How to completely clean your Xiaomi phone from viruses: 7 proven ways

Viruses on Xiaomi smartphones are a much more common problem than you think, even if you don't download suspicious ones. APK-files, malware can penetrate through banner ads, phishing sites or firmware vulnerabilities MIUI. The main danger: some viruses masquerade as system processes (for example, com.qualcomm.qti or android.process.media), and their antiviruses do not detect them.

This article is not just a list of tips, but a structured algorithm that will help even when the phone slows down, spontaneously opens ads or discharges in 2 hours. We will analyze both software methods (through safe mode and antivirus) and hardware (reset to factory settings, firmware), and pay special attention to hidden threats in firmware for Chinese regions (Global vs China ROM), about which few people warn.

Signs of infection: how to know that Xiaomi virus

The first step is diagnostics. Xiaomi viruses are rarely obvious (unlike PCs), but there are 12 key symptoms:

• 📱 Advertising in unexpected places: banners on top of lock screens, in the settings menu or even in the gallery.
• 🔋 Battery consumption: the phone is discharged 3-4 hour with minimal load (check settings) → Battery → Use of the).
• 📡 Suspicious traffic: Mobile internet flies away at night or without active use (see Settings) → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Traffic).
• 🤖 Unknown applications: in the list of installed programs (Settings) → Annexes → App management) are being introduced with names like com.system.update or android.helper.service.

Less obvious signs:

• 🔒 Blocking access to security settings or developer menus.
• 📎 SMS sending to short numbers (check Message Log).
• 🔄 Restart for no reason, especially after connecting to Wi-Fi.
• 📲 New contacts appear in a phone book with unfamiliar names (e.g., "Support" or "Service").

If you notice at least 2-3 items from the list, the probability of infection is more than 80%. But don't panic: most viruses on Xiaomi are deleted without losing data. The exception is rootkits (embedded in system files), which can only be completely reflashed.

⚠️ Note: Some “viruses” are actually built-in ads MIUI (Before cleaning, check the region of your firmware in Settings. → The phone. → Version. MIUI. If there are characters in it, the problem is not the virus, but the Global one. ROM.

Step 1: Safe Mode – How to Isolate the Virus

Safe Mode on Xiaomi runs a system with a minimum set of drivers and blocks all third-party applications, which will help to understand whether the problems are due to a virus or system failures.

How to enter Safe Mode:

1. Press the power button before the off menu appears.
2. Press and hold the "Switch off" option (or "Reboot" on new models).
3. Confirm the Safe Mode login (the screen will show the inscription "Safe Mode" at the bottom).

In safe mode:

• 🔍 Check if the symptoms of infection (advertising, brakes) have disappeared).
• 📱 Remove suspicious apps through Settings → Annexes.
• 📊 Launch the built-in security scanner (Security) → Scanner).

Checking for advertising|Removal of unknown applications|Security scanner MIUI|Checking battery consumption|Internet speed test-->

If the problems in Safe Mode are gone, the virus is hidden among the programs you install, and if not, it is built into the system (reset or flash).

⚠️ Note: On some models POCO And Redmi with custom firmware, the safe mode may not work, so you can start resetting your settings right away.

Step 2: Deep Clean Up with Antiviruses (TOP-3 for Xiaomi)

The standard MIUI scanner detects only 30-40% of threats, and for full verification you need specialized antiviruses optimized for Xiaomi:

How to properly scan:

1. Install one antivirus (multiple conflicting at the same time).
2. Turn off battery optimization for it in Settings → Apps → Permissions → Battery Optimization.
3. Start a full scan (not fast!).
4. Remove all threats and reboot your phone.

💡

If the antivirus is a threat Android/Trojan.Downloader, But you can't delete it, it's a sign of an embedded virus.

Important: Even after cleaning, the antivirus can show false positives on MIUI system files (for example, com.miui.analytics). This is not a virus, but Xiaomi telemetry - it can be turned off in Settings → Additional → Privacy → Diagnostics.

Step 3: Reset to factory settings (Hard Reset)

If the virus is not removed by antivirus or comes back after a reboot, the only reliable way is to completely reset, and Xiaomi does this in two ways:

Method 1: Through the settings menu (if the phone is working)

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select "Erase all data."
3. Enter your password (if required) and confirm.
4. Wait for the reboot (it will take 5-10 minutes).

