What is Xiaomi Cloud?

What is Xiaomi Cloud?

Xiaomi Cloud, called Mi Cloud on older phones, is Xiaomi's own sync and backup service on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO phones running MIUI or HyperOS. When you sign in with a Xiaomi account, it can sync contacts, messages, call history, gallery photos, notes, recordings, browser data and Wi-Fi settings to Xiaomi's servers, and it powers Find Device, which locates, locks or erases a lost phone.

Xiaomi's privacy white paper describes the controls: you turn individual sync items on or off, and Find Device, under Settings > Xiaomi Account > Xiaomi Cloud. You can also choose to sync only over Wi-Fi and set schedules for some items. On older MIUI versions the same screen sits under Settings > Mi Account > Mi Cloud.

Two packages carry the service: com.miui.cloudservice, which Settings shows as Xiaomi Cloud, and com.miui.micloudsync, the sync engine behind it. Both appear in app lists even on phones that were never signed in to a Xiaomi account.

Can I disable it?

Yes, you can, but it is an advanced change because Find Device and every Xiaomi sync item depend on it; the safer route is to switch sync off in Settings. Xiaomi's support article on turning off Mi Cloud walks through doing that from the Xiaomi Cloud screen, and signing out of the Xiaomi account removes the service's purpose altogether.

Two cautions from Xiaomi's own documentation are worth knowing first. Turning off sync for some items, such as Wi-Fi networks and frequent phrases, deletes the copy stored in the cloud permanently. And if Find Device is on, turn it off properly in Settings before doing anything else, so the phone is not left linked to your account in a half-disabled state.

If you never use a Xiaomi account, disabling both packages with ADB is a reasonable cleanup:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.cloudservice
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.miui.micloudsync

What you lose: Xiaomi Cloud sync and backup, cloud gallery and notes sync, and Find Device. Google's own backup, Google Photos and other apps are unaffected.

Does it drain battery or data?

It can, mainly while it uploads photos and videos from the gallery, which is the heaviest sync item by far. Contacts, messages and settings are small and sync quickly. Battery and data use therefore rise after you take many photos, after a reset when everything syncs again, and when sync is allowed on mobile data.

Two settings keep it in check: choose Wi-Fi-only sync, and for the gallery, choose which folders sync and when. Xiaomi's white paper describes both options on the Xiaomi Cloud screen.

If Xiaomi Cloud appears in the battery list on a phone with no Xiaomi account signed in, it is usually brief background checks. Disabling it, as above, stops them.

Why did it just update?

It updated because Xiaomi ships Xiaomi Cloud updates with MIUI and HyperOS system updates and through its own app update service for system apps, separate from Google Play. Updates change sync behavior, add support for new data types and fix bugs.

Because these updates come from Xiaomi rather than the Play Store, they can appear even if you have turned off automatic updates in Google Play.

Which packages are behind it?

Two packages make up the service on this page:

• com.miui.cloudservice is Xiaomi Cloud, the settings screen and account side of the service.
• com.miui.micloudsync is MiCloudSync, the engine that moves data between the phone and Xiaomi's servers.

Find Device and cloud backup have their own packages on most Xiaomi phones, and both work through the Xiaomi account and cloud service these two packages manage.

If something goes wrong

If items stop syncing, check the sync status first: on the Xiaomi Cloud screen, a finished sync says it is up to date. If it is not, work through Xiaomi's own suggestions:

1. Check that you have free Xiaomi Cloud storage left.
2. Check your connection, and whether sync is limited to Wi-Fi.
3. For messages and call history, make sure a SIM card is inserted and that Xiaomi Cloud has permission to read call history and messages, with both sync items turned on.
4. Check the backup schedule; with a weekly schedule, data only syncs every seven days.
5. Restart the phone.

If problems continue, sign out of the Xiaomi account and back in, after confirming your data is safe in the cloud.

To restore the service after disabling it with ADB:

adb shell pm enable com.miui.cloudservice
adb shell pm enable com.miui.micloudsync

Then open Settings > Xiaomi Account > Xiaomi Cloud and sign in again if asked.