Data rescue: how to extract photos from a broken Xiaomi

When Xiaomi’s favorite smartphone falls on asphalt and the screen turns into a “web” or stops responding to touches, it causes panic among any owner. The first concern is not material losses, but unique images that cannot be reshot. Fortunately, the Android ecosystem and the MIUI shell (or the new HyperOS) provide several scenarios for restoring access to media files even with a partially broken display.

The success of the operation depends on the nature of the damage: whether the touchscreen works, whether the image is turned on and whether the debugging over USB was activated beforehand. If the phone responds to sound and vibration, but the screen is black, the chances of saving the photos are much higher than in the case of a complete "bricking" of the device. It is important to act in cool blood and not try to chaoticly press the cracked glass, so as not to aggravate the situation.

In this guide, we will look at software and hardware methods for extracting data, from cloud services to peripheral connectivity. Some require pre-training, others run hot. It is critical to understand that if the phone does not turn on at all (no charging response and buttons), software methods are powerless - professional motherboard repair will be required.

Using Mi Cloud Cloud Storage

The easiest and often forgotten way is to check automatic sync. Xiaomi smartphones by default offer to enable gallery sync with your Mi Account account. If this feature was active, your photos may have left the damaged device long ago and saved to the company's servers.

To check, you'll need any other gadget with Internet access, such as a computer, tablet or other phone, and you'll need to go to the official website of the cloud service and log in under your login, and it's not just photos, but contacts, notes and voice recordings.

The web interface allows you to select specific albums or shooting dates, you can download individual files or start a mass download archive, which is ideal if the phone screen is completely broken and the image is missing.

• 📸 Go to i.mi.com and log in to your account.
• ☁️ Select the "Gallery" or "Photo" section in the side menu.
• ⬇️ Select the necessary pictures and click the "Download" button".
• 🔄 Check the “Recently Deleted” folder if you are looking for deleted files.

Consider that free space in the Mi Cloud is limited (usually 5 GB). If you had a lot of high-resolution photos, the sync might stop after filling in the limit, in which case some of the photos may be in the cloud, and some of them may only be in the phone’s memory.

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Turn on the function "Storage Optimization" in the gallery settings so that the original photos are uploaded to the cloud, and the phone has thumbnails, saving space.

Connecting an external keyboard and mouse via OTG

If the smartphone display glows but the touchscreen doesn’t respond to touch (or the glass is broken in multiple places, making control impossible), USB OTG technology will help.

You'll need a special USB to Type-C adapter (or Micro-USB for older models), and if you plug a normal computer mouse into a smartphone, you'll see a cursor on the screen, which will allow you to unlock the device if you know the pattern lock or pin code, and copy files.

With a mouse, you can navigate the MIUI interface, open the gallery and transfer photos to the cloud or Bluetooth. If the screen is black, but the phone works, connecting the mouse will not give visual control, but combined with the keyboard can help to enter unlock "to the touch."

• 🖱️ Connect the adapter. OTG smartphone-charging connector.
• 🔌 Put it in. USB-mouse into free port of adapter.
• 🖥️ Wait for the cursor to appear on the screen (if the matrix is intact).
• 🔓 Use the left mouse button to enter the pattern lock.

⚠️ Attention: If the screen glass is severely crumbled, when you plug in the mouse and activate the touchscreen, the fragments can damage the matrix permanently.

Using a keyboard is useful if you need to quickly enter a password. Often users forget that the Enter on the keyboard confirms the pin code input, and the arrows can help in navigation if the mouse cursor is not visible.

Debugging mode via USB and programs for PC

For advanced users who have had USB debugging enabled in advance, there are many possibilities, and this feature is in the hidden Developer menu, and allows the computer to control the phone at a deep level, without USB Debugging enabled, this method will not work.

There are many software programs that can control Android from a PC, like Scrcpy (open source) or Vysor, which translates an image from the phone screen to the computer monitor and lets you control the device with your mouse, which is a salvation if the touchscreen is dead, but the matrix is intact.

To use Scrcpy, you need to download the package to your computer, connect the phone with a cable, and run an executable file. If the drivers are installed and debugging is allowed, you will see the smartphone desktop on the PC monitor. From there you can safely copy all the photos to a folder on the hard drive.

adb devices


adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/ C:/MyPhotos/

The command above, via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), automatically copies the entire folder with the camera to your computer, the fastest way to upload gigabytes of photos without having to manually drag and drop each file.

Remote control via Google Find My Device

If your phone is connected to the Internet (Wi-Fi or mobile network) and you have a Google account activated, you can try standard security features. Find My Device allows you not only to locate the device, but also to block it or clear the data.

While it is not possible to download photos directly from the service, it can help in a critical situation, for example, if you are afraid that data will be stolen, but want to save it remotely, this method is not suitable for copying, but it will help to secure your account. However, there is a caveat: sometimes through this service you can force the data to sync if the phone receives a command and manages to execute it before locking.

A more effective method is Google Photos. Go from your computer to your Google account and check the Photos section. If sync has been enabled (even periodically, for example, on Wi-Fi), your pictures are already there. It does not require access to the device itself.

• 🌐 Open your browser and go to photos.google.com.
• 🔑 Sign in with the same Google account as on your phone.
• 📂 Check for recent photos in the tape.
• 💾 Use the Archive function to sort important people.

Many users underestimate the power of Google's ecosystem. Even if a phone is broken, having an account is the key to your data. Make sure you remember the password from the Google email tied to the device.

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The presence of an active Internet connection on a damaged phone is the main condition for the operation of any cloud methods and remote control.

Blind copying through the PC file manager

In some cases, when the screen is black, but the phone is making USB connection sounds, you can try the blind method. If you previously chose File Transfer (MTP) mode when you connected to this computer, the system can recognize the device as an external drive without confirmation on the screen.

Connect your phone to your PC, wait for the beep. Open "My Computer" and find the device. If you see the folders, go to Internal Storage → DCIM → Camera. Here you can store the photos.

If the computer writes "Device" USB It's not "identified" or requires permission to access, and unfortunately, this method doesn't work without an image. USB-Hub with connected mouse (see above) or display repair.

⚠️ Warning: Don't try to disassemble a phone to connect a plume display "on weight" if you don't have experience. Static electricity or sloppy movement can damage the power controller, and then the photos are lost forever.

Often, using a hub that has both a mouse and a flash drive on it helps, so you unlock the phone by touch (knowing the approximate location of the unlock and confirmation buttons) and copy the data to a flash drive through a file manager.

When a service center is needed

If none of the software methods worked, and data is critical, the last option is a temporary replacement of the display, and authorized service centers Xiaomi can offer the service "Access to data".

The wizards plug in a working donor screen (often just a matrix without a case), unlock the phone, copy the information to a flash drive or to the cloud, and then return the device to you. This is a paid service, but it is cheaper than a complete replacement of the display assembly.

Do not carry the phone to dubious workshops "at home", where they can not only take money for diagnosis, but also violate the tightness of the case or damage the plumes.

• 🛠️ Find the nearest authorized center on mi.com.
• 📞 Call and clarify the possibility of data extraction service.
• 📄 Bring a purchase check and an identity document with you.
• 💰 Be prepared to pay for a diagnostic screen connection.

Remember that the warranty does not cover a broken screen, but the right to save personal data is yours. In some cases, it is easier to buy a used screen on the marketplace and ask the wizard to temporarily connect it than to pay for the expensive original.