Method 2: Recovery Mode (if the phone is locked)

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the power button + volume up until the Mi logo appears.
3. In the Recovery menu, select Wipe Data → Wipe All Data (manage volume buttons, confirm – power button).
4. After reset, select Reboot → Reboot to System.

After discharge:

• 🔄 Do not restore data from a backup (the virus may be in it!).
• 📥 Install apps only from Google Play.
• 🔒 Enable the installation lock from unknown sources in Settings → Annexes → Special access → Installation of unknown applications.

⚠️ Attention: On models POCO F1/F2 Redmi Note 8 Pro after reset may disappear IMEI. It's not a virus, it's a firmware bug. IMEI You can use the engineering menu (##4636##) program SN Writer Tool.

Step 4: Manually remove viruses through ADB (for advanced)

If you're familiar with Android Debug Bridge (ADB), you can manually remove the virus without resetting, a method that works for system viruses that aren't removed by standard methods.

Instructions:

1. Put the debugging on. USB In Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (press 7 times on "Version" MIUI", Then go back to the settings. → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and install ADB Tools.
3. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (Mac/Linux) and type:

adb devices

(Your device should appear)

adb shell


pm list packages | grep 'suspicious_keyword'

(substitute suspicious_keyword a part of the name of a suspicious package, such as a bootloader or systemupdate)

pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.virus.package.name

(Replace com.virus.package.name with the found packet name)

Examples of dangerous packages on Xiaomi:

• com.android.system.update – often disguised as a system update.
• com.qualcomm.qti.telephonyservice – may be legitimate, but sometimes replaced by a virus.
• com.miui.analytics is not a virus, but collects data (you can turn it off).

💡

ADB-It only removes the virus for the current user, and if it's built into the system partition, it will come back after the reboot.

Step 5: Fastboot Flashing (Extreme Method)

If all the previous steps didn't work, the virus will be sewn into the firmware.

• 📦 Phones with custom firmware (for example, LineageOS or Pixel Experience).
• 🇨🇳 Devices with China ROM, where the spyware is pre-installed.
• 🔧 Devices after "repair" in unofficial services (could flash infected firmware).

You'll need to flash it back:

• 🖥️ Windows PC 10/11 (For the Mi Flash Tool).
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).
• 📁 Official firmware for your model (download from Xiaomi website).
• 🔧 Mi Flash Tool Programming.

Step-by-step:

1. Unpack the firmware (file with.tgz extension) in a folder without Cyrillic.
2. Turn off your phone and press the power button + volume down to log in to Fastboot Mode.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and start the Mi Flash Tool.
4. Click "Select" and indicate the path to the unpacked firmware.
5. Select the "Clean All" mode.
6. Press Flash and wait until it is completed (10-15 minutes).

💡

Once you flash it, it's like new, no Mi Account, no data. Don't restore backups from before you infected it!

Important: on models with a locked bootloader (Redmi Note 10/11, POCO X3/X4), you need to unlock Bootloader through the official Xiaomi tool before the firmware. This will take 7-14 days (you need to link the Mi Account).

Step 6: Protecting Xiaomi from viruses in the future

To avoid re-infection:

• 🛡️ Disable the installation from unknown sources (Settings) → Annexes → Special access → Installation of unknown applications).
• 🔗 Do not click on the shortened links (bit.ly, goo.gl) in the SMS messenger.
• 📱 Install antivirus with real-time protection (we recommend Bitdefender).
• 🔄 Update regularly MIUI (New versions are closing vulnerabilities).
• 🌐 Use it. VPN When connecting to public Wi-Fi (e.g. ProtonVPN).
• 📦 Check the permissions of the applications before installation (if the messenger requests access to the app). SMS — It's suspicious).

Pay special attention to the firmware:

• 🇬🇧 Install only Global ROM (international market).
• 🚫 Avoid Firmware from Forums 4PDA or XDA — They may contain backdoors.
• 🔒 Check the hash sums (MD5) downloaded firmware on the official website of Xiaomi.

💡

Most of the viruses on Xiaomi are coming through fake ones. APK-files (e.g., "mods" for games or "hacked" versions of applications) Never download APK from torrents or file-sharing!

FAQ: Frequent questions about viruses on Xiaomi