Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a situation where the built-in Messages app is full of unnecessary information: it can be spam from operators, old confirmation codes or just accumulated dialog trash that takes up space and prevents you from navigating. The standard MIUI or HyperOS interface offers several ways to clean up, but not all of them are obvious to the average user.
Deleting correspondence is not just a single click, as the system often duplicates data in the cloud or archive. If you want to completely clear the history or free up space on the drive, you need to understand the difference between deleting a separate dialog thread and completely clearing the app cache. In this article, we will discuss all the nuances of working with a standard messenger from a Chinese manufacturer.
It is important to note that the deletion process is irreversible without prior backup. Deleted SMS messages do not get into the system-level shopping cart, like photos, and it is impossible to restore them with standard phone means. So before mass deletion, make sure that the archive does not have important data, such as codes from banks or delivery addresses.
Deletion of selected dialogues and communications
The most common scenario is to remove correspondence with a specific contact or number. In the standard Messages app, this is quite simple, but there are nuances of highlighting several threads at once. First, open the application and find the desired dialogue in the shared list.
To delete one correspondence, you just need to press long-term (tap and hold) on the right line with the contact name. Once the line is highlighted, a toolbar will appear at the top of the screen, and here you will see the basket icon, pressing which will permanently delete the selected branch.
If you want a mass cleanup, the algorithm changes a little, you can select multiple dialogs just by touching them after the first long press, and it allows you to quickly clear the list of dozens of spam mailings or old notifications.
- 📱 Open the Messages app on the main screen.
- ⏳ Make a long press on the dialogue that needs to be removed.
- ✅ Select additional touch dialogues if you need to remove several at once.
- 🗑️ Click on the basket icon in the top menu and confirm the action.
Keep in mind that removing the dialog from the list does not always mean clearing all the attached files if they were saved separately, but the text part of the story will disappear completely.
Clear all messages at once
Sometimes, you need to do a radical cleanup, where you have to erase your entire history, whether you're selling a device, transferring your phone to another user, or just completely freeing up space, and the built-in MIUI allows you to do that in a few clicks, without manually removing the apps.
To do a mass clean, go to the settings of the app itself, which are usually available through a three-dot menu or a gear at the top right of the Messages home screen, and there's the Clear All Messages item that triggers the process of completely erasing the SMS and MMS database.
⚠️ Note: Using the Clear All feature will remove the correspondence history from all SIM cards at the same time.
An alternative is to use a built-in system cleaner. Xiaomi’s Security app has a garbage cleaner module that often finds old SMS, but this method is less reliable for complete removal, as it can skip some dialogs marked as important.
- 📉 Select the option to Clear all messages.
Once the process is complete, the dialog list will be empty, and if you are syncing with the Mi Cloud, changes may be reflected there if the corresponding SMS sync option is enabled.
Remove through the storage settings menu
If the standard interface of the application does not respond or does not work correctly, you can use the system settings of Android, which allows you to manage the application data at a deeper level, including cleaning the cache and forced to stop processes before deleting.
Go to Settings for your Redmi smartphone, then select the App and find Messages in the Messages list. Here you are interested in the Storage tab. This is where the tools for managing the data that the messenger occupies are located.
Pressing the Clear Data button will reset the application to factory status, and all dialogs, subscription settings, and drafts will be removed, which is equivalent to reinstalling the application, but without removing the app itself. APK-file.
Settings → Applications → All Applications → Messages → Storage → CleanThis method is effective when you want to securely delete everything, including hidden temporary files, but it doesn't allow you to select specific dialogs to delete, it erases everything.
- 🛠️ Open the system settings of the phone.
- 📲 Go to the Appendix section → Application management.
- 📂 Find the list of messages (Mi Messages).
- 💾 Click Clean and select Clean Everything.
☑️ Pre-deletion check
Work with archives and spam
Often users think they have deleted a message, but it's only moved to an archive or a spam filter folder. In the HyperOS shell and older versions of MIUI, message filtering is quite aggressive, and the desired emails can be hidden from view.
To check the archive, open the Messages app and click on the menu (three dots or profile icons). Select Archive. This stores the dialogs you hid but didn't delete. To permanently delete them, select them and send them to the cart from here.
Special attention should be paid to the Spam folder and the lock, and messages from advertising agencies often go there, they don't occupy the main database as actively, but their accumulation can interfere, and cleaning this folder is done in the same way: log in through the menu, highlight and delete.
| Type of folder | Where to find out. | Feature of removal |
|---|---|---|
| Incoming | Main screen screen | Removal through long pressing |
| Archives | Menus. → Archives | Requires manual removal or removal inside |
| spamming | Menu → Spam and blocking | Automatic cleaning after 30 days (optional) |
| Drafts | In creating a new | Removed when the message is cancelled |
Remember that messages take up as much space in the archive folder as incoming ones, and checking this directory regularly will help keep the phone in order.
Recovery of deleted messages
Accidental deletion of important information is a common problem. Fortunately, Xiaomi’s ecosystem provides multiple layers of backup. If you’ve recently deleted a message, the first thing you should check is Mi Cloud.
To check, log in to your Mi Account settings on your device or through your browser on i.mi.com. The sync section should have Messages. If sync was enabled before deletion, you can restore data by simply turning on sync again or selecting recovery from the cloud.
If the cloud didn't help, there's a chance to recover data through local backups. MIUI often backs up applications automatically. Check the MIUI → backup → AllBackup path for fresh files. Restore will require resetting your phone or using the backup recovery feature in the settings menu.
⚠️ Warning: Third-party apps from Play Market that promise to restore SMS without root rights are 99% fraudulent.
It's important to understand that once you overwrite the memory sectors with new data, you can't recover, so if you find that important SMS is missing, you should stop using your phone immediately.
Problems with the Messages annex
Sometimes users want to remove the Messages app completely to replace it with a Google or other developer counterpart, but in Xiaomi firmware, it is a system application, and you can’t remove it in the standard ways – the delete button will be inactive.
You can only disable the application or clear its data, as described above. Full removal requires the rights of a superuser (Root) and use of the application. ADB-It's a complex process that can disrupt the system, like the confirmation codes from banks will stop coming in.
If the application is not working correctly (sms are not coming, the interface freezes), try resetting the network settings. Go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → Reset Wi-Fi, mobile networks and Bluetooth. This will restart all communication modules, including the one responsible for SMS.
- 🚫 Complete removal of the system application is impossible without Root-rights.
- 🔄 You can disable the application in the settings, replacing it with an analog.
- 🔧 Resetting network settings helps with problems with receiving SMS.
- 📲 Replacing Google Messages is a safe alternative to a stock app.
Using third-party messengers like Tera or Google Messages allows for a more modern interface and spam protection, but the basic Mi Messages app will still remain on the system.