When the owner of a Xiaomi smartphone suddenly finds that his device is completely cleaned, it is extremely stressful. After performing the Hard Reset procedure or completely resetting the settings to factory settings, the phone returns to the state of “out of the box” All personal photos, contacts, correspondence and installed applications disappear from the visible part of the file system, leaving the user alone with an empty screen.
However, you should not panic ahead of time, as modern mobile operating systems and cloud services Xiaomi often save backups automatically. The chances of returning lost information directly depend on whether the sync with the Mi Account or backup in Google Drive was preconfigured. In some cases, even without prior preparation, there are methods of deep memory scanning that can give a positive result.
In this guide, we will take a look at all the available ways to recover information, from standard system tools to specialized software. You will learn how to properly activate synchronization, where to look for hidden backups and what actions you absolutely can not perform immediately after losing data, so as not to reduce the likelihood of their successful return forever.
Why data disappears and can it be returned?
When you reset, the Android operating system on Redmi and Poco smartphones marks all busy memory sectors as free to write. Physically, the information is not deleted instantly, it remains on the drive until new files overwrite old memory cells, and this is the time period that is critical for successful recovery.
The efficiency of the process depends on the type of memory and the time elapsed since the reset. If you start using your phone, downloading movies or taking new photos immediately after cleaning, the probability of successful data recovery on Xiaomi drops rapidly. The file system works on the principle of FIFO (First In, First Out) for free blocks, so new data can quickly cover up the traces of old ones.
⚠️ Warning: Immediately after detection of loss of data immediately transfer the smartphone to air mode or completely turn it off.
There is a myth that today's encryption smartphones can't recover data, and it's not quite true: if the device was unlocked at least once after the reset and you logged in, the encryption keys could be updated, which would make it harder. However, if the reset was made but the account wasn't logged in yet, the old decryption keys can be found in system logs or residual files.
📊 Have you had important information after the reset?
Yeah, all the photos are missing.
Only contacts are missing.
Nothing's missing, there was a backup.
I'm just planning a reset.
Recovery through Mi Cloud Service
Xiaomi device owners have a unique advantage in the built-in Mi Cloud ecosystem. This cloud storage is set to synchronize key elements by default: contacts, notes, voice recorder, calendar and most importantly, gallery. If you were logged into your Mi Account before the reset and synchronization is enabled, your data may be on the company's servers.
You don't have to set up your phone to access backups right away. You can check for data through the web interface. Go to the official cloud service website, enter your credentials, and go to Gallery or Contacts, which shows all the files that were uploaded to the cloud before you lost them.
- 📸 Open your browser on your PC and go to i.mi.com.
- 🔑 Enter your Mi Account login and password (not to be confused with your Google account).
- ☁️ Check the "Gallery", "Contacts", "Notes" sections for your data.
- 📥 Select the desired files and press the restore or download button on the device.
It is important to understand the difference between local storage and cloud storage. If you select the option “Storage Optimization” in the gallery settings, the original photos could be deleted from your phone, but their copies are guaranteed to remain in the Mi Cloud. When you restore them through your phone settings after the reset, the system will prompt you to download this data back if you log in to the same account.
What to do if you forget your Mi Account password?
If you don't remember your password, use the login page recovery feature. You'll need access to your linked phone number or backup email. Without that, it's almost impossible to restore access to the Mi Cloud cloud because of the high level of data protection. Google Drive backups. Android is tightly integrated with Google services. Even if you haven't used the Xiaomi cloud, your phone could automatically back up settings, application lists and data from some programs in Google Drive. This method is particularly effective for restoring desktop structure and system settings. The recovery process starts automatically when you activate your smartphone after the reset. When you pass the initial Fi-based system, you want to restore the data from the WiFi, and you want to the WiFi backup. You will be offered a list of available backups with a date of their creation, select the most recent date preceding the reset, the system will start downloading the list of applications from the Play Market and restore the settings. However, it is worth noting that photos and videos through this channel are rarely recovered unless a specific Photos and Video feature has been enabled in Google Photos settings. Data type Recovery probability Where to look for Contacts High contacts.google.com Photos and Videos Average photos.google.com List of applications High Google Play / Message settings SMS Low Depends on the application SMS To check for backup, you can go to Google's settings on any other device or browser. Go to Backup and check the date of the last successful upload. If the date is current, if you install it cleanly on Xiaomi, your data will return. Recovery from a local copy MIUI Xiaomi smartphones have powerful built-in tools for creating local backups. Many users are unaware that this feature exists and allows you to save a full cast of the system, including applications and their data, to internal memory or on the Internet. SD-Backup files are stored in a hidden directory that is not erased in a normal setting reset unless the entire drive has been cleaned. To verify that there is such a copy, you need to access the file system. After resetting and initial setup, connect your phone to your computer in file transfer mode or use a file manager. MIUI/backup/AllBackup. This is where the.bak archives are stored. ☑️ Check local backup Find the folder MIUI/backup/AllBackupCheck the date of creation of the file.bakAssess the file size Make sure the file is not corrupt: 0 / 4 If a file is found and its date corresponds to the period before data loss, you can restore the system. To do this, in the standard Explorer app, go to the menu, select Settings, then Restore from backup. The system will find the available files and offer to select components for recovery. ⚠️ Attention: Local copy takes up a lot of space. If you reset your phone with the Clear All Data option (including internal memory), then this folder could have been deleted. SD-Professional software for deep scanning When regular funds MIUI Cloud services are powerless, third-party software comes to the rescue. Data recovery software uses deep scanning algorithms to try to find file residues in system partitions. The effectiveness of such utilities on modern versions of Android varies, but it is worth a try, as this is often the last chance. One of the popular programs is Dr.Fone or Tenorshare UltData, which connects to a smartphone via a smartphone. USB-cable and require the inclusion of the debugging mode USB. This mode is activated in the “For developers” menu, which you need to pre-unblock by clicking on the build number several times in “About phone». 💻 Install a recovery program on your computer (Windows or macOS). 🔌 Connect Xiaomi with a cable and allow debugging by USB smartphone-screen. 🔍 Run a scan in the program by selecting file types to search for. 💾 View the files found in preview and save them to the PC. It's important to understand that without Root rights, scan depth is limited. Most modern Redmi and Poco phones are free of superuser rights for security reasons. Software will only be able to find cached thumbnails or recently deleted files that have not yet been overwritten by the system. Prevention and autosave settings The best way to combat data loss is by regularly backing them up. Xiaomi owners are advised to set up automatic sync immediately after purchasing the device. This will take a few minutes, but save you from clocking information recovery in the future. First, make sure that the Google account settings are enabled to synchronize contacts and then set up for the original Google photo loading. For Mi Cloud users, it is useful to set up automatic upload of screenshots and voice recorders. Remember to periodically create full local copies through the recovery menu. MIUI And you can transfer it to your computer or your external hard drive, and this integrated approach ensures that even if your smartphone is completely out of order or stolen, your data will remain safe in the digital space. 💡Automatic cloud sync is the only reliable way to protect against total data loss when settings are reset or a device breaks. Can you recover data if the phone doesn't turn on? If the smartphone is not turned on due to a software failure, data recovery is possible only after the device is repaired. If the problem is in the hardware (burned board, memory), then the software methods are powerless - expensive restoration in the laboratory with soldering of memory chips will be required. How long does the data stay in the cloud after deletion? In the Google Photos and Mi Cloud Recycle Bin, deleted files are usually stored for 30 days. After that, they are deleted irrevocably. In local backups on your PC, data is stored until you delete it yourself. Is it safe to use free versions of recovery programs? Free versions often only allow you to scan the device and show file previews. The most often required to restore (save files to disk) is the purchase of a license. Be careful with completely free software from unverified sources - it can contain viruses.