Set up a gallery on Xiaomi Redmi 9: a complete guide with pictures and tips

The standard Gallery app on Xiaomi Redmi 9 is not just a photo viewer, but a powerful tool for managing media files. Many users limit themselves to basic functions, without even realizing that it can automatically sort photos by date, create hidden albums, sync photos with Mi Cloud or optimize space on the device. In this article, we will analyze all the hidden features of the gallery, including rarely used chips like facial recognition or manual thumbnail settings.

Feature of Redmi 9 — his MIUI Android-based 10/11 (Depending on the firmware version, where the gallery is closely integrated with other Xiaomi services, this means that some settings (such as cloud reservation) require a Mi Account account to be linked, and features like smart albums only work when the Internet is turned on. We will take into account all these nuances and show you how to circumvent the typical limitations.

If you just bought Redmi 9 or updated your firmware, check the version of the Gallery app in Settings first. → The phone. → Version. MIUI. The available options depend on this: for example, in the old versions there is no video editing function, and in the new versions there is support. HEIF-All the instructions below are current for the latest updates MIUI 12.5+.

Basic Gallery setting: what can be changed in the settings menu

The first step is to open the Gallery app itself (the multi-colored square icon) and tap three dots in the top right corner, and there's a settings menu where you can:

• 🔄 Change the order of sorting (by date, file name or size)
• 👁️ Hide/Show system folders (e.g, DCIM/Thumbs or Screenshots)
• 📁 Add exceptions to scan (so that the gallery does not show photos from certain folders)
• 🔒 Block access to the gallery with a password or fingerprint

The most useful option here is Hidden Folders, and if you want to hide personal photos, but don't want to use third-party apps, you can just:

1. Go to Gallery Settings → Hidden folders.
2. Enter a password (if not installed, the system will prompt you to create it).
3. Select folders that you want to hide (such as Telegram Images or WhatsApp Media).

⚠️ Note: hidden folders remain accessible through any file manager (e.g. Mi File Manager) to fully protect your photo, use password archiving or transfer them to a Secure folder (discussed below).

2.Smart Albums and Facial Recognition: How It Works AI gallery

Xiaomi Redmi 9 is equipped with built-in artificial intelligence for analyzing photos, this feature creates automatic albums on:

• 👶 Humans (facial recognition)
• 🐕 Animals (cats, dogs, birds)
• 🌅 Places (mountains, sea, city landscapes)
• 🎂 Events (birthday, New Year's Day)

To enable or disable this function:

1. Open the Gallery and go to the Albums section.
2. Tap on three points. → Smart Album Settings.
3. Activate or deactivate the categories you want.

🔍 One important thing is that facial recognition only works for photos taken on Redmi 9 itself. If you upload photos from another device, the gallery won't be able to automatically group them by people:

1. Open the photo with the man.
2. Slip on the "Information" icon (the letter "i" in the circle).
3. Select Add Face and specify a name.

If a gallery is mistaken in recognition (for example, it confuses two people), you can train it to:

Mark 10+ photo|Remove erroneous tags|Use clear portraits (not group pictures)|Update the gallery to the latest version-->

3. Storage optimization: how to free up space without losing photos

One of the biggest problems with Redmi 9 — memory-limit (32/64 GB depending on version. The gallery offers several ways to save space:

To enable photo optimization:

1. Go to Gallery Settings → Optimizing storage.
2. Choose to Optimize your photo.
3. Confirm the action – the system will prompt you to upload the originals to the cloud (if you do not have Mi Account tied, the function will not be available).

⚠️ Attention: after optimizing the photos, only compressed versions will remain on the device. If you remove them from the cloud, it will not be possible to restore the originals:

• 🔄 Is there enough space in the Mi Cloud (free is only 5 GB).
• 📶 Is the Internet stable (when the connection is broken, photos can be damaged).
• 🔒 Is your Mi Account linked to your phone (without it, the cloud doesn’t work).

💡

If you don’t want to use Mi Cloud, set up an automatic photo upload to Google Photos. To do this, download the app from the Play Market and enable Backup and Sync in its settings.

4. Secure folder: how to hide a photo from prying eyes

If you don't like hidden folders (you can find them through the file manager), use the Secure folder, which is the equivalent of a media safe, which is encrypted and requires a password or fingerprint every time you open it.

To create a secure folder:

1. Open the gallery and go to the Albums.
2. Tap on three points. → Secure folder.
3. Set a password (minimum 4 digits) or attach a fingerprint.
4. Now you can move the photo to this folder with a long tap on the file. → Move it to a secure folder.

Important: If you forget the password from the secure folder, it will be impossible to restore access - even through a reset of the phone to factory settings. Xiaomi does not provide tools to unlock this partition.

🔍 How to transfer the photo back?

1. Open the Protected folder and select the photos you want.
2. Tap on three points. → Export.
3. Specify the destination folder (for example, DCIM/Camera).

5. Photo and video editing: hidden gallery tools

Many people don't know that Redmi 9 has a built-in photo editor with basic and advanced features.

1. Select a photo and tap on the icon "Edit" (pencil in the circle).
2. At the bottom, tabs will appear: Pruning, Filters, Correction, Effects.

The most useful tools:

• 🎨 Selective correction – changes brightness/contrast only in the selected area.
• 🖌️ Retouch brush – removes pimples, wrinkles or unnecessary objects.
• 📏 Perspective – Corrects curved lines (useful for building photos).
• 🎬 Video editing – cuts clips, adds music, text.

⚠️ Attention: video editing is only available for clips up to 10 minutes long. If you want to edit a long video, use third-party apps like CapCut or KineMaster.

🔹 Secret chip: if you hold your finger on the Save button after editing, you will have the option to Save as a copy, which will save the original and the edited version.

6.Sync with the cloud and other devices

The gallery on Redmi 9 can automatically sync photos with Mi Cloud, Google Photos or even other Xiaomi devices (for example, a laptop with Mi Mi). PC Suite. To set up synchronization:

1. Open Gallery settings → Backup.
2. Choose Mi Cloud or Google Photos.
3. Specify which files to sync (photos, videos, screenshots).
4. Set up a schedule (for example, only over Wi-Fi or manually).

📌 Comparison of cloud services for Redmi 9:

🔹 How to transfer photos to another Xiaomi?

If you have a second phone or a Xiaomi tablet, you can use the Quick Transfer feature:

1. On both devices, turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
2. On Redmi 9, open the gallery and select a photo. → Share. → Quick transmission.
3. On the second device, confirm the receipt of files.

Transfer speed depends on the version MIUI: on the new firmware, it reaches 10 MB/s, on the old - does not exceed 2-3 MB/s.

💡

For maximum transfer speed, turn off traffic savings in Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Saving traffic.

7. Solving Typical Gallery Problems on Redmi 9

Even after setting up properly, the gallery can malfunction, and let's look at the most common problems and their solutions:

🔧 If the gallery doesn't open at all:

1. Reboot the phone.
2. Clear the gallery data in Settings → Annexes → gallery → Warehouse → Clear the data.
3. Update the app through the Play Market.
4. If nothing helps, reset your settings (Settings). → The phone. → Resetting settings), but remember that it will delete all user data.

⚠️ Note: If the gallery still doesn't work after the reset, the problem may be that the system files are damaged, in which case only flashing the phone through Fastboot or Mi Flash Tool will help.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)