Save the data: what to do if the screen is broken on Xiaomi

When the display of a Xiaomi smartphone turns into a “web” of cracks or stops responding to touch, it always takes you by surprise. You should not panic at this point, since your personal files — photos, videos, contacts and correspondence — often remain intact in the internal memory of the device. The main task of the user at this point is to find a way to access the file system of the phone without using a damaged touchscreen or matrix.

Methods of extraction of information directly depend on the degree of damage to the gadget: whether the backlight works, whether the matrix responds to pressing, whether it has survived. USB-In this article, we will discuss the proven ways that will help Xiaomi survive hardware screen failure with minimal data loss.

There are several scenarios, from simple cloud synchronizations to complex manipulation of console commands, and the choice of the specific method will depend on whether the device is turned on and whether you see any image on the black screen.

Situation assessment and primary diagnosis

Before you start active, you need to conduct a thorough visual and tactile diagnosis of the device, which will save time and choose the right vector of action. If the screen is completely black and does not respond to the ons, perhaps the problem lies not only in the glass, but also in the plume or motherboard.

Try connecting your smartphone to a charger, and if the vibration response is working and the charging connection notification sounds, the system is functioning and the problem is localized to the display module, in which case the chances of successful data extraction are very high.

⚠️ Warning: If the smartphone battery is swollen or the device makes extraneous sounds (cracking, hissing), immediately stop any attempts to charge.

Check if the touchscreen is at least partially responsive, and sometimes only the outer corner is broken and the main work area is intact, so you can try backing up with standard system tools if you can get on the menu.

📊 What is the state of your screen?
The screen is black, but the phone rings.
Touchscreen doesn't work, there's a picture.
The screen is broken but responds to touch
Complete incapacity

Using the Mi Cloud function for backup

The easiest and most reliable way to save data, if you have a Mi Account, is to use cloud storage, and even if the screen is broken, but the phone is connected to Wi-Fi, synchronization could occur in the background, and you can check this by logging into your account through the browser on your computer.

To access the data, go to the official i.mi.com website and log in using your username and password from your Mi Account. If you previously synced, you can see your contacts, notes, voice recorders, and even the location of the device on the map.

To force the data saving, if the touchscreen is partially working, you need to go to the settings. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Cloud. Here you can activate sync for all important points.

  • 📸 Gallery: Check if the latest images are uploaded to the cloud.
  • 📞 Contacts: Make sure that numbers are saved in your account, not just in memory SIM-map.
  • 📝 Notes: It is often forgotten that text files are also synchronized.
  • 📅 Calendar: Schedules and Events are saved automatically.

If the automatic synchronization has been disabled, but the screen at least shows the image, you can try to connect it. USB-Xiaomi Cloud Technology allows you to store up to 5 GB of data for free, which is usually enough for critical information.

OTG method: control of the mouse with a broken touchscreen

If the smartphone display is intact, but the touchscreen does not respond to touch (or reacts chaoticly), the best solution is to use USB OTG technology. This method allows you to connect to the smartphone a conventional computer mouse and control the interface cursor.

To implement this method, you will need a USB OTG (USB Type-C on USB-A) adapter and any wired USB mouse. Modern Xiaomi smartphones support this feature by default, installing additional drivers. Just connect the mouse through the adapter to the phone's charging port.

The cursor should appear on the screen, and with this you can unlock the device (by entering a pattern lock or pin code), open the gallery and transfer files to the cloud or flash drive if the phone supports working with the device. USB-You can also connect your phone to your PC in file transfer mode (MTP) and copy data through the “Conductor” Windows.

☑️ Checklist for connecting mouse

Done: 0 / 4

It is important to consider that if the screen is completely black (no image), this method will not help visually control the process, although the cursor can move, in which case use the method of "blind", relying on sound signals or a pre-known location of the icons, but this is extremely difficult.

Remote access via Find Device

Xiaomi’s Find Device service is primarily designed to search for a lost phone, but it has functionality that is useful when the screen is broken. If the device has been enabled Internet and authorization in the Mi Account, you can access some functions remotely.

Go to i.mi.com from a computer or other smartphone. Once you log in, select your device from the list. If your device is online, you will have certain commands available. Unfortunately, there is no direct file transfer (as in the file manager) here, but there are other options.

