How to see hidden notes on Xiaomi Redmi Note 9: all ways from simple to complex

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 is one of the most popular smartphones of the brand, but even its owners sometimes face a mystery: where did important notes disappear? MIUI automatically hides some files, and users accidentally activate privacy modes. In this article, we will analyze all possible methods of accessing hidden notes, from basic settings to recovering deleted data.

It's important to understand that the term "hidden notes" can mean different things, either encrypted entries in the standard Notes app, or files moved to protected MIUI folders, or even deleted data that can still be recovered, and we'll look at each scenario separately so you can find exactly what you're looking for.

Before you start searching, check the obvious: you may have just turned off the display of notes in the app settings or sync with Mi Cloud. Start with the “Check Basic Settings” section – often the problem is solved in 2 minutes.

1. Check the basic settings of the application “Notes”

The first thing you need to do is make sure that your notes are not hidden because of the wrong display settings. Open the Notes app (yellow notebook icon) and follow these steps:

• 📱 Go to Profile. → Settings (cog in the upper right corner).
• 🔍 Check the Display of Notes section – here you can turn off the display of archived or blocked records.
• 🔄 Make sure you have Mi Account sync enabled, without which notes can disappear after resetting your settings.
• 🗑️ Check the Recycle Bin - Deleted notes are stored there for 30 days.

If the settings are all enabled but still missing notes, the problem may be hidden in the system folder. MIUI automatically hides some files from the user, which you need to search through the file manager.

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If you use third-party note-taking apps (like Google Keep or Evernote), check their settings separately. In MIUI, such programs are sometimes blocked by the battery optimizer, which means that the data is not displayed.

2. Search for hidden notes through the file manager

Xiaomi system notes are stored in secure folders that are not displayed by default. To see them, you need to turn on the hidden files and go the right way. Use the standard Explorer (MI File Manager) or install Solid Explorer from Google Play.

Instructions:

1. Open Explorer and tap three points in the upper right corner → Settings.
2. Activate the option to show hidden files.
3. Go to /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.notes/files/notes/ All notes in.json or.db format are stored here.
4. If the folder is empty, check the alternative path: /data/data/com.miui.notes/databases/ Access to this directory is only possible with root rights or through ADB!

Note files are either.db (database) or.json, and can be opened with text editors (e.g. QuickEdit) or converted to readable format through special utilities.

Check if the hidden files are displayed|Make sure that the notes are not archived.|Try a different file manager (for example, FX File Explorer)|Check for notes in the Mi Cloud cloud-->

3. Recover deleted or hidden notes through Mi Cloud

If your notes are missing after a phone reset or MIUI update, you can try to recover them from Mi Cloud cloud storage.

• 🌐 Go to i.mi.com and log in with the same account as you do on your phone.
• 📝 Select the Notes section in the menu on the left.
• 🔄 If there are no notes, click the Recycle Bin - here they are stored for up to 30 days.
• 💾 To recover, click on three dots next to the note → Restore.

If sync with Mi Cloud has been disabled, try manually downloading the backup:

1. On the phone, go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset.
2. Select Local Backups and check for files with a date when the notes were still in place.
3. Restore the copy, but note: this will return all settings of the phone to the state on the selected date!

Yes, and I couldn't restore | Yes, but I managed to return |No, I always back up |I only keep notes in the cloud-->

4.Use ADB to access system note files

If notes don't show up in the file manager, but you're sure they're in the phone's memory, you can try extracting them through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), a method that requires connecting the phone to a computer and basic command line knowledge.

Step-by-step:

1. Download and install ADB Tools on PC.
2. On your phone, activate Developer Mode (7 times tap the MIUI version in Settings → About Phone) and enable Debugging over USB.
3. Connect the Redmi Note 9 to your computer and type in the command line: Adb devices Make sure the device is identified.
4. Copy the Notes Database on PC: adb pull /data/data/com.miui.notes/databases/notes.db
5. Open the notes.db file with SQLite Browser or an online database browsing service.

In the note table, you will find all the notes in encrypted or open form. If the data is encrypted, you will need additional decoding software (for example, Mi Note Decryptor).

5. Recovery of Notes with Third-Party Utilities

If previous methods have failed, there is a possibility of using specialized data recovery software that scans the phone's internal memory and finds deleted or hidden files.

• 🛠️ DiskDigger – Searches for files by signatures, supports rootless recovery.
• 🔧 EaseUS MobiSaver scans memory for notes, photos and documents.
• 📱 GT Recovery – specializes in data recovery with Xiaomi (requires root for deep scanning).

Algorithm of action:

1. Install the program on a PC or phone (depending on the selected software).
2. Connect the Redmi Note 9 and allow access to memory.
3. Select the type of files to search for – Databases or Text Files.
4. Wait until the scan is finished and save the notes found.

Important: Don't write new data to your phone until you recover it! Every new note or photo can overwrite deleted files, making them impossible to recover.

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Third-party recovery tools work better if the phone has root rights, and without them, they can only find files that have not been overwritten by the system.

6 Unlocking blocked notes

MIUI has a password or fingerprint lock feature, and if you forget your password, you can unlock it in two ways:

Method 1: Through Mi Account

• Open the Notes app and try to enter the password 5 times in a row.
• Will you have the option Forgot your password? → Restore through Mi Account.
• Enter the username and password from the Xiaomi account associated with the phone.

Method 2: Reset the lock password (requires a phone reset!)

⚠️ Attention! This method will delete all data from your phone, including notes, if they are not synced with the Mi Cloud.

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Choose Delete all data and confirm the action.
3. After the reboot, log in to the same Mi Account – blocked notes will be unlocked (if they are synchronized).

7. Alternative methods: backups and third-party clouds

If you have used third-party backup services, check them out:

To recover from Google Drive:

1. Install the Notes app again from Google Play.
2. When you first start, select Restore from backup.
3. Sign in to the Google Account that was used for backup.

Frequently asked questions