How to view posts on Xiaomi: all ways for MIUI (including hidden and remote)

Introduction: Why the Standard Method Doesn't Always Work

Have you ever encountered a situation where an important message on Xiaomi suddenly disappeared from correspondence? or tried to find an old SMS, but the Messages app refused to show it in search? The problem is that MIUI hides some of the data by default - for example, archives SMS over 6 months or does not display system notifications as text messages.

Even if you’ve never manually deleted a message, Redmi, POCO, or Black Shark can automatically optimize memory by moving old messages to hidden folders or erasing them after a MIUI update. In this article, we’ll look at all the working methods, from basic to advanced, including restoring deleted SMS without root rights.

Importantly, the methods vary depending on the firmware version, for example, MIUI 14 changed the location of the message archive, and MIUI 15 introduced a new feature called Smart Search, and we took these nuances into account and prepared relevant instructions for each version.

Method 1: Standard Messages app – where to look for hidden folders

Start with the obvious, the built-in Messages app (an icon with a white envelope on a green background), and many users don't know that there are hidden sections where MIUI automatically sorts some of the correspondence.

How to get there:

• 📱 Open the Messages app and tap on the three dots in the upper right corner.

If the archive is empty but you are sure there were messages, try changing the date filter. in MIUI 13+ for this:

1. Click on the icon. 🔍 Search at the top of the screen.
2. Select Filter → Date and set the range from the earliest possible date.
3. Activate the Check Archives box (if it is in your version).

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In POCO F5 and Redmi Note 12, the message archive may be called Old Messages – look for this item on the menu.

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 14 Global Archiving is disabled by default. To activate it, go to Settings → Annexes → Communications → Archiving SMS and turn on the option.

Method 2: Keyword Search – How to Find a Message If You Don’t Remember Who It Is From

MIUI offers advanced search for SMS content, but Few users use it, a technique that is especially useful if you remember a phrase from a message but don't remember the sender number.

How to find:

1. Open Messages and tap on the magnifying glass icon (🔍).
2. Enter a keyword or phrase (such as a confirmation code or bank).
3. Press the filter (⚙️) and choose: 📅 All dates (not the last 30 days). 📤 All folders (including archive and spam).

If the search doesn’t find anything, try:

• 🔤 Use synonyms (for example, enter a pin code instead of a password).
• 📱 Reboot phone – sometimes indexing messages gets lost after updating MIUI.
• 🔍 Enter part of the phone number (for example, the last 4 digits).

Method 3: Recover deleted messages without root (through backups)

If messages have been deleted, you can try to restore them from a backup. Xiaomi automatically creates SMS backups when you connect to Mi Account, but Few users know how to extract them.

Instructions for recovery:

Log in Mi Account on phone | Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup | Select the latest copy with the date before deleting messages | Click Restore → Messages (check only on this item) | Confirm recovery and wait until completion

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Important nuances:

• 🔄 Recovery will replace current messages with those in the backup. First export the actual correspondence (see Method 4).
• ⏳ The process can take up to 30 minutes if the copy is large (e.g. with Redmi). K50 10,000+ SMS).
• 📱 If the backup is made on another model (for example, with a POCO X3 Xiaomi 13T), Some messages may not be restored.

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 14 and later backups are encrypted. If you reset your phone to factory settings and don't remember the Mi Account password, restore it. SMS It's impossible from the cloud.

Method 4: Export messages to a file (for backup or analysis)

If you need to save correspondence for printing, passing to court or transferring to another phone, Xiaomi allows you to export SMS in.xml or.txt format. This method will also help if you plan to reset the phone to factory settings.

How to export:

1. Open the messages. → ⋮ → Settings → Additionally. → Export of communications.
2. Choose the dates and contacts you want to keep.
3. Specify the format: 📄 TXT — plain text (comfortable for printing). 📊 XML — Structured data (can be imported into other phones).

Export

SD-map

Where to look for the exported file:

• 📁 folder MIUI/Backup/AllBackup — for MIUI 12-13.
• 📁 folder Download/SMS_Export — for MIUI 14+.

To read the file on the PC:

• 🖥️ TXT Open in any text editor (for example, Notepad).
• 📊 XML It is convenient to view through Excel (use the Import function). → Isa XML).

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Exports in XML store metadata (date, shipping status, sender number), whereas TXT only contains text.

Method 5: View system and service messages (for advanced)

Some messages on Xiaomi are not displayed in the standard app because they refer to system notifications, such as SMS from the operator about the tariff or service messages from Mi Cloud.

How to access:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → Tap 7 times in a row
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and turn on the System Events Log.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and use it. ADB For logs unloading: adb logcat -d | findstr "SMS" (It'll show. SMS-events of the last day).

Alternative method (without PC):

• 📱 Install Logcat Reader from Google Play.
• 🔍 In the filter, enter Telephony.SMS.
• 📤 Export logs to the file and look for the right messages by date.

⚠️ Note: System logs contain confidential information (phone numbers, IMEI, Do not pass them on to third parties and delete them after analysis.

Method 6: Recover Remote SMS through third-party applications (without root)

If the standard methods didn't work, you can use third-party utilities. We tested 5 popular apps and selected those that actually work on Xiaomi without superuser rights.

The following steps are taken for GT Recovery:

1. Download the app from Google Play or from the official website.
2. Start and select SMS Restore.
3. Give all necessary permissions (access to messages, storage).
4. Click Scan and wait until it’s finished (can take up to 1 hour on the Redmi Note 11 with 50,000+ messages).
5. View the SMS found and save the necessary ones to a separate file.

If the application does not find a message:

• 🔄 Try to turn off optimization MIUI: Settings → For developers → Deactivate "Optimization" MIUI" Then restart the phone and repeat the scan.
• 📱 Check if the Data Protection function is included in the Settings → Privacy. It can block access to SMS.

Frequent problems and solutions

Even following the instructions, users are faced with common errors, and here are the most common ways to correct them:

• 🚫 «Archives are empty in MIUI 14+ Solution: Enable archiving manually in Settings → Annexes → Communications → Archiving SMS and set the storage period (maximum - 5 years).
• 🔍 Search does not find messages that exactly are Solution: Clear the Messages app cache (Settings) → Annexes → Application management → Communications → Clear the cache).
• 📱 After recovery from the backup, messages do not display Solution: Check if the version of the Message application matches the one on which the backup was made. If necessary, roll back through APKMirror.
• 🔄 Exports SMS 99% interrupted Solution: Free up internal memory (need at least 500MB) and repeat export.

If none of these methods worked, the last option is to contact Xiaomi’s support team with a request for data recovery.

1. Prepare proof of possession of the device (checks, box with IMEI).
2. Write to the support chat on the official website or through the Mi Community app.
3. Please indicate the exact dates and phone numbers with which the correspondence was sent.

The term of consideration of the request is up to 14 days. The service is paid (from 500 to 2000 rubles, depending on the model).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions