If you love wearing a wearable device like a Mi Band but want to protect your privacy (like me), there's a great way to do it!
Check Device Compatibility First
The first step is to verify if your device is supported. Xiaomi and Huawei devices generally have the best compatibility. I recommend checking two popular alternatives:
- GadgetBridge: Fully open-source and highly privacy-focused. It works reliably, though the UI isn't the most modern or beautiful.
- Notify for Mi Band: Offers a much nicer, more polished UI (in my opinion), but it's not open-source and the Pro version (ad-free) costs about $3.
Privacy-wise, both options are far superior to the official Xiaomi app—no constant data sharing with servers.
It's almost ironic that Chinese-brand devices end up providing better privacy options than many Western brands when paired with these alternatives. This is likely just a side effect of their popularity and competitive pricing.
Extract the Authentication Token
Unfortunately, you'll need the official app temporarily. Download the Xiaomi Mi Fitness app, pair your band, create a Xiaomi account, and update the firmware to the latest version*.
Once that's done, you need to extract the authentication (auth) token from Xiaomi. The easiest method right now is using the Notify for Mi Band app.
- Download Notify for Mi Band from the Google Play Store (there are two versions, ensure that you are downloading the correct one for your device)
- Start the setup process in the app.
- You'll see two options for getting the token: Offline and Online.
The offline method requires exporting logs from the official Mi Fitness app and extracting the token from them. I tried this several times, but it never worked for me—I couldn't even find the relevant logs manually.
So, I strongly recommend the online method:
- Log in with your Xiaomi account email and password.
- Xiaomi will send a verification code to your email.
- Enter the code, and the app will automatically retrieve the token for you.
Final Steps: Switch Over and Uninstall the Official App
After getting the token:
- Enter it in Notify for Mi Band (or GadgetBridge, if you're using that).
- Grant all necessary permissions.
- Uninstall the official Mi Fitness app immediately.
The band can only connect and sync with one app at a time. Keeping the official app installed will cause connection issues or prevent proper syncing with your chosen alternative.
Now you're all set! Customize notifications, enable/disable features as you like, find your phone or band, install free watchfaces, and track steps, calories, and heart rate—all in a clean, beautiful UI with no privacy compromises.
One minor issue I've noticed: sleep tracking is not syncing properly. I'm not sure if this is specific to the Mi Band 10, a firmware quirk, or a setting I changed. The data still shows correctly on the band itself, so it's just a sync problem. Personally, I don't mind—I mainly use my Mi Band for a convenient clock, flashlight,quick heart rate checks during workouts and changing music on a bluetooth speaker.
* At least for the Mi Band 10, the latest firmware (as of Dec 2025) hasn't broken compatibility with Notify for Mi Band.