How to save Xiaomi Mi Robot cleaning card: backup, export and recovery

Xiaomi Mi Robot (including Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Pro, S5/S6, STYJ02YM, and others) builds a map of your home to clean efficiently. But what if you plan to reset, sell the device, or just want to keep the current configuration in case of a crash? Losing the card means the robot will have to re-scan the room, losing data about cleaning areas, forbidden areas and virtual walls.

In this article, we have 3 working ways to save a card (including cloud export, manual backup and restore via Mi Home) relevant for 2026 firmware, and we will also analyze common errors that may cause the card to fail, and give a checklist for verification before export. If you have already experienced data loss, the FAQ at the end of this article has a solution for recovering a deleted card.

Why Xiaomi Mi Robot Map Could Be Lost

The cleaning card is stored in the robot’s memory and synced with the Mi Home app (or Xiaomi Home for newer versions), and is lost in the following cases:

🔄 Resetting settings to factory through a button on the case or in the application menu.
📱 Reinstall Mi Home without pre-exporting data.
🔋 Battery discharge to 0% (in some models this leads to a temporary data reset).
🛠️ Update firmware with errors (especially relevant for betta versions).
🏠 Changing Wi-Fi network or region in your Xiaomi account.

For example, users of Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P often complain that after upgrading to firmware. 3.5.8_004026 The card is reset, and that's because of a change in the storage algorithm, and to avoid this problem, you just have to export the card in advance, and that's what we're going to talk about.

⚠️ Note: If the robot is connected to a Xiaomi account but the card is not displayed in the app, check the Devices section. → Settings → Map. Sometimes the data is hidden because of a synchronization failure. Try restarting the robot (hold the power button for 10 seconds).

Method 1: Save the card via Mi Home (cloud export)

The most reliable method is to export the card to the Xiaomi cloud, which works for all models connected to the account, and allows you to recover data even after a reset.

Open the Mi Home app and select your robot vacuum cleaner.
Go to the Map section (the house icon in the bottom menu).
Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Save the card (or Export the card in newer versions).
Confirm the action – the card will be downloaded to Xiaomi servers.

To check if the card is saved, go to Profile → Cloud. → Backups. There's a file that's got to show up with a type name. MiRobot_Map_[Note: the free Xiaomi account only stores the latest version of the map. For multiple copies, you need a Mi Cloud Storage subscription (from the top of the list). 99 ₽/month).

Make sure the robot is connected to Wi-Fi|Check that the current map is displayed in Mi Home|Charging the robot battery > 20%|Update the Mi Home app to the latest version-->

If the Save card button is inactive, the reasons may be as follows:

Problem.	Decision
The robot's offline.	Connect it to Wi-Fi and restart it.
Outdated firmware	Update the robot in Settings → Update
No rights to the cloud	Sign in to Mi Home under the same account as your robot
Map not built	Start cleaning at least 1 time before export

💡

If the robot says "Can't save the map," try changing the region in the Mi Home to China (even if you have a global version of the device).

Method 2: Manual backup (for advanced users)

If cloud exporting is not working (for example, due to region restrictions or an outdated model), you can save the card manually through a local copy.

🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS or smartphone with root access (for Android).
🔌 USB-Type C Cable (to connect the robot).
🛠️ The Mi Home Hack program or ADB Tools.

Step-by-step:

Connect the robot to the computer via USB (some models need to hold the Home button for 5 seconds to activate the debugging mode).
Open the command line and type: adb devices If the robot is determined, continue. If not, install the Xiaomi ADB Interface drivers.
Download the map with the command: adb pull /data/map/robot_map.dat C:\MiRobot_Backup\ File. robot_map.dat — That's your map.

Note: This method only works for firmware robots until 2022 (e.g. Mi Robot 1S or Mi Robot Vacuum). New models (2023-2026) use encryption of cards, and special scripts are needed to extract them.

How to decipher robot_map.dat?

The map file is stored in binary format. You can use Mi Map Viewer (available on GitHub) to view it, and it converts the dat file into a PNG image with room markup, and note that the coordinates of the zones and virtual walls in the file are not saved, only the map itself.

Method 3: Save a screenshot of the card (emergency version)

If neither the cloud nor the ADB works, you can save a screenshot of the map in Mi Home, which will not allow you to restore the cleaning areas, but at least preserve the layout of the room for manual data transfer.

How to do this:

Open the map in Mi Home and zoom in to see all the details.
On Android: Press Power + Volume Down buttons at the same time.
On iPhone: Use the Side button + Volume increase combination.
Save the screenshot to the gallery and send it to the cloud (Google Drive, iCloud) or to the mail.

To recover from the screenshot:

Run the robot in map mode (Settings → Map → Clean and Recreate).
When it starts scanning the room, check the screenshot and manually add zones/walls to the Mi Home.

⚠️ Note: On LiDAR models (e.g. Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2 Ultra), the screenshot is useless — the robot uses laser scanning, and manual data transfer is impossible.

Cloud Export via Mi Home| Manual Backup (ADB)| Screenshot of map | Never saved-->

How to recover the card after a reset or loss?

If the card is missing but you have a backup, follow this instruction:

Recovery from the Mi Home cloud

Open Mi Home and select a robot.
Go to Settings → Map → Restore the map.
Select the last saved copy and confirm the download.

Recovery from Local Backup (robot_map.dat)

You need root rights to a robot or firmware to debug.

adb push C:\MiRobot_Backup\robot_map.dat /data/map/


adb shell chmod 644 /data/map/robot_map.dat




adb reboot

If the robot does not accept the file, try:

🔄 Rename the file to map_backup.dat.
🛠️ Use the Mi Robot Tool for forced download.

💡

The map recovery is only possible on the same robot model, and transferring data from the Mi Robot S5 to the Mi Robot 2 Pro won't work because of different mapping algorithms.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Users often have problems saving a map, and here are the most common ones:

Mistake.	Reason.	Decision
"Failure to save the map"	Weak Wi-Fi signal	Connect the robot to a 5 GHz network or bring it closer to the router
Export button inactive	An outdated version of Mi Home	Update the app in the App Store/Google Play
Map recovered, but no zones	Synchronization failure	Reboot the robot and app, then reboot the recovery
File. robot_map.dat damaged	Incorrect extraction through ADB	Repeat copying, making sure the robot doesn’t turn off during the process.

Another common problem is that the robot doesn't build a map after recovery.

📍 The layout of the room has changed (furniture has been rearranged).
🔦 LiDAR sensors are contaminated (wipe the laser glass with a napkin).
📶 The robot is on another Wi-Fi network (the map is tied to the access point).

FAQ: Frequent questions about saving the Xiaomi Mi Robot card

Can I transfer the map from one robot to another?

No, it's impossible. The map is tied to a unique device ID (DID) and hardware specifications (e.g., LiDAR scanner height). Even on two identical Mi Robot S6 models, the transfer won't work.

How long does the card stay in the Xiaomi cloud?

In a free account, 30 days from the last update, if the robot has not connected to Mi Home for more than a month, the data can be deleted. For permanent storage, subscribe to Mi Cloud Storage.

Why did the card reset after the firmware update?

In firmware 3.5.8 and later, Xiaomi has changed the format of card storage. If the robot has updated from the old version, the data may not be converted automatically.

How to save the card if the robot is not connected to Wi-Fi?

The only option is to manually copy through ADB (method 2). If this does not work, only a screenshot of the map (method 3) or re-mapping after network recovery is left.

Can I edit the saved map?

For example, in Mi Home, you can: Add new cleaning areas, change room boundaries, remove virtual walls, and automatically edit (for example, through third-party programs) is not supported.