Previous articleMissing contacts on Xiaomi Redmi – how to recover in 10 minutes

You opened a phone book on your Xiaomi Redmi, and instead of hundreds of saved numbers, you had a void, or your contacts suddenly disappeared after you upgraded, reset or changed your settings. SIM-This is a problem that many Xiaomi smartphone users know, but it can be solved quickly and without data loss. 90% of the time, contacts are not permanently deleted, they are simply hidden in cloud services, cache or backups.

In this article, we will look at 7 proven recovery methods, from the simplest (synchronizing with Google Account) to advanced (manual extraction from MIUI backups), focusing on common errors that cause users to lose contacts forever – for example, misconfiguring the main account to synchronize or ignore backup notifications, and learn how to prevent repeated data loss in the future.

1. Check the settings for the display of contacts

Often the problem is not deleting the display filters, but crashing. Your Redmi may simply “don’t show” contacts from a particular account (for example, your Redmi may not show contacts from a particular account, SIM-Maps or Google. To fix it:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Tap it on three points (⋮) top-right → Settings.
3. Select Contact Management → Display contacts.
4. Make sure all sources are enabled: Device, Google, Mi Account, SIM-map.

If contacts are displayed but not synced, try updating the data manually:

• 🔄 Go to Settings. → Accounts and synchronization.
• 📱 Choose a Google or Mi Account → switch on contact synchronization.
• 🔃 Click Sync Now.

⚠️ Note: If you have recently changed SIM-The card, the contacts from it could have stayed on the old card, put it back in and copy the numbers to the phone's memory through Contacts. → Imports/Exports.

2. Restoration through Google Account

If your contacts were linked to a Google Account, you can return them even after you reset Redmi completely.

1. Open Google Contacts in your browser on your PC or phone.
2. Sign in with the same account that was used on Xiaomi.
3. Check if contacts are displayed in the web version. If so, turn on sync on your phone (see section above).

If you don’t have any contacts in Google, try to restore them from the cart:

• 🗑️ In Google Contacts, select the Recycle Bin in the left menu.
• ⏳ Contacts are stored there for 30 days - mark the necessary and click Restore.
• 🔄 After recovery, wait for sync to Redmi (can take up to 10 minutes).

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If you don’t remember which Google Account was linked to your phone, check the login history on Device Activity, which shows all the devices you logged in to.

3. Use of Mi Account (Xiaomi Cloud)

Xiaomi offers its own cloud storage, MI Cloud, which automatically backs up contacts (if enabled) to recover data:

1. Go to Settings. → Mi Account.
2. Choose. MI Cloud → Contacts.
3. If there is a backup, click Sync.
4. If contacts are not displayed, check the Recycle Bin section (stores deleted data for 15 days).

If the synchronization is not working:

• 🔌 Make sure that mobile internet or Wi-Fi is enabled.
• 🔄 Restart your phone and try again.
• 📱 Check if you have logged out of your Mi Account – this will disable access to the cloud.

4.Restore from local MIUI backup

MIUI automatically creates local contact backups if Backup and Reset is enabled to recover data:

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset.
2. Select Local Backups.
3. Find the last backup (dates of creation) and tap on it.
4. Mark Contacts and click Restore.

If backups are not available or damaged, try to find the file manually:

• 📁 Connect Redmi to your PC and open the folder MIUI/backup/AllBackup.
• 🔍 Look for files with the.bak extension – they can be opened through the MIUI Backup Tool (download on the backup tool) XDA Developers).

⚠️ Attention: Local backups MIUI may not contain contacts if you have turned off reservations in settings. Check if Automatic Backup is enabled in Settings → Additionally. → Backup.

Disable antivirus (can block access to files)

Charge your phone at least 50%

Connect to Wi-Fi (if backup is in the cloud)

Take a screenshot of current contacts (in case of an error)-->

5 Manual recovery via VCF files

If you have ever exported contacts to a.vcf file (for example, when changing your phone), you can import them back.

1. Download the.vcf file to Redmi (for example, via Telegram, mail or PC).
2. Open the Contacts app → ⋮ → Settings → Imports/Exports.
3. Select Import from the device and specify the path to the.vcf file.
4. Confirm the import and wait until it is completed.

If you don’t have a.vcf file but you still have an old phone, export your contacts from it:

• 📱 On the old device: Contacts → ⋮ → Export to device.
• 📤 Flip the file to Redmi via Bluetooth, cable, or cloud.

6.Recovery after reset to factory settings

If contacts are lost after hard reset, the algorithm of actions depends on whether the synchronization was enabled:

• 🔄 If sync with Google or Mi Account was enabled: just log in after reset – contacts will be automatically downloaded.
• 📱 If the synchronization has been disabled: try to restore data through MIUI Backup (see section 4) or contact Xiaomi Support (if the phone is warranty-free).

If the reset was made by mistake and there are no backups:

• 🛑 Stop using your phone immediately – new data can overwrite old data.
• 🔧 Use data recovery software (such as Dr.Fone or EaseUS MobiSaver), but note that they don’t always work on the data recovery software. MIUI encryption.

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After resetting to factory settings, Xiaomi Redmi automatically offers to restore data from the last backup when you first turn on. Don't miss this step - it will be more difficult to do later!

7. Contact Xiaomi Support

If none of these methods worked and contacts are critical (such as work numbers or customer details), contact official support:

1. Go to support.xiaomi.com.
2. Select Contacts → Loss of data.
3. Fill out the form by specifying: Phone model (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro+). MIUI version (find in Settings → About Phone) Date of last successful synchronization.

Please include screenshots of errors (if any).

In some cases, Xiaomi can recover data from server logs, but it takes 3 to 10 days.The service is free for devices under warranty.

⚠️ Warning: Don't trust "specialists" who promise to reconnect for money via remote access. These are scammers! official Xiaomi support never asks for passwords or device access.

FAQ: Frequent questions about reconnecting