How to reset your camera on Xiaomi: from basic settings to a complete system reset

The camera on Xiaomi smartphones is one of the key elements that often requires fine-tuning or a complete reset. Whether you have encountered blurry images, camera app errors, hanging while shooting videos or just want to return factory settings, in this article you will find all the current ways. We will understand how to perform a reset without losing data when you need a hard reset, and what to do if the camera stopped working after the MIUI update.

It’s important to understand that camera problems on Xiaomi (whether it’s Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 or the flagship Mi 13 series) can be caused by software failures or hardware malfunctions. Before you take your phone to the service center, try the methods from this manual — 80% of the time they help restore the health without repair. Let’s start with the simplest solutions and gradually move on to radical measures.

1. Soft reboot of the camera app

If the camera starts to glitches suddenly — slowing down, not focusing, or emitting a "failed to connect to the camera" error — the first thing you should do is force the app to close and restart, a method that doesn't affect settings, but often resolves temporary crashes.

How to do this:

• 📱 Open Recent Apps (swipe up from the bottom edge of the late screen).
• 🔍 Find the Camera app card and swipe it up to close it.
• 🔄 Wait 10-15 seconds and start the camera again.

If the problem persists, clear the app's cache.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the camera in the list and select it.
3. Click Clear Cache (Do not delete data!).
4. Reboot your smartphone.

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If the camera still doesn’t work after cleaning the cache, try turning off the battery optimization for the Camera application in the MIUI settings. This will prevent the background from automatically closing.

2. Reset camera settings to factory

If you've experimented with manual settings (like changing ISO, shutter speed, or white balance) and want to get everything back to the original settings, use the built-in reset feature, which doesn't delete photos, it just returns the shooting settings to default values.

Instructions for MIUI 13/14:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Touch the badge. ⚙️ (Settings) in upper right corner.
3. Scroll down and select Reset Settings.
4. Confirm the action by pressing OK.

On some models (e.g. POCO F4 or Redmi K50) the path may be different:

• 📸 In Photo mode swipe left to open additional settings.
• 🔧 Find the item Restore default settings.

3. Clearing the camera application data (hard reset)

If the soft reset didn’t work, the next step is to completely clean up the app’s data, which will remove all user settings, including saved filters, modes, and even AI training data (for example, for the Movie Effect feature on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra).

How to clean up the data:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Camera.
2. Press Warehouse.
3. Select Clear Data (not cache!).
4. Confirm the action.

Backup important photos in Mi Cloud or Google Photos

Remember the current settings (resolution, HDR, stabilization)

Make sure your phone has enough charge (minimum 30%)

Close all background applications-->

⚠️ Note: On some models (e.g. Xiaomi Mi 11), cleaning the camera data can cause the wide-angle and telephoto settings to reset.

4.Reset via Safe Mode (Safe Mode)

If the camera doesn’t start because of a conflict with other apps (for example, after installing a third-party launcher or Magisk module), try booting the smartphone in Safe Mode. In this mode, all third-party programs are turned off, and you can determine whether the software is to blame.

How to log in to Safe Mode:

• 🔄 Press the power button before the turn off menu appears.
• 👆 Press and hold the Turn Off option (or Reboot on some models).
• 🛡️ Confirm the transition to safe mode.

In Safe Mode:

1. Check the camera.
2. If it works normally, the problem is in one of the installed applications.
3. Remove the recently installed programs until you find the culprit.

5. Complete reset of the phone (Hard Reset)

If all previous methods have failed, the last resort is to reset your smartphone to factory settings, which will delete all data, including photos, apps and accounts, so back up first.

How to perform Hard Reset:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Select to erase all data (factory recovery).
3. Enter a password (if required) and confirm the action.
4. Wait for the process to be completed (it will take 5-10 minutes).

For models with locked screen (if you can not enter the settings):

• 🔄 Turn off the phone.
• 🔘 Press the power button. + Loudness up before the appearance of the Mi logo.
• 📱 In the Recovery menu, select Wipe Data (use volume buttons for navigation).

⚠️ Note: Xiaomi with MediaTek processor (e.g. Redmi) 10C) After Hard Reset, you may need to re-assign your Mi Account to unlock.Make sure you remember your login and password!

Soft reboot of the application

Resetting camera settings

Cleaning the application data

Safe regime

Complete phone reset

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6. Additional methods: rollback updates and manual firmware

If the camera problems started after the MIUI update, try rolling back the firmware version. This is true for owners of POCO F3, Xiaomi 11T and other models, where new versions of the software sometimes break the camera.

How to roll back the update:

• 📥 Download the necessary firmware version from the official website of Xiaomi Firmware.
• 📁 Move the.zip file to the phone’s root folder.
• 🔧 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🖱️ Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Select the firmware file.

For advanced users:

If the camera is not working because of a damaged libcamera module (a common problem after unofficial firmware), you can try to reflash only the partition with the camera through Fastboot:

fastboot flash camera camera.img


fastboot reboot

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Firmware rollback is a risky operation that can lead to a bootloader lock. Use only official versions of MIUI and make sure it is compatible with your model!

7 Hardware problems: when resetting won't help

If none of the software methods worked, the reason could be a hardware malfunction, and here are the signs that the phone needs repair:

• 📸 The camera makes grinding or not focusing (problem with the lens motor).
• 🔴 Vertical stripes or artifacts appear on the screen (sensor damaged).
• 💥 Phone falls or is exposed to moisture (risk of contact oxidation).
• 🔍 The flash does not work, although the settings are enabled (problem with the LED-module).

What to do:

1. Contact the authorized Xiaomi service center (list on the mi.com website).
2. If the phone is guaranteed, do not open it yourself!
3. For older models (like the Redmi 4X), repairs may not be cost-effective – consider buying a new smartphone.

Cost of camera repair in service centers:

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi camera reset