How to remove contact on Xiaomi phone: 5 working ways

Removing unnecessary contacts on Xiaomi smartphones seems like an easy task, but many users face unexpected difficulties: contact is restored after synchronization, then records from different accounts are duplicated, you can not find the right button in the MIUI interface. This article will help you understand all the nuances from basic deletion through the phone book to clearing synchronized contacts from Google, Mi Account and instant messengers.

Features of smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO — Close integration with the ecosystem MIUI, where contacts can be stored in multiple locations simultaneously: locally on the device, in the Mi Cloud, in a Google account, or even in memory SIM-We will look at all possible scenarios, including cases where the contact "does not want" to be removed by standard means. MIUI 12) provide separate instructions taking into account the features of outdated versions of the firmware.

1. Standard removal through the "Contacts" application

The most obvious way is to use the built-in Contacts app (or Phone on global firmware), which works on all Xiaomi devices regardless of the MIUI version, but there are important nuances that many people are unaware of.

Open the Contacts app and find the right contact, and there are two possible scenarios:

• 📱 A quick tap of the contact will open his card with details. ⋮ (three dots) – click on it and select Delete.
• 🖱️ Long press (1-2 A second, on the contact in the list, will highlight it and display the toolbar at the top of the screen (🗑️) remove.

Once confirmed, the contact will disappear from the list, but this does not guarantee complete deletion. If you have synced with Google or Mi Account enabled, the record can be restored the next time you update the data. To avoid this, move to the next section.

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models with custom firmware (for example, POCO Launcher) the basket icon may not be available, in which case use the first method via the menu ⋮.

Check synchronization with Google/Mi Account|Backup of important contacts|Make sure that the contact is not tied to SIM-map|Close messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp), where a copy can be stored-->

2. Remove synchronized contacts from your Google account

If you use a Google account to sync, the remote contact can return after the next update, so that this does not happen, you need to delete it directly from Google Contacts, this is true for all Xiaomi devices where Gmail is connected.

This can be done in two ways:

1. Web version: Go to contacts.google.com and log in. Find the contact you want, tick it, and click on the basket icon at the top. Confirm removal. Contact will be placed in a shopping cart, which will be stored for 30 days before final deletion.
2. Using the app on your phone: Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google. Select your account and turn off Contact Sync (Contacts → Sync). Delete the contact through the standard Contacts app, then turn on Sync again.

It is important to understand that deleting your Google Contacts affects all devices where your account is used, and if you need it on another phone or tablet, it is best to transfer it to your local storage before you delete it.

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If after deleting the contact still appears, check the synchronization settings in the Contacts app. → ⋮ → Settings → Accounts: Automatic sync with another service (e.g. Outlook or Yandex) may be enabled).

3. Clearing contacts from Mi Account (Mi Cloud)

Xiaomi offers its own cloud storage, Mi Cloud, which can also duplicate contacts. If you use Mi Account for backup, the remote contact can be restored the next time you sign in.

Go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud and:

• 🔄 Turn off the synchronization of contacts, moving the slider to the off position..
• 🗑️ Click on Contacts and select Delete Data from the Cloud (this will remove ALL contacts from the Mi Cloud, so pre-export the desired ones!).
• 🔙 Return to Contacts and delete unnecessary entries manually.
• 🔄 Turn the sync back on if you need it.

If you don’t want to delete all contacts from the cloud, you can use the web version of Mi Cloud:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. Select the Contacts section.
3. Find the contact you want, mark it and click Delete.

⚠️ Note: When you delete contacts from Mi Cloud, they will disappear from all devices associated with this Mi Account. POCO), Consider this moment.

4. Removal of contacts with SIM-map

Many users forget that contacts can be stored not only in the memory of the phone, but also on the phone. SIM-This is true for older Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi). 4X or Mi A1), where the contacts are stored by default SIM. To clean them up:

Open the Contacts app and:

1. Press on. ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports.
2. Choose Remove from SIM-map (the name of the item may vary depending on the version) MIUI).
3. Mark unnecessary contacts and confirm removal.

Keep in mind that SIM-Cards have a limited number of contact cells (usually 200-250 If you see a message Memory SIM-The card is full, first export important contacts to your phone or cloud memory.

New Xiaomi models (starting with the MIUI (13) the recording of contacts SIM-The card is often blocked at the firmware level, and this is due to the transition to eSIM and cloud services.

In the memory of the phone|On Google account|In Mi Cloud|Nana SIM-map|In messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram)-->

5. Removal of duplicate contacts

One of the most common problems with Xiaomi is that it has duplicate contacts, which are synchronized with multiple accounts (like Google). + Mi Account or after importation with SIM-To clear the list:

Use the built-in merging function:

1. Open Contacts. → ⋮ → Contact management → Connecting contacts.
2. The system will automatically find the duplicates and prompt them to merge. Press Combine all or select specific records.
3. After the merger, remove unnecessary duplicates manually (if they remain).

If the built-in tool fails, use third-party applications:

• 📲 Simpler Merge – automatically finds and combines duplicates, supports backup.
• 🔍 Contacts Optimizer – Clears not only duplicates, but also empty or incomplete records.
• 🧹 Cleanup: Duplicate Contacts – a simple interface with a preview of changes.

Before using third-party apps, be sure to back up contacts through Settings → System & Device → Backup or export them to a.vcf file.

6. Removal of contacts from messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber)

What many users don't know is that instant messengers like WhatsApp or Telegram can create their own copies of contacts that don't appear in the standard phone book, but take up space and can restore deleted records, to completely clear contacts:

For WhatsApp:

• 📱 Open WhatsApp and go to the Chats tab.
• 🔍 Press on. ⋮ → Settings → Contacts.
• 🗑️ Choose Clear Contact History (this will only delete messenger data without affecting the phone book).

For Telegram:

• 📱 Open Telegram and go to Contacts.
• 🔍 Find the contact you want, click on it and select Delete (this will only remove it from Telegram, not from the phone book).
• 🔄 To completely remove the contact, do so through the standard Contacts app, then update the list in Telegram (Settings). → Contacts → Update).

Viber and other messengers have a similar process, and the key thing to remember is that removing a contact in a messenger is not the same as removing it from a phone book, and you have to do it separately.

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Contacts deleted from instant messengers may reappear the next time you update your contact list, so to avoid this, delete them first from your phone book and then update the data in the instant messenger.

7. Recovery of accidentally deleted contacts

If you delete a contact by mistake, it can be restored for a limited time, depending on where the record was stored:

If it’s been too long, try to restore contacts from the backup:

1. Go to Settings → System and Device → Backup.
2. Select the last backup made before deleting the contacts.
3. Click Restore and select only Contacts (to avoid erasing other data).

On new Xiaomi models (with MIUI 14), backups are encrypted, so you can only recover data on the same device or after logging into Mi Account.

8. Features of removal on older Xiaomi models (up to MIUI 12)

If you are using a MIUI 8-11 device (such as a Redmi Note 5, Mi Mix 2 or POCO F1), the interface of the Contacts app may be different.

• 📱 To remove the contact, you need to click and hold it in the list, then select Delete (in newer versions this is done via the menu). ⋮).
• 🔄 Synchronization with Mi Account on old firmware is unstable – sometimes contacts are duplicated or disappear after updating.
• 📶 Import/export of contacts SIM-The card is better supported than on newer models, but limited to 200 entries.
• 🔧 Third-party applications have to be used to clean the duplicates (there is no built-in merging tool).

Android 7-9 devices (such as Redmi 5 Plus) may not support modern backup formats, in which case export contacts to.vcf via:

Contact → ⋮ → Import/Export → Export to storage

The file will be saved in the Download folder and can be imported to any other device.

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On older Xiaomi models, make sure to back up contacts before updating MIUI – new firmware versions can reset the synchronization settings.

FAQ: Frequent questions about deleting contacts on Xiaomi