How to Enable Hard Reset on Xiaomi: 4 Proven Ways (Including Locked Phones)

When you need Hard Reset on Xiaomi and how it differs from a regular reset

Hard Reset on Xiaomi smartphones is not just about deleting user data, but completely restoring factory settings with a system partition overwrite. Unlike the standard menu reset (Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset), which often leaves “junk” in memory, Hard Reset is guaranteed to delete:

✅ All accounts (including Mi Account and Google)

✅ Installed applications and their cache

✅ Network settings (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile Internet)

✅ Location data and biometrics (fingerprints, Face) ID)

✅ System updates (stock firmware will return)

This method is indispensable in 5 cases:

• 🔒 Phone locked after failed update or region change
• 🐢 The smartphone slows down, overheats or constantly reboots
• 📱 The screen does not respond to touch (but the phone is turned on)
• 🚫 Forgotten pattern lock/PIN-code and Find Device is disabled
• 🔄 You need to remove viruses or rooting traces before selling

It is important to understand that Hard Reset does not bypass Mi Account on models with reset protection (all devices after 2019).If you forget the data from Mi Account, after reset, the phone will require you to enter them for unlocking. The only solution in this case is to officially delete the account through the Xiaomi website (it will take 3-5 days).

Method 1: Hard Reset with Recovery Mode (on 90% of models)

The most versatile method that works even when the screen is locked, is suitable for all Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO and Black Shark smartphones released after 2016.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn off the phone with a long press of Power (10-15 seconds), and if the screen is not responding, hold the button until it vibrates.
2. Hold the combination: 📱 For most models: Power + Volume Up (increased volume) 🎮 For Black Shark: Power + Volume Up + Volume Down

Mi

Recovery

Wipe Data

Power

Wipe All Data

Confirm

Data wiped

Reboot

Reboot to System

⏳ The process takes 3 to 10 minutes. If the phone has been stuck on the logo for longer than 15 minutes, then there has been an error (see the section "What to do if Hard Reset does not work").

Turn off the phone from charging

Make sure that the battery is >30%

Prepare Mi Account data (if the phone is tied)

Download Xiaomi driver on PC (in case you use the Mi Flash Tool)

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⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi models 12/13 series and Redmi Note 11/12 If you just vibrate and turn on the buttons, try an alternative way: press the Power. + Volume Up, then through 5 Release Power and Keep Volume Up.

Method 2: Hard Reset via the settings menu (if the phone is unlocked)

If you have access to the system, it's easier and safer, it's suitable for routine resets before selling or fixing software failures, and the main advantage is the ability to choose which data to store (for example, leave photos on a memory card).

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 5-7 times on the MIUI version to activate Advanced Settings (some firmware does not need this step).
3. Return to the main settings and select Additional → Recovery and Reset.
4. Click Reset Settings → Delete all data.
5. Enter a password (if required) and confirm the action.

Step-by-step:

1. Install Xiaomi drivers on your PC (download here).
2. Unpack the firmware archive in a folder without Cyrillic characters (for example, C:\MIUI\).
3. Turn off your phone and turn to Fastboot: Press Power + Volume Down for 10 seconds
4. Connect your phone to your PC. The Android Bootloader Interface should appear in Device Manager.
5. Open the Mi Flash Tool, press Select and point the path to the firmware folder.
6. At the bottom, select Clean All mode and press Flash.
7. Wait until it's finished (green tick) and turn off the phone. The first turn on takes 5-10 minutes.

⚠️ Note: Firmware via the Mi Flash Tool with the clean all option completely erases the user data section, including internal memory (photos, videos, documents). If you need to save files, use the save user data mode, but this does not guarantee 100% resetting of settings.

Method 4: Hard Reset via ADB (for USB debugging phones)

The method is for advanced users who previously had USB Debugging enabled, allows you to reset even if the screen is not working, but the phone is determined by the computer, Suitable for Xiaomi models based on Android 9-14.

Requirements:

• ⚙ Included debugging by USB (checks in the settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 taps according to version → For developers → Debugging by USB)
• 🖥 Installed Android SDK Platform Tools
• 🔌 Working USB-cable

Discharge commands:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and open the Command Prompt in the platform-tools folder.
2. Check the connection: Adb devices must appear serial number of the device.
3. Reset: Adb shell recovery --wipe_data Or for new versions. MIUI: adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.MASTER_CLEAR
4. After the reboot, the phone will look like new.

🔹 If the team doesn’t work, try an alternative:

adb reboot recovery

It will reboot the phone in Recovery Mode, where you can reset in the standard way (see Method 1).

💡

ADB-Reset is the only way to get the phone back on track if the screen crashes but the sensor responds to touch (for example, to unlock through a fingerprint before selling).

What to do if Hard Reset doesn’t work: 5 solutions

If you drop the phone, it doesn't turn on, it doesn't stick on the logo, it doesn't make a mistake, don't panic, and 80 percent of the time, you can fix it without a service center.

Additional actions:

• 🔋 If the phone doesn’t turn on after reset, plug it into charging for 30 minutes, then try again.
• 🔄 For Xiaomi models 11T/12 Pro with the error Fastboot try to flash through EDL Mode (requires an authorized Xiaomi account).
• 📱 If the screen is not working, but the phone is vibrating – connect to the PC and check through ADB: adb shell getprop ro.boot.bootreason Team will show the reason for the last reboot.

⚠️ Attention: On Redmi models 9/10 and POCO M3/M4 After a failed reset, this error may occur. MIUI version cannot be installed on this device, which means that the firmware does not match the region of the phone. MIUI via Mi Flash Tool.

How to Recover Data After Hard Reset

Hard Reset deletes all data without the option of canceling, but there are ways to return some information if you backed up in advance:

1.Recovery from Mi Cloud

• 📱 When first turned on after reset, select Restore from backup.
• 🔑 Enter Mi Account data – the system will offer available copies.
• ⏳ Recovery will take 10 minutes to 2 hours (depending on the amount of data).

2. Restoration through Google Account

• 📲 Contacts, calendar and some app settings are synced automatically when you add a Google Account.
• 📷 Photos and videos can be returned from Google Photos (if Autoupload was enabled).

3. Recovery programs (if there was no backup)

If you don't have backups, try a utility like Dr.Fone or EaseUS MobiSaver, which scans your phone's internal memory for deleted files.

• 🔍 Efficiency ~30-50% (It depends on how much data was overwritten after the reset).
• 💰 Free versions show files, but don’t restore them completely.
• ⚠️ Do not install programs on the phone itself – it will reduce the chances of recovery!

🔹 The only way to guarantee data saving before Hard Reset is to back up through Settings. → Additionally. → Backup or manually copy files to a PC. Once reset, it's almost impossible to recover information without a backup.

FAQ: Frequent questions about Hard Reset on Xiaomi