“Cloud Albums Are Full” on Xiaomi: Reasons, Solutions and Hidden Settings

You saw the “Cloud Albums Full” notification** on Xiaomi, Redmi or your smartphone. POCO — And you don't know what to do about it, and this bug happens when the storage limit in Mi Cloud is exhausted, but the system keeps trying to upload new photos. As a result, the synchronization stops, and on the lock screen or in the notification curtain there is an inscription that does not disappear even after the restart.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible causes of the problem, from simple memory overflows to Mi Cloud failures, how to free up space in the cloud without losing photos, what settings are responsible for automatic downloading, and what to do if the notification appears even after cleaning, and how to transfer the photo to another cloud (for example, Google Photos or Yandex Drive) and turn off sync forever if you do not need it.

Why does the “Cloud Albums Are Complete” Notice appear?

The message “Cloud Albums Full”** means that your Mi Cloud account has run out of free space for storing photos and videos. Xiaomi defaults to providing 5GB for free, but this is not long enough – especially if you shoot in high resolution or use the camera often.

• 📸 Automatic sync is enabled in the Gallery or Mi Cloud settings, and all new photos/video are immediately uploaded to the cloud.
• 🔒 Your Mi Account is blocked or restricted (for example, for breach of usage rules).

Sometimes the notification appears even if there is free space in the cloud, this may be due to a data caching or an error in the Gallery app, for example, if you deleted photos from the cloud, but they are still displayed in the file list (until the cache is updated).

⚠️ Warning: If you see a notification “Cloud Albums Full”**, but there is free space in Mi Cloud, try logging out and logging in again.

How to check your busy place in Mi Cloud

Before you clean the cloud, you need to understand what's taking up the memory.

1. Open the Mi Cloud app (cloud icon on your desktop).

Note the files marked as Synced, which can be deleted from the cloud but will remain on the device, while files labeled “Only in the cloud” will disappear forever when deleted (unless stored elsewhere).

If you find that most of your memory is occupied by high-resolution video or photos, consider compressing or moving them to another cloud (more on this in the following sections).

Ways to Make Space in Cloud Albums

If the cloud is full, you have a few options, and you can choose the right one depending on which files you want to delete and how much time you can spend.

1. manually delete unnecessary files

The most reliable, but longest way:

• 📂 Open the Mi Cloud → section “Photos»**.
• 🔍 Sort files by size (click on three dots in the upper right corner).
• 🗑️ Delete the biggest videos and photos you don’t need (e.g. old screenshots, repetitive footage, failed shots).
• 🔄 After deleting, update the page – sometimes files remain in the list until the cache updates.

Automatic cleaning of duplicates

The Xiaomi Gallery has a built-in tool for finding duplicates:

1. Open the gallery. → press three lines (menu) → Management.
2. Select Duplicate Cleanup.

3.Transfer the photo to another cloud

If you don’t want to lose files, but you need to vacate your Mi Cloud space, move them to Google Photos, Yandex Drive or Dropbox:

• 📲 Download another cloud app (e.g. Google Photos).
• 🔄 Turn on automatic uploading of photos in it.
• 🗃️ Wait until all files are synchronized.
• 🗑️ Remove the originals from the Mi Cloud.

4. Purchase of additional space

If you need more than 5GB, you can expand storage:

• 💳 Open the Mi Cloud → Storage management.

⚠️ Warning: Before buying an extra space, check if you have a stock. Xiaomi sometimes gives discounts for the first 3 months of vault expansion.

How to turn off photo sync with Mi Cloud

If you don’t use the cloud or prefer other services (like Google Photos), you can turn off sync completely.

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Synchronization.
2. Choose your Mi Account.

After that, the new photos will no longer be uploaded to the cloud, but the synchronized files will remain to be deleted:

• 📱 Open the Mi Cloud → «Photo Photo»**.
• 🔍 Select all files (or select the right ones).
• 🗑️ Press Delete. → Clean the cart (files are stored in the cart for 30 days).

If you want to completely reset the cloud (like before selling your phone), do the following:

Settings → Accounts and synchronization → Mi Account → Delete account

But remember: this will delete all data associated with your account, including contacts, notes, and backups.

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If you turn off sync but want to save photos, pre-copy them to your computer or external drive. USB and select the file transfer mode (MTP).

What to do if the notification does not disappear after cleaning

Even after the space has been vacated in Mi Cloud, the "Cloud Albums are full" notice continues to appear.

• 📱 Gallery app cache – it can show outdated data.
• 📡 Poor Internet connection: phone cannot sync to cloud.

Here's how to solve the problem:

1. Update your data in Mi Cloud

• 📥 Open Mi Cloud and pull the screen down to update the data.

2.Clean the cache of Gallery and Mi Cloud

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes.

3. log out and re-enter your account

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Accounts and synchronization.
• 🔑 Click on your Mi Account → Delete the account.

4. Check the date and time settings

If the phone is not set the date and time correctly, it can interfere with synchronization:

• ⏰ Go to Settings. → Additional settings → Date and time.

⚠️ Note: If none of these methods worked, try updating the Mi Cloud app via Google Play or App Gallery.

How to transfer photos from Mi Cloud to Google Photos or Yandex Drive

If you decide to abandon Mi Cloud in favor of another service, here is a step-by-step manual for porting:

Transfer to Google Photos

1. 📱 Install Google Photos from Play Market.

Transfer to Yandex Disk

1. 📱 Install Yandex Disk.
2. 🔄 Log in to your account and enable Autoupload photo in the settings.

If you have a lot of photos, it can take several hours to transfer (depending on the speed of the Internet) to speed up the process:

• 📵 Turn off battery saving mode for Google Photos apps/Yandex Disc.

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Moving photos to another cloud doesn’t remove them from your phone – they’ll stay in the Gallery unless you’ve enabled the “Delete After Download” option (which is available in Google Photos).

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you're working with Mi Cloud, you often have typical problems, and here are the most common ways to solve them:

Another common mistake is not being able to log in to Mi Cloud after resetting your phone, which happens if:

• 🔑 You forgot your Mi Account password.
• 📱 The phone was linked to another account (for example, after buying a used one).
• 🔒 Account blocked for suspicious activity.

To restore access:

1. Go to account.xiaomi.com.
2. Click Forgot Password? and follow the instructions.
3. If your account is blocked, please contact Xiaomi via the form on the website.

⚠️ Note: If you bought the phone with your hands and the previous owner did not untie his Mi Account, you will have to do the unlock through the Xiaomi service center (you will need a check or a sales contract).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions