How to unlock Xiaomi phone if you forget your password without losing data

A forgotten password on Xiaomi is a situation that almost every smartphone owner of this brand has faced, especially when important photos, correspondence or work documents are stored on the phone, and a standard reset to factory settings threatens complete loss of data. Fortunately, there are legal ways to bypass the lock screen without deleting files - from using a Mi Account to special engineering modes.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven methods of unlocking Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO (including models 2023–2026 (a) years which are in the MIUI 14/15. Important: the effectiveness of the method depends on the firmware version, the device model and whether synchronization functions were previously enabled. 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12 Find Device, and for older devices like Mi A2 will be required ADB-team.

Before you start, check:

• 🔋 Battery level (should be at least 30% - when discharged during the procedure, the phone can lock permanently).
• 📶 Access to Wi-Fi or mobile network (required for some methods).
• 🖥️ Computer with Xiaomi drivers installed (if you plan to use it) ADB or Fastboot).

1 Unblocking through Mi Account (official method)

The most reliable and recommended method for Xiaomi is to use a tied Mi Account, which works on all devices with MIUI (except for the Xiaomi Mi A-series on pure Android) if:

• 📱 The phone is connected to the Internet (Wi-Fi or mobile data).
• 🔑 Remember the username and password from the Mi Account.
• 🔄 Find Device has been activated in the settings.

Instructions:

1. On the locked screen, tap Forgot Password? (or Forgot Password).
2. Choose Unblock with Mi Account.
3. Enter your email/phone and password from your Mi Account.
4. Confirm unlocking via SMS or email (if two-factor authentication is enabled).

If the buttons Forgot your password? no, try entering any password 5 times in a row - after that, you will be prompted to reset the lock via Mi Account. Some firmware (for example, MIUI 13 for Redmi Note 10) may need to wait 24-72 hours before trying again.

⚠️ Note: If you have previously changed your Mi Account password but haven’t updated it on your phone, unlocking may not work.

2. Use of the “Find Device” function (remote unlock)

Find Device, Google's equivalent of Find My Phone, not only allows you to find your lost phone, but also removes your screen password.

• 🌍 The device is connected to the Internet.
• 🔗 Find Device was enabled in the settings (Settings) → Mi Account → Find Device).
• 📧 You have access to the Mi Account linked to your phone.

Step-by-step:

1. Go to i.mi.com from a computer or other phone.
2. Sign in with the same Mi Account as on the locked device.
3. Select a locked phone from the menu (if multiple devices are tied).
4. Click Unlock Device (or Unlock Device).
5. Confirm the action via SMS or email.

After that, the screen password will be reset and the phone unlocked without losing data. However, some models (such as the POCO F5) may need to reboot.

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If Find Device can't find the phone, check if geolocation and mobile data are on the locked device, and call it from another phone to do so, because if the call passes, the network is active.

3. Unlock through ADB (for advanced users)

If previous methods didn’t work, you can try removing the password file via Android Debug Bridge (ADB).This method is suitable for devices that previously had USB debugging mode enabled (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times tap to activate the developer mode, then Settings → Additional → For developers → USB debugging).

What will be required:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 📱 Phone with authorized debugging USB (If it wasn't, the method wouldn't work!).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your computer via USB.
2. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) in the folder with ADB.
3. Enter the commands in turn: adb shell su rm /data/system/gesture.key rm /data/system/password.key rm /data/system/locksettings.db rm /data/system/locksettings.db rm /data/system/locksettings.db-wal rm /data/system/locksettings.db-shm reboot
4. After the reboot, the phone will be unlocked.

⚠️ Attention: On new versions MIUI (14+) Password files can be stored elsewhere. If the lock remains after the reboot, try to delete the files in the back of the backup. /data/system/users/0/ (File names may contain lock or password).

4. Unlock via Fastboot (for devices with unlocked bootloader)

If your Xiaomi has a bootloader unlocked, you can reset your password through Fastboot mode. This method does not delete data, but requires pre-unlocking the bootloader (if it was not, the method will not work).

How to check if the bootloader is unlocked:

• Turn off the phone.
• Press the Power button + Volume down before the Fastboot logo appears.
• If the bottom of the screen says Unlocked, the bootloader is unlocked.

Instructions for unlocking:

1. Connect your phone to your PC in Fastboot mode.
2. Download custom recovery (such as TWRP) for your model.
3. Quickboot flash recovery twrp.img fastboot boot twrp.img
4. In TWRP, go to Advanced → File Manager and delete files: /data/system/gesture.key, /data/system/password.key, /data/system/locksettings.db.
5. Reboot the phone.

On models with data encryption (for example, Xiaomi 12T), after deleting password files, you may need to enter the old PIN to decrypt the storage.

5. Bypassing locks via Safe Mode (for older versions of MIUI)

On devices with MIUI 10 and below (like Redmi 5 or Mi 8), you can try to log into Safe Mode and delete your password through settings, which works if the lock is installed by a third-party application (like AppLock) rather than the system.

How to start Safe Mode:

1. Press the power button before the off menu appears.
2. Turn off the power (or power off) and hold it.
3. In the window that appears, select OK to go to Safe Mode.

If the phone boots in Safe Mode (the screen will be labeled Safe Mode at the bottom):

1. Go to Settings → Lock the screen.
2. Delete or change the password.
3. Restart your phone in normal mode.

⚠️ Attention: On new versions MIUI (12+) Safe Mode does not allow you to change system settings, including the screen password.

6. Alternative methods (if nothing has worked)

If all of these things don't work, there are radical measures, and unfortunately, they lead to data loss, but sometimes that's the only way out.

If you decide to reset through Recovery, consider:

• 🔄 On the new models (Xiaomi 13, Redmi Note 12) reset requires the entry of a password from Mi Account.
• 📥 Try to connect your phone to your PC and copy the data through MTP (if access is allowed).
• 🔧 After the reset, you may need to re-activate the device via Mi Account.

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If encryption was enabled on the phone (MIUI offers it when setting a password), resetting to factory settings will lead to complete loss of data - it will be impossible to restore them even through service centers.

FAQ: Frequent questions about unlocking Xiaomi