How to find out if there is a wiretapping on the phone Android Xiaomi Redmi

Xiaomi and Redmi’s modern smartphones store vast amounts of personal information, from instant messaging to banking data, which makes the question of how to know if a phone is wiretapped critical for every Android device owner. Suspicions can arise out of nowhere: strange behavior of a gadget, a fast-setting battery or intrusive advertising.

In this article, we will take a detailed look at the technical methods of detecting covert surveillance using built-in system capabilities and third-party tools, learn how to distinguish real threats from software failures and understand the steps you need to take to ensure the complete confidentiality of your data.

It's important to understand that the term "wiretapping" in the context of mobile devices covers a wide range of threats, not only classic listening to calls, but also hidden screen recording, access to microphone, geolocation and camera. Modern malware, such as spy Trojans, can disguise itself as system processes, making their detection difficult but solvable.

The main signs of hidden surveillance of the device

The first signal of possible interference in the operation of the smartphone is often anomalous power consumption. If your Xiaomi Redmi, which previously calmly held the charge for a day, suddenly began to discharge in half a day even in standby mode, this is a reason to be alarmed. Background processes of spyware constantly transmit data to a remote server, which requires active operation of the radio module and the processor.

Note the heating of the case. When a device warms appreciably in your pocket without running resource-intensive applications, it may indicate hidden activity. It is also worth analyzing outbound traffic: a sudden increase in mobile Internet consumption often indicates the transfer of large amounts of information (audio recordings, screenshots) to attackers.

There are a number of indirect symptoms that collectively provide almost a hundred percent guarantee of the presence of a threat, including spontaneous screen turn-on, delays in typing, strange sounds during a conversation (clicks, echoes), and the appearance of unknown applications in the installed list.

⚠️ Note: If you notice that the camera or microphone lights (green or orange dot in the corner of the screen) light up when you are not using the relevant features, check app accesses in the privacy settings immediately.

• 🔋 The battery is discharged on 20-30% faster than usual, even in downtime.
• 📶 Increase your mobile traffic consumption without changing your usage habits.
• 📱 The screen lights up on its own or the device does not go into sleep for a long time.
• 🔊 During calls, extraneous noises, clicks or the voice of the interlocutor is distorted.

If MIUI starts to behave unpredictably — apps shut down, settings are reset, and the phone takes a long time to turn on or off — this may be due to a conflict of system processes with the malicious code embedded.

Use of the USSD-codes for primary diagnosis

The fastest way to get the primary information about call forwarding is to use special service codes. GSM-Networks and let you see where your calls are being redirected, SMS For owners of Xiaomi and other Android smartphones, this is a basic verification tool.

Open the Phone app and enter the *#21# code. Once you press the call button, a forwarding status window will appear on the screen. Normally, all fields (voice, data, fax, SMS) should be "Not forwarded" or "Voicemail" with your operator's number. If you see an unknown number, this is a critical signal.

Another useful code is *#62#. It shows where calls are redirected if your phone is off or out of range, and often malicious or unscrupulous operators use these settings to intercept missed calls.

To reset all types of redirects to standard values, use the universal code ##002#. This command deactivates all conditional and unconditional call redirects, returning the settings to the operator's factory settings. This action is safe and does not delete your personal data.

Analysis of installed applications and access rights

On Android, including the MIUI shell, spyware is often disguised as harmless utilities such as calculators, flashlights, memory cleaners or system updates. The first step to detection is a thorough revision of the installed software list.

Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Carefully review the entire list. Look for apps without an icon, with an empty name or a strange system name (like System Update Service with a suspicious icon). If you see an application that you don’t remember how you installed it, that’s a reason to go deep.

Pay special attention to access rights. Spyware requires broad permissions to function. Go to Settings → Privacy Protection → Permission Manager. Check which applications have access to microphone, camera, location and SMS.

If a regular app like Flashlight or Calendar requests access to your contacts or the ability to send SMS, it’s a clear sign of malicious behavior. In modern versions of Android, the system itself warns of such requests, but it’s better to double-check manually.

Delete a suspicious application can be difficult if it has received device administrator privileges, in which case first go to Settings → Passwords and Security → Privacy → Special Access Rights → Applications with administrator rights and disable the tick opposite the suspicious item.

