Sending a home map with a Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner: what it means and how to stop it

Have you noticed that your Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner saves and sends a map of your home to the cloud, but don’t understand why it is needed and whether it is safe? you may have encountered a notification in the Mi Home app about “card syncing” or found that the apartment plan is available on other devices.

In this article, we will discuss what it means to send a card, what data is transferred to Xiaomi servers, and most importantly, how to completely or partially disable this feature on Mi Robot Vacuum, Viomi, Dreame and others.

What is “Sending a Home Card” and Why Xiaomi Needs It?

When Xiaomi’s robot vacuum cleaner first drives through an apartment, it creates a digital map of the room using a laser rangefinder (LDS) And you can use cameras (in models with visual navigation:

• 📍 Precise navigation – the vacuum cleaner remembers the location of furniture, walls and obstacles to clean more efficiently.
• 🔄 Zoning – the ability to clean only certain rooms through the application.
• 🤖 Integration with other devices – for example, Xiaomi smart bulbs can be turned on when a vacuum cleaner enters a room.

However, by default, the card is stored not only locally in the vacuum cleaner memory, but also downloaded to the Xiaomi cloud.

• ☁️ Synchronization between devices – access to the card from a phone, tablet or through a web interface.
• 🔧 Remote control – the ability to set up a cleaning when you are not home.
• 📊 Analytics – Xiaomi collects anonymized data to improve navigation algorithms (according to the company’s claims).

But here comes the big question: who else can access your home plan? Theoretically, leaking that data allows attackers to know the location of rooms, front doors, and even the value of property. Despite Xiaomi's claims of encryption, the risks remain — especially if your Mi Account is hacked.

What data is transferred to Xiaomi servers: a complete analysis

Not everyone understands what is going to the cloud, and independent research (including analysis of the Mi Home app’s traffic) has found that the robot vacuum cleaner transmits the following types of information:

Critical: In camera models like the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro, the cloud can store not only a diagram, but also photos of rooms taken to improve navigation, which could theoretically be used to analyze the interior or even identify faces if a person is caught in the frame.

Xiaomi claims that all data is encrypted and stored on servers in Singapore or the United States (depending on the region of the account), but in 2020, the company got into a scandal because of the transfer of user data from Europe to Chinese servers, which violated the law. GDPR. Xiaomi has made changes since then, but there is still no transparency.

⚠️ Note: If you use a robot vacuum cleaner in a country where Xiaomi is not officially represented (for example, in Russia after 2022), your data may be processed under different rules.

How to completely disable sending a card to the cloud: step-by-step instructions

If you decide that transferring a map to the cloud is an unnecessary risk, you can turn it off. The methods depend on the vacuum cleaner model and the firmware version. Below is a universal guide for most Xiaomi, Viomi and Dreame devices (powered by firmware 2023-2026).

Update the Mi Home app to the latest version

Connect the vacuum cleaner to Wi-Fi (without the Internet, some settings are not available)

Make sure your Mi Account is not linked to third-party services (Google, Facebook)

Take screenshots of the current card in case of resetting-->

Method 1: Disabling synchronization in application settings

1. Open the Mi Home app and select your robot vacuum cleaner.
2. Go to Settings. → Map. → Synchronization of the map (or the Cloud) → Synchronization in older versions).
3. Turn off the slider Sync the map with the cloud.
4. Confirm the action – the card will be removed from the servers of Xiaomi, but will remain in the memory of the vacuum cleaner.

Method 2: Use the "LAN Only" mode (for advanced users)

This method blocks the vacuum cleaner’s access to the Internet, but retains control over the local network:

1. In the router settings add the robot vacuum cleaner to the Black List (blocking on the router) MAC-address).
2. Or configure Firewall Rules to prevent the device from connecting to the.mi.com and.xiaomi.com domains.
3. In the Mi Home app, the vacuum cleaner will only be available when connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Method 3: Reset to factory settings (radical method)

If previous methods have not worked (for example, on older models like Mi Robot Vacuum 1), you can dump the vacuum cleaner:

1. Press the Reset button on the body for 5-10 seconds (before the sound signal).
2. Connect the vacuum cleaner again, but do not log into the Mi Account - use the "No cloud" mode.
3. Configure cleaning only through local management (functions will be limited).

⚠️ Warning: After resetting, all stored maps, schedules and cleaning areas will be deleted. If you want to save them, pre-export the card through the application (if the feature is available).

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If after turning off the cloud vacuum cleaner began to orient worse, try to manually save the card in his memory: perform a complete cleaning throughout the house so that he remembers the layout locally.

