How to completely delete your Mi Account with Xiaomi 8 Pro: 5 proven ways

Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro is the flagship smartphone of 2018, which is still actively used thanks to powerful hardware and support for custom firmware. However, many owners face the need to delete the associated Mi Account - whether before selling the device, due to a change of mail or authorization problems. Unlike the new models, the Mi 8 Pro process is complicated by the outdated version of MIUI and the security features of Xiaomi.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to delete an account - from the standard through settings to complex methods with unlocking the bootloader and using ADB. Particular attention will be paid to typical errors (for example, "This device is locked"), the consequences for data and the nuances of working with the Mi 8 Pro on different versions of MIUI. If you plan to sell the phone or just want to "clean" it of the old tether - this instruction will help you do everything right.

Why can't you just log out of your Mi Account?

Many users mistakenly believe that clicking “Off” in the account settings is enough, but it doesn’t actually remove the device’s link to Xiaomi’s profile.

• 📱 Your phone remains in your account’s device list at account.xiaomi.com.
• 🔒 When resetting to factory settings, you will need to enter a login / password for activation (Mi Account Lock).
• 🚫 It is impossible to link the device to another profile without removing the old anchor.
• 🔄 Updates MIUI Can be blocked if the account was deleted incorrectly.

On the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro with MIUI 10-12, deleting an account through the standard menu often results in a “soft” bootloader lock if additional steps are not taken.This is due to Xiaomi’s security policy, which has been tightened after 2019.

⚠️ Note: If you delete your Mi Account but do not untie your device on the Xiaomi website, the next time you log in to the same account, your phone may be blocked for 72 hours ("suspicious activity»).

Method 1: Delete your account through phone settings (official method)

This is the easiest way, but it only works if:

• 📲 You have access to the phone and password from your Mi Account.
• 📶 Device connected to the Internet (Wi-Fi or mobile network).
• 🔄 The phone is not in “Lost Device” mode (if Find Device is enabled).

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Account.
2. Click on the icon. ⚙️ (gear) in the upper right corner and select Delete account.
3. Enter the password from your Mi Account and confirm the deletion.
4. Reboot the phone.

After that, the device will be unfiltered, but will remain on the list on the Xiaomi website for up to 30 days (until the server cache expires).

Go to [account.xiaomi.com](https://account.xiaomi.com) → Devices → Delete the Mi 8 Pro from the list |

Perform reset to factory settings (Settings → Additional → Reset)|

Check the bootloader lock status with the fastboot oem device-info command (should be unlocked: true)|-->

⚠️ Attention: MIUI 10 (android 8.1), after deleting the account, an error may appear: “Failed to delete the account, repeat later.” In this case, a reset via Recovery (see Method 3).

Method 2: Remove from Xiaomi (if your phone is lost or locked)

If you don't have access to your phone, but you have data from your Mi Account, you can try removing the link via the web interface, which doesn't work on all devices and depends on the version of MIUI.

Step-by-step:

1. Go to account.xiaomi.com and log in.
2. In the Devices section, find your Mi 8 Pro and click Delete.
3. Confirm the action via SMS or email (depending on the security settings).
4. Wait 24-48 hours – Xiaomi servers do not update the status of the device instantly.

Limitations of the method:

• 🚫 Does not work if the phone is in Find Device mode (you need to turn off this feature first).
• 🔒 Nana MIUI 11+ Additional confirmation may be required through SMS to a number tied to the device.
• ⏳ After removal through the site, resetting the phone to factory settings is mandatory - otherwise the binding can be restored.

Method 3: Hard Recovery Reset (if the password is forgotten)

If you don't remember your Mi Account or your phone is locked, you'll reset through Recovery mode, which deletes all data, including your account binding, but doesn't guarantee that the bootloader will be unlocked on new versions of MIUI.

Instructions:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press Volume Up + Power before the Mi logo appears.
3. From the Recovery menu, select Wipe Data → Wipe All Data (use volume buttons for navigation, power for confirmation).
4. After resetting, restart the device.

Important nuances:

• 🔐 Nana MIUI 12+ After such a reset, you may be asked to enter an old account (Mi Cloud Lock).
• 📦 All data (photos, contacts, messages) will be deleted without the possibility of recovery.
• 🔧 If after resetting the phone requires an account, try to connect to the Internet through SIM-Card (sometimes bypasses the lock).

Method 4: Delete your account via ADB (for power users)

This method is suitable if you have access to your phone, but standard deletion does not work (for example, due to errors in the Xiaomi server). USB and a computer with installations ADB-driver.

Step-by-step:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times).
2. Enable USB debugging in Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the commands:

adb shell


pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.xiaomi.account




pm clear com.xiaomi.cloud




reboot

What teams do:

• 📦 pm uninstall – removes the system application of the Mi Account for the current user.
• 🧹 pm clear – clears the Mi Cloud data where the anchor cache is stored.
• 🔄 Reboot – Reboots the device to apply changes.

Limitations:

• 🔒 Nana MIUI 12+ This method may not work due to SELinux protection.
• 📵 After the reboot, some features (such as themes or cloud backup) will stop working.
• 🔧 To completely remove the binding will still need to reset through Recovery.

💡

If the pm uninstall command issues a Failure error [DELETE_FAILED_DEVICE_POLICY_MANAGER», Try to disable the device administrator first: adb shell dpm remove-active-admin com.xiaomi.account/.admin.AccountDeviceAdminReceiver

Method 5: Unlock the bootloader and completely remove the binding

The most reliable, but also the most difficult method is to unlock the bootloader through the official Mi Unlock Tool, which is guaranteed to delete all account anchors, but requires:

• 🖥️ Windows computer (official software does not support) macOS/Linux).
• 📶 Stable Internet connection.
• ⏳ Wait 7-15 days (if the account is new or the device is not previously unlocked).

Instructions:

1. Download the Mi Unlock Tool and install it on PC.
2. Sign in to the tool under the same Mi Account as on your phone.
3. Put the Mi 8 Pro into Fastboot mode (clamp Volume Down + Power).
4. Connect your phone to your PC and follow the instructions of the program.
5. After unlocking, reset through Recovery.

Frequent problems and solutions:

• 🚫 «Couldn’t unlock – check that your phone and Mi Unlock Tool account are the same.
• ⏳ «Waiting for 168 hours – if the account is new, Xiaomi will block the unlock for 7 days.
• 🔌 «Device Not Connected – Install Qualcomm Drivers HS-USB QDLoader 9008 manually.

💡

Unlock the bootloader on the Mi 8 Pro with MIUI 13+ may require binding SIM-card-to-account (function) SIM If the phone is purchased by hand, contact the previous owner to unbundle.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you delete your Mi Account on the Mi 8 Pro, users face typical problems.

Additional advice:

• 📡 If the phone asks for an account after a reset, try connecting to the network via another Wi-Fi (sometimes a geolocation change works).
• 🔄 Nana MIUI 10–11 helps roll back to an older firmware version via Fastboot, and then delete your account.
• 📱 If the Mi 8 Pro is purchased by hand, ask the seller to delete the device from his account before resetting.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions