How to completely delete your Xiaomi account in Redmi 4X: 5 working methods

Why Deleting Your Redmi 4X Account Needs a Special Approach

The Xiaomi Redmi 4X (codenamed santoni) is still popular with users years later due to its reliability and low price, but its MIUI-based firmware has one thing in common: linking to a Mi Account (a Xiaomi account) can cause problems when selling, resetting or restoring the device. Unlike modern models, there is no “Exit” feature in its usual form, it has been replaced with “Delete Account”, which is often confusing.

The main difficulty is that on Redmi 4X, the Mi Account is still linked even after resetting to factory settings via the Recovery menu, which means that the new owner will not be able to activate the phone without entering the username and password of the previous user. Moreover, if you forgot the login data, standard recovery methods (via email or SMS) may not work due to the outdated version of MIUI. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to delete the account, including bypassing the lock without losing functionality.

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

If you have access to your phone and remember the Mi Account password, this is the easiest and most secure method, and it is suitable for devices with MIUI 8-12, which are installed on most Redmi 4X.

• 🔋 Battery charge more than 50% (process can take up to 10 minutes).
• 📶 The phone is connected to Wi-Fi or mobile network (property check required).
• 📱 Data synchronization is enabled (if you need to save contacts, notes, etc.).

Instructions:

1. Open Settings → Accounts → Mi-account.
2. Put it on your profile (email or phone number).
3. Select Delete Account (older versions of MIUI may refer to it as “Exit”).
4. Enter the password from the Mi-account and confirm the action via SMS or email.
5. Wait until the process is completed (the phone will restart).

Make a backup copy of the data|Remember the password from the Mi-account|Connecting stable Wi-Fi|Charge the phone to 50%+|Disable two-factor authentication (if enabled)-->

⚠️ Note: If the phone needs to be activated again after deleting your account, check if Find Device is enabled in the security settings. It must be disabled before deleting your account, otherwise the lock may remain.

Method 2: Recovery Mode Reset (if you forget your password)

If you do not remember the details for the Mi Account login, but the phone is unlocked (no pattern lock or a graphical key is available). PIN-You can try resetting your settings through Restore mode, which works on 60 to 70 percent of Redmi devices. 4X, It does not guarantee the deletion of the account at 100%.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn off the phone.
2. Press the Power + Volume buttons up for 10-15 seconds at the same time until the Mi logo appears.
3. In the Recovery menu, select the language (if there is one), then Wipe Data → Wipe All Data.
4. Confirm the action and wait for the reset to be completed.
5. Reboot the phone (Reboot) → Reboot to System).

⚠️ Note: On some firmware after resetting via Recovery, the phone may request an old Mi Account when first set up. In this case, you will need to use methods to bypass the lock (see Method 4).

Reset via Settings |Recovery Mode|Fastboot|Readed to the service center |Not tried-->

Method 3: Delete your account via Fastboot (for advanced users)

If the standard methods didn't work, you can try deleting your account via Fastboot mode with your PC, which requires unlocking the bootloader and installing special utilities, but it's almost 100% effective. It's suitable for Redmi 4X on any version of MIUI.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Windows computer 7/10/11.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).
• 📦 Archive with MiFlash utilities and ADB/Fastboot.
• 🔓 Unlocked bootloader (if not, see the instructions below).

Instructions:

1. Download and install Mi Unlock Tool (the official Xiaomi utility for unlocking the bootloader).
2. Connect your phone to your PC in Fastboot mode (press Power + Volume down when the phone is off).
3. In the command line (on behalf of the administrator) run: fastboot oem clean_all fastboot oem clean_info
4. Reboot your phone with the command fastboot reboot.

⚠️ Note: Once the bootloader is unlocked, all data will be deleted from the phone and the warranty (if it is still valid) will be canceled, and some banking applications (for example, Sberbank Online) may stop working due to the changed status of the bootloader.

Method 4: Bypassing the Mi Account blocking via EDL Mode (extreme)

If the phone is locked on the activation screen and requires data input from the old Mi Account, you can use EDL (Emergency Download Mode), which requires soldering or special cable (EDL cable), but allows you to flash the phone without any locks.

How it works:

1. The phone is transferred to EDL mode through the closure of contacts on the board or using a cable.
2. On the PC runs the MiFlash utility with firmware for Redmi 4X (version santoni).
3. The firmware is installed bypassing the account check, after which the phone becomes "clean".

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If you're not sure about your soldering skills, you should go to a service center, and if you don't close your contacts correctly, you can put your phone down.

Where to get firmware and tools:

• 📥 Official firmware: en.miui.com (select the version for santoni).
• 🛠️ Utilities: MiFlash, QFil (for Qualcomm processors).
• 🔧 EDL-cable: you can order on AliExpress or make it yourself (the scheme is available on the forums) 4PDA).

⚠️ Attention: Firmware through EDL Mode deletes all data without recovery, including IMEI. After the procedure, you may need to restore the module serial number through the engineering menu (#4636##).

Method 5: Calling for Xiaomi Support (Official Bypass)

If you are a legitimate phone owner but cannot delete your account (e.g., you have purchased a used tethered device), you can contact Xiaomi to unblock the device, which is the longest method (from 3 days to 2 weeks), but legal and does not require technical skills.

What needs to be done:

1. Prepare proof of purchase (check, purchase agreement, warranty card).
2. Take a picture of the phone's IMEI (on the box or under the battery) and the serial number.
3. Write an email to support@mi.com or create a ticket through the official website.
4. Please indicate: Phone model (Redmi 4X), IMEI and serial number, Reason for contact (for example, "buyed a phone with a linked account of the previous owner"), Scans or photo documents.

⚠️ Note: Xiaomi support may request additional data, such as a photo of a phone with the lock screen turned on. If the device was stolen, the unlock will be refused - this is stipulated in the user agreement of the Mi-account.

💡

A formal support call is the only way to delete an account without the risk of “bricking” the phone, but it is only suitable for legitimate owners.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you delete your Mi Account on Redmi 4X, users often face typical problems, and here are the most common ones and how to solve them:

Another common mistake is trying to delete an account through Settings → Apps → Mi-account → Stop/Delete. This method does not work, since the Mi-account is a system application and can not be deleted by standard Android tools.

If you encounter a Couldn't verify device error in the Mi Unlock Tool, it means that:

• 🔹 Your phone is not tied to your Mi Account.
• 🔹 It’s been less than 72 hours since the last release.
• 🔹 The device was previously unlocked by another account.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions