Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphone owners often face situations where the phone book is full of unnecessary entries, such as old numbers, duplicates after a change of device or promotional mailings that have been listed. The standard method of deleting one contact takes too long and becomes a real torture at large volumes.
Fortunately, the Android operating system in the shell of MIUI and HyperOS offers several effective ways to mass clean up. Synchronization with Google is the most reliable tool for working with large databases. There are also built-in features of the Contacts app itself that allow you to quickly isolate and destroy excess.
In this article, we’ll look at all the current techniques, from simple actions on the smartphone menu to advanced settings through the web interface. You’ll learn not only to delete records, but also to prevent duplicates in the future. The fastest way to mass clean up is to use the web version of Google Contacts on your computer and then sync.
Using the Google Contacts web interface
The most powerful tool for managing a phone book is not the smartphone itself, but the cloud service. If your numbers are saved in a Google account, you can manage them from any device with Internet access, which is especially useful when you need to delete hundreds of records at once.
First, you need to go to the official website of the service Google Contacts through the browser on your computer or in full mode on your phone. Sign in to the same account that is used on your Xiaomi. The interface of the site allows you to allocate groups of contacts, which is impossible to do with standard means of the phone without third-party applications.
To perform mass removal, follow the following steps:
- 📌 Click on the checkbox icon in the top left corner of the list to highlight all visible contacts.
- 📌 If there are more contacts than are displayed on the screen, a pop-up notification will appear “Selected 100 from N” – click on it to select all records.
- 📌 Click on the basket icon in the top toolbar to confirm removal.
After that, the changes are automatically synced to the smartphone. Make sure the device is synced in Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google. If sync is disabled, the changes will only apply after it is turned on and the data is updated.
What happens to remote contacts?
Mass removal through the Contacts app on Xiaomi
The built-in Contacts app in MIUI and HyperOS shells has hidden functionality for working with duplicates and groups. However, the interface may differ depending on the firmware version. In new versions of the software, Xiaomi is actively implementing cleaning functions that are in the menu of the settings of the application itself.
Open the Contacts app and find the menu button (usually three dots or a gear) and some firmware versions have a "Contact Management" or "Contact Management" option, where the system can suggest that duplicates be automatically found and combined, which indirectly helps to reduce the number of records before they are deleted.
To manually delete multiple records in a row, use the following algorithm:
- 🗑️ Open the contact list and click the Edit or Select button (often in the top or bottom corner).
- 🗑️ Swipe your finger across the screen to highlight the contacts you need, or click on the avatars/checkboxes next to the names.
- 🗑️ After highlighting, click the “Delete” button and confirm the action in the pop-up window.
⚠️ Note: When removing contacts directly from SIM-The process of card processing via the phone menu can be slow.Do not interrupt the operation until the progress indicator reaches 100%, otherwise the phone book file on the card may be damaged.
If the standard menu doesn't allow you to select the right number of entries, try changing the display. In the app settings, select "Make contacts" and only specify the groups that you need to clean, which will make navigation and highlighting easier.
☑️ Pre-deletion check
Removal of contacts saved on SIM-map
Many users still keep numbers on the SIM-The limitation of this storage is in the format: usually it is only a name and one number, without additional fields. SIM-cards have their own characteristics.
To delete contacts from your SIM card on Xiaomi, go to the Contacts app, click on the menu and select Import/Export Contacts. From this menu, select the option “Delete Contacts from the Contacts” SIM-The system will prompt you to select the records for deletion.
The process is as follows:
- Select the source «SIM-map».
- Check the unneeded numbers (you can use the “Select All” function if you want to clear the card completely).
- Press the removal button and confirm the operation.
After cleaning. SIM-It is recommended to copy the remaining important numbers to the memory of your phone or Google account, this will ensure the safety of data when you change the operator or lose the card.
Cleaning duplicates and combining records
Often the problem is not the number of contacts you need, but the number of duplicates you have, like the same person being recorded as "Ivan," "Ivan Ivanov," and "Ivan Mobile," and connecting contacts is the best way to get things in order without losing information.
Modern versions of Android and Google services are able to automatically find duplicates. Google Contacts on your phone or web version often shows a notification “There are duplicate contacts” with a suggestion to combine them, the system itself matches numbers and names.
If the automation didn't work, you can use third-party but proven Google Play apps like Duplicate Contacts or Merge & Split, which scan the database and offer merger options. However, be careful: before using third-party software, make sure to export contacts to a.vcf file.
| Cleaning method | Speed of operation | Risk of data loss | Convenience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Contacts (Web) | Tall. | Low (there's a basket) | Very convenient. |
| Xiaomi appendix | Medium | Medium. | Always available |
| SIM-map | Low. | High (no basket) | Inconveniently |
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Regularly checking for duplicates takes less time than manually cleaning thousands of records once a year.Enable automatic pairing in Google settings.
Working with blacklist and spam
Sometimes, by "deleting contacts," users mean getting rid of intrusive calls. If you've been plagued by spam calls, simply removing a number from the phone book doesn't always help, because the caller can change masks or use different numbers.
Xiaomi smartphones have built-in spam protection. Go to the Security app → Blacklist. You can add a number manually or block the last incoming ones, and you can also block hidden numbers and region codes.
To block or remove spam from your history:
- 🚫 Open the call log, find the spammer number, click on it and select “Block».
- 🚫 In the blacklist settings, activate filters for keywords in the contact name.
- 🚫 Use third-party number detectors (such as GetContact or NumBuster) that tag spam, after which they can be massively removed.
⚠️ Attention: Be careful when installing number-defining applications. Many of them transfer your phone book to their servers.
Recovery of remote contacts
Accidental deletion of an important number is a frustrating situation, but often fixable. If you delete contacts through a Google account, they don't disappear instantly. The system stores them in an archive, which gives you time to correct the error.
To recover, go to Google Contacts, select Recycle Bin on the left menu, which stores deleted items for 30 days, highlights the items you want and clicks Restore, and returns to the main list and syncs with your phone.
If there are no contacts in the basket, you can try rolling back the state of the entire phone book in time:
- In the Google Contacts web interface, click on the gear (Settings).
- Select the "Reverse Changes" option.
- Specify the time to return the state (for example, “Yesterday” or “A week ago”).
This feature overwrites the current contacts on the phone with data from a selected point in time, so any new numbers added after that date will be lost if they are not saved separately.
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Do regular export of contacts to the.vcf file and save it to the cloud storage (Google Drive, Mi Cloud).