How to provide gallery access to SD-Xiaomi Redmi 8: full instructions with error solutions

Why the gallery doesn't see the photo on the SD-Redmi 8 and how to fix it

Xiaomi Redmi 8 owners often face a problem when a standard gallery (or third-party apps like Google Photos) does not display photos and videos saved on the site. SD-The reasons can range from the banal lack of permissions to hardware failures of the drive, and in this article we will discuss all the solutions, from basic settings to advanced methods for power users.

Feature Redmi 8 (and other Xiaomi smartphones) MIUI) It's a policy to manage external drives. By default, the system restricts the access of applications to the storage system. SD-It's important to understand that if a memory card is formatted as internal memory, the algorithm of actions will differ from the case when it is used as a portable drive.

Before you start setting up, check out two key points:

• 🔍 SD-The map is correctly displayed in the Settings section → Memory?
• 📱 There is free space on the map (minimum 5-10% of the total volume is required)?
• 🔄 You tried restarting your phone after connecting the card?

Method 1: Grant permissions to the gallery manually

The easiest method is to explicitly allow the Gallery app (or Google Photos) to access files on the site. SD-In the map. MIUI This is done through the permissions menu, but there are nuances:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Gallery (or other photo viewing app) and tap it.
3. Go to the Permissions section → Memory.
4. Activate the switches for internal memory and SD-map.

If the paragraph SD-The card is not in the permission list, so the card is either not recognized by the system or formatted as internal memory.

Are memory permissions open in the application settings? |

Is there a paragraph in the list of permits "SD-map"?|

Have you rebooted your phone after changing permissions?|

Have you tried to clean the cache of the gallery?-->

⚠️ Note: On some versions MIUI (especially 12-14) after the permissions are granted, it may be necessary to restart the device.

Method 2: Use SD-card

If the memory card is formatted as internal memory, the system restricts access to third-party applications, the solution is to reformat it into portable mode, but this will result in the loss of all data on the card!

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings. → Memory.
2. Put your hands on yours. SD-map → Settings (three dots in the upper right corner).
3. Choose format as portable.
4. Confirm the action and wait for the process to be completed.

After formatting:

• 📁 All files from the card will be deleted – make a backup copy in advance!
• 🔄 The map will be available for reading/write by any application.
• 📱 Photos will appear in the gallery after the phone reboot.

Method 3: Transfer files manually or via PC

If the gallery does not see the photo on SD-map, but the card is good and formatted correctly, try to transfer files manually:

Option 1: Through the MIUI file manager:

1. Open the Files app (Folder icon).
2. Go to section. SD-map → DCIM (or a folder of your photos).
3. Select the files you need. → Copy.
4. Go back to the root of memory and select the internal memory → DCIM → Camera.
5. Press Insert.

Option 2: Through the computer (if the phone does not see the card):

• 🖥️ Connect Redmi 8 to your PC via USB-cable (select File Transfer Mode).
• 📂 Open the phone folder on your computer and copy files from SD-card.
• 🔄 Turn off your phone and check the gallery.

💡

If the card is defined as “damaged”, don’t format it right away! Try scanning for errors via PC (right click on the drive → Properties → Service → Check).

Method 4: Reset the Gallery app settings

Sometimes a gallery malfunction is caused by a damaged cache or app data, to reset it:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Gallery.
2. Press Warehouse.
3. Tap Clear the cache and Clear the data.
4. Reboot the phone.

After discharge:

• 🔄 The gallery will reassemble the media library (can take 1-5 minutes).
• 📂 All albums and settings will be reset to factory.
• 🔍 If the photos are still not displayed, check the folder. DCIM via file manager.

⚠️ Note: Clearing the gallery data does not remove the photos themselves from the phone or SD-It just resets the app's settings and forcefully updates the media library.

Method 5: Update MIUI or roll back changes

If the problem occurred after the system update, the fault may be a firmware bug.

Option 1: Update MIUI to the latest version

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. Click Check Updates and install available patches.

Option 2: Reverse the update (if the bug has recently appeared)

• 📱 Make a backup of the data through Settings → Additionally. → Backup.
• 🔧 Install an older version MIUI via Recavery (requires an unlocked bootloader).
• 🔄 After the reset, reset the settings (Settings) → Additionally. → Resetting settings).

On Redmi 8s MIUI 12.5 and later known bug in which the gallery does not scan SD-cards with a volume of more than 128 GB. solved by updating to MIUI 13+ manual transfer of files to internal memory.

Method 6: Alternative applications for viewing photos

If the standard gallery MIUI He doesn't want to work hard SD-You can use the map, install a third-party app:

• 📷 Google Photos – automatically scans all folders, including SD-Card (requires access to memory).
• 🖼️ Simple Gallery – a lightweight open source application with advanced scanning settings.
• 🗂️ QuickPic – supports cloud services and manual folder addition.

How to set up an alternative gallery:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Open it and provide access to the Memory (including: SD-map).
3. In the application settings, find the Scan folders section and add a path to yours. SD-map (usually) /storage/XXXX-XXXX/DCIM).
4. Turn off battery optimization for the application (Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization).

💡

Gallery sidewalks often do better at reading SD-maps than the standard application MIUI, They may consume more batteries due to background scans.

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

Let’s look at the typical problems and ways to solve them:

If none of these methods helped, the problem may be hardware damage. SD-card or slot, in this case:

• 🛠️ Test the card on another device.
• 🔧 Contact the service center (especially if the phone falls or gets wet).
• 📱 Try using a different manufacturer's card (SanDisk or Samsung class is recommended). A1/A2).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions