The situation when a smartphone stops responding to commands or is blocked due to a forgotten pattern lock is familiar to many users. In the case of the Xiaomi Mi 10, which has a powerful Snapdragon 865 processor and fast UFS 3.0 memory, such failures can occur less often, but they are still possible. Often the only right solution is a forced reset, known as Hard Reset.
This procedure allows you to return the device to a factory state, completely clearing the internal memory of user data. It is important to understand that formatting through the Recovery engineering menu is a radical method that requires care. Unlike conventional resetting through settings, here you work directly with the system partitions of the device.
Before you start taking action, make sure you understand the consequences, all your photos, contacts and apps will be permanently deleted, but if the phone doesn't turn on or the system doesn't boot, this is the only way to reanimate the gadget without going to the service center.
Preparation of the device for the discharge procedure
The first and most critical step is to ensure stable power. Since the formatting process can take 5 to 15 minutes, the battery should be at least 50-60%. If the phone turns on, check the charge level in Settings → About the phone. If the screen does not light up, plug in the original charger with a power of at least 30 W for 30-40 minutes.
The second important thing is the Google account and Mi Account. Once reset, Android security (FRP) will require you to enter the username and password of the account that was synced with the device earlier. If you forget this data, it will be extremely difficult to unlock Xiaomi 10.
☑️ Preparation for Hard Reset
⚠️ Warning: Removing the microSD card before the procedure is a must. MIUI usually ask for confirmation to erase the external drive, the risk of accidentally formatting the flash drive along with the phone is too great.
It’s also worth trying to back up data if your phone is responsive to any pressing, either by using the Mi Cloud cloud service or by connecting your device to your computer to manually copy important files. With the Xiaomi Mi 10, with its high-speed USB 3.1 interface, this process will take a minimum of time.
Enter Recovery Mode on Xiaomi 10
To start the formatting process, you need to get into a special service menu. On Xiaomi smartphones, it is called Main Menu or Recovery Mode. The input is made by a combination of physical buttons when the device is completely turned off. If the phone freezes and does not turn off in the standard way, press the power button for 10-15 seconds until the screen is fully vibrating and quenching.
The algorithm for entering is as follows:
- 🔌 Turn off the Xiaomi Mi 10 smartphone completely.
- 🔘 Press the Volume Up button and the Power button at the same time).
- ⏳ Hold both buttons until the Mi logo appears, then release the power button, but keep the volume up.
- 📱 When a menu with several items in English or Chinese appears on the screen, release the second button.
What to do if the menu does not appear?
It's important not to confuse this mode with Fastboot. If you see an image of a hare repairing an android, you've pressed the volume button instead of zooming in, in which case just press the power button for 10 seconds to reboot and try again.
Navigation and language selection on the menu
After successfully logging into the Main Menu menu, users often face confusion, as the default interface may be in Chinese. Fortunately, navigation in Recovery Xiaomi is standardized and carried out exclusively with physical buttons.
The management shall be as follows:
- 🔼 Volume Up button moves the cursor upwards.
- 🔽 Volume Down button moves the cursor down.
- ✅ Power button confirms the choice of action.
First, you need to change your language to English for a comfortable work. In the menu list, find English (usually second or third on top). If the menu is in Chinese, focus on the characters: select the second item on top, press the power, then in the second menu that appears, select the first or second item (English).
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Use the "pump" method carefully. If you choose the wrong item, just don't confirm the action with the power button, but go back or choose the right one. An error in choosing a language will not cause a data reset.
Once the language changes, you'll see a list of options that include Reboot, Connect with MIAssistant, and most importantly, Wipe Data.
Data Formatting (Wipe Data)
Now, to the main stage, in the main Recovery menu, use the volume buttons to go down to Wipe Data and press the power button to confirm, and the system will warn you that all data will be deleted.
On the next screen, you will be offered two options:
- Wipe All Data – full formatting (reset to factory settings).
- Reboot - output unchanged.
Select Wipe All Data and confirm the action. The red warning with the countdown timer will appear on the screen. This is random press protection. Wait for the timer to end, then the Next button will become active. Press it, and then confirm the final Confirm action.
| Process phase | Description of action | System response |
|---|---|---|
| Initialization | Run the cleaning script | Appearance of the Mi logo and (progress bar) |
| Cleaning up Data | Deletion of user files | Text "Formatting Data..." |
| Cleaning up Cache | Washing temporary files | Text "Wiping Cache..." |
| Completion | Finalization of the discharge | Message "Data wiped successfully" |
It can take a few minutes to process, and it can display the Xiaomi logo or animations on the screen, and in no case try to interrupt the process or remove the battery (which is not removable in the Mi 10), interrupting the recording of system files can lead to the phone becoming a brick.
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Successful completion of the procedure is indicated by the message "Data wiped successfully" and return to the main menu Recovery.
Completion of discharge and first loading
Once the system has reported successful formatting, you will automatically return to the main Recovery menu, and then select Reboot to System, which will start the normal boot of the operating system.
The first launch after Hard Reset always takes longer than usual. Xiaomi Mi 10 will optimize applications and customize system partitions. The screen can go out and light up, the logo can hang for 3-5 minutes. This is normal behavior for the Snapdragon 865 processor during initialization.
⚠️ Warning: If the phone is back on the Recovery menu after the reboot or is stuck on the logo, the system partition may be damaged or the battery is dead at a critical moment, in which case the procedure will have to be repeated, making sure that the device is fully charged.
When the download is complete, you will see a welcome screen with a choice of language, which means that the formatting has been successful and the phone is ready to reset as a new device.
Solving Possible Problems and Errors
Sometimes even after doing all the steps correctly, it can be difficult, for example, the phone may require a password from Mi Account that you don't remember, it's a security feature, and if you don't remember the data, you can only restore access through the official procedure on the mi.com website with the submission of a check of purchase.
Another common problem is a cyclic bootloop, where the phone is constantly restarting without turning on, and in this case, button formatting is the first treatment, and if it doesn't work, it may be that the firmware is damaged and you'll need to flash it through your computer using the Mi Flash Tool.
Also worth mentioning is the situation when the volume buttons do not respond, which can be a sign of a hardware malfunction of the plume or buttons, in which case software reset via the menu is impossible, and it will require the intervention of service center engineers to replace the button module or use special testers.