Forgot the password from the Xiaomi phone: the complete guide to unlock

The situation when the smartphone owner suddenly finds that he can not unlock his Xiaomi, is more common than you might think. The reasons can be many, from banal forgetfulness after a long break in use of the device to accidentally install a complex combination that is now not played in memory, at which point on the screen flaunts the lock message, and attempts to enter only lead to an increase in the waiting timer.

It is absolutely not necessary to panic at such a moment, since nervousness only prevents you from remembering the correct sequence of actions. Modern Android security systems installed on the shell of MIUI or HyperOS are really reliable, but they provide several scenarios for restoring access to the legitimate owner. It is important to understand that the methods of solving the problem directly depend on whether the accounts were pre-configured and the corresponding functions were enabled.

In this article, we will go into detail all the current ways to restore access to the device, we will look at the regular methods of resetting through the Mi Account, using Google services, and radical but effective methods through Recovery mode. Remember that most methods associated with a complete reset will lead to the deletion of all user data, so the process must be approached consciously.

⚠️ Note: If the device is enabled with protection against theft (Find Device), after resetting the phone will require you to enter a password from the account Google or Mi, which was synced earlier. Without this data, it will be impossible to unlock the device even after flashing.

Standard methods of recovery through the lock screen

The first thing to do if you forget the password from your Xiaomi phone is to take some drastic steps. Some operating system versions and certain security settings have built-in recovery mechanisms that only work if the smartphone has an active Internet connection and security features have been pre-activated by the user.

One of these is to use a linked Mi Account if you entered an incorrect pattern lock or PIN-code several times in a row (usually 5 attempts), the lock screen may appear the words "Forgot your password?" or "Forgot your pattern lock." By clicking this button, the system will prompt you to log in to your Xiaomi account.

This will require you to enter the login (phone number or email) and password that were used during registration, and after successful authorization, the system will suggest resetting the current method of locking the screen, which is the most gentle option, since it allows you to save all data on the device.

• 📱 Make sure your smartphone is connected to Wi-Fi or mobile network.
• 🔑 Enter the wrong password 5 times until the restore button appears.
• 🌐 Sign in to your Mi Account to reset the lock.

However, it should be noted that on new versions of Android (starting with 11 and above) and fresh builds of MIUI, Xiaomi for security reasons often removes the ability to reset the password directly from the lock screen.

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If the restore button doesn’t appear, try to switch your smartphone to flight mode and turn the internet back on, sometimes it helps to update the status of the connection with the authorization server.

Google Find My Device Service

If you can't access a Mi Account, the Google ecosystem comes to the rescue, and Find My Device is a powerful tool that not only tracks the location of a lost gadget, but also manages its lock remotely, and works on any Android smartphone that logs into a Google account.

To use this method, you will need another smartphone or computer with Internet access, you need to go to the official website of the service and log in under the same Google account that is linked to the blocked Xiaomi, the system will automatically find the device if it is online.

In the management interface, you'll see three main options: Call, Lock, and Clear. We're interested in the Erase Device function. Pressing this button initiates a command to reset completely to factory settings, which will delete all data, including photos, contacts, and apps, but also remove the lock screen.

⚠️ Warning: Clear doesn't just unlock the screen, it wipes away all internal memory.

The reset process takes 2 to 10 minutes depending on memory and Internet speed, and when you reboot, the phone will appear in front of you as it was when you first turned on in the store, and you will need to reset your initial setup and enter your Google account details to confirm ownership.

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Using Google Find My Device is the fastest way to unlock if your smartphone is connected to the network, but it is guaranteed to result in the loss of all user data.

Reset via Recovery (Hard Reset)

The most versatile method that works even when there is no Internet or a touchscreen is to log in to Recovery mode, a special diagnostic mode built into the firmware of every Xiaomi, which allows you to perform low-level operations with the system, including a full reset (Wipe Data).

