Full reboot of Xiaomi phone: from soft reboot to hard reset

When a Xiaomi smartphone starts to slow down, spontaneously reboot or emit application errors, the first thought is to return it to the factory settings. But it is not always clear what kind of reboot method you need: a simple reboot, a menu reset or a full hard reset with all data deleted. In this article, we will analyze all possible ways from safe reboot to emergency recovery through Fastboot, including nuances for different models of Redmi, Poco and Black Shark.

It’s important to understand the difference between the terms: Reboot just turns off and on the device, saving all the data, and reset returns the phone to the “out of the box” state, erasing files, accounts and settings. We’ll detail each scenario — when to use, how to avoid errors, and what to do if the phone doesn’t respond to standard commands.

1.Soft reboot: when a normal reboot is sufficient

If the Xiaomi phone is just hanging, running slowly, or opening apps incorrectly, a normal reboot often helps, a method that doesn’t affect user data, but clears RAM and restarts system processes.

Methods of soft reboot:

• 🔄 Through the power button: press the Power key on 2-3 Then select “Restart” in the menu that appears.
• 📱 Through the notification panel: swipe down from the top edge of the screen, find the power icon (⚡) Hold it, and a reboot button will appear.
• 🤖 Through ADB (For advanced: connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell reboot

Soft reboots help with 70 percent of non-critical failures, and if you have problems, you can go to more radical methods.

2. Hard reboot: what to do if the phone freezes

When a Xiaomi smartphone completely stops responding to touch, doesn’t turn off through the power button or hangs on the MIUI logo, a forced reboot is required, a method that doesn’t erase data, but can interrupt background processes.

Instructions for all models (including Redmi Note 10/11/12, Poco F3/F4, Black Shark 4/5):

1. Press the Power + Volume button up for 10-15 seconds.
2. Wait for the vibration or appearance of the Xiaomi logo – release the buttons.
3. If the screen is black, plug the phone into charging for 5 minutes and try again.

Make sure your phone is not charging (turn off the cable)

Press the buttons for 15+ seconds without letting go ahead of time

If you have a removable battery, remove it for 30 seconds (for older models)

Try connecting to another charger after rebooting-->

On models with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/2 processor (for example, Xiaomi 12/13 Pro) when holding the buttons for more than 20 seconds, the emergency mode of the bootloader can work – this is normal, just release the buttons and wait for the standard boot.

3.Reset to factory settings via MIUI menu

If the phone is turned on but is not stable (frequent errors, viruses, slow operation), the best option is to reset through settings. This method deletes all user data, but retains the ability to recover through the Mi Account.

Step-by-step:

1. Open Settings → About Phone → Reset (on new versions of MIUI 14: Settings → Memory → Reset settings).
2. Select “Erase All Data” (Erase All Data).
3. Enter the password from your Mi Account (if linked) or a pattern lock.
4. Confirm the action – the phone will restart and start the cleaning process (it will take 5-10 minutes).

⚠️ Attention: On models with MIUI 13+ After the reset, you may need to re-authorize in Mi Account to unlock the bootloader, even if the phone has not been blocked before. → Xiaomi account.

What will be removed:

• 📸 All photos, videos and music (except files on the SD-card, if it is installed as a removable drive).
• 📱 Installed applications and their data (including game saves).
• 🔑 Wi-Fi passwords, Bluetooth settings and other system settings.
• 📧 Google, social media and email accounts (but not the accounts themselves, they can be added again).

💡

Before reset, check if your contacts are synchronized with Google or Mi Cloud. Once you restore your factory settings, contacts can be easily returned via Settings → Accounts → Google/Mi

4.Reset via Recovery Mode: If the phone doesn't boot

When Xiaomi doesn’t turn on beyond the logo, reboots cyclically, or issues a “No command” error, a Recovery reset will help, which works even on locked phones, but requires care.

How to log in to Recovery:

1. Turn off your phone (if it is suspended).
2. Press Power + Volume up before the Mi Recovery logo appears.
3. Some models (Poco X3, Redmi 9) use a combination of Power + both volume buttons.

Further action:

• 🌐 Choose a language (usually English or Chinese).
• 🧹 Go to Wipe Data → Wipe All Data (use volume buttons for navigation, Power to confirm).
• 🔄 Confirm the reset - the process will take 3-7 minute.
• 📱 After completion, select Reboot. → Reboot to System.

