How to pull data from a broken Xiaomi phone

When a Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone screen is broken and important photos and documents are left inside, it causes panic. Often the matrix shows only black stripes or completely goes out, making finger control impossible. However, information recovery is still possible if the internal components of the device are not affected by impact or water.

The first steps depend on whether the touchpad is working and if you can see any interface on the display. If the phone is responding to touch, even with difficulty, your chances are close to 100%. If the screen is completely black, but the device makes sounds or vibrates when you connect the charger, you will need to use external tools and special debugging modes.

In this article, we'll look at proven methods, from cloud services to direct connection to your computer. It's important to understand that the success of an operation often depends on pre-installed settings, such as USB debugging or synchronization with Mi Account. Don't give up, even if the damage seems critical.

Use of the Mi Cloud cloud service

The easiest and often forgotten way is to check your backup in the cloud. Xiaomi smartphones by default offer key data synchronization when you sign in, and if this feature was active, your contacts, notes, calendar, and photos could already be saved on the company’s servers.

To check, go to the official i.mi.com website from a computer or any other serviceable device. You will need to enter the username and password from Mi Account, which was used on the broken phone. The site interface allows you to view and download data by category without requiring a physical connection of the gadget.

⚠️ Note: If two-factor authentication is enabled, the confirmation code may come via SMS. Make sure that SIM-The card is good and inserted into a working phone, or use recovery codes if they were saved.

Cloud storage only stores data in its original quality when there is a stable Wi-Fi connection at the time of backup creation. If you used mobile Internet, photos may or may not be downloaded at all. Check the Gallery and Contacts section first, as they occupy the largest amount of user memory.

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If the Mi Cloud site displays old data, check the date of the last sync in your account settings. The phone may have stopped connecting to the network long before the screen broke.

Connecting an external mouse via USB-OTG

If the touchscreen is broken completely, but the matrix at least partially displays the image, a simple computer mouse will help save the situation. USB On-The-Go (OTG) technology is supported by most modern Xiaomi models and allows you to connect peripherals directly through the charging port.

You're gonna need an adapter. USB Type-C to USB-A (Or Micro-USB for older models. If you plug in a wired mouse, you'll see a cursor on your smartphone screen, and that gives you complete control of the interface, you can unlock the phone with a pattern lock, you can type in the cursor. PIN-code and copy files.

• 🖱️ Connect the adapter. OTG cellphone charger.
• 💻 Put it in. USB-mouse into free port of adapter.
• 🔓 Use the left mouse button to unlock and navigate the menu.
• ☁️ Upload files to Google Drive or send them to the messenger on PC.

Once you've connected the cursor, you need to quickly go to the settings and allow debugging or copying files. If the screen doesn't show the image, but the phone works, this method won't help visually, but it can be useful for unlocking before other procedures.

Data extraction through ADB debugging mode

For advanced users who have had USB Debugging enabled in advance, there is a powerful Android Debug Bridge (ADB) tool that allows you to control the phone’s file system from your computer via the command line even if the screen is not working.

First, you need to install the Xiaomi USB Driver and the SDK Platform-Tools on your computer, and once you connect the cable, the phone must be identified in the system, and if you previously authorized debugging from that computer, you will be able to access the files automatically.

adb devices


adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/ C:/Recovery/Photos/




adb pull /sdcard/Download/ C:/Recovery/Downloads/

Adb pull copies the directories from your phone to your PC hard drive. This is the most reliable way to save the folder structure. If your phone requests permission to connect (the "Let Debug?" window) and the screen is not working, use the mouse method from the previous section to press "OK."

Recovery through Find My Device

Google Find My Device not only allows you to track geolocation, but also perform basic actions with the device. Although direct access to the file system is limited here, you can try to unlock the phone or erase data to recover it from the cloud if sync is enabled.

Go to android.com/find from any browser and log in to the Google account associated with the phone. If the device is online, you will see its location. The Device Protection feature allows you to lock the screen and output a message, but the remote reset option is more useful if other methods do not work.

But there's a caveat: if you reset, the data will be lost forever if there's no backup, so use this method only as a last resort or to try to unlock it, then plug in the mouse. Sometimes a remote command can come to life if the system is getting stuck.

⚠️ Note: Remote erasure is irreversible, only use it if you believe it is more important to keep privacy than the files themselves, or if you plan to turn your phone in and fear data leakage.

In some cases, the service allows you to play audio, which helps you find the phone if it is lost in the rubble after a fall, and for data extraction, this method serves more as an auxiliary tool for managing the state of the device than a direct file copyer.

Use of specialized software for PC

There are many third-party software that promises to recover data from broken screens, and popular solutions include Dr.Fone, Tenorshare UltData, or iMyFone D-Back, which are highly dependent on the phone model and Android version.

Most of them work on the principle of scanning memory. If the phone is identified by the system as a drive or through ADB, the program tries to pull out deleted or accessible files. However, it is worth noting that free versions often only allow you to scan the device, requiring payment for data retention.

The key here is that you have drivers installed and debugging enabled. Without pre-configuring USB Debugging, programs can only see basic model information, but won’t get access to the file system for Android security reasons.

• 💻 Download and install a recovery program on PC.
• 🔌 Connect a broken phone through a quality cable.
• 🔍 Start the scan and wait for the results.
• 💾 Save the files found on your computer (license required).

Don't rely on a miracle: if the phone isn't detected by the computer at all (no connection sound, no response in the Device Manager), the software methods are powerless, in which case the problem may be hardware and the board will need to be repaired.

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Third-party software is only effective if the phone is turned on and determined by a computer, and if the power controller or board physically breaks down, the programs will not help.

Hardware recovery in the service center

When software methods are exhausted, the only option is to temporarily replace the screen or solder the memory, which is a task for professionals. In authorized service centers, Xiaomi can temporarily connect a working display to copy data.

The cost of this service is usually lower than a full screen replacement, because you don't buy a new module, but only use a demo sample, the wizard connects the plumes, turns on the phone, copies the data to a flash drive or to the cloud, and then returns the broken screen to its place.

If the board itself or the memory chip is damaged, complex soldering repairs will be required, in which case data can be lost irrevocably if the memory controller is damaged. Modern Xiaomi smartphones use data encryption tied to the motherboard, so soldering the memory to another board without special equipment will not work.

⚠️ Attention: When contacting an informal service, be sure to require the signing of the act of acceptance and transfer with the indication IMEI This will protect you from possible replacement of parts or the machine itself.

Before you go to the service, try to find out if the phone is turning on at all. If it's vibrating or warming, the odds are high. If the device is cold and does not respond to charging for more than an hour, the power controller may have failed, and retrieving data will be a difficult engineering task.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)