording the routes of jogging.
• 📸 Camera – will not save coordinates in metadata photos (EXIF).

Energy saving: GPS shutdown in battery mode

If you want to save battery power but also use geolocation sometimes, set up energy saving mode. MIUI has a separate option to limit background GPS use:

1. Open Settings → Battery and Performance.
2. Select Battery Mode (or Energy Saving on older versions).
3. Activate Balanced or Energy Saving mode (not to be confused with Super Energy Saving**, which shuts down not only GPS but also mobile internet).

In this case, GPS will only work when you are actively using apps (like when you open Google Maps), but will not waste energy in the background.

5. Hidden settings: Disable GPS via ADB (for advanced)

If standard methods have not worked (for example, due to custom firmware or errors) MIUI), can be turned off GPS through ADB-This is a method that is suitable for advanced users and requires connecting the phone to a computer.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB Tools.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Press 7 times, then return to Settings → Additionally. → For developers).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command line (or Terminal on Mac/Linux).
2. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of your device.
3. Turn it off. GPS Adb shell settings put global location_mode 0 To turn back, use: adb shell settings put global location_mode 1

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB If you're not sure what you're doing, you'd better use standard settings.

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ADB-commands are triggered instantly and do not require a phone restart, but their action may reset after an update MIUI.

6. Disable GPS via Safe Mode (if phone is buggy)

If Xiaomi phone starts spontaneously turning on GPS or settings are not saved, try to go to Safe Mode. It turns off all third-party applications, which helps to identify the culprit of the problem.

How to start Safe Mode:

1. Press the power button before the off menu appears.
2. Keep your finger on the “Switch off” (or “Reboot” on new models) option until you request a Safe Mode transition.

In safe mode:

• Check if your GPS settings are saved after you turn off.
• If the problem disappears, one of the installed applications is to blame, and remove suspicious programs (especially optimizers or antiviruses).
• If the GPS is still on, the problem is the firmware. Try resetting (Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset).

Make sure that the problem disappears in Safe Mode

Check the list of recently installed applications

Update MIUI to the latest version

Reset network settings (Settings) → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Resetting network settings)

Contact the service center if the hardware malfunction-->

7. Hardware GPS shutdown (extreme case)

If the software methods do not help (for example, due to damage to the module) GPS Or a virus in the firmware, the radical way is to physically shut down the antenna, which is true for older Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi). 4X or Mi A1), where GPS-module is paid separately.

⚠️ Warning: Disassembling the phone is warranty-free and can cause breakdown:

- The device is no longer warranty.

You have experience in electronics repair.

GPS is really faulty (for example, shows incorrect coordinates or warms up).

How it works:

• 🛠️ Module GPS usually located next to the antenna unit (near the top of the board).
• 🔌 It can be turned off by carefully soldering off contacts or cutting the track on the board (a soldering iron and a microscope are required).
• 📡 After that, the phone will stop catching satellites, but other functions (Wi-Fi, mobile network) will remain operational.

💡 Alternative: If you don't want to take risks, go to the service center. GPS software through diagnostic software (e.g. Mi Flash Tool or EDL-regime).

Frequently asked questions