Checking through debugging mode and ADB

For more advanced users who want to gain full control of processes, there is a method of checking through debugging over USB, which allows you to see all running processes, including those that are hidden from the average user in the MIUI interface.

First, activate the developer mode. Go to Settings → About Phone and quickly click 7 times on the MIUI version. After that, a new section “Advanced Settings” → “Developers” will appear in the settings menu.

Turn on the USB Debugging Toggle, now connect your phone to your computer, and you can use the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) to analyze your processes. On your computer, type a command to output a list of all the processes in the command line:

adb shell ps -A | grep -E "root|daemon|service"

This command will filter system processes. Look for names that don't match standard Android or Xiaomi packages. For example, processes with names like com.android.system.update.service (if it's not an official service) or random character sets can be malicious.

⚠️ Note: Do not remove system processes through ADB, If you are not 100% sure of their purpose, removing the critical system component may make it impossible to boot the operating system).

You can also check the list of installed packages through ADB, and you can search for known spyware signatures among them. The adb shell pm list packages will display a complete list of all packages. Compare it to the list of apps you see on the phone menu. The difference will indicate hidden components.

Analysis of traffic consumption and network activity

Modern spyware works on a client-server basis, constantly sending the collected data (audio, photo, geo-location) to a remote server, leaving a digital trail in the form of network traffic that can be tracked.

Xiaomi smartphones have strong traffic monitoring built in. Go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Traffic Consumption. This shows the statistics for each application. Notice programs that consume a lot of megabytes or gigabytes, although you rarely use them.

Especially suspicious is the activity in the background, because if an application that you haven't used in a few days suddenly runs out of 500MB of traffic, that's a critical marker. Spyware can transmit data in small portions, but regularly, which adds up to a significant amount of traffic.

For deeper analysis, you can use firewall applications like NetGuard or NoRoot Firewall, which allow you to see all connection attempts in real time and block network access for suspicious applications, even if they have system rights.

Also check if your phone has enabled Data Transfer for applications you don’t use, and MIUI can completely deny a particular application access to Wi-Fi and mobile network, which will stop the transfer of stolen data, even if the application itself can not be removed yet.

Radical measures: data dumping and protection

If you find confirmed signs of wiretapping and can’t remove malware by standard methods, the only guaranteed way to clean up is a full Hard Reset, which will remove all data from the internal drive, including viruses.

Before starting the procedure, be sure to save important contacts and photos to the cloud or to your computer. However, do not restore applications from a backup automatically, since you can return the infected file with the data.

To reset on Xiaomi Redmi, turn off your phone. Then press the power and volume buttons at the same time until the Mi logo appears. From the Recovery menu, select the language (English), then Wipe Data → Wipe All Data and confirm the action.

• 🔄 Complete cleanup ensures 99% of known spyware is removed.
• 📉 Reset will return the phone to the state “out of the box”, eliminating software conflicts.
• 🔒 After reset, be sure to set a complex screen lock password.
• 🚫 Do not install applications from unknown sources (APK-file).

Once you're back to factory settings, first upgrade to the latest version. From Settings → About your phone, click on MIUI to check for updates. Xiaomi regularly releases security patches that close vulnerabilities that hackers exploit.

💡

Hard Reset is the only way to get rid of 100% Guarantee to remove complex-root viruses that are disguised as system processes and are not eliminated by standard methods.

How to Protect Xiaomi in the Future

Smartphone security is not a one-off action, but an ongoing process. To avoid re-infection, you need to change digital habits. MIUI Google Play Protect.

Turn on Find My Device and regularly check the list of devices that have access to your Google account. If you see an unfamiliar device or browser, immediately terminate the session and change your password.

Use the built-in antivirus from Avast or AVL, which is already integrated into the Security app on Xiaomi phones. Run deep scans regularly. While embedded tools don't always catch new threats, they effectively block known signatures.

⚠️ Warning: Avoid installing apps to “speed up the internet,” “boost the battery,” or “hack games” from third-party sources. APK-files are often sewn into remote access modules (RAT).

It is also recommended to install two-factor authentication (2FA) on all important accounts (social networks, mail, banks), which will protect your data, even if the phone is infected with a keylogger that reads passwords.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)