How to turn off Xiaomi phone if screen isn’t working: full guide

The situation where the smartphone display suddenly stops responding to touch or crashes is familiar to many Xiaomi owners: At this point, the gadget turns from a useful assistant to a source of stress, especially if the battery is discharged or the device begins to overheat. Users often panic, not knowing how to forcefully terminate the system without access to the touch panel.

Fortunately, engineers Redmi and Poco have provided several workarounds to control the device in critical situations. Even with a fully black screen, there is a high probability of saving data and correctly turning off the device. There are many hardware and software solutions that allow you to bypass a broken touchscreen.

In this article, we will take a look at all the current ways, from using a physical power button to advanced debugging methods through a computer, how to connect an external mouse, what ADB commands can save the situation and why you should not immediately carry the device into the service for a simple reboot, the main thing is to keep cool and act consistently.

Use of hardware buttons and forced reboot

The most obvious and quick way to turn off a Xiaomi smartphone with a non-working screen is to use physical buttons. If the touchscreen is completely dead but the image is at least partially visible or you can feel the desired area, try the standard procedure. Press the Power button for 10-15 seconds. In most cases, this will lead to a hard reboot or a complete shutdown of the device.

However, if the sensor doesn't work at all, you can't confirm the "Switch off" action on the screen. This is where the key combination comes in. Press the Volume Down and Power buttons at the same time. Hold them for about 10-20 seconds until the device vibrates and the Mi or Android logo appears. This action will force the phone to restart, which often amounts to turning off and then turning on.

⚠️ Warning: Prolonged button clamping can trigger a Fastboot entry (a picture of a hare repairing an android).If this happens, just press the power button for 10 seconds to exit this mode or restart the device.

For some Xiaomi models with a MIUI or HyperOS shell, there is a caveat: If the phone is locked, the button combination can immediately start a reboot without further questions. If the device is unlocked, the system may require confirmation of an action that you can not give, in which case the method of pressing the power button to vibration (forced restart) is the only hardware solution.

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If your phone is overheated, don't try to charge it immediately after you have to shut it down. Let the battery cool to room temperature to avoid bloating.

OTG Method: Controlling a mouse with a broken sensor

The most effective way to fully control a smartphone with a broken screen is using USB OTG (On-The-Go) technology. Virtually all modern Xiaomi smartphones support connecting peripherals through a charging port. You will need a special adapter (USB on Type-C or Micro-USB) and a regular computer mouse.

Once you connect the mouse through the adapter to the phone, the cursor will appear on the screen (if it shows anything at all), and even if the matrix is broken and you can't see anything, the cursor will work. You can touch the interface elements you need by moving your mouse, press the right mouse button to call the context menu, or the left one to highlight and open, and you can get to the off menu.

The algorithm of actions is as follows:

• 🖱️ Connect. USB-mouse to smartphone OTG-adapter.
• 🔍 To the touch or sound find the cursor and move it to the top of the screen.
• 👆 Make a swipe down (clutching the left mouse button and swiping down) to open the notification curtain.
• ⚙️ Find and press the gear icon or power button in the interface.

If the screen is completely black, but the phone makes sounds when you plug in the mouse, you can use the "pump" method. Usually the off button is in the upper right corner or in the center of the pop-up menu. The optical mouse does not require drivers, the Android system recognizes it instantly as "pump". HID-device.

Use debugging over USB and ADB commands

For advanced users who have previously enabled USB debugging in the developer menu, there is a software method to turn off. This method requires a computer (Windows, macOS or Linux) and an installed Android Debug Bridge (ADB) toolkit. If the debugging function was activated before the screen broke, you will have full control of the device.

First you need to download the platform tools. SDK Platform-Tools from the official Android developer site. Once you've unpacked the archive, open the command line in the tool folder. Connect your phone to your PC via the toolbox. USB-If you've previously given permission to debug from that computer on your phone screen, the connection will be automatically established.

Enter the following command in the terminal to immediately turn off the device:

adb shell reboot -p

Alternatively, some versions of MIUI are:

adb shell svc power shutdown

If the phone requests an on-screen confirmation (which you don't see), this method won't work without a pre-connected mouse (see previous section).However, if you've already logged in, you can not only turn off the phone, but also copy important data, backup or install apps.

⚠️ Attention: Teams ADB Be careful when typing commands such as adb shell rm, so you don’t accidentally delete system files and turn your smartphone into a brick».

Voice control and assistants

Xiaomi smartphone owners can use Google Assistant or Xiao AI (in Chinese versions), which only works if the phone is unlocked and connected to the Internet, and the “OK, Google” or button activation feature has been set up in advance.

Try to say loudly and clearly, “OK Google, turn off your phone.” In some versions of the MIUI shell, the assistant may not have direct access to the full shutdown function for safety reasons, but it can perform other useful actions, such as turning on flight mode or reducing the brightness if the phone starts to blind you in the dark.

It's also worth trying to activate Google Voice Access. If this app was installed and configured before the incident, you can control the phone with voice commands like "Push Home," "Swift Up," "Push Off." This is a tricky but workable method for those who have prepared in advance.

Comparison of methods and compatibility with models

Not all methods are universal for all devices in the Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco line. The effectiveness of the method depends on the version of Android, the type of connector and the state of the board. Below is a table that helps you choose the best solution to the problem.

It’s worth noting that older models like the Redmi Note 4 or Mi 5 may have OTG features, requiring the feature to be enabled in settings (which is difficult to do when the screen is broken).The new flagships of the Xiaomi 13/14 series support video transmission via USB-C, which theoretically allows you to connect the phone to the monitor, but it is redundant to turn off.

If none of the software methods works, then there's just physical pressure, and in extreme cases, if you need to turn off your phone urgently because of the risk of battery fire and the buttons don't respond, you can carefully remove the back cover (if it's removable or unstuck) and disconnect the battery plume from the motherboard, and this is guaranteed to de-energize the device.

Prevention and preparation in case of breakdown

To avoid puzzled over how to turn off Xiaomi from a non-working screen, you should prepare in advance. Proactive measures can save you time, money and nerves. First of all, always keep USB debugging on if you know anything about the technology.

It is also recommended to have a lying USB OTG adapter at home. It costs a penny, but can save the situation not only if the screen breaks, but also if the charging port burns down, and you need to urgently read the data. For owners of Xiaomi with support for wireless charging, it is useful to know that some commands can be given through special client applications from another phone if both devices are on the same network.

Check the volume and power buttons regularly. If they start to go down or require more effort, this is a signal that the plume is about to break. It will cost less to replace the button plume in the service in a timely manner than repairing the phone after it is dropped, trying to grope the button in the dark.

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The presence of an OTG adapter and the USB debugging enabled are two main factors that turn a critical screen break into a minor inconvenience.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)