Recovery of Remote SMS on Xiaomi: From Backups to Deep Scanning

Removing the important SMS-So, when you're texting on a Xiaomi smartphone, it's a situation that's familiar to many people. Whether it's a confirmation code, an appointment address, or a personal email, data loss always causes panic, POCO There are several ways to return lost messages – from standard features. MIUI The key is to act quickly, as the chances of recovery fall with every minute of active phone use.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven methods, including recovery through Google Drive, built-in Xiaomi backups, third-party apps, and even manually extracting data from the device memory. Separately, we will discuss the nuances for different versions of MIUI (12 to 14) and explain why some methods work only on rooted phones. If you use Xiaomi with custom firmware, at the end of the article you will find separate recommendations.

1. Checking backups in MIUI: the fastest way

The first thing to do is check if automatic backup is enabled in your firmware. Xiaomi offers two types of backups:

• 🔄 Local copies – stored in the phone memory along the way /MIUI/backup/AllBackup.
• ☁️ Cloud Copies – synced with Mi Account or Google Drive.

To recover the SMS from the local copy:

1. Open Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Local Backup.
2. Select the most recent copy (see the date of creation in the file name).
3. Click Restore and tick the item "Messages".
4. Confirm the action and wait until the process is completed (may take up to 5 minutes).

Make sure your phone is at least 30 times charged%|

Turn off mobile internet (to avoid synchronization conflicts)|

Remember your current SMS settings (they can be overwritten)|

Check the space (needs at least 500 MB)

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If you don’t have local copies, try the cloud.

1. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Backup of the device.
2. Select the device and date of the copy, then click Restore.
3. In the data list, mark "Messages" and confirm.

⚠️ Note: Recovery from the Mi Cloud requires authorization from the same account used to create the backup.If you change your password or linked number, access may be blocked.

2. Restore via Google Drive (for synchronized devices)

If your Xiaomi has Google Account sync enabled, the chances of returning SMS are much higher, and this method works even after the phone is reset to factory settings, but with one condition: sync messages must be activated before they are deleted.

Instructions for remediation:

1. Open the Messages app (standard or Google Messages).
2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → Settings → Restore messages.
3. Select the Google account that was synced.
4. Confirm the recovery and wait until it is completed (may take up to 10 minutes).

If the item Restore messages is not:

• 📱 Install Google Messages app (it supports SMS backup).
• 🔄 In the application settings, enable Backup and Restore.
• ☁️ Wait for synchronization (it may take up to 24 hours).

Standard "Messages" MIUI|

Google Messages|

Other (write in the comments)|

I don't know which one is set.

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3. Use of third-party applications (without root)

If you don't have backups, we've tested 5 popular apps and selected the two most effective ones for Xiaomi.

1. SMS Backup & Restore (free)

The app creates local copies of SMS in.xml format, which can be restored even after a phone is reset, plus supports cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox).

How to use:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Click Restore and select the backup file (if any).
3. If you don’t have copies, create a new one (Backup → Create).

2. Dr.Fone - Data Recovery (paid but with trial scan)

This utility scans the phone's internal memory for deleted data. Xiaomi with MIUI 14 and later requires disabling MIUI protection through Settings → Special features → For developers → Disable MIUI protection.

Step-by-step:

1. Download Dr.Fone to PC.
2. Connect Xiaomi via USB (enable USB debugging in the developer settings).
3. Select Android Data Recovery → Messages.
4. Wait for the scan (can take up to 1 hour).
5. Mark the necessary SMS and click Restore.

⚠️ Note: Apps like Dr.Fone can only detect messages that have not been overwritten by new data. If you have been using your phone after deleting your SMS (installing apps, downloading files), your chances of recovery drop dramatically.

💡

Before scanning through Dr.Fone, turn your phone into flight mode and turn off Wi-Fi, which will prevent deleted data from being overwritten with new notifications or updates.

4.Manual recovery via ADB (for advanced users)

If you're familiar with the command line, you can try extracting SMS directly from the system database mmsms.db. This method only works on unrooted phones with USB debugging enabled.

Instructions:

1. Install Android SDK Platform Tools on your PC.
2. Connect Xiaomi to USB and enable Debugging over USB (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times tap to activate the developer mode).
3. Open the command line in the adb folder and type:

adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db

This command will copy the SMS database to your computer.

1. Use the DB Browser for SQLite program to open the mmssms.db file.
2. Go to the Data Review tab → select the SMS table.
3. Export the desired messages to.csv or.txt format.

Limitations of the method:

• 🔒 Requires an unlocked bootloader (on some Xiaomi models, this leads to a data reset).
• 📵 Does not work on phones with encrypted memory (by default in the system) MIUI 13+).
• ⏳ The process takes a long time and requires technical skills.

5.Recovery on rooted phones

If your Xiaomi has root access, the chances of returning SMS are as high as possible, with the most reliable tool being Titanium Backup (for older versions of Android) or Swift Backup (for newer versions).

Instructions for Swift Backup:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Provide root access (if requested).
3. Go to the Recovery tab.
4. Select Messages → tick the desired copy → click Restore.

An alternative method is to manually copy the database of mmssms.db:

1. Use Root Explorer or ADB with superuser rights.
2. Go to /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/.
3. Copy the file mmsms.db to a secure location (for example, on the SD-map).
4. Open the file via SQLite browser (as described in the previous section).

⚠️ Attention: On phones with MIUI 14 and later even root access does not guarantee the recovery of SMS if the data encryption is enabled (activated by default.

6. What should I do if nothing has worked?

If all of these methods fail, there are two options:

1. Contact the service center

Official Xiaomi service centers do not deal with data recovery, but some private workshops offer chip-off recovery services - extracting data directly from the memory chip.

Please specify before contacting:

• 🔧 Does the master have experience with Xiaomi (models on Snapdragon and Mediatek require different approaches).
• 💾 Is the security of the rest of the data on the phone guaranteed.
• ⏳ Execution time (may take up to 5 working days).

Verification by the communications operator

Some mobile operators (e.g. MegaFon or Beeline) store copies of SMS on their servers for 3-7 days to request a recovery:

1. Call in support of the operator (the number is usually listed on the official website).
2. Please provide the date and approximate time of the deleted message.
3. Provide passport details to confirm ownership of the number.

Limitations:

• 📅 Most operators are storing SMS not longer than 72 hours.
• 📄 A written statement may be required (for legal entities).
• 💰 Service paid (from 300 to 1000 rubles per request).

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If the SMS contained critical information (e.g., bank account access codes), immediately block the related services through the support of the bank or service.

FAQ: Frequent questions about SMS recovery on Xiaomi