How to Unblock SMS from Short Numbers on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Owners of smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO Often faced with a situation where important messages from banks, delivery services or service services do not arrive on the device. MIUI, Known for its severity, it can mistakenly classify short numbers as spam or block them without the user's knowledge, creating critical situations, especially when you need to confirm the login to a banking application or obtain an authorization code.

The problem is that the system blocker analyzes the structure of the number and the content, sometimes mistaking even official mailings as spam, and understanding the mechanisms of these filters allows you to quickly restore normal communication, and in this article we will discuss in detail why the blocking occurs and how to force the reception of messages.

Sometimes the reason is not the phone’s software settings, but the operator’s services. Telecom operators often offer paid or free antispam services that filter traffic before it reaches the service provider. SIM-If the settings on the phone are perfect, but there is no SMS, it is worth checking the personal account of your mobile operator.

Reasons for blocking short numbers in MIUI

The main culprit is built-in antivirus and security modules, and security algorithms seek to protect users from phishing short numbers, but the automatic system is not always able to distinguish the attacker from the legitimate sender, especially with new short carrier or service numbers.

Another reason is a manual ban that the user could have accidentally set, and one incorrect click when viewing a questionable message is enough to make the number blacklisted, in which case the system will ignore any incoming data packets from that address, considering it undesirable.

⚠️ Note: If you have blocked a bank or government number, standard missed message notifications will not arrive.

Regional features are also worth considering: some firmware versions (e.g. Global or China) may have different filtering rules, and the Chinese version of MIUI has more stringent default settings, blocking any international or non-standard number formats without explicit user permission.

Verification of the system message blocker

The first step in diagnostics is to check the built-in security application, and that's where all logs of blocked events are stored, you need to open the Security app (green lightning icon) and find the Locker section, and here's all the statistics of incoming calls and messages that have been rejected by the system.

Inside the blocker menu, go to the settings, find the Lock Rules section, and see if the "Block All from Unknown" or "Block Hidden Numbers" mode is activated, and if those options are enabled, the system will cut off any short codes not listed in your phone book.

For a detailed analysis, open a blocked message log, and if you see codes from the bank or service you're expecting, you've solved the problem halfway, you've found the cause, and just click on the message and select "Unblock" or "It's not spam."

• 📱 Open the Security app on the desktop.
• 🛡️ Go to the Blocker section (shield icon or prohibiting sign).
• ⚙️ Click on the settings gear in the upper right corner of the screen.
• 📜 Select the Blocking Log to view the history.

It is important to clean this log regularly, as overcrowded cache can sometimes cause malfunctions in the filtering module, and system resources should be used to process current data, not to store an old history of spam attacks.

Setting up a whitelist and exceptions

The most reliable way to guarantee delivery of important codes is to have the sender on the Whitelist, which is a mandatory instruction for MIUI to ignore any filters for a particular number, and this can be done through the locker settings or directly from the message log.

If the number is short (for example, a 5-digit bank code), make sure it is added in full, without unnecessary characters or country code, if the system requires a local format. In some cases, it helps to keep contact in the phone book marked "Worker" or "Bank", since the lock is less often used for trusted contacts.

In the locker settings, there is an option called "Allow contact messages," which automatically lets all SMS messages from the numbers stored in your address book be activated, and it's a great preventive method to protect against accidental blocking in the future.

Remember that the MIUI shell can be updated and settings can be reset to factory settings. Periodic whitelist checks after major system updates will help avoid sudden problems getting confirmation codes.

Resetting the settings of the Messages application

If manual settings don't work, there may have been a software failure in the Message system application, cache files may have been corrupted, or there may have been a version conflict after the update, in which case a full reset of the application to factory settings is effective.

To do this, go to your smartphone settings, then to the Apps → All Apps. Find the Messages (or Mi Messaging) list. Inside the app menu, click the Clean button and select Clear all data.

⚠️ Note: Resetting the Messages app will not delete your saved contacts, but can clear your correspondence history if it is not synced to the cloud or exported.

Once reset, the phone will restart and the Messages app will launch as a first.You will need to re-allow access to contacts and SMS. Often this action shakes up the system, forcing you to re-register message delivery services and correctly handle short numbers.

• 🔍 Go to Settings. → Annexes.
• 📂 Find the standard Messages app.
• 🗑️ Press Clear Clear. → Clear it all up.
• 🔄 Reboot your smartphone to apply changes.

In some cases, especially on older versions of Android, you may also need to clear the Google Play Services or Google Messages app data if you use them as your primary SMS client.

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If the standard MIUI app continues to block codes, install Google Messages from the Play Market, which has its own, often more flexible filtering settings and is less likely to conflict with system services.

The Impact of Third-Party Antiviruses and Applications

Often users install third-party security solutions themselves without knowing that they are in conflict with the system blocker Xiaomi. Apps like Avast, Kaspersky or various Clear Master can take control of incoming messages. If you have multiple defenders installed, they can block each other or duplicate lock functions.

Check the list of installed applications for any Antispams, Call Blockers or Number Defenders. If found, try temporarily disabling or uninstalling them. After removing the third-party software, be sure to check if its settings are still in the system.

Special attention should be paid to memory optimization applications, which can force SMS processing to be closed in the background, considering it inactive. Add the Messages app to the power saving exceptions.

To do this, go to Settings → Battery and Performance (or simply Battery). Find Messages and set Unlimited mode, which will prevent the system from killing the process of waiting for SMS, which is critical for receiving codes on time.

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Conflict between two antivirus systems is a common cause of SMS loss. Leave only the built-in MIUI protector, as it has deep access rights to the system that third-party programs do not have.

Actions in case of problems with the operator

Sometimes the phone is good, the settings are correct, but SMS does not come because of the locks on the operator side. Mobile operators use their own gateways to filter spam, and a short number can be marked as suspicious at the network level, in which case no settings Xiaomi will not help.

You should contact your operator’s technical support (MTS, Beeline, MegaFon, Tele2, etc.) and ask if your number is equipped with an antispam or a short number ban service, often automatically or mistakenly when you call the call center.

It is also worth checking the status. SIM-If the card is old or has physical damage, it can be difficult to receive service SMS (especially from bank gateways) and can be replaced free of charge at the operator's office. SIM-card to new with support for modern communication standards, which often solves the problem of "lost" messages.

In rare cases, manual re-registration helps, using an engineering menu or a simple way to put the phone into flight mode for 10-15 seconds, and then turn it off, which will force the device to re-register and update the service profile.

The command to check the redirect status (entered in the call):


##002#




This command resets all kinds of redirects that could theoretically redirect your SMS to another number (although this is rare for SMS, but it is worth checking).