Owners of smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco often face the need to make room for the smartphone. SIM-Older methods of storing numbers directly on the operator's chip are becoming a thing of the past, giving way to synchronization through a Google account or Mi Cloud. However, old entries can stay in the card’s memory for years, occupying a limited slot and creating confusion when changing devices.
The process of deleting entries in the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS may differ from standard Android, which raises questions among users. The application interface can hide the necessary functions under additional menus, and the absence of an explicit “delete everything” button makes you look for workarounds. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to clean the SIM card memory, from standard tools to the use of hidden engineering menus.
It is important to understand that the physical deletion of data from the chip SIM-If you erase important numbers without first copying them to a device's phone book or cloud storage, it's extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible, to recover them without special equipment. Therefore, before starting any manipulations, we strongly advise you to make a backup copy.
Preparation for deletion and backup
Before embarking on radical cleanup measures, it is important to protect yourself from losing important data. Many users store family, work contacts or service codes on their SIM card that may be needed in an emergency, and backup is the first and most important step that should not be ignored even when you are completely sure that old records are useless.
Modern Xiaomi smartphones offer built-in tools for data migration, you can transfer all numbers from the SIM card to the internal memory of the phone or immediately to the cloud service. This will not only save information, but also make it available from any device associated with your account. In addition, storage in the phone’s memory allows you to write longer names and add additional fields such as email or address, which is technically limited by standards. SIM-map.
To create a copy, go to the Contacts app, click on the three dots in the corner of the screen and select Import/Export Contacts (SIM-map and destination (phone memory or Google account) This process takes a few seconds even with a large number of records.
☑️ Checklist before removal
After successful copying, you can be sure that even in the event of an error in deleting all data will remain safe. SIM-Maps are different from deleting records from a Google cloud account, so it’s important not to confuse storage sources.
Removing contacts through a standard application
The easiest and safest way to clear a SIM card is to use the regular Contacts app, which is preinstalled on all Xiaomi smartphones. The interface may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI, but the logic of actions remains the same. You do not need to install third-party software or obtain root rights.
Open the app and find the menu button, usually located in the upper right corner (three dots or three bars), in the drop-down list, select the Settings option or immediately go to the Import / Export Contacts section, and this is where the SIM card memory management tools are hidden.
- 📱 Select the Delete Contacts in the Control Menu.
- 💾 As a source of removal, indicate your SIM-map, SIM 1 SIM 2).
- ✅ Confirm the action by clicking the “OK” or “Delete” button in the dialog window that appears.
The system may request confirmation of the operation, warning that the data will be deleted irrevocably. If you have already made a backup, feel free to agree. Some versions of the firmware may require you to enter a screen unlock password or fingerprint to confirm the action, which is an additional security measure.
⚠️ Note: When you delete through the standard menu, sometimes a failure occurs if the file structure on the SIM card is damaged. If the process freezes, try re-extracting and pasting the SIM card again or using an alternative method through the phone settings.
Cleaning through system settings and SIM management
If you can't do the operation through the contact application, you can use the deep settings of the operating system itself, which is often more reliable because it goes directly to the modem driver that controls the reading. SIM-The path to these settings can vary, but the overall algorithm is the same for most Redmi and Poco devices.
Go to the basic smartphone settings, scroll down to the SIM card and mobile network section. Select the active SIM card that you want to delete data from. SIM-map or contact management SIM. Here is a list of all records stored physically on the chip.
In the list that opens, you can manually select contacts by holding your finger on the first number and then highlighting the others, or use the "Select All" function, which will then be followed by a deletion button (usually a basket) and clicking on it will trigger the erasure process.
Why are contacts duplicated?
Sometimes, this menu has a copy contacts feature, so if your goal is to just make room but save numbers, copy them to your phone's memory first, and then select the deletion option, which ensures that you don't lose the connections you want to make during the optimization process.
Use of the Engineering Menu for Advanced Users
For those who are used to solving problems at a deep level, there is access to the engineering test menu. SIM-level-card AT-commands, bypassing standard interfaces MIUI. The engineering menu is a powerful tool, but it requires caution, as improper actions can lead to incorrect operation of the communication module.
