How to turn off sync on Xiaomi smartphones: all ways (MIUI 12-14)

Synchronizing data on Xiaomi smartphones is a convenient feature that automatically saves contacts, photos, notes and other data in the Mi Cloud. However, many users face the need to turn it off: someone wants to free up space in memory, someone worries about privacy, and someone simply does not need automatic data transfer to the company’s servers. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways to remove sync on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO phones running MIUI 12-14, including hidden settings and bypassing the new restrictions of 2026.

It is important to understand that completely disabling sync may affect the operation of some services – for example, backups or data in the Mi Fit and Xiaomi Home apps will stop updating. We will explain in detail what features are affected and how to minimize losses. If you plan to sell the phone or transfer it to another person, be sure to read the section on the full reset of the Mi Account – this is the only way to guarantee that all associated data is deleted.

Why can synchronization be dangerous?

Automatic synchronization with Mi Cloud is convenient, but not without risks:

• 🔓 Data leak: In 2023, security researchers discovered a vulnerability in Xiaomi’s synchronization protocol that allows you to intercept traffic when connecting to public Wi-Fi. The company closed the gap, but the risk remains with the use of unofficial firmware.
• 📱 Loss of control: If your Mi Account is hacked, the attacker will have access to all synchronized data, from call history to passwords from Notes.
• 💾 Memory overload: The Mi Cloud only provides 5GB of free, and syncing photos in original quality quickly fills that space.
• 🔄 Data conflicts: When using multiple Xiaomi devices (such as a smartphone and tablet), synchronization can lead to duplication or loss of current versions of files.

In addition, since 2026, Xiaomi has tightened its privacy policy: now users’ data from Russia and CIS countries are stored by default on servers in Singapore, which can create additional legal risks.

Method 1: Disable synchronization via Mi Cloud settings

The easiest and safest method is to partially or completely disable sync directly from the Mi Cloud menu, which is suitable if you want to keep your Mi Account active but stop transferring specific types of data.

Instructions for MIUI 14 (on older versions, the path may differ slightly):

1. Open the Settings. → Mi Account (or Xiaomi Account).
2. Select Mi Cloud (the cloud may be called Sync on some firmware).
3. You will see a list of all types of data that are synchronized: Contacts, Notes, Photos, Records, etc.
4. Turn off the sliders in front of the unnecessary categories. To completely turn off the sync, reset all the switches.
5. Confirm the action by clicking Disable in the window that appears.

Note that even after you turn off sync, the data you have downloaded will remain in the cloud, and to delete it, you need to manually clean the Mi Cloud storage via the web version or application, and some system data (such as call history) can continue to sync in the background – a feature of MIUI that cannot be disabled without root permissions.

Method 2: Completely delete your Mi Account (hard method)

If you want to completely break the phone’s connection to Xiaomi servers, including removing all backups and data from the cloud, you’ll need to delete your Mi Account from your device, a method that’s suitable for preparing your phone for sale or if you’re no longer planning to use Xiaomi services.

Important: After deleting your account, you will lose access to all associated services, including:

• 📱 Mi Cloud (all backups and files will be deleted without recovery capability).
• 🎮 Xiaomi Game Center (Save Games and Achievements Will Reset).
• 🏠 Mi Home (smart device management will be unavailable).
• 💳 Mi Pay (tied bank cards will be untied).

To delete the account:

1. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Delete your account.
2. Enter the password from your Mi Account to confirm.
3. The system will prompt you to back up – skip this step if you don’t need to save data.
4. Confirm the deletion by clicking Delete account at the bottom of the screen.
5. The phone will reboot and all account data will be erased from the device.

If Delete Account is inactive (in gray), it means that the device protection function is enabled on the phone.

1. Turn off protection in Settings → Additional → Device Protection.
2. Wait 72 hours is a mandatory cooling period introduced by Xiaomi to protect against theft.
3. Repeat the attempt to delete the account.

Method 3: Disabling synchronization through developer modes

For power users who want to manage synchronization more flexibly, there is a method through developer modes that allows you to disable Mi Cloud background processes and restrict application access to the network, but requires care - wrong actions can disrupt the stability of the system.

Instructions:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times.
2. Go back to the basic settings and open a new section for developers.
3. Find the Background Processes option and set a limit for Mi Cloud and Sync.
4. In the Network section, disable Background traffic for Mi Cloud applications and Sync.
5. Reboot the phone.

This method does not remove data from the cloud, but only stops its automatic transmission, and it can cause malfunctions in some system applications, so it is recommended to use it temporarily - for example, to save traffic in roaming.

💡

If your phone starts to brake after you shut down the sync, try clearing the Mi Cloud app cache in the storage settings.This often solves the problem without having to turn the sync back on.

Method 4: Resetting the phone to factory settings

If you plan to sell or transfer a Xiaomi phone to another person, it’s not enough to simply delete your account – you need to perform a full reset.This is the only way to guarantee that all personal data, including hidden sync files, will be deleted.

Important: before resetting it is necessary to:

• 📁 Create a backup of important files to an external medium.
• 🔑 Make sure to remember the password from your Mi Account – after resetting, the phone may require it to unlock.
• 📱 Untie your phone from Mi Band or smart home devices if they are tied.

Resetting instructions:

1. Open Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Choose to erase all data (or delete everything on some firmware).
3. Enter. PIN-code or pattern lock, if requested.
4. Confirm the action by clicking Reset Settings.
5. Wait until the process is completed (it can take up to 10 minutes).

Once reset, the phone will reboot to the out-of-the-box state, all data, including accounts, apps and files, will be deleted. If you sell a device, don't sign in to your Mi Account after the reset, just hand over the phone to the new owner.

💡

Resetting to factory settings does not remove data from Mi Cloud! To completely erase information from the cloud, you need to manually clean the storage via the web version of Mi Cloud (cloud.xiaomi.com) or the app.

Frequent problems and their solutions

When you turn off sync, users often face difficulties, and let's look at the most common ones and how to fix them.

If none of these methods worked, you may have custom firmware installed on your phone or enterprise policies activated (on devices purchased from carriers), in which case you may need to flash your phone with the official version of MIUI via Fastboot.

💡

On some models (for example, Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12) after upgrading to MIUI 14, the option “Incognito Mode” appeared in the Mi Cloud. It allows you to temporarily suspend synchronization without deleting data – useful for traveling abroad.

How to check if the synchronization is actually disabled

Many users think they've disabled the sync, but it's actually still running in the background to make sure that the data is stopped:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Mi Cloud app (or Synchronization).
3. Check the Data Use section – if synchronization is disabled, traffic should be 0 bytes.
4. Open Settings → Accounts and sync and make sure there are no active processes next to Mi Account.
5. Install a traffic monitoring app (like NetGuard) and check if Mi Cloud is transmitting data in the background.

If you find that synchronization is still active, try the following steps:

• 🔄 Restart your phone – sometimes Mi Cloud processes “hang” and continue to work after disconnection.
• 🚫 Turn off auto-start for Mi Cloud in the app settings.
• 🛡️ Install a firewall (e.g. AFWall)+) Block Internet access for Mi Cloud.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions

If you encounter a problem not described in this article, check the relevance of the MIUI version on your phone – in new updates, Xiaomi often changes the location of sync settings. For models with HyperOS (new firmware from Xiaomi), the process may be different – watch the official announcements of the company.