How to turn off headphones on Xiaomi Mi A1: The complete guide

Users of Xiaomi Mi A1 often face a situation where the wireless headset stops responding correctly to commands or the phone continues to try to transmit sound to already pocketed headphones. This is a common problem in the Android One environment on which the model is based. Forced shutdown of the device may be necessary to save battery power or eliminate software conflicts of the audio stream.

Unlike wired accessories, Bluetooth headsets require the proper end of a communication session. Simply removing the device from reach is often not enough, as the system continues to keep the background signal search process active. In this article, we will discuss all available methods, from standard interface settings to deeper system manipulations.

It is important to understand that Android 9 Pie, which is the final update for the Mi A1, has its own peripheral management features. Sometimes the standard settings menu may not work properly due to the accumulated cache of Google Play services. So it is important to know alternative ways to manage the connection, so you always have control over your gadget.

Standard shutdown via Bluetooth menu

The most obvious and safe way to break the connection is to use the operating system's standard interface, which requires the user to unlock the screen and go to the Quick Settings Panel, and clicking on the Bluetooth icon puts the module into sleep mode, which physically interrupts the radio channel.

However, if your goal is not just to turn off the module, but to forget a particular device so that the phone doesn’t automatically connect to it in the future, the algorithm will be different. You will need to enter the list of paired devices. This displays all the gadgets that have ever been associated with your Xiaomi Mi A1.

Find the name of your headphones on the list. Usually, on the right of the device's name, there's a gear icon or arrow. When you click on this item, you'll be taken to the menu of the specific accessory's detailed settings. That's where the Disable or Forget device button is located. The latter option completely removes the encryption keys and the pairing history.

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If the Forget Device button is inactive, try first pressing “Disable”, waiting 5 seconds, and then selecting the delete option again.

After doing this, the system will stop seeing the headphones as a familiar device, and the next time the headset is turned on, it will go into the search mode for a new host, and the Mi A1 will not initiate the connection itself.

Control through the Quick Action Panel

Android provides easy access to wireless interface management through a notification curtain. On the Xiaomi Mi A1 with Android One, it's minimalistic but functional. The swipe opens the top-down panel where you can quickly toggle the Bluetooth state.

Sometimes, when the standard switching doesn't work because the service freezes, and then you get a long-term push on the Bluetooth icon, and it doesn't just turn off the module, it throws the user right into the wireless settings menu, and you can control the active connections in more detail.

Importantly, when disconnected through the curtain, some applications may retain background processes that “hold” the connection. For example, music player widgets or fitness trackers may try to reconnect. Therefore, it is recommended to use the settings menu described in the previous section to completely break, if a simple shutdown did not help.

Problems with the audio stream freeze

Often, users are looking for a way to turn off the headphones not for the sake of turning them off, but because the sound is stuck in the headset. Even if the headphones are turned off or are located at the other end of the apartment, the Xiaomi Mi A1 can continue to send an audio signal there, leaving the phone's speakers silent. This is a classic Android audio routing bug.

To force the sound back on the speaker of the phone, it is not enough to turn off Bluetooth. You need to change the source of the audio output. In some versions of the firmware, when you connect the headset, a special switch for the output of sound appears in the curtain. If you do not have one, you can use the trick: turn on the video or voice recorder and select the source of the sound from the settings of this application, "Phone Microphone".

Another effective method is to use an engineering menu or special commands, but on pure Android One (like the Mi A1), access to them is limited. So the most effective way is to completely reboot the Bluetooth module. Turn on Flight Mode for 10 seconds, and then turn it off. This will restart all radio modules, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, resetting the wrong priorities of the audio stream.

⚠️ Warning: If the sound is constantly being redirected to a non-existent device, check the Trusted Devices list in the Google Home or Android Auto settings.Perhaps the phone is trying to connect to a car system or smart speaker that was nearby before.

Reset network settings and Bluetooth

If standard methods don't work and the headphones don't want to shut down, or if the phone doesn't see the command to shut down, a more radical approach is needed: resetting the network settings won't delete your personal files, photos or contacts. It will only affect the connection settings: Wi-Fi passwords, Bluetooth settings and mobile network.

To perform this operation on Xiaomi Mi A1, you should follow the path: Settings → System → Additional → Reset settings Wi-Fi, mobile Internet and Bluetooth. At the bottom of the screen, a reset button will appear. The system will warn about the consequences, after which you will need to confirm the action with a password code or a pattern lock.

Once rebooted, the phone will be as new as connectivity, you'll have to re-enter Wi-Fi passwords and re-save the headphones, a method that works when the system configuration files have accumulated a critical amount of bugs that prevent the devices from being managed properly.

Use of the developer mode

For advanced users who want to gain full control of the Bluetooth stack, there is a “Developers” menu. On the Xiaomi Mi A1, it is hidden by default. To activate it, you need to go to Settings → About phone and quickly click on the build number 7 times.

Once activated, a new item will appear in the System menu, and in the developer section you can find the option Disable absolute volume, sometimes changing this setting helps break the "deaf" connection when the program volume level is out of sync between the phone and the headphones.

Also, you can find the item "Bluetooth Audio Codec" here. Switching the codec (for example, from SBC to AAC or vice versa) can force the audio session to recreate, which will actually disable the current connection and create a new one.

⚠️ Warning: Do not change the values of parameters that are not sure. Incorrect setting of codecs in developer mode can cause the sound to disappear completely or there is a severe delay (latency).

Forced shutdown of system services

In the most difficult cases, when the phone interface responds to pressing, but the Bluetooth menu does not open or the "Disable" button does not work, it helps to force the system process to stop, which is the analogue of "pulling the battery" for the software module.

You'll need to go to Settings → Applications → Show system processes. Find in the list of "Bluetooth" or "Bluetooth MIDI Service." Click on it and select the Stop (or Forced Stop) button. The system will warn that this may disrupt other applications, agree.

After the service stops, the Bluetooth module will temporarily disappear from the interface, and then automatically restart after a few seconds, at which point all active connections will be severed violently, an ideal method for treating the suspended connections without fully restarting the smartphone.

Frequent Questions and Answers (FAQ)

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To completely and cleanly turn off the headphones on the Xiaomi Mi A1, always use the Forget Device feature in the Bluetooth menu, rather than just turning off the module.