When a costly Redmi or POCO drops and the image is partially or completely missing, it can cause panic in any owner. The device’s internal memory can contain gigabytes of valuable photos, work documents and important correspondence that seem impossible to access now. However, unlike older button phones, modern Android smartphones have a complex file system that often remains intact even when the display module is physically destroyed.
Before you bring your device to a service center for expensive glass replacement, you should try to restore access to files yourself using standard interfaces and specialized software. The success of the operation depends on the degree of damage to the touchscreen and matrix, as well as whether the debugging over USB was pre-activated. In this article, we will discuss the most effective and safe methods that will help save your digital archives without completely replacing components.
Primary diagnostics and preparation of the device
The first step is to take a thorough visual and tactile look at the device to understand the scale of the disaster. If the screen is on but the touchscreen is not working, the task is simplified by the times, since you see what is happening in the system. In the case where the matrix is black, but the phone vibrates when you call or makes notification sounds, the motherboard is likely to function normally, and the problem lies solely in the display module.
It is necessary to check whether the gadget is determined by the computer when connecting through USB-Connect the device to a PC and listen to the characteristic peripheral connection sound. Even if nothing happens on the screen, a new device may appear in Windows Device Manager, which will signal the ability to work with the file system through console commands or specialized utilities.
It's important to distinguish between software failure and physical destruction. If after a fall, the phone starts to reboot endlessly or hangs on the MI logo, the methods of extracting data will be different from the situation with just broken glass. In some cases, it requires temporary installation of a working display to authorize access, which is already the competence of service engineers.
⚠️ Warning: If the smartphone battery is swollen or smoke is coming out of the device, immediately stop any charging attempts and connect it to a power source.
Using USB-OTG to control your mouse
The most effective way for models with a whole matrix, but a broken touchscreen is to connect a regular computer mouse through a USB-OTG adapter. Most modern Xiaomi smartphones support this standard, allowing you to control the cursor on the screen of an external device. You will need a cable-adapter (often comes with new models) and a wired USB mouse.
Once connected, the cursor should appear on the screen, allowing you to unlock the phone, enter a pattern lock, or PIN-This is critical because without unlocking, access to internal storage from your computer is often blocked by Android security protocols. With your mouse, you can open a gallery, files or messengers and move the desired data.
☑️ Algorithm of Actions Through OTG
If the screen is completely black, this becomes more difficult because you can't see the cursor. However, if you roughly remember the location of the icons, you can try to touch the unlock area and then the settings area to enable debugging over USB or start backup. For blind work, you can use the voice function TalkBack, if it was activated earlier.
It is worth considering that some budget models may not support image output or work with the peripherals to the fullest, but for the flagship lines Xiaomi and Redmi Note this is a standard feature. Once you complete the data copy, the mouse can be turned off by saving information to a connected flash drive or sending to the cloud service.
Recovery via Mi Cloud and Google Account
Users often forget that their data is already stored in the cloud thanks to synchronization. Mi Cloud ecosystem is deeply integrated into the MIUI shell and can save contacts, messages, notes, voice recordings and photos by default. To check, go to the official i.mi.com website from your computer and log in to your Mi Account.
If sync is enabled, you can see your photos in the Gallery section, and contacts and SMS will be available for export in vCard or text format. This is the fastest way to physically connect the damaged device, provided you remember the password from the account, and Google Photos, which is often the default, works the same way.
| Type of data | Mi Cloud | Google Account | Local storage. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Autosynchronization | Autosynchronization | SIM-map/Memory |
| Photo/Video | Adjustment required | Google Photos (15GB) | Internal memory. |
| Messages (SMS) | Complete copy | It doesn't last. | Only on the device. |
| Notes | Complete copy | Google Keep (separately) | Annex Notes |
To recover data from the cloud to a new device, simply enter your username and password when you first set up. If you want to just download files to a PC, cloud storage web interfaces allow you to selectively download archives, which is especially true when the phone is so broken that it doesn't turn on at all.
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Check the date of the last sync in the cloud – this will help you understand how up-to-date the stored data is and whether you have lost something important in recent days.
Use of Mi PC Suite and ADB commands
For advanced users who have been pre-built to debug USB, the powerful ADB command line is now available, a method that allows you to pull data directly from the file system without a working screen, and you first need to download the ADB platform tools to your computer and unpack them.
Connect your phone to your PC and open the command line in the tool folder. Enter the adb device command to check the connection. If the device is determined (device status), you can start copying. To create a full backup, you use the adb backup -all -f backup.ab command, which will create an archive of all applications and data.
adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/ C:/Xiaomi_Recovery/Photos
adb pull /sdcard/Download/ C:/Xiaomi_Recovery/DocsAdb pull allows you to copy specific directories, for example, photos are usually in the DCIM folder and documents are in Download, which works even if the touchscreen does not respond, as long as the phone is unlocked or not on it was a password when you connect (or you can enter it with your mouse through OTG).
⚠️ Attention: Teams ADB An error in syntax or an attempt to write to system partitions without superuser rights (root) can lead to errors, although reading data is usually safe.
Specialized software for recovery
If standard methods don't work, you can use third-party software designed specifically to recover data from Android. Programs like Dr.Fone, Tenorshare UltData, or MobiKin Doctor for Android often have a crash-screen mode, and they try to automatically identify the model and start the scanning process.
However, it’s worth understanding the limitations: most of these programs only work effectively if USB debugging is enabled. Otherwise, they may offer a recovery mode via Download Mode or Recovery, but this often requires a unique firmware for each model, which increases the risk of turning the phone into a “brick”.
Why do recovery programs not always work?
Using this software makes sense when you need to quickly pull out contacts and text messages and other methods are not available. Free versions usually only allow you to scan the device and show what you can restore, and for the process of uploading data will be asked for payment. Always check the compatibility of the program with your version of MIUI.
Blind printing and remote control
In a desperate situation where the screen is black and the mouse is not helping, you can try the remote access method if the phone has installed the appropriate agent (TeamViewer Host, AnyDesk) and given permissions, in which case you can see the screen of the phone on the computer and control it with the PC mouse, completely ignoring the state of the display of the smartphone.
If nothing has been set in advance, we can hope to use Google’s Find Device feature: through android.com/find, you can try to unlock the device (if only a pattern lock is used, which the system sometimes allows you to reset or bypass when you add a trusted device), call it for a location or erase data in a pinch.
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Remote access is only possible if you pre-configure it, and if you haven't installed remote control applications before it breaks, it's not going to work.
There is also a method of blindly printing unlock codes, and by connecting the phone to charge to light up the screen (if the matrix is intact but the touch is not working), you can try to enter a password knowing the approximate location of the numbers. After several attempts, the system can offer unlock through a Google account, which sometimes helps to bypass the pattern lock.
When Professional Help is Needed
If none of the software methods worked, and the data is critical, the last option is hardware recovery, and specialized labs can temporarily connect the working display to your board to copy the information, which requires a compatible donor screen and soldering skills.
In the event of damage to the motherboard itself (processor dump, power controller combustion after a fall), complex repairs will be required at the component level. Self-attempts to disassemble a phone with broken glass often lead to cuts in the hands and the device finally fails due to damage to the plumes.
⚠️ Warning: Don't try to heat a hair dryer or disassemble a phone if the battery is swollen inside.Mechanical damage to the lithium polymer battery causes instant fire.
Contacting an authorized Xiaomi service center guarantees the safety of the rest of the nodes of the device. wizards can connect your phone to the test stand, read the data and transfer it to an external medium, charging only for diagnostics and operating time, without the need to replace the screen if you do not need it.