Partial Shutdown: Alternatives for Security

If you need to sync your card between devices, but want to minimize the risks, you can use intermediate solutions:

1. Disconnect geolocation and analytics

• 📱 In the phone settings for the Mi Home app, disable access to geodata.
• 📊 In Mi Account, disable Personalized Recommendations (Privacy section).

2. Use of an “empty” card

Some users create a fictitious map with minimal data in the application:

1. Remove the current card in the vacuum cleaner settings.
2. Start cleaning in one small room (for example, in the corridor).
3. Keep this map as your primary one – it will be sent to the cloud instead of the full apartment plan.

3. Alternative firmware (for experienced users)

There are custom firmware like Valetudo that completely removes the dependence on the Xiaomi cloud, but installing them requires:

• 🔧 Unlock the loader (possible breach of warranty).
• 💻 Skills of working with ADB and SSH.
• ⚠️ Risk of "bricking" of the device in case of error.

What functions are lost after the cloud is shut down

Turning off the card sync has the downside of some of the features becoming unavailable. Here's what you're going to lose:

The most painful thing for many users is the loss of remote access, and without the cloud, you can't:

• 🏠 Start cleaning when you are not at home (for example, on the way from work).
• 🔄 Notification of the end of cleaning or error.
• 📱 Use the Mi Home app outside of your home network.

However, the basic cleaning functions (scheduling, zoning, mode selection) remain available if they have been configured in advance. The vacuum cleaner will navigate the stored local map.

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Disabling the cloud does not affect the quality of cleaning - the vacuum cleaner will still clean from the memory map, the main limitations are only for remote control and synchronization.

Xiaomi models in which you can not turn off the card

Not all Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaners allow you to completely ban data transfer to the cloud.

• 📱 Firmware versions – older models (until 2019) often don’t have the option to turn off synchronization.
• 🌍 Account Region – in Chinese versions of firmware (CN) More restrictions than in the global (EU, RU).
• 🤖 Device models – some low-cost vacuum cleaners (e.g. Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop Essential) do not support local mode.

Here is a list of models where disabling card sending is impossible or extremely difficult:

• 🚫 Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum 1 (first generation, 2016) – no option in settings.
• 🚫 Viomi V2 Pro (Chinese version) – the cloud is only disabled via the engineering menu.
• 🚫 Dreame D9 (Early firmware – synchronization linked to the account.
• 🚫 Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P (Chinese version) – requires changing the firmware region.

If you have one of these models, the only options are:

1. Use a router-level lock (as described above).
2. Install custom firmware (such as Valetudo) if it is supported.
3. Replace the vacuum cleaner with a model with support for local mode (for example, Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Lite).

⚠️ Note: In Chinese versions of vacuum cleaners (with suffix) CN In the model name, an attempt to disable the cloud can result in a device reset or account lock. Xiaomi is actively fighting the “bypass” of cloud services in these firmwares.

Data security: real risks and how to minimize them

Even if you turn off the card, there are other vectors of data leakage, and consider the real risks and ways to protect:

1.Leakage through Mi Account

If your Xiaomi account is hacked, attackers will gain access not only to the map of the house, but also to:

• 📅 Cleaning Stories (when You Are Not Home).
• 📍 Geodane other Xiaomi devices (for example, Mi Band or smartphone).
• 🔑 Remote control of all smart home appliances.

How to defend yourself:

• 🔐 Enable two-factor authentication in your Mi Account.
• 📱 Don’t use one password for Xiaomi and other services.
• 🔄 Regularly check active sessions in your account settings.

2. Data interception via Wi-Fi

If your network is not protected, the data from the vacuum cleaner (including the card) can be intercepted:

• 🕵️ Vulnerabilities in the router (for example, outdated firmware).
• 📡 Through public Wi-Fi networks (if the vacuum cleaner is connected to them).

How to defend yourself:

• 🔒 Use it. WPA3 wifi-encrypting.
• 🌐 Create a separate network for smart devices (guest Wi-Fi).
• 🚫 Stop the vacuum cleaner from connecting to open networks.

3. Leakage through third-party services

Xiaomi is integrated with Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Yandex Alice, and when connected to these services, the map of the house can be transferred to third parties:

• 🗣️ Alice can save voice commands with room mentions (e.g., "clean up the bedroom").
• 📊 Google analyzes data from smart devices for targeted advertising.

How to defend yourself:

• 🔗 Turn off third-party assistant integration in Mi Home settings.
• 📋 Check what permissions you gave Google Home or Alice in your privacy settings.

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The most reliable way to protect yourself is to physically isolate the vacuum cleaner from the Internet, but that deprives you of most of the smart features, and the choice between convenience and safety is yours.

FAQ: Frequent questions about sending a map by Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner