How to set up rooms for a robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi Mi Vacuum: from map to virtual walls

Xiaomi Mi Vacuum (including Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro, S7, X10+ and others) is not only able to move around the apartment randomly, but also perform targeted cleaning of rooms — if you properly configure the separation of space. Without this setting, the device will spend time reprocessing the same areas, skipping corners or getting stuck in narrow aisles. In this article, we will discuss how to create an accurate map of the room, divide it into rooms, configure virtual walls and exclusion zones, and optimize cleaning routes for different scenarios.

It is important to understand that the navigation algorithms of Xiaomi are based on the LDS-A laser (or ToF sensors in new models) that scans the room in real time, but even the most modern hardware will not save you from errors if the map in the Mi Home app (or Xiaomi Home) is incorrectly drawn. For example, many users are faced with the problem of a robot "losing" a room after rearranging furniture or resetting settings, and we will show you how to avoid such situations and make cleaning as efficient as possible.

Preparation of the premises before scanning

Before you start setting up the rooms in the app, you need to prepare the apartment. Clean space without obstacles is the key to an accurate map. Remove from the floor wires, small mats (especially fringed), chairs and other objects that may interfere with the scan.

• 🪟 Windows and mirrors: Close the curtains or blinds. Laser beam reflections from the glass and mirrors distort the map, creating ghost walls.
• 🚪 Doors: All interior doors must be open. A robot cannot build a complete map if part of the room is not accessible.
• 🛋️ Furniture: Move sofas and chairs from the walls by 10-15 cm This will help the laser to more accurately determine the boundaries of rooms.
• 🔌 Power supplies: Make sure the charging station is installed in a location with a good Wi-Fi signal (the robot will send the card to the cloud).

If your apartment has multi-level floors (for example, a runway or steps), note: most models Xiaomi Mi Vacuum can not overcome height differences of more than 2 cm In such cases you will have to adjust individual maps for each level or use physical limiters (for example, magnetic tape).

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If the robot is constantly forgetting one of the rooms, try running the scan at night with the lights off. Bright lights can interfere with some sensors.

2. Creation of the first map of the premises

The mapping process starts automatically when you first turn on the vacuum cleaner, but you can repeat it at any time.

1. Place the robot at the charging station and wait for full charging (at least 80%).
2. Open the Mi Home app (or Xiaomi Home for new models) and select your device.
3. Click Settings → Map → Clean the map and recreate.
4. Run the cleaning in Full Cleaning (not Zone!) mode. The robot will spiral through the room.
5. Don't interfere with the process! Don't carry the vacuum cleaner with your hands or block its path.

The scan will take 10 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the apartment, and when it's finished, a draft card will appear in the app, and if the robot hasn't reached some rooms, don't save the map, start the process again, making sure all doors are open.

Have all the rooms been successfully identified?|Are there no "holes" or wall overlays on the map?|Is the charging station correctly displayed?|Is the map saved to the cloud (cloud icon in the upper right corner)-->

3. Dividing the map into rooms

Once you've created the map, you need to break it down into zones.

• 📍 Cleaning individual rooms (for example, only the kitchen or corridor).
• 🚫 Configure the zones of prohibition (the robot will not go under the bed or to the bowl of the animal).
• 🔄 Optimize routes (vacuum cleaner will move on the shortest path).

Separation instructions:

1. In the application, open the Map tab and click Edit (pencil icon).
2. Select the Divide Rooms tool (or Add Room in newer versions of the software).
3. Swipe your finger around the boundaries of the rooms, following the contours of the walls. The app will automatically suggest a name (e.g., "Kitchen", "Bedroom"), but it can be changed.
4. For accuracy, use zoom (spread your fingers on the screen) to gently circle corners.

Tip: If the boundaries of the rooms on the map don't match reality, try calibrating the robot.

1. Move the vacuum cleaner to the center of the largest room.
2. In the app, click Settings → Map → Calibration.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen (usually manually specify 2-3 points in the room).

Once a month | Only after reshuffling the furniture |Never updated |Every week-->

4.Configure virtual walls and exclusion zones

Even after the room divides, the robot can go into unwanted areas, like a cat's toilet tray or a long-pile carpet, and this is designed for virtual walls and exclusion zones.

Example of use:

• 🚪 Virtual wall between kitchen and corridor if robot is constantly stuck in doorway.
• 🐱 The ban zone around a cat tray or a bowl of food.
• 🛏️ Cleaning area only under the bed (if you need to vacuum there separately).

⚠️ Attention: Virtual walls don't work offline. If the robot loses Wi-Fi connectivity, it will ignore all limitations. Use physical barriers for reliability (e.g. Xiaomi Mi Barrier magnetic tapes).

5. Optimization of cleaning routes

By default, the robot follows an S-shaped route, but it can be customized for specific tasks.

• 🏠 Room by Room: Vacuum cleans each room in turn, which speeds up the process.
• 🔄 Double cleaning: Useful for carpeting (robot passes the same area twice).
• 🕒 Schedule by zone: Set up kitchen cleaning daily, and bedrooms - once every 3 days.

How to change the route:

1. In the app, select Cleaning → Settings → Cleaning type.
2. Point to rooms or Zone.
3. For double cleaning, enable the option of Reinforced Cleaning (not available on all models).

If the robot is often "lost" in a large room, try breaking it into sub-zones, for example, the living room can be divided into "sofa zone" and "dining zone" by specifying different suction force settings.

6. Solving typical card problems

Even after setting it up correctly, you can still get errors.

If the Xiaomi Mi Vacuum robot stopped recognizing rooms after updating the firmware, try:

1. Reset the card settings: Settings → Map → Reset the card.
2. Remove the firmware (if available) or wait for the next update.
3. Contact Xiaomi support by attaching map screenshots and error logs.

⚠️ Warning: Do not use manual mode (handheld robot) during the scan, which will cause permanent distortion of the map and you will have to recreate it.

7. Advanced settings for experienced users

If standard features are not enough, you can use alternative firmware (for example, Valetudo) or integration with Home Assistant.

• 📊 Custom cleaning zones with an accuracy of a centimeter.
• 🤖 Control the robot with a voice through Alice or Google Assistant.
• 🔧 Change the parameters of suction and wet cleaning depending on the type of coating.

Example of settings through Home Assistant:

vacuum:


- platform: xiaomi_miio




host: 192.168.1.100




token: YOUR_TOKEN_HERE




name: "Xiaomi Vacuum"




map_file: "/config/vacuum_map.png"

Installation of Valetudo will require:

1. Unlock root access to the robot (instructions are available on GitHub).
2. Install firmware via SSH or Telnet.
3. Set up a web interface to manage the map.

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Alternative firmware disables cloud sync with Mi Home, and all settings and maps will be stored locally on the robot.

FAQ: Frequent questions about room settings