How to completely disable Xiaomi Cloud on your phone: all the ways and consequences

Xiaomi Cloud automatically activates when you first turn on your Mi, Redmi or POCO smartphone and starts syncing contacts, photos, notes and even call history. For many users, this is a convenient feature, but not everyone needs constant data transfer to the cloud — especially if you value privacy or want to save battery power.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can disable Xiaomi Cloud, from partially limiting sync to completely deleting your Mi Account from your device, how to do this across different versions of MIUI (including MIUI 14 and HyperOS), which data will stay on your phone and which will be permanently deleted, and we’ll also analyze hidden risks — for example, why some system functions may stop working after a cloud is disabled.

Why to Disable Xiaomi Cloud: 5 Reasons to Use Xiaomi

Before we get to the instructions, let's look at the cases where it's really worth getting rid of the cloud service. Here are the most common reasons:

• 🔒 Data privacy: Xiaomi Cloud stores backups on servers in China (for global versions – in Singapore or the United States), which can cause concerns among users in countries with strict laws on the protection of personal information.
• 📉 Battery savings. Background synchronization consumes up to 5-10% Charges per day, especially if automatic photo backup is enabled.
• 📶 Reduced traffic. Without restrictions, the service can eat up to 1-2 GB per month, which is critical for tariffs with a small package of Internet.
• 🗃️ Free up space on your phone: Local cloud data copies (e.g., message backups) can take up several gigabytes on an internal drive.
• 🔄 Conflicts with other clouds: If you use Google Drive or Yandex Disk, duplicate features can cause chaos in files.

However, before you turn off, note that some MIUI features (like Find Device for finding your phone or Mi Share for fast file transfer) only work with an active Mi Account.

Method 1: Partially disable synchronization (without deleting the account)

If you just need to stop the background activity of the cloud, but save access to Mi Account (for example, for purchases in the Mi Store or using Mi Fit), just turn off the synchronization of individual data.

Instructions for MIUI 12/13/14 and HyperOS:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Account.
2. Slip on your profile (if you have multiple accounts attached, choose the one you want).
3. Go to the Xiaomi Cloud section.
4. Turn off the sliders in front of unnecessary categories: 📱 Contacts – synchronization of the phone book; 📷 Gallery - Automatic uploading of photos and videos; 💬 Messages - backup SMS; 📝 Notes and Calendar – Cloud Storage; 🎵 Records - reserves of dictaphone files.

Settings → Accounts and Synchronization

Autosynchronization of data

After this, the service will no longer consume traffic and battery power, but your account will remain active, and you will still be able to log in to Mi Community, use MIUI themes and other features associated with Mi Account.

Is unnecessary categories disabled in Xiaomi Cloud| Deactivated Autosynchronization |Will access to Mi Account | Checked traffic consumption in SIM-card settings-->

Method 2: Completely disabling Xiaomi Cloud with account deletion

If you decide to completely dispose of the service, including deleting all data from the cloud, you will have to remove Mi Account from your phone, which is irreversible: all backups, photos and notes stored in Xiaomi Cloud will be deleted without the possibility of recovery after 30 days (according to the company’s policy).

Step-by-step:

1. Back up your important data to your computer or other cloud (like Google Drive). Use Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Local Backup.
2. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Account.
3. Slap the gear icon (⚙️) in the upper right corner and select Delete Account.
4. Enter the password from Mi Account for confirmation.
5. Confirm the removal by clicking Delete in the pop-up window.

Method 3: Disconnect via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods don’t work (e.g., on enterprise phones with limited settings), you can disable Xiaomi Cloud via ADB, an Android debugging tool that requires a computer connection and basic command line knowledge.

Instructions:

1. Turn on Developer Mode on your phone: go to Settings → About Phone and tap on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and activate Debugging over USB.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install it. ADB-Drivers and open the command line in the folder with the platform-tools.
4. Run the command to check the connection: adb devices (should display the serial number of your device).
5. Disable Xiaomi Cloud command: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.miui.cloudservice An additional command may be required for HyperOS: adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.cloud

Once these commands are completed, the Xiaomi Cloud app will disappear from the menu and all related processes will be stopped. However, the Mi Account will remain in the system - use Method 2 to completely delete it.

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB It can lead to disruptions in work. MIUI. Do not delete system applications unless you are sure of their purpose. For example, the command pm uninstall com.miui.securitycenter will disable the security center.

What happens after the shutdown of Xiaomi Cloud: the table of consequences

Before you make a decision, check out how the service will affect the phone, and below is a comparison of the key features before and after deleting the Mi Account:

As you can see from the table, the most critical losses are related to Find Device and Mi Share. If these features are important to you, consider alternatives: for example, you can use Google Find My Device to search for a phone, and Google’s Nearby Share to transfer files.

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Before you turn off Xiaomi Cloud, export your contacts to.vcf via Contacts → Settings → Import/Export. This will allow you to quickly restore your phone book even without the cloud.

How to Free Up After Xiaomi Cloud Disconnection

Even after deleting your account, your phone may still have local copies of cloud data that take up space to delete:

1. Go to Settings → Storage → Cleanup and start the scan.
2. In the app cache section, search for Xiaomi Cloud (or com.miui.cloudservice) and clear its data.
3. Remove the MIUI/Backup folder from the internal storage through any file manager (e.g. Mi File Explorer).
4. For deep cleaning, use the ADB command: adb shell pm clear com.miui.cloudservice

If you want to completely erase all traces of the cloud service, including system files, reset to factory settings (Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset). However, this will delete all data from the phone, so make a backup first.

Xiaomi Cloud Alternatives: Where to Move Data

If you are not using Xiaomi Cloud, it is logical to choose a replacement for backup and sync.

• ☁️ Google Drive: Pros: Android integration, automatic copying of contacts and photos. Cons: limit of 15 GB on free fare.
• 📁 Yandex Disk: Pros: 10 GB free, convenient app for autoloading photos. Cons: slow synchronization of large files.
• 🔗 Syncthing (for advanced users): Pros: Decentralized storage (data only on your devices). Cons: requires customization and technical knowledge.
• 💾 Local storage: Pros: full control of data, no dependence on the Internet. Cons: risk of loss when the phone breaks.

To automate backup on Android, we recommend using the Swift Backup app (requires root) or OAndBackupX (works without superuser rights, but with restrictions).

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If you use Google Photos for backup, turn off the High Quality option in the settings to avoid compression of images.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you turn off Xiaomi Cloud, users often face problems, and here are the most common ones and ways to solve them:

• 🔄 "Unable to delete account": Reason: Find Device is active or the phone is linked to Mi Account as device administrator. Solution: disable Find Device in Google settings and check Administrator Device.
• ⚠️ "After deleting your account, the phone requires a password when you turn on": Reason: Mi Account was tied to the screen lock (Mi Cloud Lock function).Solution: Before deleting your account, disable the lock via Settings → Lock screen → Password. → Delete.
• 📱 "Xiaomi apps stopped working": Reason: Some system utilities (e.g. Security or Themes) require authorization through Mi Account.Solution: Install alternative apps from Google Play (e.g. Nova Launcher instead of the standard launcher).

⚠️ Note: If you are selling or transferring your phone to another person, it is not enough to simply delete your Mi Account. Be sure to reset to factory settings, otherwise the new owner will be able to restore your data through a local backup.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions