Where the “cloud” is stored physically and logically in the Xiaomi phone: an analysis of myths and reality

When Xiaomi users ask, “Where is the cloud on your phone,” they often mean one of three things: the physical storage of files on your device, the cache of the Mi Cloud app, or the company’s remote servers. In fact, the term “cloud” in the context of smartphones is a marketing euphemism for synchronizing data between your device and external servers, but where exactly that data is stored locally on your Redmi, POCO or Mi is a much more complex question.

In this article, we will discuss:

• 📱 Physical location of cloud files on the phone’s internal memory (folders, cache, system partitions).
• ☁️ How to sync with Mi Cloud and where temporary copies of data are stored.
• ⚙️ Why some files disappear from the cloud and how to recover them without losing them.
• 🔍 How to clean cloud cache if your phone’s memory is full.

Spoiler: The cloud isn’t actually stored in the phone, it only caches some data to speed up access, and the main base is on Xiaomi servers in Singapore, India and the United States, but local sync traces take up to 1-3 GB of memory and can be safely deleted.

Yeah, synchronizing everything |

Contacts only and photos |

No, I don't trust |

I don't know what that is.-->

1.What is the “cloud” in the Xiaomi phone: terminology

Before looking for the cloud in the memory of the smartphone, you need to clearly distinguish between two concepts:

• 🌐 Mi Cloud is a cloud storage service from Xiaomi, similar to Google Drive or iCloud. Your data (photos, contacts, notes) is stored on the company’s remote servers, not on your phone.
• 📁 The local cache of the cloud is a temporary file that the phone downloads from servers to speed up access, stored in the device's memory and can take up gigabytes.

When you enable sync in Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud, the phone starts:

1. Send copies of your data to Xiaomi servers (download).
2. Download thumbnails and metadata for quick browsing (caching).
3. Sync changes between devices (for example, if you add a contact on your phone, it will appear on your tablet).

So the phone doesn't physically store the cloud -- it's just its fingerprints, cache, sync logs, and service files -- but they're often the ones that cause memory shortages.

💡

If you need to free up space, first clear the Mi Cloud cache in Settings → Applications → Application Management → Mi Cloud → Storage. This is secure and will not delete data from servers.

2 Where the Mi Cloud cache is stored on internal memory

Local sync files are scattered across multiple folders of internal memory, which can be found manually through a file manager (for example, Files by Google or embedded Explorer), but some of them are hidden from the user.

Important: /data/data/ is only available with root rights, and without them, you will only see a portion of the cache in /Android/data/ and /MIUI/backup/.

To calculate how much space Mi Cloud takes up:

1. Open the Settings → Memory.
2. Click on “Apps” and find Mi Cloud.
3. See the "Storage" section - there will be the volume of cache and data.

3. Why the Cloud Eats Up Your Phone's Memory and How to Fix It

Many users complain that after activation of Mi Cloud internal memory begins to fill up quickly.

• 📸 Automatic uploading of photos in original resolution (instead of compressed copies).
• 🎵 Synchronization of music and video in high quality.
• 📱 Backup copies of applications (including cache of games and social networks).
• 🔄 Duplication of files (for example, photos are stored in the gallery and in the cloud).

To reduce the memory burden:

Turn off automatic photo uploading in cloud settings|

Set a backup limit (e.g., contacts only) |

Clean the cache manually once a month |

Use the "Easy Mode" synchronization (if available)-->

If your memory is critically filled, do the following:

1. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Synchronization settings.
2. Turn off sync for unnecessary categories (such as Call Records or Notes).
3. In the Backup section, select “Delete local copies” (this won’t delete data from servers!).

💡

Mi Cloud saves local copies of backups on the phone by default, and can be safely deleted through cloud settings, freeing up space without losing data on servers.

4. How to check what data is stored in the cloud

To understand what exactly takes up space in the Mi Cloud, use the official application:

1. Open Mi Cloud (cloud icon in the app menu).
2. Go to the "Storage Management" section.
3. Here you will see the distribution by categories: photos, videos, documents, backups, etc.

For detailed analysis:

• 📊 Click on the category (for example, "Photos») → The album list and size will be displayed.
• 🔍 To find duplicates, use a filter by date or file type.
• 🗑️ To delete unnecessary files, select them and click “Delete” (they will also be deleted from servers!).

If you need to save files but free the cloud:

1. Download data to your PC via the web version of i.mi.com.
2. Remove them from the cloud through the app.
3. Turn off automatic synchronization for this category.

💡

In the web version of Mi Cloud (i.mi.com), you can download files in packets of 50 pieces, which is faster than through a mobile application.

5.Can the cloud be transferred to a memory card?

Technically, the Mi Cloud cache cannot be moved to SD-It's tied to the phone's internal memory, but there are workarounds:

• 📁 Manual backup port: Download backup from the cloud to your phone. Move the file (e.g., move the file, backup_20260515.zip) on SD-Delete the original from the internal memory.
• ☁️ Use of alternative clouds (Google Drive, Yandex Disk) that support saving cache to the map.