You can remotely unlock the phone if it's locked, or turn on loud call mode to see where it is, but the main feature for saving data here is the ability to see the last location and, in some firmware versions, back up contacts.

What if Find Device shows offline?
If the device is displayed offline, it means it is not connected to the Internet or offline, in which case remote control is impossible. Try connecting the phone to the Wi-Fi network it previously connected to if the router supports automatic connection of known devices. Also check if you are not in the SIM-map PIN-code that blocks access to the network before input. ADB for advanced users For users who previously enabled debugging mode USB In the menu “For developers”, opens the most powerful tool – Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This method allows you to control the file system of your smartphone from your computer through the command line, even if the touchscreen does not work. ADB on the computer and connect the smartphone cable. If the debugging mode has been activated and the computer has previously received permission to access (the flag "Always allow from this computer"), you will be able to execute commands without confirmation on the phone screen. /sdcard/DCIM/ C:/Backup_Xiaomi/Photos This team will copy the entire folder with photos (DCIM) You can also copy Download, Documents, and others from phone to computer to the directory you've specified, ADB will issue an error or wait for confirmation on the screen that when the display is broken, the method does not work. Team team. ADB Action description Necessary rights adb devices Device connection check No adb pull /path/to/file Copying file from phone to PC Debugging permission adb shell input tap x y Simulation pressing in X Y debugging permission adb backup -all Using the adb shell input tap command, you can try to emulate the clicks in the desired screen coordinates to, for example, press “Allow” or switch mode. USB. Coordinates can be selected experimentally or with screen resolution. Data recovery from Google Photos and other services Don't forget about the Google ecosystem, which often works independently from the manufacturer's settings. Google Photos is the default app on all Xiaomi smartphones and often has the “Shoot and Sync” feature enabled». Go to photos.google.com from any device using your Gmail account. It is highly likely that your photos and videos are already stored in the Google cloud, even if you did not know it. This applies to documents if you used Google Drive. Also check other applications that may have worked in the background: messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp save media in their clouds or on Google Drive), email clients and notes. Often users are looking for complex technical solutions, forgetting to check standard cloud storage. Cardinal measures: changing the screen or contacting the service If none of the software methods is extremely important, and the only one of the data is not the current one, and the only one is the display is extremely important. In a service center, people can plug in a screen that's actually working to retrieve data, which is faster and often cheaper than a full replacement if you just need access to files. Once you copy it to a flash drive or to the cloud, you can put the old broken screen back in place or dispose of it. ⚠️ Note: When you contact the service center, make sure that your goal is only to save data, not repair your phone. This can affect the cost of work and deadlines. Self-replacement of the screen at home is possible, but requires skills and tools. If you do, buy the cheapest compatible screen (copy), plug in the plumes, copy the data, and return it as it was. However, the risk of damaging other components (plugs, boards) if disassembled is very high. 💡The most reliable way to save data in a completely non-working screen is to temporarily install a working display in a service center (FAQ) Can I upload a photo from Xiaomi to my computer if the screen isn't on? If the screen isn't on, but the phone is vibrating when you connect the charger, try connecting it to your computer. If you've previously selected File Transfer mode and your computer is remembered, folders can open. If there was a mode "Only Charging", without the image on the screen, switch the mode will not work without a mouse. OTG Does the reset to factory settings resets through Recovery? Yes, running the Wipe Data command in Recovery mode completely deletes all user data, including photos, contacts and apps. Use this method only if you don't need the data or have already made a backup. Does Mi Cloud work if the phone is turned off? No, to synchronize data in the Mi Cloud, the phone needs to be on and connected to the Internet, if the phone is turned off, the data can not be updated, but the data already downloaded will remain in the cloud for viewing. USB, If the screen is broken, you can't know exactly without the screen being turned on, you can try to connect the phone to the PC and run the command line with the adb device command. If a device with a serial number appears on the list, then debugging is on. If the list is empty, probably not. Will the data survive if only the matrix crashed and the touchscreen intact? Yes, the data is stored in internal memory and is independent of the state of the screen. The only difficulty is controlling the device. USB-mouse (if there is video output support or you act at random) or screen repair.