Where Xiaomi Redmi Stores Notes: File Paths, Exports, and Recovery

You're using the standard Notes app on your Xiaomi Redmi, but you suddenly have to move your data to another phone, back up your phone, or just find where your notes are physically located? Unlike photos or music that are stored in obvious folders like DCIM or Download, the notes are hidden deeper — and their location depends on the MIUI firmware version, smartphone model, and even how you sync them.

In this article, we’ll look at all possible storage locations on Redmi devices (including the Redmi Note 10/11/12, Redmi 9/10/13, and others), explain how to access them through a file manager or ADB, and show you how to export and import notes without loss, and pay special attention to hidden folders with encrypted data that are not visible in a standard Explorer, but contain all the information.

1. Standard location of notes in MIUI

By default, the Notes app (com.miui.notes) stores data in a protected area of internal memory that is not accessible without root rights or special tools, but some files can be found in open directories:

• 📁 Main note folder: /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Notes/ — Here are hand-exported notes in.zip or.txt format (if you have ever used the export function).
• 🔒 Encrypted data: /data/data/com.miui.notes/databases/ — Notes.db database with the notes themselves (requires root or ADB access).
• ☁️ Cloud synchronization cache: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.notes/cache/ — Temporary files if notes are synchronized with Mi Account.

It's important to understand that the /data/data/... path is not available without additional rights. If you just need to move notes, you'd better use the built-in export (more on this below), but you'll need ADB or root access to back up the entire database.

⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to manually copy notes.db from the folder /data/ If you mishandle this database, you can lose all your notes!

2. How to export notes through the application itself

The safest way to save notes is to use the built-in export feature, which is available in the latest versions of MIUI 12/13/14 and works even without root rights:

1. Open the Notes app.
2. Press three points (⋮) top-right → Select Settings.
3. Go to the Export and Import section.
4. Select Export Notes and specify a folder to save (e.g. Downloads).

The file will be saved in.zip format with a name like notes_export_20260515.zip. Inside the archive, you'll find notes in.txt (one per file) or.html (if the notes contain formatting), which is a way to transfer notes to another phone or back up.

If the export option is not available in your version of MIUI, then the application is outdated, update it via Google Play or App Gallery, or use alternative methods (see the following sections).

3. Where are the notes stored when synchronized with Mi Account

If you have enabled Note Sync with your Xiaomi account (Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Notes), the data is stored not only on the device, but also in the cloud.

• 📱 Local cloud cache: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.notes/files/ — There may be temporary synchronization files.
• ☁️ Cloud Storage: Data is uploaded to Mi Cloud servers, but only accessed via the i.mi.com app or web version (Notes section).

To check if synchronization is enabled:

1. Open Settings → Xiaomi account.
2. Choose Mi Cloud.
3. Scroll to the Notes section and make sure the switch is active.

⚠️ Note: When you reset your phone to factory settings, local notes will be deleted, even if they are synced to the cloud. Always check for data in Mi Cloud before resetting!

4. Search for notes through the file manager (no root)

If you don't want to use export or cloud, you can try to find notes manually.

1. Open any file manager (such as Google Files or Mi File Manager).
2. Turn on the display of hidden folders in the manager settings.
3. Go to /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Notes/ or (if the folder is missing): /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.notes/files/
4. Look for files with.txt,.html or.zip extensions.

Note that these folders can only contain hand-exported notes or cache, and the database itself (notes.db) is in a protected area and cannot be seen without special permissions.

💡

If you don’t find /MIUI/Notes/, try creating a test note and exporting it, and the folder will appear automatically.

5. Retrieving Notes Through ADB (No Root)

If you don’t have root rights but have access to ADB (for example, through a computer), you can copy the Notes Database as follows:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and enable USB Debugging (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times press to unlock Developer Mode, then Settings → Additional → For Developers → Debugging over USB).
2. Open the command line on your PC and execute: adb backup -f notes.ab -apk com.miui.notes This will back up the application and its data to the notes.ab file.
3. To extract the database from the backup, use tools like android-backup-extractor.

The advantage of this method is that it doesn't require root, but the resulting note.ab file will have to be unpacked further.

adb pull /data/data/com.miui.notes/databases/notes.db

However, it will only work on some versions of MIUI with an unlocked bootloader.

💡

The ADB backup method works on all Xiaomi devices, but requires additional processing of the.ab file to extract notes.

6. Recovery of deleted notes

If you accidentally delete a note, you can try to restore it:

• 🗑️ From the Recycle Bin: In the Notes app, open the Recycle Bin section (available within 30 days of deletion).
• ☁️ From the cloud: if sync has been enabled, notes can be restored via i.mi.com (Notes section) → Basket).
• 🔄 From backup: if you did backup through ADB Or Mi Cloud, recover the data from there.

If the note is permanently deleted, try scanning your internal memory with programs like DiskDigger or EaseUS MobiSaver, and the chances of success depend on how long it has been since you deleted it and how much memory your phone has been using.

⚠️ Note: When you restore notes from note.db backup, all current notes on your phone will be overwritten! pre-export them manually.

7.Transfer notes to another Xiaomi phone

To transfer notes from one Redmi to another, use one of the following methods:

1. Using Mi Cloud: On your old phone: turn on note sync in Mi Cloud. On your new phone: log in to the same Xiaomi account and wait for sync.
2. Through Export/Import: On your old phone, export notes to.zip (see section 2). Transfer the file to a new phone (e.g., via Bluetooth or the cloud). On your new phone, import notes through Settings → Export and import → Import.
3. Through Google Drive (if notes are saved to.txt): Upload the exported files to Google Drive. Download them on the new phone and import them manually.

If the new phone doesn’t have a Notes app (e.g., on devices with MIUI for the global market), install it from Google Play at the request of Miui Notes.

FAQ: Frequent questions about notes on Xiaomi Redmi