Forgotten your Xiaomi PIN? Recover data without unlocking the bootloader

This advice appears in every forum, and if you have forgotten your screen lock code, it is the surest route to data loss. When the bootloader is unlocked, Xiaomi formats the user storage. This is not a side effect but intentional: it is designed to prevent someone from accessing another person's data on a device that is not theirs.

There is also a second hurdle. Xiaomi requires the Mi account to be linked to the device and imposes a waiting period before the bootloader can even be unlocked. Both require you to be able to sign in. That is precisely what you cannot do with a locked screen.

• Unlocking the bootloader formats the user storage. Data recovery is no longer possible afterwards.
• Unlocking requires a signed-in Mi account and a waiting period.
• Third-party tools that claim to bypass this often damage the firmware.

Even if the screen lock is removed, the device may remain blocked. Xiaomi links devices to the Mi account. After a reset, the phone asks for that specific account, and without the login details it remains unusable.

This matters for your data recovery for another reason: the Mi account can be used to remotely erase the device. If you panic and experiment with the account settings, a single click may be enough. If in doubt, do not even sign in until the case has been assessed.

Xiaomi switched its interface from MIUI to HyperOS at the end of 2023. The version running on your device helps determine how the encryption is structured and which methods are available to us.

Since you cannot access the settings, the year of purchase provides a useful indication. Tell us the model and approximate purchase date so we can assess the situation before you send it in.

What matters is what you originally set up. The difference is significant: with digits and patterns, the number of possibilities is manageable; with letters and special characters, it runs into the billions.

We can reliably unlock a numeric PIN or swipe pattern. For a password containing letters and special characters, we can only tell you after diagnosis whether there is a viable method. Any other claim would be misleading.

If you remember parts of the code, such as its length or first digits, include that in your enquiry. These details greatly reduce the search space and significantly shorten the work involved.

Most cases we have to decline fail because of something that happened beforehand. Each of the following steps overwrites the storage and is irreversible.

• Unlock the bootloader. This formats the storage; see above.
• Reset to factory settings through the menu or recovery mode.
• Remotely erasing the device through the Mi account.
• Install new firmware using Mi Flash Tool.
• Continuing to guess. The system increases waiting periods, and some settings trigger an erase after a specified number of failed attempts.

Leave the device switched off until the case has been assessed. This costs nothing and keeps all options open.

We work in Bonn and accept devices from across Germany via insured shipping. The process provides a clear assessment before any costs are incurred.

1. 1You describe the case: model, approximate year of purchase, type of lock and what has been tried so far.
2. 2We tell you in advance whether sending it in makes sense.
3. 3In the workshop, we check the generation, encryption and condition of the logic board.
4. 4You receive an assessment with a binding price and then decide.
5. 5After successful decryption, we back up the data to an encrypted USB drive.

The price is around1.000euros and depends on the model, encryption and condition. This is not a fixed price; we provide the binding amount after diagnostics. If recovery is unsuccessful, only the processing fee of 29,90 euros applies.

If you would like to address the issue now, book a diagnostic assessment directly via Password unlocking. There you can see the process, how much the diagnostic assessment costs and how shipping works.

We would rather honestly decline a case than accept a job that will fail. In these cases, we do not accept a Xiaomi in the first place.

• The bootloader has already been unlocked. This means the storage has been formatted.
• The device has been reset to factory settings or remotely erased.
• The case involves accidentally deleted files on a working device. We cannot recover deleted data.
• Someone without experience has previously worked on the device and damaged the logic board.

No fixed price applies in cases of severe water damage, a bent or broken logic board, or previous repair attempts by others. We bill these cases based on the work involved and explain this in advance.

If your Xiaomi no longer starts at all and is stuck in a boot loop, the lock is not the problem. For more on this, see Xiaomi bootloop: recover data with a documented case from our workshop.

Different rules apply to other manufacturers: Forgotten Huawei PIN explains why Google's Find My Device is missing there, Forgotten Honor PIN why the year of manufacture matters, and Forgotten Google Pixel PIN the Titan security chip. An overview of all cases is available under Smartphone data recovery.