Connecting the second phone to the robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi: all the ways and nuances

Xiaomi’s robot vacuum cleaners have long been an integral part of smart homes, but smartphone management is sometimes questionable, especially when the device needs to be used by multiple family members. A typical situation is that the main phone is already tied to the vacuum cleaner via the Mi Home or Mi Home Lite, and the second gadget can’t connect due to account restrictions or regional settings. In this article, we’ll discuss all the working ways to add a second phone, including bypassing common errors and setting up shared access.

It is important to understand that the procedure depends on the vacuum cleaner model (for example, Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro or Dreame Bot). Z10 Pro, firmware versions, and even from the region where the Mi Account is registered, some users are confronted with a message saying, "The device is already linked to another account" - we will show you how to fix this without resetting the settings. Also consider alternative management methods via Google Assistant or Apple HomeKit (for compatible models).

If you tried to connect through the standard menu Add the device to Mi Home, but failed, do not rush to dump the vacuum cleaner to the factory settings. 80% of the time, the problem is solved by changing the account region or setting up shared access in the application.

Why not just connect a second phone to your home?

The Mi Home app by default binds smart devices to one Mi Account. This is done for security: it prevents unauthorized access to your vacuum cleaner. However, this policy creates inconvenience if the device is used by several people.

• 🔒 Account binding: The vacuum cleaner has already been added to Mi Home under another Mi Account, and the app blocks re-addition.
• 🌍 Regional restrictions: Accounts from different regions (e.g. Russia and China) cannot manage a single device.
• 📱 Older versions of Mi Home (up to 6.0) lack sharing.
• 🤖 Firmware limitations: On some models (e.g. Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum) 1S) Requires software update for multi-user mode.

In addition, if the vacuum cleaner was purchased in China and is linked to an account with the China Mainland region, then it will not be possible to connect it to a European or Russian account using the standard method, in such cases, either changing the account region or using alternative applications (for example, Mi Home Lite or Aqara Home for compatible models).

⚠️ Note: If the vacuum cleaner was purchased from hand and is already tied to someone else's account, the only way to untie it is to perform a full reset through a button on the case.

Method 1: Share the Mi Home (official method)

The easiest and most recommended way is to use the built-in sharing feature in Mi Home, which allows you to grant vacuum control permissions to another Mi Account without unplugging the device.

1. Open the Mi Home app on your main phone (the one that already has a vacuum cleaner connected to).
2. Go to the Devices tab and select your robot vacuum cleaner.
3. Press three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Device Settings.
4. Slip on the item Shared access (or Share Device in English version).
5. Enter the email or phone number of the second Mi Account and click Send an Invitation.
6. On the second phone, open Mi Home, go to Profile → Notifications and accept the invitation.

The vacuum cleaner will then appear on the device list on the second phone, and note that you can adjust the control rights flexibly, such as not changing your cleaning schedule or accessing your room maps, and select the appropriate restrictions when you send an invitation.

Both phones have the latest version of the Mi Home.

Both Mi accounts are registered in the same region (e.g. Russia).

The vacuum cleaner has Internet access turned on (Wi-Fi indicator is lit green)

Second account not blocked for suspicious activity-->

If the item is not in the menu, it means:

• 📱 You have an outdated version of the app (update Mi Home via Google Play or App Store).
• 🌐 Accounts are registered in different regions (the solution is to change the region, see the next section).
• 🤖 Your model of vacuum cleaner does not support sharing (relevant for older devices until 2019).

Method 2: Change the Mi Account region for compatibility

One of the most common problems is that there's a mismatch between the regions of the accounts, for example, if the main account is in China and the second one is in Russia, then sharing won't work, so the solution is to bring both accounts to the same region.

1. On the main phone, open Mi Home and go to Profile. → Account settings.
2. Click on the line with the region (for example, Russia) and select China (China Mainland).
3. Confirm the region change. Attention: After that, all devices associated with the account may disappear from the list and need to be added again.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 on the second phone, selecting the same region.
5. Re-add the vacuum cleaner to the Mi Home on the main phone, then set up sharing (see Method 1).

After changing the region, you may need to restart the vacuum cleaner (press the power button for 5 seconds). Also note that when changing to China Mainland, the application interface will be in Chinese - you can change it in the phone settings or use Google Translate for screen text.

⚠️ Warning: If the vacuum cleaner has stopped responding to commands after the region change, check the Wi-Fi connection. In China Mainland, some models require a 2.4 GHz (not 5 GHz) network connection and may not work with Russian routers with hidden networks. SSID.

Method 3: Use of alternative applications (Mi Home Lite, Aqara Home)

If standard methods don’t work, you can try connecting via the side of the app, which often bypass the limitations of the main Mi Home, but require caution – some may request unnecessary permissions or contain ads.