⚠️ Warning: On phones with an unlocked bootloader, a reset via Recovery may result in a loss of the ability to upgrade over the air" (OTA). In this case, you will need a manual firmware through Fastboot.

5.Full reset via Fastboot: for power users

If standard methods don’t work (for example, after a failed firmware or virus attack), then Fastboot resets, which requires a computer, USB cable and installed Xiaomi drivers, and completely cleans all partitions of the phone, including system files, so it is used in extreme cases.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/Linux/macOS and established ADB & Fastboot Tools.
• 🔌 Original. USB-cable (better from the set).
• 📄 Firmware for your model (download from the official Xiaomi website).
• 🔑 Unlocked bootloader (if the phone doesn’t boot, unlocking may not be necessary).

Step-by-step:

1. Turn off the phone and press Power + Volume down to enter the Fastboot (a hare in a hat-eared hat will appear).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and check the connection with the command: fastboot devices should show a serial number of the device.
3. Run a full cleanup: fastboot erase userdata fastboot erase cache fastboot format userdata fastboot format cache
4. If necessary, run a clean firmware: fastboot flash boot.img fastboot flash system.img fastboot flash vendor.img
5. Reboot the phone: fastboot reboot

Important: Once reset via Fastboot, the phone will become "clean" - without firmware, unless you have stitched it manually, in which case you will need to install MIUI through the Mi Flash Tool.

6. Frequent errors and their solutions

Even if you do the instructions right, you can have problems, and we'll look at the common mistakes and how to fix them.

Error: "This device is locked" in Fastboot

If you try to flash your phone through Fastboot, you get a message about a blocked bootloader, it means:

• 🔓 The phone is unlocked. OEM Unlock in the Developer Settings.
• 📱 Phone is tied to Mi Account but not authorized after reset.
• ⏳ Less than 7 days have passed since the first account was linked (on new Xiaomi models there is a restriction on unlocking the account).

Solution: Unlock the bootloader through the official Xiaomi tool (required) SIM-map SMS-confirmation).

Error: "Can't mount /data" in Recovery

If a /data partition mount error appears when resetting via Recovery, this means:

• 💾 The file system is damaged (often after a failed update).
• 🔋 Phone is under 30% – Recovery blocks changes.
• 🛠️ Memory module is not working properly (on older Redmi models) 4/5).

Solution: Connect your phone to charging on 10-15 If the error persists, use Fastboot to format.

Error: cyclical reboot after reset

If the phone is constantly restarted after a bootloop, the reasons may be as follows:

• 📱 Incompatible firmware (e.g., Global Firmware) ROM Chinese-style).
• 🔧 The boot or vendor section is damaged.
• 🔋 Faulty battery (on models older than 3 years).

Solution: Swipe your phone through the Mi Flash Tool with the "Clean All" tick. If it doesn't work, check the battery (on the Redmi Note 7/8, a common problem is battery bloating, blocking contacts).

💡

If after resetting the phone requires an old password from Mi Account that you don't remember, restore it via account.xiaomi.com. Use a linked email or phone number. Resetting the password via SMS may not work for older accounts (created before 2020) - in this case contact Xiaomi support with a photo of the phone box (IMEI is needed).

7. How to save data before resetting

If the phone is still turning on but you plan to reset completely, back up first. Xiaomi offers several backup options:

Method 1: Backup in MIUI

Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and select:

• 📱 Local copy: saves data to the phone or SD-map (file with extension.mbk).
• ☁️ Cloud Backup: Uploads data to Mi Cloud (Available 5GB for free).

What's saved: contacts, SMS, Wi-Fi settings, app data (not all) not saved: photos, videos, music (they need to be copied manually).

Method 2: Copying files on a PC

Connect your phone to your computer via USB and select File Transfer (MTP) mode.

• 📸 DCIM — photo and video.
• 🎵 Music, Movies - Media Files.
• 📄 Documents, Downloads – Documents and Downloads.
• 📱 Android/data — Preserve games (e.g. Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile).

Method 3: Use ADB (for root users)

If you have root access, you can make a full backup through the command:

adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab

The backup.ab file will be saved to your PC. Use:

adb restore backup.ab

⚠️ Attention: On phones with MIUI 14 and File-Based Encryption backups through ADB You may not recover from the reset, in which case you can copy the files manually or use Mi Cloud.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions