Recovering Deleted Messages on Xiaomi Smartphones: The Complete Guide

Deleting important messages on a Xiaomi smartphone is a familiar situation. Whether it’s a confirmation code SMS, WhatsApp correspondence with important agreements or private messages on Telegram, data loss always causes panic. Fortunately, owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi devices have several ways to recover lost things, from standard MIUI features to professional tools.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven recovery methods, including Mi Cloud cloud storage, local backups, third-party utilities, and even low-level tools like ADB. It’s important to understand that success depends on many factors: whether synchronization was enabled, how long ago messages were deleted, and whether the device’s memory was overwritten after deletion. The faster you start acting, the better the chances of success.

Note that some methods require root rights or PC connectivity, others only work when you pre-set up your backup, and we've specified the difficulty level for each method so you can choose the best option.

1. Recovery via Mi Cloud (the easiest way)

The Mi Cloud cloud storage is the first tool worth checking out: If your Xiaomi has enabled messaging sync, it can be returned in a few clicks, which works for SMS, MMS and messaging in the standard Messages app, but doesn’t apply to instant messengers like WhatsApp or Viber.

To recover the data:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud
• 🔄 Make sure the switch opposite the Message is active (if not, the method will not work)
• 📥 Click "Restore" and select the desired backup by date
• ⏳ Wait for the process to be completed (may take up to 10 minutes)

Mi Cloud only stores backups of messages for 30 days from the last sync, if messages were deleted earlier, this method will not help, and also note that when you restore all current messages, all data from the backup will be replaced.

⚠️ Note: If you've never enabled Message Sync in Mi Cloud, this is useless.

2. Local backups in MIUI

MIUI automatically creates local backups for some data, including SMS, which are stored in the device's memory and can save the day if cloud sync is disabled, but access to them is not so obvious, you have to use hidden functions.

Instructions for recovery:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC via USB (file transfer mode)
2. Go to MIUI/backup/AllBackup on the internal drive
3. Find a file with the.mbk extension (for example, sms_20260515.mbk)
4. Copy it to your computer and rename it.zip.
5. Unblock the file – inside will be a folder of SMS messages in XML format

You can use applications like SMS Backup & Restore or manually convert XML to readable format to view recovered SMS, and unfortunately, there is no automatic import back to the standard Messages app — you have to manually transfer the data.

Check for the MIUI/backup folder on your phone |

Download the archiver (7-Zip, WinRAR) on PC|

Install Backup & Restore SMS from Google Play|

Back up your current messages (in case of errors)

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Note: On the new Xiaomi 13/14 and Redmi Note 12 models, the path to backups may be different. If there is no AllBackup folder, try searching for the backup keyword through the file manager.

3. Specialized recovery applications

If the standard methods don't work, third-party utilities will come to the rescue.

• 🔧 Dr.Fone (Windows/Mac) — restore SMS, contacts, photos
• 📱 GT Recovery (Android) – works without root, but with limitations
• 💾 DiskDigger – Searches for deleted files at the file system level
• 🔍 EaseUS MobiSaver – supports recovery from internal memory and SD-map

The algorithm of actions (on the example of Dr.Fone):

1. Install the program on your PC and connect your phone via USB
2. Enable USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times)
3. Select the data type for recovery ("Messages")
4. Confirm the scan (may need root)
5. Check the SMS you found and save the necessary ones.

The effectiveness of these programs depends on how long it has been since the deletion and how actively the device memory was used, and if after deleting messages you installed new applications or took a lot of photos, the chances of recovery drop sharply.

⚠️ Note: Most "free" versions of such programs show the data found, but require payment to save — 500-1500 ruble.

4. Recovery through ADB (for advanced users)

The Android Debug Bridge (ADB) tool allows you to access system files where SMS is stored. This method requires command line skills and does not guarantee 100% results, but sometimes saves in hopeless situations.

Step-by-step:

1. Install ADB Tools on PC
2. Connect your phone and enable debugging via USB
3. Open the command line and execute: adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
4. If there is an access error, root will be required.
5. Open the resulting file mmssms.db via SQLite Browser
6. Export the SMS table to the CSV-format

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ Without root, it only works on older versions. MIUI (12)
• ❌ On new devices (Xiaomi) 13T, Redmi Note 12 Pro+) filesystem is encrypted
• ❌ Messages from messengers (WhatsApp, Viber) are stored in other databases

For devices with a Qualcomm processor (most Xiaomi) there is an alternative method through the EDL-It's a mode, but it requires a lot of technical knowledge and it risks building the phone.

5. Recovery of messages in messengers

If you're not talking about standard SMS, but messages on WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber, the algorithm will be different. Most messengers have built-in backup mechanisms.

For WhatsApp:

• 📱 Remove and reinstall the application
• 🔄 When you first start, the system will offer to restore chats from Google Drive
• ⚠️ Make sure you use the same Google account as you do for backup.

For Telegram:

• 🌥️ All cloud chats are saved automatically on servers
• 📥 To restore secret chats, you need a backup (manually configured)
• 🔑 A password will be required to access the backup of secret chats

For Viber:

• 🖥️ Backups are created manually in Settings → Account. → Backup copy
• 📧 Copies are saved to email or to the Viber cloud
• 🔄 To restore, you need to reinstall the application and select "Restore"

Important: WhatsApp only keeps backups for 1 year (unless you update them).In Telegram, cloud messages are saved indefinitely, but secret chats have their own rules.

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If you regularly clean messenger cache through the Cleaner in MIUI, this can delete local backups. Add messenger folders to the cleanup exceptions: Settings → Warehouse → Cleanup → Exceptions

6. when restoration is not possible

Unfortunately, there are situations where it is not possible to return deleted messages even at a service center, and here are the key signs of hopeless cases:

• 🗑️ More than 30 days have passed since the deletion (data is overwritten)
• 🔄 Reset to factory settings (Hard Reset)
• 📱 The device has been reflashed or updated MIUI
• 💾 The internal memory was completely encrypted (beginning with the MIUI 13)
• 🔧 We used deep cleaning software like CCleaner.

In such cases, there is only one way out – prevention for the future:

• 📅 Set up automatic backup in Mi Cloud
• 📱 Use applications like this. SMS Backup & Restore for Local Backups
• 🔄 Regularly export important correspondence from messengers
• ⚠️ Avoid “memory cleaners” – they often delete the data they need.

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If you deleted your messages less than a day ago and your phone didn't reboot, you have the best chance of recovery, and the longer you wait, the less likely you are to succeed.

FAQ: Frequent questions about post recovery on Xiaomi