Owners of modern smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco often face the need to keep their data safe. Losing a device, accidentally deleting photos or crashing the operating system can cause valuable information to be lost if you don’t take care of a copy of it in advance, and it is to solve these problems that the Mi ecosystem has a powerful tool called cloud redundancy.
This technology allows you to automatically or manually upload your contacts, messages, notes, photos, and even place your desktop icons on remote servers of the company. Unlike a local copy that is stored in your phone's memory and can be lost along with your gadget, cloud data remains available from anywhere in the world, just enter your Mi Account on a new device to return everything as it was.
Understanding how this function works is critical for anyone who wants to secure their digital archive, and below we will discuss in detail how synchronization works, what are the nuances of tariff plans and how to properly configure the system so as not to worry about your files.
The essence of cloud storage technology on Xiaomi devices
At the heart of the system is Mi Cloud, which is deeply integrated into the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS. It's not just a flash drive on the Internet, but a comprehensive data management system. When you activate the feature, your smartphone starts analyzing selected file categories and sending encrypted copies to Xiaomi servers. Synchronization takes place in the background without requiring constant user intervention.
The main advantage is that changes are made instantly, if you add a new contact to your phone book or take a picture, it will almost immediately appear in the cloud, which ensures that the backup is up to date at any time, and moreover, the system is smart: it understands the context of the data, for example, when you reserve settings, it stores not only the list of applications, but also their location on the screen, the themes of registration and even Wi-Fi passwords.
⚠️ Note: For proper photo sync to work in the original quality, a stable Wi-Fi connection is often required, as mobile traffic can quickly run out or be limited by system settings.
It's important to distinguish between local backup and cloud backup. SD-The key difference is that the device is independent of the physical state of the smartphone, and even if the device is broken or stolen, the data in the cloud will remain intact.
What is stored in the Mi Cloud
Xiaomi’s smartphone backup system offers flexible customization of what will be sent to the server. The user can select individual categories or enable full synchronization. The standard set includes contacts, messages (SMS and MMS), call history, notes, voice recordings and calendar events.
The multimedia section deserves special attention. The gallery can sync photos and videos, but there are important limitations that depend on the tariff. You can also upload screen recordings, screenshots and documents to the cloud. For users who value order in the interface, the function of saving the desktop layout is available. This means that when you switch to a new phone, you do not have to re-search the desired applications - they will fall into place automatically.
The list of main data stored is as follows:
- 📞 Contacts and calls: full phone book with avatars and history of incoming / outgoing calls.
- 💬 Messages: text SMS multimedia MMS, attachment.
- 📷 Gallery: photos and videos (depending on available space in the cloud).
- 📝 Notes and Recorder: Text files and audio recordings created in standard applications.
- 🏠 Desktop: location of icons, folders and widgets.
It is worth noting that some application data may not be saved if the software developer does not provide such a possibility or uses its own cloud services, for example, correspondence in instant messengers is most often reserved through Google Drive or internal application servers, rather than through Mi Cloud.
Tariff plans and restrictions of free space
When you register for a new Mi Account, you get a basic amount of free space, which is usually 5 GB. That's enough to store thousands of contacts, tens of thousands of messages and notes, but for photos and videos, this may not be enough, and this is where the separation between free and paid rates comes into effect.
If the limit is exhausted, synchronization of new files is stopped, although the old data remains available for viewing and downloading.To continue to enjoy all the benefits, Xiaomi offers a subscription Mi Cloud+. It allows you to increase storage to 50 GB, 200 GB or even 2 TB. Payment is made monthly or annually, making the service available to different categories of users.
Comparison of the capabilities of different levels of access is presented in the table:
| Parameter | Basic (Free) | Mi Cloud+ 50GB | Mi Cloud+ 200GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume of space | 5GB | 50GB | 200GB |
| Synchronization of photo | Yes (to the limit) | Yes. | Yes. |
| Video backup | Limited. | Complete. | Complete. |
| Searching device | Available. | Available. | Available. |
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Periodically check the occupied space in the settings of Mi Cloud. If the storage is full, old photos can be uploaded to the computer and deleted from the cloud, making room for new pictures.
It's important to understand that the pricing is tied to your account, not to your device, which means that if you buy an extra amount, you can use it on all the gadgets that are tied to your Mi ID. Family subscriptions allow you to share space between family members, which is a cost-effective solution.
Step-by-step instructions for setting up reservations
To start using cloud storage, you need to do the initial setup, which is quite simple and takes only a few minutes, first make sure that your smartphone is connected to the Internet, and the best way to use Wi-Fi for the initial download of data.
Go to the settings menu of your device. Find the account section. Depending on the version of the MIUI shell or HyperOS, the path may be slightly different, but the logic remains the same. You need to log in to your Xiaomi account if you haven't already.
☑️ Setting up a cloud backup
The following actions should be followed:
- Open Settings and select Mi Account (usually at the top of the list).
- Go to the Mi Cloud section.
- Click on Sync with the Cloud or similar.
- In the list that opens, switch sliders against the categories of data you want to save (Contacts, Messages, Gallery, etc.).
- For more detailed customization, click on Backup inside the cloud menu to select the frequency and terms of copy creation.
Once all the options are enabled, the system will start to load the data in the first place, so you can track progress in the notification or in the cloud settings menu itself, and autosynchronization will work continuously as long as the Internet is turned on.
⚠️ Note: It is not recommended to interrupt the process of initial synchronization of large amounts of data (for example, thousands of photos), as this can lead to errors in indexing files and the need to start the process again.
What to do if the synchronization is suspended?
Recovery of data after reset or on a new device
The most important thing is that you can get your data back. The scenarios can be different: you bought a new Xiaomi smartphone, lost your old one, or just decided to make a full reset to the factory settings.
When you first turn on your new phone or after you reset, the system will prompt you to set up your device. One of the steps will be to log in to your Mi Account. Once you enter your username and password, the smartphone will ask if you need to restore data from the cloud, and you will see a list of available backups with the date of their creation.
Select the current version of the backup