Where to look for records of the recorder on Xiaomi smartphones: hidden folders, cloud and backups

You recorded an important conversation, lecture or voice note on Xiaomi, but now you can't find a file? The problem is familiar to many: the standard Dictaphone app (or Mi Recorder in older versions) saves audio to non-obvious folders, and after updating MIUI, the paths may change. In this article, we will analyze all possible storage locations of records โ€” from internal memory to cloud services, and also tell you how to restore deleted files and transfer them to your computer.

Xiaomi's special feature is that the location of the voice recorder files depends on the MIUI version, the smartphone model, and even the firmware region. For example, on the Redmi Note 10 Pro with MIUI 14, the records are in one folder, and on the POCO F5 with global firmware, in another, we collected current data for all modern devices (2020-2026) and added instructions for outdated models.

Warning: If youโ€™ve used third-party recording apps (like Easy Voice Recorder or ASR Recorder), the storage paths will be different โ€“ weโ€™ll cover them in a separate section.

1. Standard folders for storing records of a voice recorder on Xiaomi

By default, the Dictaphone app (mic icon) saves files in format.m4a or.mp3 It's in the device's internal memory. MIUI:

  • ๐Ÿ“ MIUI 12โ€“14 (2020โ€“2026 garland.): /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/sound_recorder/ or /storage/emulated/0/Recorder/
  • ๐Ÿ“ MIUI 10โ€“11 (2018โ€“2019 garland.): /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/SoundRecorder/ (pay attention to the register!)
  • ๐Ÿ“ Old versions (up to) 2018 s.): /sdcard/miui/sound_recorder/ or /sdcard/Recorder/
  • ๐Ÿ“ For models POCO/Xiaomi global-fixed: /storage/emulated/0/Recorders/ (plurally!)

To open these folders:

  1. Connect your smartphone to your PC via USB (select File Transfer Mode in the notification curtain).
  2. Or use any file manager on your phone (like Google Files or standard Explorer).
  3. Enable the display of hidden folders in the manager settings (if the folder is not visible).
๐Ÿ“Š What version? MIUI you use?
MIUI 14
MIUI 13
MIUI 12
Old version (until 2020)
I don't know.

Important: If you don't find a Recorders folder or sound_recorder, Check if the app has redirected the recording to another location, like when you first start the recorder. MIUI may suggest selecting a folder to save โ€“ many users accidentally point to Download or Music.

2. How to find records through the Dictophone application

Not everyone knows that the Dictaphone app itself has a built-in record manager to open it:

  1. Launch the app (mic icon, usually in the Tools folder).
  2. Slap the icon ยซโ‹ฎยป (three points) in upper right corner.
  3. Select My Records or All Records (name depends on MIUI version).
  4. Here you will see all the saved audio files with date, duration and listening ability.

This menu can be used:

  • ๐Ÿ” Find the record by date (sorting by time of creation).
  • ๐Ÿ“ค Export the file to another application (Telegram, mail, cloud).
  • ๐Ÿ—‘๏ธ Delete unnecessary records (they are sent to a basket where they are stored for 30 days).
  • ๐Ÿ“Œ Add a record to your favorites (so you donโ€™t lose important files).

If the list does not contain the required entry, check the basket (the icon of the box in the same menu), the deleted files are stored there for up to 30 days, after which they are permanently erased.

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MIUI 14 has an automatic transcription feature, so to use it, open the recorder and click on the T icon in the lower right corner, and the text will be saved in.txt format in the same folder as the audio.

If you donโ€™t remember where you saved the record, use the built-in search by device:

  1. Swipe down the main screen to open the search bar.
  2. Enter the query: type:audio or extension:m4a (if you know the format).
  3. The system will show all audio files, including recordings of the recorder.

Alternatively:

  • ๐Ÿ”Ž Open the Files Application (or Explorer).
  • Go to the tab "Categoryยป โ†’ ยซAudioยป.
  • Sort files by date of change to find fresh records.

Critical detail: system search MIUI Not always find files in hidden folders (for example, /MIUI/sound_recorder/). If the record is not displayed, use a file manager with root rights or connect the phone to your PC.

4. Cloud Storage: Where Xiaomi Can Automatically Store Records

Many users are unaware that Xiaomi can sync voice recorder recordings with cloud services by default.

ServiceThe path to the recordsHow to check
Mi CloudCloud โ†’ Backup copies โ†’ DictaphoneGo to Settings โ†’ Xiaomi Account โ†’ Mi Cloud โ†’ Backups and check if the Dictaphone application sync is enabled.
Google DriveDisc. โ†’ Backup copies โ†’ Recorder folder"Open Google Drive, search for Recorder or sound_recorder.
OneDriveOneDrive โ†’ Files โ†’ Autoload โ†’ AudioCheck the autoload settings in the OneDrive app.

If you can't find the records in the cloud, maybe the sync has been disabled to enable it:

  1. Open the recorder. โ†’ โ‹ฎ โ†’ Settings.
  2. Find the item โ€œSyncโ€ or โ€œSyncโ€.
  3. Select the cloud (Mi Cloud, Google Drive) and enable the option.
How to recover records from Mi Cloud if they are not displayed?
If files are in a backup but are not shown in the app, try: 1. Delete and reinstall the Dictaphone app. 2. Log in to the same Xiaomi account from which the sync was done. 3. In Mi Cloud manually download the backup archive (Device โ†’ Dictaphone section) and extract.m4a files from it.

5. Recovery of deleted recordings of the recorder

If you accidentally delete a record, donโ€™t despair โ€“ it can be returned in one of the following ways:

  • ๐Ÿ—‘๏ธ Recycle Bin in the Dictaphone application: open the application โ†’ โ‹ฎ โ†’ Basket โ†’ Restore the file (stored for 30 days).
  • ๐Ÿ”„ Recovery from Mi Cloud backup: If sync was enabled, go to Settings โ†’ Xiaomi account โ†’ Mi Cloud โ†’ Restore and select a backup with the desired date.
  • ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Recovery software: DiskDigger, Recuva (requires root access for deep scanning).
  • ๐Ÿ’ป Cache Check: Sometimes snippets of records remain in the folder /data/data/com.android.soundrecorder/cache/ (root).

Step-by-step instructions for DiskDigger:

Install DiskDigger from Google Play| Connect your phone to your PC or use root access |Select Internal Memory |Select.m4a or.mp3|Start scanning and wait for results |Save recovered files to a safe place-->

โš ๏ธ Note: If you wrote files to a memory card instead of internal memory, the chances of recovery are higher. SD-The data is not erased immediately โ€“ it is marked as free and can be returned before being overwritten with new files.

6 Transfer of recordings of the recorder to the computer

To copy entries to a PC, use one of the methods:

MethodInstructionsPlusesCons
๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ USB-cableConnect your phone to your PC. Select File Transfer (MTP) mode. Open the entries folder (see Section 1) and copy the files.Quick, doesn't require the internetWe need to manually search for the folder.
โ˜๏ธ Cloud.Upload the recordings to Google Drive/Mi Cloud. Open the cloud on your PC and download the files.Access from any deviceTraffic restriction
๐Ÿ“ง Mail/messagingSend your records to your mail or Telegram (limit - up to 2 GB per file).Simple and quick.Size limitation

If you are carrying a lot of records (for example, an archive of lectures), it is better to use it. USB-cable or cloud. Single files are more convenient messengers.

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When copying records on a PC, check their integrity: sometimes files can be corrupted during transfer, compare the size of the original and the copied file, and listen to a few seconds of recording.

7. Features for third-party recorder applications

If you used a third-party application, rather than a standard recorder (e.g. Easy Voice Recorder, ASR Recorder, Hi-Q MP3 Recorder), the storage paths will be different.

  • ๐ŸŽค Easy Voice Recorder: /storage/emulated/0/EasyVoiceRecorder/ or /sdcard/Records/
  • ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ ASR Recorder: /storage/emulated/0/ASR/ (wav files)
  • ๐Ÿ“ฑ Hi-Q MP3 Recorder: /storage/emulated/0/HiQRecorder/ or folder specified in the application settings
  • ๐Ÿ”Š Smart Recorder: /storage/emulated/0/SmartRecorder/ (time-stamped files in the title)

To find out the exact path for your application:

  1. Open the recorder app.
  2. Find the menu item "Settings" โ†’ "Save folder".
  3. Or create a test record and check where it is saved (via the file manager).

โš ๏ธ Note: Some applications (such as Call Recorder for recording calls) save files to secure folders that are not visible without root rights.

8. Problem Solving: Records are not saved or are lost

If the Xiaomi voice recorder doesnโ€™t save the records or they disappear, check the following points:

  • ๐Ÿ“ต Insufficient memory: free up space in internal storage (needs at least 100MB).
  • ๐Ÿ”• Permission restrictions: Go to Settings โ†’ Annexes โ†’ Dictaphone โ†’ Permissions and enable access to memory, microphone.
  • ๐Ÿ”„ Application failure: clear the voice recorder cache (Settings) โ†’ Annexes โ†’ Dictaphone โ†’ Warehouse โ†’ Clear the cache).
  • ๐Ÿ“ฑ Conflict with other applications: some programs for recording screen or calls can block the voice recorder.
  • ๐Ÿ”Š Mik trouble: Check if the microphone is working in other applications (like Voice Search).

If the problem is not solved, try:

  1. Update the Dictaphone app via Google Play.
  2. Install an alternative recorder (e.g. Easy Voice Recorder).
  3. Reset the application settings (Settings โ†’ Applications โ†’ Recorder โ†’ Storage โ†’ Reset).

๐Ÿ’ก

If recordings are interrupted or stored with interference, try turning off battery optimization for the Dictaphone application. Go to Settings โ†’ Battery โ†’ Battery Optimization, find a Dictaphone and select No Limits.

FAQ: Frequent questions about recordings of the recorder on Xiaomi

๐Ÿ” Can I recover records after resetting the phone to factory settings?
If you have synced with Mi Cloud or Google Drive enabled, you can recover the records from the backup, otherwise the chances are minimal - the reset completely clears the internal memory, except if the records were on the memory card (its reset does not affect).
๐Ÿ“ฑ Why Xiaomi Recorder Only Records 30 Minutes?
This limitation is built into MIUI to save space. To record longer: Use third-party apps (like Easy Voice Recorder with No Limit settings). Break the recording down (manually stop and start recording every 25 to 30 minutes).
โ˜๏ธ How to Turn Off Automatic Downloading of Records to the Cloud?
Go to the recorder. โ†’ โ‹ฎ โ†’ Settings โ†’ Autoboot and disable sync with Mi Cloud or Google Drive. note that after this recording will be stored only on the phone.
๐Ÿ”Š Why do recordings of the recorder play without sound?
Possible causes: File corrupted (try playing it on PC); player volume set to a minimum (check volume slider during playback); codecs are not supported (install VLC player to play.m4a); microphone was silenced during recording (check if you closed the microphone hole).
๐Ÿ“ Can I change the default record saving folder?
In the standard Dictaphone app. MIUI There is no such option. Alternatives: Use third-party recorders (e.g, ASR Recorder allows you to select any folder. Create a symbolic link (root required) using the command: ln -s /path/to/new/daddy /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/sound_recorder