Where to find a cloud on Xiaomi Redmi: a complete guide to Mi Cloud

Many Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners often experience a situation where important contacts, photos and notes are lost after buying a new device or resetting, due to a misunderstanding of how cloud storage works in the shell of MIUI or HyperOS. Users are looking for a separate application, unaware that the system integration of services from the Chinese brand is implemented differently than in standard Android.

Unlike many other manufacturers, where the cloud is represented by a bright icon on the desktop, the Xiaomi ecosystem hides these features deep in the system settings and gallery. Mi Account is the key to all data, and it is through this that space management takes place. If you did not figure it out in the early days of use, there is a high risk of losing information when a screen breaks or flashing.

In this article, we will take a closer look at exactly where the sync settings are hiding, how to activate automatic photo saving, and why a standard file manager doesn’t show cloud folders directly. You will learn how to properly configure backups so that your data is always at hand, regardless of the state of the smartphone itself.

Main entrance through system settings

The most reliable and complete way to manage cloud data is in the phone's main settings menu, and that's where the central node connects your device to the company's servers, and to get there, you have to open the Settings app and at the top of the list, find the item with your Mi Account name or profile avatar.

Once you log in to your profile, you will see the Mi Cloud menu (or Mi Cloud) that displays the total amount of space occupied, the sync status and the list of applications that are stored on the server. It is important to understand that without logging in to your account, these features will be closed, since the user ID is the only omission.

Inside this partition, you can force data updates or disable sync for specific applications to save traffic or space, and the system allows you to flexibly configure what will be duplicated: contacts, messages, voice recordings or calendar schedules.

• 📱 Access to settings is through the top of the main menu "Settings».
• ☁️ The section is called “Mi Cloud” and requires active authorization in the Mi Account.
• ⚙️ Here you can manage storage volume and subscription rates.
• 🔄 There is a button for instant synchronization of all selected data.

⚠️ Note: If you reset your phone to factory settings without first checking the sync status in this menu, all local data will be deleted irrevocably.

Work with gallery and photographs

For most users, the main issue is saving photos. In Redmi and Xiaomi smartphones, the integration of the cloud into the Gallery app is done as deeply as possible. Google’s separate Photos app may not be the default here, as the system gallery takes over this role.

To check the status of your photos being saved, open the gallery and go to the Albums tab. Scroll down to the bottom of the Other Albums section, where you'll see Cloud Albums. If sync is enabled, your photos will be uploaded automatically to the back of the wifi connection.

It is important to distinguish between local and cloud copies. If you delete a photo from the gallery when sync is enabled, it can also be removed from the cloud after 30 days (being in the basket).

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Turn on the “Free Space” option in the gallery settings so that the phone automatically deletes local copies of photos that are already uploaded to the cloud.

In the gallery settings, you can also activate Wi-Fi-only downloads to avoid wasting mobile traffic, especially for those with limited internet, and you can adjust the quality of uploaded photos by choosing between the original and compressed format to save space.

Integration with Google Photos and other services

Users accustomed to Google's ecosystem may be surprised by the lack of an explicit "Google Photos" icon in the standard MIUI build, although the app is often preinstalled.The Xiaomi cloud and Google Photos are different storages and they don't sync with each other automatically.

If you prefer Google services, you need to install or open the Google Photos app separately, log in to your Gmail account and enable Autoupload, in which case your images will be copied to the Google ecosystem, regardless of your Mi Cloud settings.

This creates a situation where a user can have two copies of the same data in different places, on the one hand, it improves security, but on the other hand, it quickly fills up the free 15GB allocated by Google, and it is recommended to choose one main photo service to avoid getting confused.

• 📸 Google Photos and Mi Cloud work independently.
• 🔐 Google Photos requires a separate login to your Google account.
• 💾 Google Photos Free Space Limits Common to All Services.
• 📲 Applications can duplicate functions, taking up excess RAM.

⚠️ Note: Removing the Gallery app or updating it through third-party sources may disrupt system synchronization with Mi Cloud.

File Manager and Documents

Xiaomi’s file, download and file situation is different from media. Standard Explorer Explorer (or Files) has a built-in Cloud tab, but it often serves as a gateway to third-party services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.

Xiaomi’s own cloud (Mi Drive) in some regions and firmware versions may be unavailable or hidden.If you don’t see the relevant section, it means you’ll have to rely on third-party apps or manually transfer files to store documents.

To work with documents, it is recommended to use specialized cloud storage applications, which allow you to set up automatic download of folders with documents, similar to the way a gallery works with photos. PDF-Files or tables will not be lost in the event of a crash.

Solving synchronization problems

A common problem for users is when settings are enabled but the data is not updated, and first of all, you need to check the status of the Internet and the operation of Google Play services, which are often required for the correct operation of background processes in Android.

If sync is stuck, try forcefully updating your data via the Mi Cloud menu, and check if your account space is running out, and if you overflow the storage, new photos will stop uploading until you vacate space or buy a subscription.

Sometimes it helps to clear the cache of the MIUI Framework Services application or re-enter your account. Remember that in order to sync in the background, the application needs appropriate permissions that could be revoked by the battery optimizers.

• 📡 Check the stability of the connection to the Wi-Fi network or mobile network.
• 🗑️ Free up space in the cloud if the 5GB quota is exhausted.
• 🔑 Re-enter Mi Account to update access tokens.
• 🔋 Turn off hard power savings for system applications.

⚠️ Note: When you reset your network settings or change region in your phone settings, the sync process may be interrupted and require manual re-activation.

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Stable synchronization depends not only on the phone settings, but also on the subscription status and regional features of Xiaomi servers.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions