Have you been looking for a recording of an important conversation on your Xiaomi but can't find a file?The problem is that MIUI distributes audio recordings across multiple folders - and not all of them are obvious to the user. In this article, we'll look at all possible storage locations for call records (including hidden system directories), and explain why some files can "disappear" after updates or resets.
The feature of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones is that conversations can be recorded both by an embedded voice recorder and by third-party applications (like Google Phone or Truecaller), each way saving files in its own folder — and if you don’t know the exact path, the search can take hours. We collected up-to-date data for MIUI 12-14 (including global and Chinese versions), and also took into account the nuances for old firmware.
Important: If you have used automatic recording of all calls, check the settings of the Phone application – sometimes files are archived in the Mi Cloud and do not appear in local storage. Also remember that after a hard reset, records are deleted without the possibility of recovery, if there was no backup.
1. Standard record folder in MIUI (built-in voice recorder)
By default, Xiaomi smartphones store conversation records in the built-in Recorder app. Files are stored in a folder:
/storage/emulated/0/MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec/To find her:
- Open any file manager (such as files from Xiaomi or Solid Explorer).
- Go to the root directory (/storage/emulated/0/).
- Open the folder. MIUI → sound_recorder → call_rec.
The files here are formatted.m4a or.amr and named by template: call_rec_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS. If the folder is empty, check it out:
- 📱 Phone Application Settings: Perhaps the recording is disabled in Settings → Recording calls.
- 🗑️ Basket: In MIUI Deleted records can be stored there until 30 days: /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/sound_recorder/trash/).
- ☁️ Mi Cloud: If sync is enabled, files could go there.
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If the folders sound_recorder No, try to enable the display of hidden files in the file manager settings. Solid Explorer does this through the menu. → «Show hidden files».
2. recordings from the phone application (Google Phone or MIUI Dialer)
If you use the standard Phone app from Xiaomi or Google, the records may be stored elsewhere.
For MIUI Dialer (native app):
/storage/emulated/0/Recordings/Call/The files here are.mp3 or.ogg and sorted by date, and if the folder is missing, it was written through another module.
For Google Phone (set by default on some models):
/storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.google.android.dialer/call_recordings/Please note: Google Phone can automatically delete records older than 30 days if you don’t set up an archive.
Open the Phone app | Go to Settings → Recording Calls | Make sure the Save Records option is enabled | Check the save path in the Storage folder section
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If you can't find a folder, try a file system search. Type in the file manager search box:
- 🔍 call_rec — record MIUI.
- 🔍.mp3 or.m4a — widening.
- 🔍 Name of the subscriber (if you remember).
3. Hidden system folders (for power users)
Some Xiaomi call records are stored in hidden system directories that don’t show up without root rights or special applications.
| The way to the folder | Description | Are root rights required? |
|---|---|---|
| /data/user_de/0/com.android.providers.media/documents/ | Temporary records files created during a call. | Yes. |
| /data/data/com.miui.voiceassist/files/ | Records made through voice assistant Xiao AI. | Yes. |
| /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.voiceassist/files/ | Alternative location for Xiao AI recordings. | No. |
| /system/media/audio/ringtones/ | Sometimes, recordings are included if they have been saved as a melody. | No. |
⚠️ Note: Trying to access folders in /data/ root-free can cause applications to crash. If you are not sure about your actions, use alternative methods (see section). 5).
How to Access Hidden Folders Without Root
4. Cloud Storage: Mi Cloud, Google Drive, Dropbox
If your Xiaomi has cloud sync enabled, the records could be automatically uploaded there.
Mi Cloud:
- 📱 Open the Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → Backup.
- 🔍 Check the "Call Records" or "Dictorphone" section».
- ☁️ If files are available, they can be downloaded back to the device.
Google Drive:
- 📁 Open the Google Drive app and check the Backups folder».
- 🔄 If you have used Google Phone, you can use Drive to record it. → My CDs. → AppData → com.google.android.dialer.
How to recover records from the cloud:
- Find the file in the cloud storage.
- Download it to your device (for example, in the Downloads folder).
- Use any audio player to listen to (we recommend VLC or MX Player).
Mi Cloud|Google Drive|Dropbox|Yandex.Disk.|I don't use clouds.|Other-->
5. Third-party applications for recording calls
If you installed conversation recording apps (such as Cube Call Recorder, Call Recorder by Lovekesh, or Truecaller), the files will be stored in their own folders.
| Annex | The path to the record | File format |
|---|---|---|
| Cube Call Recorder | /storage/emulated/0/CubeBackup/ | .mp3, .wav |
| Call Recorder by Lovekesh | /storage/emulated/0/CallRecordings/ | .amr, .3gp |
| Truecaller | /storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.truecaller/ | .m4a |
| ACR (Another Call Recorder) | /storage/emulated/0/ACR/ | .mp3, .ogg |
⚠️ Note: Some applications (such as Truecaller) encrypt recordings and store them in a closed format:
- 🔓 Use the built-in player of the application.
- 📥 Export the entry through the application menu (the option “Share»).
- 🔧 Install additional codecs (for example, MX Player Codec).
If you delete the application that was recording, the files may become unavailable even if they are physically left on the device, in which case, try to restore them via DiskDigger or Recuva (you will need a PC connection).
6.Recovering deleted call records
If you accidentally delete a record, you can try to restore it, and success depends on how long it has been since it was deleted and how much memory the device has been using.
Recovery methods:
- Through the MIUI Recycle Bin: Open the Files app. Go to Recycle Bin. Find the deleted file and click Restore.
- Using PCs and software: Connect your smartphone to your computer in MTP mode. Use Recuva, EaseUS Data Recovery or DiskDigger to scan internal memory. Look for files with extensions.amr,.m4a,.mp3.
- Through Backup: If you have synced with Mi Cloud or Google Drive enabled, check archived copies. Restore data from the backup via Settings → System → Backup.
⚠️ Warning: Do not write new files to your device after deleting the record, which reduces the chances of a successful recovery.
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The faster you start recovering, the better the chances of returning a deleted record, the optimal time is the first 24 hours after deleting.
7.Why call records may be missing
Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the records suddenly disappear.
- 🔄 Update MIUI: after major updates (for example, with MIUI 12 on MIUI (13) system folders can be moved and old records deleted.
- 🗑️ Autocleaning: in the storage settings (Settings) → Warehouse → Cleaning) can be enabled option to delete old files.
- ☁️ Cloud Services Conflict: If Mi Cloud and Google Drive are enabled at the same time, files can be duplicated and deleted.
- 📱 Factory reset: In hard reset, all local records are permanently deleted (if there was no backup).
- 🛠️ Application Optimization: Some “optimizers” (e.g., Xiaomi’s Security) can delete “unnecessary” audio files.
To avoid loss of records:
- 📁 Regularly transfer important files to a separate folder (for example, /Downloads/Call_Records/).
- ☁️ Set up automatic cloud upload (but make sure there are no conflicts between services).
- 🔧 Disable autoclean for folders with records in storage settings.