To get into the testing menu, open the Phone app (set number) and enter a special code. For most Xiaomi devices with MediaTek and Qualcomm processors, codes ##4636## or ##3646633## are running. If the code is entered correctly, a hidden menu with multiple tabs will open.
Phone Information Tab → SIM Toolkit → SIM ApplicationInside the navigation menu on the SIM card (SIM Toolkit) sometimes you can find commands for memory management, but the functionality depends on the operator and the type of card installed (USIM) Direct removal through external commands is often blocked for security reasons, so this method does not always work.
- 🔧 Suitable for experienced users who understand the risks.
- 📡 Allows you to check the status of registration in the network and the status SIM.
- ⚙️ It may require specific knowledge AT-operator.
⚠️ Note: Do not change the settings in the "Radio", "BandMode" or "Network Setting" sections without a clear understanding of their purpose.
Third-party applications for contact management
When Xiaomi’s built-in tools fail or the interface seems too confusing, apps from the Google Play store come to the rescue. There are many phone book management utilities that are able to remove duplicates and clear memory. SIM-Cards are more flexible than standard tools.
Popular applications like Contacts+, Drupe or SIM Manager request full access rights to contacts. Once installed, they scan all available storage sources (phone, sim, cloud) and present them in a single list. SIM source filtering allows you to isolate all records and delete them with one touch.
The advantage of third-party apps is that they can preview and find duplicates more intelligently, so they can automatically detect that a SIM card number is already in the phone's memory, and suggest that you delete a copy from the chip, leaving the main record, which is ideal for bringing order to the chaos of old records.
| Annex | Functional | Advertising | Security |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard MIUI | Basic | No. | Tall. |
| Google Contacts | Synchronization | No. | Tall. |
| Third-party managers | Expanded | Often | Medium |
When using third-party software, carefully read the permissions the app requests. Make sure the developer has a good reputation to prevent your personal data from being leaked to third parties.
Frequent problems and their solution
Users may experience a number of errors during the deletion process, such as a system that says "Contact failed" or a process that freezes in the middle, often because a particular contact is locked by the system or the memory sector on the SIM card itself is damaged.
If deletion doesn't go through, try the following algorithm: first copy the problem contact to the phone's memory, then delete the original from the SIM card, and then delete the copy from the phone's memory. This copy-delete-clean method often bypasses software locks.
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If the contacts are not deleted, try to remove them. SIM-card, paste it into another phone (preferably a button or an old Android), delete the numbers there, and then return it to Xiaomi.
The problem may also be overflowing the contact app cache. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Contacts → Memory and click Clear Cache. Don’t confuse it with the Clear All button, as it will delete all the app settings, but not the contacts themselves.
In rare cases, only a complete replacement of the SIM card from the operator helps. Modern cards have a large amount of memory, and if your SIM card is very old (issued 10 years or more ago), its memory may degrade, which causes write and read errors.
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If no software method helps remove contacts, the problem is likely physical – memory wear and tear. SIM-The card, and its replacement by the operator will be the fastest solution.
Prevention and best storage practices
To avoid the need to manually clean a SIM card in the future, it is recommended to change the approach to storing numbers by default. Modern smartphones have gigabytes of memory, and storing several hundred contacts on a tiny SIM card chip is a relic of the past, which makes no practical sense.
Set up automatic saving. Go to Contacts and find Preferred Save Area. Select your Google account or Phone Memory. Now all new numbers you add will automatically enter the cloud or internal memory, bypassing the SIM card.
- ☁️ Google Contacts allows you to restore deleted numbers within 30 days.
- 🔄 Synchronization happens automatically when the Internet is available.
- 📲 Access to the database numbers is from any device, even from a computer.
Check your contact list regularly for duplicates. Google Contacts has a built-in Merger and Correct feature that automatically finds duplicate entries and suggests combining them. This makes your phone book clean and up-to-date.
⚠️ Note: When changing your smartphone, do not select the option "Copy contacts with" SIM-maps" if you're already using cloud sync, that will create duplicates. You'd better just log in to your Google account on a new device.