Where in the phone Xiaomi store conversation records: a complete guide to search and extract audio files

Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to find phone records — whether to store important information, evidence in a dispute or simply archive. However, standard MIUI tools are not always obvious: files can be hidden in non-obvious folders, have custom extensions or are not available in the available directories. In this article, we will examine all possible storage locations on Redmi, POCO and Mi devices, including hidden system folders, cloud backups and alternative methods of retrieval.

Xiaomi’s feature is that the location of the records depends on the MIUI version, the phone model, and even regional firmware. For example, on devices for the Chinese market (China ROM), the path to files may differ from the global version (Global ROM), we will take these nuances into account and provide current data for Android 10–14 and MIUI 12–14.

If you’ve never turned on manual recording, check first if your model supports this feature. Some budget devices (like the Redmi 9A or POCO C31) may not have a built-in voice recorder for calls, which will require third-party applications, which we’ll discuss at the end of this article.

1. Standard place of storage of records in MIUI

By default, phone records on Xiaomi are saved in a folder /sdcard/MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec/. This is the case for most devices with MIUI 12 and newer, including the Redmi Note 10/11/12, POCO X3/X4/X5 and flagship Xiaomi 12/13/14. Files have the extension.amr or.mp3 and are named by pattern:

call_rec_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_[incoming/outgoing].amr

To find the folder:

1. Open the File Manager app on your phone.
2. Go to the Category section → Audio or use search on request call_rec.
3. If the folder is not displayed, enable the display of hidden files in the file manager settings (⋮ → Settings → Show hidden files).

Important: On some firmware (e.g. China) ROM kernelless sound_recorder It can be hidden even when you turn on the display of hidden files, in which case it will help to connect the phone to the PC or use the device. ADB (below).

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If the recording is not saved, check the permissions for the Phone app: go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Phone → Permissions and enable access to the microphone and storage.

2.Alternative paths for different versions of MIUI

Depending on the version of the shell, the path to the records may vary. Below is a table with current directories for different firmware:

If your version of MIUI is not listed in the table, try searching for records through the built-in file manager search for keywords: call, rec, record or call. On some devices (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra), files can be stored in the Mi Cloud - read about this in the next section.

3. Cloud Storage: How to Find Records in Mi Cloud

Starting with MIUI 13, Xiaomi automatically syncs conversation records to Mi Cloud storage if the option is enabled to check for records in the cloud:

1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Scroll down to the Device Backup section** and select Conversation Records.

Important: records in Mi Cloud are stored in encrypted form and are only accessible through the official application, and when files are deleted from the phone, they are automatically erased from the cloud (unless a separate backup is enabled).

If you don’t find the entries section in Mi Cloud, check out:

• 🔄 Synchronization enabled: Settings → Xiaomi account → Synchronization → Records of conversations.
• 📱 Device is linked to account: sometimes re-authorization is required.
• 🌐 Regional restrictions: some firmware (e.g. India) has cloud storage disabled by law.

4.Access via ADB: for advanced users

If the entries don’t show up in the file manager but you’re sure they exist, you can try extracting them via Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that works even without root rights, but requires connecting the phone to a computer.

Instructions:

1. Enable USB debugging on your phone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times to activate Developer Mode), then Settings → Additional → Developers → Debugging over USB.
2. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
3. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (macOS/Linux) and type in: adb shell ls /sdcard/MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec/ If there's a folder, you'll see a list of files. To copy them to a PC: adb pull /sdcard/MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec/ C:\CallRecords\

If the command returns a No such file or directory error, try the alternate paths from the table in Section 2. Android 11+-based firmware may require explicit permission to access the folder:

adb shell appops set com.android.externalstorage MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE allow

Install ADB-PC drivers|Enable debugging on USB phone-on|Connect your phone to the original cable|Check the visibility of the device by the adb device command-->

5. Third-party applications for recording calls

If the built-in recording feature on your Xiaomi is missing or is not running smoothly, you can use third-party apps.

• 🎤 Cube Call Recorder ACR: record calls.mp3 It runs on Android 10-14, but requires manual activation in call access settings (Settings) → Special facilities → Cube Call Recorder).
• 📞 Call Recorder by Lovekesh: Supports automatic recording of all calls, integration with Google Drive and file encryption. POCO and Redmi with MIUI 12+.
• ☁️ Automatic Call Recorder by Appliqato: Stores records in the cloud and allows you to share them via a link.+ need to root or ADB work-in.

Once you install any of these applications, the records will be stored in their own folders, such as:

• /sdcard/CubeCallRecorder/
• /sdcard/CallRecorder/
• /sdcard/Appliqato/CallRecords/

Warning: Starting with Android 10, Google has tightened restrictions on recording calls. Some apps may not work without root rights or special settings. For example, on the Xiaomi 13 Pro with MIUI 14, you will need to activate the Write through speaker in the app settings to record outgoing calls.

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Third-party apps often offer more features than built-in MIUI recording, but can conflict with Android system limitations.Always check permissions and test recording on an unimportant call.

6.Recovery of deleted records

If the records were deleted accidentally, you can try to restore them using specialized utilities.

Method 1: Through the file system (without root)

• Use applications like DiskDigger or Recuva (for PCs) that scan internal memory for deleted files with the.amr or.mp3 extension.
• Important: Do not save new files to your phone after deleting the records, which reduces the chances of recovery.

Method 2: Through a backup of MIUI

If you have automatic backup enabled in Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset, try recovering data:

1. Create a new backup copy (optional).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and find the backup file in /MIUI/backup/AllBackup/.
3. Use the MIUI Backup Extractor utility to extract records from the archive.

Method 3: Through root access

If there is root on the phone, you can use the Root Explorer app and search for entries in the system folders:

• /data/data/com.android.providers.media/databases/ (media database).
• /data/com.miui.voicerecord/ (for some versions of MIUI)

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Before restoring, check the /sdcard/MIUI/backup/ folder – sometimes records are saved there automatically when you reset your settings.

7. Frequent problems and solutions

Xiaomi users often face typical problems with call records, and here are the most common ones and ways to solve them:

• 🔇 Records are not saved: Check if there is enough space on the phone (need a minimum of 100 MB of free space). → Annexes → Phone. → Permissions and enable microphone and storage access. On some models (e.g. Redmi Note 11), the recording is blocked by the operator - try to disable VoLTE in the settings SIM-map.
• 🔍 I don't see a folder with records: Turn on the hidden files in the file manager. Try connecting your phone to your PC - sometimes Windows displays folders that aren't visible in the file manager. MIUI. Use it. ADB-Search Engine: Adb shell find /sdcard/ -name "call"
• 🎵 Records play without sound: Try opening a file on another device -- maybe a problem in the codec. Convert the file to.mp3 Online services like Online-Convert, some firmwares store records in mono mode, turn up the volume in the player.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with Android 13+ and MIUI 14 built-in call recording may not work due to Google restrictions, in which case only third-party root-rights software or speakerphone recording will help (but the quality will be worse).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions