How to control the robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi from the phone manually: full instruction

Xiaomi vacuum cleaners are no longer a luxury — they are now indispensable cleaning assistants that save time and effort. But many users still don’t use the full potential of their devices, limiting themselves to basic functions through physical buttons. Meanwhile, manual control through a smartphone opens up access to advanced features from spot cleaning to creating virtual walls and adjusting your schedule to your schedule.

In this article, we will explore how to fully control Xiaomi’s robot vacuum cleaner from your phone, from the first connection to the fine-tuning of the Mi Home or Mi Robot apps, how to manually run cleaning, edit room maps, set zones, and even control the device remotely, and what hidden features are only available through the mobile app and how to activate them.

If you have just bought a robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro, Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P or another model, or have long used the device, but want to squeeze the most out of it – this guide is for you. We will dispense with general phrases and focus on specific actions that will bring real benefits in everyday use.

What Xiaomi models support manual control from the phone

Not all Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaners are equally fully controlled via a smartphone, but functionality varies by model, firmware version, and even region of sale.

Basic models (e.g. Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum) 1S Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum E10) support:

• 📱 Start/stop cleaning
• 🔄 Mode selection (quiet, standard, intensive cleaning)
• 📍 Viewing the cleaning map (without editing)
• ⏰ Scheduling

Advanced models (e.g. Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro, Xiaomi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Ultra, Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P) add:

• 🖋️ Editing maps (combination/division of rooms, creation of zones)
• 🚫 Virtual Walls and No-Go Zones
• 🔄 Multicards (saving several floors)
• 📊 Cleaning statistics with detail by room
• 🔧 Adjust the suction force and mop humidity for each zone

How do you know what features are available to your model?

1. Open the Mi Home or Mi Robot app.
2. Choose your robot vacuum cleaner.
3. Go to Settings. → About the device.
4. Check out the firmware version and list of available features.

Connecting the robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi to the phone: step-by-step instructions

Before you can control a device from your phone, you need to connect it to the app correctly, which takes no more than 5 minutes, but there are nuances that are often overlooked.

What you need:

• 📱 Android smartphone (version 5.0 and above) or iOS (version 10.0 and above)
• 🌐 Stable Wi-Fi connection (2.4GHz – most models do not support 5GHz!)
• 🔋 Robot vacuum cleaner with a battery charge of at least 20%
• 📌 Mi Home (for most models) or Mi Robot (for new devices)

Instructions for connection:

1. Install the Mi Home app from Google Play or the App Store.
2. Sign up or sign in to your Xiaomi account (required! no account will be limited).
3. Turn on the robot vacuum cleaner by pressing the power button on the case (should sound a voice signal).
4. In the app, click Add Device (+) → Choose the Smart Home category → Robot vacuum cleaner.
5. Follow the instructions on the screen: the application will offer to connect to the robot’s temporary Wi-Fi network (the name will be rockrobo-XXXX type).
6. Once connected, select your home Wi-Fi network (2.4GHz only!) and enter your password.
7. Wait for the configuration to be completed (the robot will emit an audible signal).

⚠️ Warning: If the robot vacuum cleaner doesn't connect to Wi-Fi, check: 🔌 Restart your router (sometimes changing your Wi-Fi channel to your router helps). 1-6 router-setting). 📶 Make sure that the smartphone and robot are on the same network. 🔄 Update the firmware of the robot through the application (Settings section) → Update of the PO).

Charge a robot vacuum cleaner at least 20%|

Make sure Wi-Fi is running at 2.4 GHz |

Download the latest version of Mi Home/Mi Robot|

Stay within range of Wi-Fi|

Shut down. VPN on a smartphone (can block the connection)|-->

How to start cleaning manually through the application

Once connected, you can control the Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner in real time -- start, stop cleaning, or send it to base, and let's take all the manual controls.

The main commands on the main screen:

How to start cleaning in a particular room or area:

1. Open the cleaning map in the application (main screen).
2. Click Zones (or Select a room, depending on the model).
3. Select the desired area on the map (you can choose several rooms).
4. Set parameters: 🌀 Cleaning mode (vacuum cleaner, mop or combined). 💨 Suction force (quiet, standard, maximum). 💧 Humidity level (for models with mop). 🔄 Number of passes (1 or 2 times for thorough cleaning).

Start.

💡

If the robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi does not see the map or “forgot” the layout, start a complete cleaning of the entire room – the device will recreate the map automatically.

Editing a cleaning map: zones, walls, rooms

One of the most useful features of advanced models is map editing, where you can divide the room into rooms, create forbidden areas (like around a pet bowl), or virtual walls (so that the robot doesn't go into certain places).

How to divide the map into rooms:

1. Open the map in the Mi Home app.
2. Click Edit the map (or the map settings).
3. Choose the Divide Rooms tool.
4. Draw lines along the boundaries of the rooms (for example, between the kitchen and the corridor).
5. Save the changes.