To get into this menu, you have to turn off your smartphone completely. Then you have to press a certain combination of buttons. On most Redmi and Xiaomi models, this is the simultaneous pressing of the Volume Up button and the Power button, and you have to hold them until the brand logo appears, and then you can release the power button, while you keep the volume.

You'll see a menu with English text and a few items, and you'll see volume buttons (up/down) and power buttons, and you'll find Wipe Data and select it, and in the next menu, you'll confirm the action by selecting Wipe All Data.

• 🔌 Turn off the device completely.
• 🔊 Hold the volume up. + Food before the appearance of the logo.
• 📉 Select the Wipe Data option → Wipe All Data.

The system will warn you that all data will be deleted. Confirm action. Once the cleanup process is complete, select Reboot → Reboot to System. The phone will restart and the initial setup process will begin again. This is standard procedure for cases where the user has forgotten the password from the Xiaomi phone and has no other login options.

Unlocking through ADB (for advanced users)

For users who previously enabled debugging mode on their device USB (USB Debugging, there's a more technical way to unlock. ADB (Android Debug Bridge on your computer, and it allows you to send commands directly to Android without going through the lock screen.

It’s important to understand that this method doesn’t work on all versions of Android. Since Android 11, ADB’s security capabilities have been significantly limited, and a simple password deletion command may not work without root rights. However, on devices with older firmware or specific settings, this method may be effective.

To start, you need to install Xiaomi drivers and Platform Tools package on your PC. Connect the locked smartphone to your computer through USB-Open the command line in the folder with ADB And then you enter the connection check command:

adb devices

If a device with device status appears on the list, the connection is established. Next, you can try to delete the file that stores information about the pattern lock or PIN-The path to the file may vary depending on the version of Android, but the command is most often used:

adb shell rm /data/system/gesture.key

Or for PIN-code:

adb shell rm /data/system/password.key

Once the command is executed, the device must be restarted. If the file has been successfully deleted, the system can be unlocked with any password input or empty field. However, if the phone requires re-entering the password after rebooting (which is often the case with newer versions of MIUI), this method will prove useless and you will have to resort to a complete reset.

What to do if your phone requires an account after a reset

After you have done a Hard Reset or cleaned up through Google, you may come across an activation screen where the device will require you to enter a password from a Google account or Mi Account that was previously synced, a FRP (Factory Reset Protection) security feature designed to protect the owner’s data in the event of a theft.

If you remember your credentials, you won't have any problems. Just type in your login and password. The more difficult situation is if you forget them, and in the case of a Google account, you can try to retrieve access through the Google account recovery site from another device using a backup email or phone number.

The situation is more severe with Mi accounts, and if you don’t remember your password, you need to restore it through i.mi.com. If your account is lost completely (for example, the phone number you registered to no longer owns), it’s almost impossible to unlock the device officially.

There are paid services and tools to circumvent FRP, but their use carries risks. Unprofessional intervention can lead to complete inoperability of the device ("brick"), and the use of such methods often violates the terms of the warranty and license agreement.

Prevention and backup

To avoid the “forgetting your password” situation from taking you by surprise and losing important data, you need to take care of backups in advance. The Xiaomi ecosystem provides Mi Cloud service, as well as the ability to sync with Google Drive.

It is recommended to set up automatic synchronization of contacts, notes, calendar and photos, in which case, even if you have to do a complete reset of the device, you can quickly recover all important information by simply logging into your account on a new or cleaned phone.

It’s also worth keeping records of complex passwords in a paper notebook or using specialized password managers (such as Google Password Manager or third-party apps) that are protected by a biometric or master password that you remember.

• ☁️ Enable Mi Cloud sync in the settings.
• 📸 Set up autoload photos in Google Photos.
• 📝 Write down complex ones. PIN-safe-code.

Regularly checking backups is a good habit, and periodically checking that your contacts are actually saved in the cloud, not just in your phone's memory, will take a few minutes, but will save you a lot of problems in the future.

⚠️ Note: Local backups made through the built-in Explorer or Services app are stored in internal memory. When you reset your password through Recovery, they will be deleted along with everything else.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)