How to delete all contacts on Xiaomi Redmi 10: The complete guide

Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to clean their phone book completely, whether it’s before selling a device, switching to a new gadget, or simply to clean up the digital space. The Redmi 10 has a powerful MIUI shell that offers multiple ways to manage data, but the “delete everything at once” feature isn’t always obvious to the user.

The process of mass deletion of records requires caution, as it can be difficult to return deleted information without prior backup. In this article, we will examine all available methods, from standard system tools to the use of cloud services. Careful follow the instructions will help to avoid the accidental loss of important numbers that could be synchronized with the account.

Before you start taking drastic measures, make sure that the numbers you need aren't really needed. If you're planning on just cleaning duplicates, you'd better use built-in optimization features. But if the goal is to reset the phonebook completely, here are the proven algorithms for doing it.

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Before removing all contacts, be sure to back up in.vcf format by exporting them to a memory card or cloud storage.

Preparation for deletion and data synchronization

The first step in cleaning up is to check sync status. On Xiaomi smartphones, the default contacts are saved to your Google or Mi Account. If you delete them from your phone, they can disappear from the cloud if you enable two-way sync, so the first step is to shut down the Internet or stop syncing for a particular account.

Go to Settings → Accounts and Sync. Here you will see a list of all the services connected. Select your Google account and make sure the slider opposite Contacts is off. This is a critical step that will protect your main database from accidental erasure when cleaning your device.

☑️ Pre-deletion check

Done: 0 / 4

It is also recommended to check where the new numbers are saved. In the settings of the Contacts app, there is a paragraph "Settings» → «Saving account. If you have a phone, you have a lower risk of data loss, but you're better off being safe. Deleting contacts with the Internet down is the safest method for local cleaning without touching the cloud.

Removing contacts through a standard application

The easiest way to clean a phone book is to use the built-in Contacts app. MIUI allows you to select groups of records, which greatly speeds up the process. Open the app and go to the Contacts tab. In the upper right corner or in the menu (three dots/strips), find the edit or control button.

Click on the edit icon, which usually looks like a pencil or an "Change" sign, and you'll be able to highlight records. Often, only one contact is allocated by default, but if you click on the highlight icon (sometimes a tick in a circle or "Choose all"), you can cover the entire base, and then you'll see a delete button, often marked by a basket, after the highlight.

  • 🗑️ Click "Delete" and confirm the action in the pop-up window.
  • 📱 If there are too many contacts (thousands), the application can freeze, so act in portions of 500 records.
  • ⚙️ In some versions MIUI There is a function “Clear duplicates” that works faster than manual removal.

It's worth noting that some firmware may not have a "Select All" button if there's more than a certain number of entries in the list, so you'll have to use the "Other" method of creating a new group, moving the contacts you want to have, and then removing the "Everybody else" group, which is less convenient but effective.

What if the “Select All” button doesn’t work?
If the standard allocation doesn’t work due to the large amount of data, try filtering contacts. In the display menu, select “Phone Only” or a specific account to reduce the list, or use the web version of Google Contacts.

Cleaning through the Google Contacts web interface

The most effective method of total cleanup is using a browser on your computer or in full-site mode on your phone. Google Contacts provides tools that are often absent from mobile apps. This is especially true for Redmi 10, where the system is deeply integrated with Google’s ecosystem.

Go to contacts.google.com and log in with the same account you have on your phone. Make sure you're looking at the account that syncs with your device. On the left of the menu, select Contacts or Other Contacts to see the full list.

At the top of the screen is a checkbox to highlight, and clicking on it will select all the contacts you see, but if you have more than the ones on the screen (usually 50-100), you will see "Selected X from Y." Click on this link to highlight all the entries in the database.

Action.Location of the elementThe result
Singling out allCheckbox from top left + "Choose All" linkThousands of records are allocated at once.
RemovalBasket icon in top panelMoving to the basket (recoverable 30 days)
Cleaning the basketThe menu on the left → Basket → CleanComplete and irreversible deletion of data
ExportsMenu on the left → ExportsKeeping a copy before deleting

Once you hit the delete button, the data will go to the cart, where it will be stored for 30 days. To make room on Redmi 10 instantly, you need to go to the menu on the left, select "Basket" and click "Clean the cart." Changes are automatically synchronized with your smartphone when you have the Internet.

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Delete via Google Contacts’ web interface is the fastest way to clear thousands of records, but requires a mandatory shutdown of sync on your phone before you start if you want to save data in the cloud.

Using the “Settings Reset” function for complete cleaning

If your goal is to get the Xiaomi Redmi 10 ready for sale, simply removing contacts may not be enough, in which case it is advisable to perform a full factory reset, which will remove not only contacts, but also photos, applications, correspondence and system settings.

To perform the reset, go to Settings → About Phone → Reset. Select “Erase All Data.” The system will warn you that all files will be destroyed. Make sure you know the password for your Google and Mi Account account, as after the reset, the phone will require them to confirm ownership (anti-theft protection).

⚠️ Warning: Complete reset is irreversible. Make sure you copy all important files to your computer or the cloud, as it will be impossible to restore them after formatting your internal storage without professional hardware.

This method ensures that the new owner of the device does not have access to any of your records, and it also helps to correct software errors if the phone book is not working correctly, and once turned on, the device will look like you just took it out of the box.

Problems with deletion and duplicates

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where remote contacts are returned or they cannot be deleted. SIM-card or hidden system accounts (for example, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram). MIUI Aggregates data from all these sources into a single feed.

To remove contacts from SIM-maps, you need to go to the settings of the "Contacts" application, find the item "Import / export contacts" and select "Delete contacts from the SIM-For instant messengers, deletion usually occurs within the source application itself or requires you to disable synchronization in your account settings.

  • 📞 Contacts SIM-Cards are deleted only through the import/export menu.
  • 💬 Duplicates from messengers will disappear if you deny them access to the phone book.
  • ☁️ Returning deleted numbers means that sync with the cloud is active.

A common problem is that duplicates are created after synchronization. Redmi 10 has a built-in tool to fix them. In Contacts, click three dots → Tools → Combine Duplicates, and the system will automatically find and merge duplicate records, which is more effective than manual deletion.

📊 Where do you keep your main contact database?
Nana SIM-map
Google account
In the memory of the phone
In Mi Cloud

Recovery of remote contacts

If you accidentally delete the extra in the cleaning process, don't panic. Google and Xiaomi have a recovery mechanism. Google Contacts has a Cancel Change feature that allows you to roll back the state of the database up to 30 days, which saves even if you delete the list completely.

To recover, go to the web version of Google Contacts, click on the settings gear and select "Cancel Changes." Select a time interval (for example, "1 hour ago" or "yesterday"). The system will return all contacts that existed at that time.

⚠️ Attention: Cancel Changes affects the entire account. If you added new numbers today and restore yesterday's version, these new entries will be deleted.

For a Mi Cloud account, the procedure is similar: through i.mi.com, you can log into the contact cloud and recover deleted items from the cart if they have not been permanently deleted.

Can I delete contacts if my phone is not turned on?
If Xiaomi doesn't turn on, you can't delete contacts directly. However, if they've been synced to Google or Mi Cloud, you can delete them remotely via your computer by logging into the corresponding web interfaces. Then, the next time you turn on the phone (if it works), it will try to sync and delete the entries from memory.
How to remove contacts from a locked screen?
Without unlocking the device, contacts are closed for security reasons, and the only way is to completely reset the device via Recovery Mode, but that will remove all data from the phone, not just the contacts, and you can't selectively delete numbers without logging in.
Why do contacts appear again after removal?
This is because of active synchronization. The phone compares the local database to the cloud. If there are numbers left in the cloud (Google/Mi), the phone downloads them back, the solution is to first clear the cloud through the computer or temporarily shut down the Internet and sync before deleting it on the device.