How to create a no-go zone or virtual wall

• 🚫 No-go zone: The robot will not enter a designated area (e.g. around a long-pile carpet). → No-go zone. Circle the area on the map. Save it.
• 🧱 Virtual Wall: The robot will not cross a drawn line (useful for open doorways). Select Add a wall. Draw a line on a map. Save.

Examples of application:

• 🐶 The forbidden area around the dog bowl or cat toilet.
• 🚪 Virtual wall in the doorway so that the robot does not move to another room.
• 🛋️ Dividing a large room into zones (for example, “sofa” and “dining table”) for spot cleaning.

⚠️ Attention: Virtual walls and no-go zones are reset once the firmware is updated or the robot is reset, and then you have to reconfigure them!

Remote control of the robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi

One of the key benefits of Xiaomi's smart devices is remote control, you can start cleaning even when you're not at home, as long as the robot is connected to Wi-Fi and charged.

How to control a robot vacuum cleaner remotely:

1. Make sure the robot is connected to Wi-Fi and is on base (or has enough charge to clean).
2. Open the Mi Home app on your smartphone (whether you’re connected to the same Wi-Fi network or not).
3. Select your robot vacuum cleaner from the list of devices.
4. Use the same commands as you would with local management: ▶️ Starting - starting the cleanup. 🏠 Home - Return to base. 🔄 Zones - Choosing a room to clean.

Restrictions of Remote Management:

• 🔋 If the battery is less than 20%, the robot will not start cleaning remotely).
• 🌐 Without the internet, teams won’t make it to the device (but the robot will continue cleaning if it’s already running).
• 📵 If Wi-Fi goes offline during cleaning, the robot will complete it offline, but the map may not update.

Useful scenarios for remote management:

• 🏠 Start cleaning on your return from work to come to a clean apartment.
• 🐾 Remove your pet’s hair while you’re not home.
• 🎉 Prepare the apartment for the arrival of guests.
• 🌪️ Urgent removal of spilled liquid (if the model supports wet cleaning).

💡

Remote control only works when you connect the robot to Wi-Fi, and if the Internet goes down, the commands will not be executed, but the cleaning will continue.

Set up a cleaning schedule via phone

To make a robot vacuum cleaner Xiaomi apartment automatically, you do not need to run it manually every time. just set the schedule once and the device will work on schedule.

How to create a schedule:

1. Open the Mi Home app and select your robot vacuum cleaner.
2. Go to the Schedule (or Timer, depending on the version of the app).
3. Press Add.
4. Set parameters: ⏰ Time (e.g. 10:00). 🔄 Repeat (daily, weekdays, weekends or specific days). 🏠 Cleaning areas (all rooms or selected rooms). 💨 Mode (quiet, standard, intensive cleaning).

Save the schedule.

Examples of optimal schedules:

• 🌅 Morning cleaning: Daily at 8:00 – quiet mode (to avoid waking up the household).
• 🏠 Day cleaning: 12:00 weekdays – standard mode (when no one is home).
• 🌙 Evening cleaning: Every day at 20:00 – wet cleaning of the kitchen and corridor.

How to turn off or change the schedule:

1. Go to the Schedule in the appendix.
2. Choose the right rule.
3. Click Edit or Delete.

⚠️ Note: If Xiaomi’s robot vacuum cleaner doesn’t start cleaning on schedule, check out: 🔌 Wi-Fi connection (without internet, schedule doesn’t work). 🔋 Battery charge (must be at least 20%). ⏰ Time zone in the application settings (should match your region).

Hidden functions and life hacks for manual control

Beyond the basic features, Xiaomi’s robot vacuum cleaners have hidden features that many don’t know about, which help make cleaning more efficient and convenient.

Life hacks for manual control:

• 🎯 Spot cleaning: Press and hold your finger on the map in the app, and a menu with the Cleanup option will appear at that point.
• 🔊 Voice control: Connect the robot vacuum cleaner to Alice (Yandex), Google Assistant or Siri via Mi Home. Now you can say, "Alice, start the robot vacuum cleaner».
• 📊 Cleaning statistics: In the History section, you can see how long the robot cleaned each room and what area it treated.
• 🔧 Suction force adjustment by zone: In advanced models (for example, Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro) you can set different power for different rooms (for example, maximum for carpets and quiet for the bedroom).
• 🔄 Automatic refueling: If the robot does not have time to clean the entire apartment in one go, it will return to the base, recharge and continue cleaning from the same place.

How to reset the robot vacuum cleaner settings to factory:

1. Press and hold the power buttons. + Home on the body of the robot in 10 seconds.
2. Wait for the beep (the robot will say "Reset").
3. After reset, you will have to reconnect the device to the application and configure the map.

How to update the firmware of the robot vacuum cleaner:

1. Open Mi Home → Choose a robot vacuum cleaner.
2. Go to Settings. → Update of the PO.
3. If a new version is available, click Update.
4. Do not turn off the robot during the upgrade (the process takes 5-10 minutes).

FAQ: Frequent questions about managing Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner