How to view remote messages on Xiaomi: everything from backups to engineering menus

Remove an important message on Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO — And now you don't know how to get it back? You're not alone: 68% of users have lost at least once. SMS or chat rooms because of accidental clicking or resetting. MIUI Offers several recovery methods, from standard backups to hidden engineering menu features.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven methods, including working with Mi Cloud cloud services, local backups, third-party utilities and even physical analysis of the device memory. Importantly, the effectiveness of each method depends on whether less than 30 days have passed since the deletion – after this period, the chances of recovery fall sharply due to the features of the F2FS file system used in modern Xiaomi smartphones.

Before you start, check:

• 📱 Model of the device: on Xiaomi 12/13/14 s MIUI 14+ Extended backup features are available, whereas on older Redmi Notes 7/8 (MIUI 12) may require workarounds.
• 🔄 Synchronization status: if in Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud enabled message synchronization, chances of recovery higher.
• ⚠️ Post-deletion actions: If you installed updates, cleared cache, or formatted memory, data could be overwritten.

Recovery through Mi Cloud: The Official Way

The most reliable method is to use the Mi Cloud cloud service if it was activated before deleting messages. the service automatically saves SMS and chats (including WhatsApp, Telegram) every 24 hours when connecting to Wi-Fi.

To recover the data:

1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Select Data Recovery and log in.
3. In the Messages or Applications section (for instant messengers), select the latest backup.
4. Confirm the recovery – the process will take from 5 to 20 minutes depending on the amount of data.

Limitations of the method:

• 🚫 It does not work if sync has been disabled or Mi Account is not tied.
• 📅 Restores only those messages that were at the time of the last backup (for example, if a copy is from May 1 and the message is deleted on May 10, it will not be available).
• 🔒 WhatsApp requires a separate backup setup in the app itself.

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If you don’t have the right copy in Mi Cloud, check the /MIUI/backup/AllBackup folder on your phone through the file manager – sometimes local backups are saved there even without cloud sync.

2. Local backups: where to look and how to open

MIUI creates local backups when you manually back up or before you upgrade, and these files are stored in a hidden folder and may contain deleted SMS.

Search instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC or use a file manager (such as Mi File Explorer).
2. Go to /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/backup/AllBackup/ Or to older versions of MIUI 11-12: /data/media/0/MIUI/backup/
3. Look for files with the.bak or.mbk extension (for example, sms_20260515.bak).
4. Copy the file on your PC and use the MIUI Backup Extractor utility (available on GitHub) to retrieve messages.

⚠️ Attention:.mbk files in MIUI 13+ They are encrypted by linking to a Xiaomi account. To decrypt them, you will need an original device or authorization token, which can be obtained through adb (instruction below).

3.Use of the Engineering Menu and ADB: for advanced users

If standard methods fail, you can try to retrieve messages through an engineering menu or an ADB (Android Debug Bridge) that requires technical skills but allows you to access low-level logs.

Steps to work through ADB:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Enable USB debugging in Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install ADB Tools, and execute the command: adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db This file contains an SMS database (including deleted ones if they are not already overwritten).
4. Open mmssms.db via SQLite Browser or SQLite Viewer.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 14+ baseline SMS changed /data/user_de/0/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/. Also, starting with Android 12, Requires unlocking of the loader to access /data rootless.

4. Third-party utilities: risks and opportunities

If previous methods didn't work, you can use specialized data recovery software, but there are some nuances:

• ✅ Pluses: 🔍 Deep Memory Scanning (including Unallocated Space). 📱 Support for devices without root rights (limited). 📊 Recovery is not just about SMS, but also multimedia investments.
• ❌ Cons: 💰 Free (free versions only restore previews). 🛡️ Risk of installing malware (download only from official sites). 🔧 On the new Xiaomi (with Android 13)+) need to be switched off MIUI Optimization through ADB.

Top.-3 tested:

1. Dr.Fone (Wondershare) – supports MIUI 14, but requires data protection to be disabled.
2. Tenorshare UltData works with encrypted backups of Mi Cloud.
3. EaseUS MobiSaver is a free version that can recover up to 10 messages.

Shut down. MIUI Optimization (adb shell settings put global) miui_optimization 0)

Enable debugging over USB

Charge your phone at least 50%

Backup of current data (in case of failure)-->

5. Physical analysis of memory: an extreme case

If the messages are critical (e.g., court evidence) and the software methods don't work, then you have to physically analyze the flash memory.

• 🔧 Specialized equipment (e.g. Chip-Off or JTAG).
• 💻 Software for low-level reading (UFS Explorer, Cellebrite).
• 📉 100% risk of loss of warranty – you will have to open the case.

The process includes:

1. Removal of memory chip (eMMC or UFS).
2. Connect to the programmer and create a dump.
3. Analysis of the dump using a Hex editor or Autopsy.

⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi devices with UFS 3.1 (e.g. Xiaomi 13 Pro) physical memory extraction can result in the controller being locked due to hardware encryption.

6.Prevention: How to avoid future message loss

To avoid being in this situation again, set up automatic backup:

• 📱 Mi Cloud: Enable Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → Message synchronization. Set up Autosynchronization over Wi-Fi.
• 🔄 Local Backups: Use Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset → Local backup. Save copies to your PC or external drive.
• 📧 Export to Gmail: In Google Messages, enable Settings → Archiving and backup.

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Starting with MIUI 14, Xiaomi automatically creates “shadow copies” of critical data (including the data) SMS) Once a week, these copies are stored in encrypted form in a /data/system_ce/0/shadow/ and can only be retrieved through an official service center.

FAQ: Frequent questions about post recovery on Xiaomi