The most reliable options are:

• 📱 Mi Home Lite: A simplified version of the official app, supports multiplayer mode for some models.
• 🏠 Aqara Home: Suitable for vacuum cleaners compatible with the Aqara ecosystem (e.g. Dreame Bot) D9). Allows you to add devices through HomeKit.
• 🤖 Robot Vacuum App (from third-party developers): Works with most Xiaomi models, but requires manual input token and DID (device IDs).

Instructions for Mi Home Lite:

1. Install the app on the second phone.
2. Sign in with the same Mi Account as your main phone.
3. Go to Add the device → Robot vacuum cleaner.
4. Select the model from the list and follow the instructions (usually you need to press the reset button on the vacuum cleaner).

Aqara Home will require:

1. Create an account with Aqara (if not).
2. Add a vacuum cleaner through Add the device → Other devices → Xiaomi.
3. Enter the device’s Token (it can be obtained via Mi Home on the main phone using the Packet Capture app).

💡

If the vacuum cleaner does not appear in Mi Home Lite, try temporarily disabling it. VPN Or change your account region to China Mainland, and you can revert back to the region once you've connected.

Method 4: Connecting via voice assistants (Google Assistant, Alice, Siri)

If direct access through Mi Home is not configured, you can control the vacuum cleaner through voice assistants, which does not give full control (for example, you can not configure cleaning areas), but allows you to turn on / off cleaning, send the vacuum cleaner to the base and check status.

To connect to Google Assistant:

1. Open Mi Home on the main phone.
2. Go to the vacuum cleaner settings and select a Smart Home → Google Assistant.
3. Click Connect and log in to your Google account.
4. On the second phone, say, “OK Google, turn on the vacuum cleaner” (the device name can be changed in the Google Home settings).

For Yandex Alice (only works with some models, for example, Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P):

1. In Mi Home, go to Device Settings → Yandex.
2. Link Mi and Yandex accounts.
3. On the second phone, tell Alice, “Start the vacuum cleaner.”

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ No access to cleaning maps and zone settings.
• ❌ Commands are executed with a delay (up to 10 seconds).
• ❌ Not all models support integration with assistants (check compatibility on the official website).

Method 5: Manual Addition via Token and DID (power-user)

If all previous methods fail, manual connection is left using unique device identifiers, the Token and the Token. DID. This method requires technical skills, but works even with “locked” vacuum cleaners.

Steps to Get Token:

1. Install the Packet Capture app (for Android) on your main phone or HTTP Toolkit (for iOS).
2. Start capturing traffic and open Mi Home.
3. Find a request in the logs to API miio - it will have a line with "token": "your token".
4. Copy Token and DID (identifier of the device, usually in the format 123456789).

Now add the vacuum cleaner to the second phone:

1. Install the Robot Vacuum App or Mi Home Mod.
2. Select Add the device manually.
3. Enter Token, DID and IP-vacuum cleaner address (can be found on the router or via Fing).
4. Save the settings - the vacuum cleaner will appear in the list of devices.

⚠️ Note: Do not give Token to third parties, it can give you full control of your vacuum cleaner. Do not use questionable applications to extract the token: they may contain malicious code.

💡

Manual addition via Token is the only way to connect a vacuum cleaner if it is tied to someone else’s account and reset is impossible (for example, when buying a used device).

Problem Solving: Frequent Errors and Corrections

Even if you follow the instructions correctly, you can get errors, and let's look at the most common ones and how to fix them:

If the vacuum cleaner is connected but does not respond to commands:

• 🔄 Restart the vacuum cleaner (press the power button for 5 seconds).
• 📶 Check the speed of the Internet – for stable operation requires at least 2 Mbps.
• 🔧 Update the vacuum cleaner firmware through Mi Home (Device Settings section) → Update of the PO).

Resetting the vacuum cleaner to factory settings (extreme case)

If none of these methods work, you'll have a complete reset, which will remove all settings, including account binding, room maps, and cleaning schedules, and only use this method if:

• 🔑 You bought a vacuum cleaner from your hands and the previous owner didn't untidy it.
• 🌐 Accounts from different regions and changing the region does not help.
• 🤖 Vacuum cleaner freezes or does not respond to commands even after a reboot.

Resetting instructions:

1. Turn off the vacuum cleaner (press the power button for 3 seconds).
2. Press the power and home buttons (or Spot Cleaning, depending on the model) for 10-15 seconds at the same time until the voice message sounds or the indicator flashes.
3. Release the buttons - the vacuum cleaner will emit an audible signal and reboot.
4. After reset, add the device to Mi Home again (click on it). + → Addition of a device → Robot vacuum cleaner).

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Roborock) S6) The reset is done differently: you press the power button for 20 seconds until the white indicator lights up.

After discharge:

• 📱 Reset the vacuum cleaner as when you first connected.
• 🔄 Update the firmware through Mi Home.
• 🏠 Create a new map of the room (the old one will be removed).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions