How to unlock a found Xiaomi phone: official and alternative methods

What to do if you find a locked Xiaomi phone

Find someone else's smartphone - the situation is ambiguous: on the one hand, you want to return the device to the owner, on the other - it is useless without unlocking: PIN-It's almost impossible to unlock your phone officially if you don't know the passwords, you can't unlock your phone, you can't get your fingerprints and you can't get them locked in, because the manufacturer specifically limits these actions to protect your user data.

In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to unlock a found Xiaomi phone (including Redmi, POCO, Black Shark models), given the current restrictions of 2026. It is important to understand that most methods require proof of ownership or lead to a complete reset with loss of information of the owner. If your goal is to return the phone, first try to contact the owner through alternative channels (we will discuss them below).

We warn you that attempts to circumvent the protection of Mi Account without proof of ownership can be considered a violation of data privacy law.

Step 1: Try to contact the owner without unlocking

Before you start taking drastic measures, check to see if you can return the phone without breaking the security. Even on a locked Xiaomi screen, several options are available:

• 📞 Emergency call: On the lock screen, tap Emergency Call and try dialing the owner's number (if it's listed as "I" or "Home"). Some models only allow emergency calls, but on older firmware, this bug still works.
• 📧 Notifications: If notifications are displayed on the screen (such as from WhatsApp or Telegram), try to respond to a message from another device.
• 🔄 Recovery mode: when you connect to Wi-Fi, a notification about connecting to the network may appear on the lock screen - sometimes the Mi Account email is displayed there (if the owner did not hide it in the settings).

If the phone supports NFC, check if it is tied to a bank card or a pass. In some cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg) by the card number you can find the owner through transport services.

⚠️ Warning: Do not try to call random numbers from your call history - this can be interpreted as an invasion of privacy. Use only explicit contacts of the owner (for example, "Mom" or "Work»).

Step 2: Checking the Link to your Mi Account

Mi Account is the main barrier to unlocking, and even after resetting via Recovery, the phone may require the username and password of the previous owner, and check if the device is linked to the account, you can do this:

1. Turn off the phone, then press Volume up + Power to log in to Fastboot.
2. Connect the device to your PC and start the command: fastboot oem device-info If the answer has the line Device unlocked: false, the phone is tied to Mi Account.

If your account is unlinked (or your phone is officially unlocked), you can reset it via Recovery.

⚠️ Note: Since 2021, Xiaomi has tightened its security policy. On new models (Redmi Note 12, Xiaomi 13 and newer), bypassing Mi Account without an official unlocker is impossible - the chip TEE (Trusted Execution Environment blocks any hacking attempts.

Step 3: Official Reset via Recovery Mode

If the phone is not tied to Mi Account or you are willing to lose all of the owner’s data, you can reset through Restore mode, which works on most models, but does not guarantee unlocking if the account is tied.

Turn off the phone.|Hold the Loud up. + Nutrition|Select a language (if the menu appears)|Find the Wipe Data Item|Confirm reset (Yes)-->

Step-by-step:

1. Turn off the phone (squeeze the power for 10 seconds if it freezes).
2. Click the combination: For most models: Volume up + Power. For POCO F3/F4: Loud down + Power. For Black Shark: Volume up + Volume down + Power.

Recovery

Wipe Data → Wipe All Data

Reboot

If after the reboot the phone requires the entry of Mi Account data, then the account was tied, in which case the device can only be officially unlocked through Xiaomi support service, providing a purchase check or a box with IMEI.

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If the phone doesn’t respond to the button combinations, plug it into charging for 10-15 minutes — sometimes a dead battery blocks the Recovery login.

Step 4: Alternative Unlocking Methods (for Power Users)

If the official methods don't work, there are informal methods, but they require technical skills and don't always work on new models.

Method 1: Bypass ADB (Android 7-10 only)

On older versions of MIUI (up to 12), you can try to delete the password file via ADB:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and enable USB debugging (if it was activated earlier).
2. Enter the commands adb shell su rm /data/system/gesture.key rm /data/system/password.key reboot

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Officially unlocking through Xiaomi is the only legal way, but it requires proof of ownership.

Step 6: What to do if nothing helps

If all methods are exhausted, you have three options:

1. Hand over to the police: according to the law of the Russian Federation (Article 227 of the Civil Code), the find must be handed over to the police or local authorities within 30 days, after which the owner is given 6 months to search, then the phone can be handed over to you.
2. Use as a “donor”: If the phone is not unlocked, you can remove working modules (camera, battery, speakers) to repair other devices.
3. Sell for parts: Avito or Yula often buy locked phones for disassembly, the average price is 20-50% of the cost of a new device.

If you decide to keep your phone, remember: using someone else’s device without the owner’s consent is a violation of Art. 137 of the Criminal Code (privacy).

The best way to do this is to try to find the owner through social media or local groups (like Search for People and Things [Your City]), and often people are willing to pay a reward for returning the phone.

FAQ: Frequent questions about unlocking Xiaomi