Previous articleDisappeared contacts on Xiaomi: why missing numbers from the phone book and how to return them

You open a phone book on your Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5 Pro, and instead of hundreds of saved contacts, a blank screen or a few random numbers? This problem is familiar to many users of Xiaomi smartphones based on MIUI. Contacts can disappear after updating firmware, resetting settings or even for no apparent reason. In 80% of cases, it is not hardware failures, but synchronization errors, account conflicts or shell bugs.

In this article, we will discuss 7 main reasons for missing contacts on Xiaomi devices, from banal sync disabling to hidden com.android.contacts bugs. You will learn how to recover a phone book through Google Account, Mi Cloud or backups, and you will receive a checklist to prevent such failures. MIUI 14, due to which the contacts disappear after restarting the device with the active function "Dual applications".

1. Google Account Sync Disabled or Misplaced

The most common cause is problems syncing contacts through Google Account, and even if you've previously enabled this feature, after updating MIUI or a Google Play service crash, syncs can spontaneously shut down.

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
2. Choose your account (if there are several of them – check everything).
3. Make sure the switch opposite the "Contact" is active.
4. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Sync Now.

If no contacts appear, try forced synchronization:

• 🔄 Delete your Google account and add it again (pre-restore contacts to the cloud via contacts.google.com).
• 📱 Clear the cache of the "Contacts" application in Settings → Annexes → Application management → Contacts → Memory. → Clear the cache.
• 🔧 Update Google Play services in the Play Store (sometimes an outdated version leads to sync failures).

⚠️ Note: If you use multiple Google accounts, contacts may be shared among them.

2. Conflict between Mi Cloud and Google: Double synchronization

Xiaomi smartphones offer default synchronization of contacts through the company’s Mi Cloud, but if sync with Google is active at the same time, there may be a version conflict in which one system “overwrites” another, which often leads to duplication or complete disappearance of contacts.

How to check and correct:

1. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn off the synchronization of contacts (the "Contact" switch to the off position).
3. Go back to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google and enable Contact Sync there.
4. Wait until the synchronization is complete (it can take up to 10 minutes).

If the contacts are not returned after the Mi Cloud shutdown, try importing from the backup:

• 📁 Go to i.mi.com, log in and check for backup contacts.
• 📲 Export contacts to.vcf and import them back through Contacts → Settings → Imports/Exports.

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Before disabling Mi Cloud, take a screenshot of the synchronized contacts list to make sure that the data is not lost.

3. Failure after MIUI update: database error

MIUI updates (especially large ones, such as version 13 to version 14) often result in damage to the contact database, due to a change in the data storage structure or conflict between old and new versions of the com.android.contacts application.

• Contacts disappear after rebooting.
• The phone book only displays the numbers saved on the SIM-map.
• When you try to add a new contact, a “Save Error” error occurs.

Decisions:

1. Reset the settings of the Contacts app: Settings → Applications → Application Management → Contacts → Memory → Clear Data Attention: This will delete all local contacts (not synced to the cloud)!
2. Related: Retreat of the update MIUI (If the problem occurs immediately after the update: Settings → The phone. → Updating the system → Click on the icon "⚙" → Remove the latest update
3. Manual reinstallation of the APK application "Contacts" (for advanced users).

⚠️ Warning: If the app stopped running after resetting the contacts, try removing updates for it in the same menu (Remove updates.

4. Dual Apps and Contact Cloning

The dual apps (or dual apps) feature in MIUI allows you to create clones of instant messengers (such as the second WhatsApp or Telegram), but because of the features of this feature on some devices (Redmi Note 11, POCO F4), it can duplicate or delete contacts when rebooted.

How it happens:

1. When Dual Apps are activated, the system creates a separate user profile.
2. Contacts synced to the main account may not appear in the cloned app (and vice versa).
3. When access rights fail or conflict, contacts “disappear” from the main profile.

Decision:

• 🔍 Check if the Dual Apps feature is active in Settings → Special facilities → Dual annexes.
• 🚫 Turn off cloning for messengers if you do not use this feature.
• 🔄 Reboot your device after disabling Dual Apps – Contacts should return.

Open Settings → Special facilities|Find the section "Dual Appendices"|Check the list of cloned applications|Disable unnecessary duplicates|Reboot the phone-->

5. Damage. SIM-card-to-reading error

If only the contact with the SIM-The problem may lie in the card itself or in the slot of the smartphone. 9A, POCO M3), where the default contacts are stored on SIM. Signs of malfunction:

• 📶 The phone periodically loses network or goes into "Emergency Calls Only" mode".
• 🔄 Contacts disappear after extraction/insertion SIM-map.
• 🛠️ In the settings SIM-The card displays the message "Reading error".

Diagnosis and solution:

1. Check it out. SIM-card on another device – if contacts are displayed, the problem is in the smartphone.
2. Clear the contacts. SIM-Cards from unnecessary numbers (too many can cause failures).
3. Move the contacts with SIM in memory of the phone: Contacts → Settings → Imports/Exports → Import with SIM-map
4. Replace. SIM-New card (especially if you are older than 5 years old).

⚠️ Note: Do not keep your contacts on SIM-It has a limited resource of overwriting (about 10,000 cycles), after which the data can be damaged without the possibility of recovery.

6. Viruses or malicious applications

The malware can gain access to android.permission.READ_CONTACTS and WRITE_CONTACTS, This allows it to delete, modify or export contacts without your knowledge, especially those users installing applications from third-party sources (not the Play Store).

Signs of infection:

• 📉 Unexpected increase in traffic or battery consumption.
• 🔍 Appearance of unfamiliar apps on the menu.
• 📞 Contacts disappear after installing new software.

How to check and clean the device:

1. Scan your phone with an antivirus (such as Dr.Web or Malwarebytes).
2. Check the list of apps with contact permissions: Settings → Privacy → Permissions → Contacts Remove suspicious programs.
3. Install security updates in Settings → About Phone → System Update.

If you suspect that your contacts have been stolen (e.g. exported to an attacker’s cloud), immediately:

• 🔒 Change the passwords of your Google Account and Mi Account.
• 🛡️ Enable two-factor authentication.
• 📋 Check the activity of the account on the page myaccount.google.com/security.

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Even "harmless" applications (such as launchers or optimizers) can request access to contacts. Always check permissions before installing!

7. Hardware failure: damage to memory or controller

If none of the software methods worked, the problem could be hardware, and in rare cases, missing contacts are associated with:

• 💾 Damage to the memory partition where application data is stored (for example, after a phone crash).
• 🔌 Flash memory controller malfunction (typical for devices older than 3 years).
• 🔋 Failure after deep battery discharge (may damage the file system).

Diagnosis:

• 🔧 Check memory integrity with the application AIDA64 (section “Remembrance").
• 📊 Run a performance test in AnTuTu Benchmark – low read/write rates may indicate a malfunction.
• 🛠️ If the phone is warranty, contact the Xiaomi service center with an error code. E:CONTACTS_DB_CORRUPT (Indicates damage to the contact database).

Temporary solution (if contacts are critical):

1. Connect your phone to your PC and use ADB to copy the contact database file: adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db
2. Use the SQLite Browser utility to extract numbers from a damaged database.

⚠️ Warning: Self-repairing memory can lead to complete data loss.If contacts are of high value, trust the recovery to professionals.

FAQ: Frequent questions about missing contacts on Xiaomi