How to delete a recording of a conversation on a Xiaomi phone: all the ways

Phone records on Xiaomi smartphones can take up valuable space in the device’s memory, and sometimes contain sensitive information that needs to be urgently deleted. Unlike conventional audio files, these records are often stored in hidden folders of the system or tied to the Phone application. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to delete them, from standard MIUI tools to manually clearing through the file manager.

It’s important to understand that the process can vary depending on the firmware version (e.g. MIUI 12 vs MIUI 14) and the phone model (Redmi Note 11, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T, etc.).We’ve taken these nuances into account and prepared universal solutions that work on most devices released after 2018. If you use custom firmware or an older version of Android, check the additional guidelines at the end of the article.

Where are the conversation records on Xiaomi stored?

By default, call records on Xiaomi are saved in one of three places:

• 📁 folder MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec — firmware MIUI 10–14. The files are.amr or.mp3 name-named Call_20260515_143022.amr.
• 📁 Internal memory. → Recordings/Call — alternative path for some models (e.g, POCO F4). Files can be grouped by contact.
• ☁️ Mi Cloud - if synchronization is enabled. Records are available in the web version of i.mi.com in the Records section.

To determine exactly the storage path on your device, open the Phone app, go to the Call Log, find the recorded conversation, and click on the "i" icon. Some versions of MIUI display a direct path to the file here.

⚠️ Attention: On Android devices 12+ and MIUI 13+ file-access MIUI/sound_recorder It can be limited. Opening it will require a file manager with root rights or activation of the developer mode.

Method 1: Delete through a call log

The easiest method is to use the built-in Phone app, which is suitable for most Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models on MIUI 11-14 firmware:

1. Open the phone application (pipe icon).
2. Go to the Journal (or Call History) tab.
3. Find a recorded conversation – next to it will be a microphone icon 🎤.
4. Click on the record and hold for 2 seconds, then select Delete.
5. Confirm the action in the dialog window.

If there is no microphone icon, then the recording was made by a third-party application (such as Cube Call Recorder), in which case use Method 3 or Method 4 from this article.

Check the version of MIUI in Settings → About the phone

Update the Phone app in Google Play

Backup of important records

Close background applications to speed up the process-->

On some devices (such as the Xiaomi 12 Pro), the call recording feature is disabled by default due to Google restrictions. If you don't see log entries, check the phone app settings:

Settings → Additional → Recording conversations

Method 2: Cleaning through MIUI settings

If there are many records and it is inconvenient to delete them one by one, use the built-in cleaning utility MIUI:

1. Open the Settings → Memory.
2. Press Clean (or Free Place)
3. Select Audio or Other Files category.
4. In the list, find a folder. call_rec or Recordings.
5. Mark unnecessary files and click Delete.

This method does not always show all records, as MIUI can hide system files.If the folder does not show up, try Method 4 using a file manager.

*Xiaomi. 13/14 Android 13+ Access to system folders is limited. To open them, you need to activate Developer Mode and enable the Debugging option. USB, then ADB-Teams or file manager with root rights.

Redmi (Note, Pro, etc.)

POCO (X, F, M series)

Xiaomi (number series: 11, 12, 13, etc.)

Black Shark

Another model-->

Method 3: Delete through the file manager

If standard methods don't work, find the records manually using a file manager (e.g. Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).

1. Open the file manager and enable the display of hidden files (Settings → Show hidden files).
2. Go down one path: /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec /storage/emulated/0/Recordings/Call /storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.miui.voicerecord

.amr

.mp3

.m4a

Delete

On Android devices 11+ folder MIUI/sound_recorder It may not be available without root rights. ADB-commands or third-party utilities like FX File Explorer with Extended Rights.

⚠️ Attention: Deleting files through the file manager does not clear them from the phone application database. After this cleaning, the call log may remain "ghost" entries. To remove them, clear the application cache in Settings. → Annexes → Phone. → Memory. → Clear the cache.

💡

If you often record conversations, set up automatic deletion of old files. → Memory. → Autoclean and add a folder call_rec Exceptions and then set a storage limit (e.g, 30 days).

Method 4: Delete records from the Mi Cloud

If your Xiaomi enabled sync with Mi Cloud, the records could be automatically uploaded to the cloud to be deleted:

1. Open your browser and go to i.mi.com.
2. Sign in with the same Mi Account as you do on your phone.
3. Go to the Records section (or Call Records in English).
4. Select unnecessary files and click Delete.
5. Confirm the deletion in the cart (files are stored there for 30 days).

Note that removing from the cloud does not erase the phone records, and to clear them completely, repeat the procedure on the device (see Method 1-3).

If you don’t plan to use cloud storage, turn off sync:

Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Synchronization → Recording conversations (disable)

Method 5: Using ADB for removal (advanced)

On Android 10+ and MIUI 12+ devices, access to system folders is often blocked, in which case ADB (Android Debug Bridge) will help.

1. Download Google’s Platform Tools and unpack the archive.
2. Activate Developer Mode on Phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times)
3. Enable USB debugging in Settings → Additional → For developers.
4. Connect your phone to your PC and execute on the command line: adb shell rm -rf /sdcard/MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec/*

This command will completely clear the folder with the records.

adb shell ls /sdcard/MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec


adb shell rm /sdcard/MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec/Call_20260515_*.amr

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB This can cause your phone to crash. Do not delete files outside of the folder. call_rec, unless they are sure of their appointment.

What to do if the records are not deleted

If none of these methods worked, the reason may be as follows:

• 🔒 Protection MIUI: On some devices (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra) records are protected by the system. → Confidentiality.
• 🛠️ Damaged files: If the record is not played back, it cannot be deleted by standard methods. ADB or restart your phone in Safe Mode (hold the power button) → Restarting in Safe Mode).
• 📱 Third-party applications: Records made through Cube Call Recorder or ACR, They're stored in their own folders. Delete them through the settings of those apps.

If the problem persists, reset the settings of the Phone application:

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Phone → Storage → Data Reset

This will delete all records and call history, but will keep the contacts.

💡

Before resetting the Phone application, export important contacts to the VCF file via Contacts → Settings → Import / Export.

FAQ: Frequent questions about recording and deleting conversations