How to remove multiple contacts from Xiaomi at once

Owning a modern smartphone involves constantly contacting hundreds of names in a phone book. Over time, the list becomes overgrown with duplicates, unnecessary entries from spam calls or data from old SIM cards that have long been unused. Users often wonder how Xiaomi can remove multiple contacts at once so as not to waste time manually cleaning each position individually. The standard interface of MIUI and the new HyperOS shell offers powerful tools for mass recording management, but they are not always obvious at first glance.

Cleaning a phone book is not just a way to clean up your system, it's also a way to speed up your system. A crowded database can slow down your search for incoming calls and cause dialer lags. In this article, we'll look at proven algorithms to help you get rid of unnecessary digital junk.

There are several deletion scenarios, such as working through an embedded app, using a Google account, or using third-party utilities, and data synchronization plays a key role here, since deleting a phone record can automatically clean it up in the cloud, and understanding these processes will avoid accidental loss of important information during a mass cleanup.

Preparing for mass cleaning of the phone book

Before you take drastic action to delete records, you need to make sure that important data is safe. If you plan to delete contacts selectively, the risk of error is minimal, but in mass operations, it is better to be safe. Backup is the first thing to do before any manipulation of the phone database.

On Xiaomi smartphones, the backup process is as simple as possible thanks to integration with the Google ecosystem. Check if sync is enabled in your account settings. To do this, go to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google and make sure that the slider opposite the Contacts item is activated.

• 📱 Check which media the numbers are saved on: SIM-Map, phone memory or Google account.
• ☁️ Make sure the latest copy of the cloud data was created recently.
• 🔋 Charge the device to at least 40% so that the process is not interrupted due to battery discharge.

It's important to understand the difference between on-premises storage and cloud storage. SIM-map, their functionality is limited, and mass removal can take place differently than when working with digital profiles. SIM-Xiaomi cards often require switching to a special display mode, since by default the system prioritizes cloud data.

💡

Before you delete a large number of records, go to contacts.google.com from your computer and export all contacts to file.csv. This is your accidental deletion insurance.

Removal of contacts through the standard “Contacts” application

The most affordable way to clean up is to use a regular application, which is preinstalled on each Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO device. The interface may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI, but the logic of actions remains the same for all models.

Open the Contacts app and look at the top of the screen. You need to find a menu button, which is often hidden behind three dots or a filter icon, and that's where the group and multiple choice tools hide.

To activate the list editing mode, follow the following steps:

1. Click on the menu icon (three dots) in the upper right corner.
2. Select “Edit” or “Contact Management”.
3. In the list that appears, tick the records that need to be deleted.
4. Click the “Delete” button at the bottom of the screen and confirm the action.

If you need to delete all your records, the "Select All" option is often available in the same control menu, but be careful: it can take time to recover a deleted dataset, even if you have a backup.

Working with duplicates and combining records

A common problem for users is having the same contacts with different numbers or, conversely, dividing one person into several cards. MIUI has a built-in algorithm for finding duplicates, which makes life much easier.

The contact management menu (three dots → contact management) often has a separate item, "Combine repetitives," which automatically scans the database and suggests a list of pairs or groups that are likely to belong to a single person, all you have to do is confirm the merger.

Manual pairing is also possible and sometimes necessary to make a more precise setup: You can select two contacts, click the "Merge" button, and get a single card with all the numbers and email addresses, which helps avoid confusion when calling.

⚠️ Note: When you combine contacts, the system can save all the fields from both cards.

Massive removal via Google Contacts web interface

If you don't feel comfortable picking hundreds of positions with your finger, the best solution is to use a computer. Google Contacts provides the most flexible toolkit for sorting and cleaning.

Go to contacts.google.com from any browser, and here you will see a full copy of your phone book, and the interface allows you to select contact groups, use filters, and conduct mass operations with high accuracy.

To remove multiple contacts:

• ✅ Hover over the contact avatar on the left and click the tick that appears.
• ✅ Select the first contact, press the Shift key and click on the last in the range to select a group.
• ✅ Use the “Select All” button at the top left if you want to clear the entire list.
• ✅ Click on the basket icon in the top toolbar.

Changes made to the site are instantly synced to your smartphone when you have the Internet, and this is the quickest way to clean up your mess if you have a few thousand records.

Use of third-party cleaning applications

Google Play has a plethora of utilities that promise to clean contacts, and apps like Duplicate Contacts, Clearer and their peers scan the database for similar names, blank fields, and incomplete entries.

The main advantage of these programs is automation. You don't have to manually search for similar names; the algorithm will suggest that you delete contacts without numbers, with the same names or those that you haven't used in a long time, but you should keep your personal data safe.

By giving a third-party app access to the phone book, you trust it with sensitive information. Use only proven solutions with high ratings and a lot of reviews. Avoid questionable “accelerators” that require excessive permissions.

⚠️ Warning: Some aggressive cleaners may remove contacts you thought were doubles but who were actually different people with the same names (like "Alexander Ivanov").Always check the list before final confirmation.

Recovery of remote contacts

Even with the most careful preparation, the numbers are removed along with the garbage. Fortunately, the Android and Xiaomi ecosystem has rollback mechanisms. Google Contacts has a Cancel Change feature that allows you to return the state of the database at any time within the last 30 days.

To do this, Google Contacts will click on the settings gear, select “Cancel Changes” and specify the time (10 minutes ago, 1 hour, yesterday or date), and the system will restore deleted records and return deleted fields to the cards.

Xiaomi’s device itself also has a shopping cart, but its functionality may be limited depending on the shell version, and often remote contacts can be found in the Recycle Bin section within the Contacts app if it supports this feature, or in the Google cloud cart.

If sync is disabled, you can only recover data from a local backup created through Mi Cloud or the built-in Security app → Backup. The frequency of creating such copies determines how much data you can return.

💡

The “Cancel Changes” function in Google Contacts only works for 30 days, after which deleted information is permanently erased.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)