How to Demolition Xiaomi Completely: A Complete Guide to Cleaning and Firming

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones face the need to radically clean the device sooner or later. The phrase “totally demolish” can mean things from the banal deletion of all data before selling to the complete re-flashing of the system with the replacement of the global version with the Chinese version or vice versa. In some cases, the system becomes overgrown with errors that cannot be corrected by conventional methods, and the only way out is a complete reinstallation of the MIUI or HyperOS operating system.

Before you start any manipulation, you need to be clear about what you are going to do. A simple reset will delete your photos and contacts, but leave your system files in place. A complete flashing will affect all memory parts, including hidden system areas. The risk of losing data in both cases is 100%, so you can not neglect backup.

In this article, we will discuss all available methods of “demolition” of the system: from secure methods through the settings menu to advanced tools like Mi Flash Tool and ADB. You will learn how to bypass the locking of the Mi Account, what to do if the phone went into an endless reboot, and how to restore the device after a failed attempt to flash.

Device preparation and data backup

Any action to completely delete data or system requires careful preparation. The first and most important step is to create a full copy of all important information. MIUI's built-in tools allow you to save contacts, messages, call history and even place icons on your desktop in the Mi Cloud. However, for full warranty, it is better to use local copying to your computer or external drive.

Don't forget to check the bootloader lock status. If you're planning to just reset, it's not necessary, but for deep flashing, unlocking is a must. It's also worth making sure that the battery is at least 60-70%, as the process of writing data is energy intensive.

Pay special attention to your Google account and Mi Account. If you don’t log out before resetting, the device can request the previous owner’s password after turning on (FRP and Mi Cloud Lock protection), which can turn the phone into a “brick” that can only be accessed through a service center.

⚠️ Note: If you forget the password from the Mi Account linked to the phone, do not perform a full reset! you will lose access to the device forever without the possibility of recovery through standard methods.

Full Reset Method through the Settings Menu (Soft Reset)

The easiest and safest way to “delete” user data is to use the built-in reset function.This method is suitable for preparing the phone for sale or fixing software failures that do not affect the bootloader. To do this, go to Settings → About Phone → Reset and select “Erase all data”.

The system will alert you to the consequences and ask you to enter a graphical key or password to unlock the screen. Once confirmed, a process will begin, which can take from 5 to 15 minutes. The phone will reboot several times, and you will see the screen of the initial setting, as when you first turn on a new device.

This method does not remove system debris deep in the sections, but effectively cleans the user sector.If performance or error problems persist after such a reset, deeper intervention will be required.

💡

Before resetting through the settings, perform “Cache Clearup” in the Security app to delete temporary files and speed up the formatting process.

Hard Reset via Recovery Mode: Deep Cleanup

If the system doesn't boot or a standard reset is not possible, Recovery mode is used. It's a special diagnostic interface built into the phone's memory. To get into it, turn off the device completely, and then press the Volume Up and Power buttons simultaneously. Hold them until the Mi logo appears.

In the Recovery menu, you can navigate with volume buttons (up/down), and the power button confirms the choice. You need to find Wipe Data and select Wipe All Data. Confirm the action by selecting Confirm. This process formats the data partition, removing all applications, settings and files.

It's important to distinguish Recovery from Fastboot. In Recovery, you see a menu with a few items in different languages, and in Fastboot, you see a picture of a rabbit fixing an android on a black background. We need the first option to reset the data.

Full Fastboot and Mi Flash Tool

Those who want to demolish the system completely, including replacing the regional version of the firmware or rolling back to an earlier version, will need the Mi Flash Tool and Fastboot mode. This method requires an unlocked bootloader.

First you need to download the image of the firmware (Fastboot) ROM) The file must have the extension.tgz. Unpack the archive to the root of the C disk so that the path is short, for example: C:\ROM\. Then connect the phone to your computer by pressing the Volume Down button and a hare will appear on the screen, signaling the transition to Fastboot mode.

Launch the Mi Flash Tool on behalf of the administrator, press the Refresh button and make sure the device is determined. Choose the path to the firmware folder. The critical point is choosing the firmware method at the bottom of the window:

• 🟢 Clean all -- completely demolishes all data and partitions, installing a clean system, perfect for selling or treating viruses.
• 🔵 Save user data – attempts to save user files, but can cause errors when changing region.
• 🔴 Clean all and lock — demolishes the data and re-blocks the bootloader. Use only if you are running the original firmware for your region.

⚠️ Warning: Choosing the "Clean all and lock" option when running a global firmware version on a Chinese phone (or vice versa) will result in a full Hard Brick device».

After selecting the method, press Flash. The process will take 200 to 600 seconds. The phone will reboot itself. If a red error appears in the log, the drivers may be incorrectly installed or the USB cable is faulty.

Demolition of the system through ADB and command line

For advanced users, there is a USB debugging (ADB) method that allows you to control your phone from a computer even if the touch screen is not working. To do this, you need to turn on the USB Debugging option in the Developer Menu (activated by 7-fold tap on the MIUI Version).

After connecting the phone to the PC, open the command line in the folder with the ADB tools. Enter the command to reboot to Restore:

adb reboot recovery

Or to switch to loader mode:

adb reboot bootloader

You can also perform a complete data reset with one team if you have the appropriate access rights:

adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.FACTORY_RESET

This method is good because it allows you to “demolition” the system remotely or script, which is useful for mass maintenance of devices, but it requires preconfiguring the drivers of Google USB Driver or Xiaomi ADB Driver.

💡

ADB commands are a powerful tool, but one syntax error can lead to the wrong partition being deleted, so use them only with complete confidence in your actions.

Resolving problems after complete reset

Once you have managed to completely demolish Xiaomi and install a clean system, you can experience typical problems: most often users face a long first download (up to 10-15 minutes), do not panic or pull out the battery, the system optimizes applications.

If your phone is stuck in a Bootloop loop, try logging back in to Recovery and running Wipe Data. If that doesn't help, you may have damaged the system partition and need to flash through Fastboot with a Clean all option.

Another common problem is the lack of communication or Wi-Fi after flashing the Chinese version to the global version, which is due to the incompatibility of the radio modules, in which case only the firmware of the original version of the software or the use of special patches helps, but this requires high skill.