Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the necessary procedure to disable an account, which may be required when selling a device, transferring a gadget to relatives or simply changing the main email if you want. Mi Account is not just a mailbox, but the key to the ecosystem, cloud storage and security features. Therefore, the process of removing it requires care to not lock the phone permanently.
Modern versions of the MIUI shell and HyperOS have a high level of protection, so if you just delete the application or reset the settings without prior detachment, Mi Cloud Lock can work. In this case, the device will turn into a “brick” that can not be activated without the password of the previous owner, which is why it is important to clearly understand the difference between deleting a profile from a server and simply unbundling from a particular device.
In this article, we will discuss in detail all legal ways to deactivate the service, learn how to properly prepare the phone, what steps to follow in the settings menu and what to do if your password is lost, following the instructions will help you avoid blocking and save access to your data.
Preparing for account unbundling and data retention
Before you start any account manipulation, you need to make sure you don't lose important information.Sync in the Xiaomi ecosystem works automatically, but before disconnecting, it's worth manually checking.Make sure the contacts, photos and notes are fully uploaded to the cloud or copied to your computer.
Pay special attention to two-factor authentication. If you have protection tied on your phone number or in the Mi Authenticator app, make sure you have access to these tools. Without them, it will be extremely difficult to restore access to Mi Account in the future. Also check subscriptions such as Mi Cloud+ or Xiaomi Premium, and cancel autorenewals to avoid debiting funds.
⚠️ Note: If you plan to sell a phone, it is not enough to just log out of your account.You must perform a full data reset only after the detachment, so that the new owner does not get access to your residual data.
It is recommended to back up locally in advance. Go to Settings → The phone. → Backup. Select all the necessary partitions and save the backup to SD-This ensures that even if your account is deleted, your information will remain intact.
☑️ Preparing for account deletion
Delete the Mi Account through smartphone settings
The easiest and safest way to untie a device is to use the system's built-in menu, which is useful if you remember the password and have access to the phone, which takes only a few minutes, but requires careful input.
To start, open the Settings menu and find the Mi Account section (usually at the top of the list). Click on it to go to profile management. At the bottom of the screen, you will see the Leave or Delete Account button. The system will warn you that after you exit, sync will cease and data will be deleted from the device.
After pressing the exit button, the system will ask you to enter your account password, which is a security measure that confirms that the action is being taken by the owner. If you are using Xiaomi with Android 11 and above, you may also need to enter a screen unlock password or a fingerprint.
- 📱 Open “Settings” and go to the “Mi Account” section».
- 🔓 Click the "Exit" button at the bottom of the screen.
- 🔑 Enter the password from your Mi Account to confirm.
- ✅ Wait for the message of a successful exit.
Once the procedure is completed, the phone will no longer be tied to your ID. All the data that was only stored locally and was not synchronized can be deleted, which is why the backup clause is so important. If you plan to transfer the phone to another person, you can now safely reset to factory settings.
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If you forget your password, don't try to guess it many times in a row. The system can temporarily block the ability to log in. SMS.
Untie the device through the official website of Xiaomi
There are times when the phone is unavailable, broken, or lost, but the account is still on the phone, and you can delete the link via the web interface, and this is especially true when you buy a used device if the previous owner hasn't untied it.
Go to the official i.mi.com website and log in to your login. In the cloud service interface, search for Settings (cog icon) or Devices, which displays a list of all gadgets that have ever been in your profile, find the desired model and select the uninstall or unbundle option.
It's important to understand the technical nuance: removing a device from a list on a site doesn't always instantly remove the activation lock if the phone isn't connected to the Internet at that point. The server sends a command to unlock, but it must be accepted by the device. If the phone is in a box without a network, it can request a password when it first turns on.
| Action. | Through the phone. | Through the site |
|---|---|---|
| Internet is required | Yeah (on the phone) | Yes (on PC) |
| Instant effect | Yes. | No (needs an online phone) |
| Access to files | Complete. | Just a cloud. |
| Difficulty | Low. | Medium |
Use the web interface to also check session activity, and if you see an unfamiliar device on the list, change your password immediately and force you to exit all sessions, which will help protect your personal data from unauthorized access.
What to do if you forget your Mi Account password
Forgotten passwords are the most common problem preventing deletion of an account, and without authorization, security will not allow you to untie your device as an attempt to steal, but recovery is fairly simple if you have access to your linked number or email.
On the password screen, click on the link "Forgot your password?" and you will be taken to the recovery page. Choose the method of obtaining the code: SMS to your phone number or backup email. Enter the code you received and set a new character combination.
⚠️ Note: If the phone number to which the account was linked no longer exists or the SIM card is lost, restore through the SMS It's going to be impossible, and then you're going to have to go through the identity verification process through support.
After changing your password, wait around 15-30 It takes time for servers to update their security tokens, and then try to log back in to your phone and exit. If you changed your password but your phone requires an old one – this is normal, try entering a new one, the system should accept it after synchronizing the time.
Problems with activation blocking (Mi Cloud Lock)
Sometimes users are faced with an activation screen after resetting, where the phone requires you to enter a password from a previously used account, a feature called Find Device, which is designed to protect against theft, but often becomes a problem for honest owners.
If you see this message, it means that the phone was not properly untied before the reset, the only legal way to unlock it is to enter the owner's data, and customers of used phones are strongly advised to require the seller to be present when the device is reset or completely untied in their presence.
There is a myth that flashing the phone helps bypass this protection. In modern Xiaomi models with Qualcomm and MediaTek processors, this does not work, since the lock status is stored on the server and is tied to a unique IMEI identifier.
Can I bypass the Mi Cloud lock?
How to Delete Your Mi Account Permanently
If your goal is not just to untie your phone, but to destroy your account forever, the procedure is different. Deleting your account involves erasing all data from Xiaomi servers: photos, notes, Mi Store purchase history and attachments.
To do this, go to account management page account.xiaomi.com. In the security or profile settings section, find the item “Delete account” and the system will take you through a series of checks, warn you of irreversibility of actions and ask you to confirm the decision with a code from SMS.
After confirmation, a waiting timer (usually several days) is triggered, so that the owner can come to his senses and cancel the action if the account was hacked, and after the expiration of the period, all data will be irretrievably deleted, and it will be impossible to log into this profile.
- ☁️ Log in to account.xiaomi.com.
- 🗑️ Select the option “Delete Account” in the security settings.
- 📝 Check the list of deleted data.
- ✅ Confirm the action through code SMS.
Remember that once you delete your account, you will lose access to purchased themes, games and subscriptions. If you have smart home devices (lamps, robot vacuum cleaners), they will have to be reconfigured and re-associated, as the old rules of automation will be erased.
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Deleting a Mi Account is an irreversible action that erases all data from a company's servers. Untieing a phone is just logging out on a particular device. Don't confuse those concepts.