How to transfer the photo to SD-Map in Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a shortage of internal memory, especially if the device is equipped with a modest 32 or 64 gigabytes.Photos and videos take up the lion's share of space, and the system begins to issue notifications of critical storage filling. The solution to the problem is the use of a microSD memory card, which can be installed in a slot for the SIM-maps or separate compartments.

Transferring existing images to an external medium is not a complicated procedure, but it requires care to avoid losing important data. In the Android operating system with the MIUI shell, this process has its own nuances, different from the standard behavior of a pure android. You do not need to be a technician to make room on the phone.

In this article, we will discuss in detail all available methods of moving files, settings of the camera for automatic recording on a flash drive and features of working with the file system. Proper organization of data storage will prolong the life of your smartphone and make working with the gallery more comfortable.

Preparation SD-maps and compatibility checks

Before you start transferring photos, you need to make sure that your memory card is correctly defined by the system and ready to write. Xiaomi smartphones support microSD cards up to 256 GB, and some new models, such as the Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12, can work with large volumes if you use the exFAT file system.

Put the memory card into the slot and wait for notifications in the notification curtain. If the system offers to format the drive, be sure to agree, saving important data on the computer beforehand. Formatting creates the necessary file structure, without which Android will not be able to write files correctly.

To check the status of the drive, go to the settings menu. Navigation looks like this: Settings → The phone. → The storage. Here you'll see two sections: internal memory and SD-Make sure the amount of free memory on the external media is displayed correctly.

⚠️ Note: Do not remove the memory card during the copying or recording process.This can damage the file system and lose some of the images that will be marked as corrupt.

There's an important caveat to choosing a map: recording speed is critical for shooting high-resolution video. If you plan to shoot 4K or Full HD at 60 frames per second, use U3 or V30 cards. Slow cards will cause delays when shooting.

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Buy memory cards only from trusted electronics stores. There are many fakes on the market that show full volume when connected to a PC, but actually have 10 times less, which will lead to cyclical overwriting and loss of photos.

Manual transfer of photos through a standard Explorer

The most reliable and controlled way to move images taken is to use the built-in Explorer (or Files) app, which allows you to selectively transfer albums or specific dates without affecting system files.

Open Explorer on the home screen or in the Tools folder. You need to find the DCIM folder, which is the default folder for the Camera with all your photos, and select the files you want or entire folders with a long press.

Once highlighted, click the "More" button (three dots or bars) in the bottom corner of the screen and select the "Move" or "Copy" option, the difference being that "Move" will delete the originals from internal memory, and "Copy" will create a duplicate.

• 📂 Click on the menu icon and select “Internal Drive».
• 📂 Find the file. DCIM → Camera.
• 📂 Select the necessary photos with a long tap.
• 📂 Select “Move” and indicate the path to SD-map.

After selecting the target folder for SD-Map (you can create a new folder) Photos_Archive The transfer rate depends on the number of files and the speed class of your memory card.

It's important to understand that after manual transfer, the old photos will remain visible in the gallery, but they will be physically on an external medium, and the system will automatically index new paths to the files.

Setup of the camera for automatic recording on the card

In order not to waste time on manual transfer in the future, you can configure the standard Camera application so that new pictures are immediately saved to the camera. SD-This is especially true for users who take a lot of pictures and do not want to constantly control the space available.

Go to the Camera app and click on the menu icon (three bars) in the upper right corner. Select Settings. In the list of options, find the Save to SD-- The map.

Once this feature is enabled, all new photos, videos, panoramas and timelapses will be automatically sent to external storage, and internal memory will be occupied only by small previews or cache, which will save space significantly.

⚠️ Note: When the recording is on SD-The speed of the burst mode may decrease. If the map is slow, the camera will pause between frames to save data.

It is worth noting that some shooting modes, such as Short Video or specific filters, can ignore this setting and store data in internal memory due to the processing features of the image processor.

Using the Gallery app for mass movement

In the latest versions of the MIUI shell, the Gallery app has advanced file management features, which allows you to transfer photos without going to the file manager, which is more convenient for ordinary users.

Open the Gallery and go to the Albums tab. Select the album you want to move completely to an external medium, such as Screenshots or WhatsApp Images. Click on three dots in the corner and select Choose All.

Click on the "More" button and find the "Move" option, and the system will tell you to select the target location. SD-The map is set correctly, it's going to be on the list of available storage facilities, and the good thing about this is that it keeps the structure of the albums.

Using a gallery to move around is convenient because you see thumbnails and don't mess up files, but to transfer thousands of photos, you'd better use Explorer immediately, because the gallery interface can slow down when processing a large amount of data.

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The Gallery app is better suited for sorting and moving small groups of photos, and for a full backup of the entire DCIM folder, it is more efficient to use Explorer.

Cleaning cache and junk files after transfer

Once you have moved the photos, internal memory is not always released instantly to the extent you expect, because the system is left with thumbnails and app cache.

The.thumbnails folder in the DCIM directory can grow to several gigabytes. It contains reduced copies of your photos for quick viewing in the gallery. After transferring the main photos, it makes sense to clear this cache.

To do this, use the built-in Security → Cleanup utility. Click on Clean up garbage. The system will find temporary files that can be safely deleted. You can also use third-party tools, but Xiaomi's standard tools are usually enough.

• 🧹 Open the Security app».
• 🧹 Select the item “Cleaning up».
• 🧹 Wait for the system scan.
• 🧹 Click "Clean up the garbage».

Another important step is to check the Trash folder in the Gallery itself, which is often stored for 30 days, taking up space, and clear the basket to make room.

Frequent problems and their solution

Users may encounter various errors in the process of transferring data, and the most common problem is the message "Not enough space" even if there is free space on the map, which may be due to the file system.

If the card is formatted in the file system NTFS, Android can only read it, but not write it. FAT32 Or exFAT. You can reformat the card through the phone settings: → Warehouse → SD-map → Format.

It is also possible that photos have been moved but are not displayed in the gallery, in which case it will help to reboot the device or clear the cache of the Gallery application through Settings → Applications → All Apps → Gallery → Clear the cache.

⚠️ If the phone is no longer visible SD-If you don't have a map, after you've moved a lot of data, don't panic. Try rebooting the device. If you don't, retrieve it and paste it back in, check the contacts.

Sometimes, an antivirus or security system blocks access to files on an external medium. Make sure that the Gallery and Explorer app are given all necessary permissions to access the storage in the privacy settings.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions