How to transfer photos from Google Photos to Xiaomi Gallery without losing quality

Why Xiaomi users are looking for an alternative to Google Photos

Google Photos has long been a popular backup and sync solution, but since the abolition of unlimited storage in June 2021, many owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and other smartphones have been using the same service. POCO They started looking for ways to transfer their collections to a standard gallery. MIUI. The reasons range from a desire to save space in the cloud to a lack of trust in Google’s privacy policy.

Owners of devices on MIUI 12/13/14 Many people are faced with the fact that photos from Google Photos are not displayed in their native gallery, although they are physically stored on the device, due to the peculiarities of MediaProvider, the Android system component responsible for indexing media files. Fortunately, there are several proven transfer methods that we will discuss in detail below.

An important caveat: if you used the Free Space feature in Google Photos, the original images of your photos could have been removed from the device, in which case you would first download the archive from the cloud, and then transfer the files to the gallery.

Method 1: Automatic synchronization through MIUI Gallery

The easiest method is to use the built-in import feature in Xiaomi’s Gallery app, which is suitable for users who have photos already downloaded to the device but do not appear in a standard viewer.

Instructions:

• 📱 Open the Gallery app on your Xiaomi.
• 🔍 Slip on three dots in the upper right corner and select Settings.
• 🔄 Scroll to Cloud Albums and click Google Photos.
• ⚙️ Activate the switch Showing Google Albums Photos.
• 🔄 Return to the gallery's main screen and wait until the sync is complete (may take up to 10 minutes).

If the photos did not appear after these actions, check:

• 📁 folder DCIM/Google Photos via any file manager (e.g. Mi File Manager).
• 🔄 Synchronization settings in the Google Photos app itself (Backup and Synchronization section).
• 📶 Internet connection stability – without it, synchronization will not end.

Check the free space on the device (at least 10% of the photo volume)

Turn off the power saving mode for Gallery and Google Photos apps

Connect to Wi-Fi to speed up the process

Update Gallery and Google Photos apps to the latest versions-->

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 14 and newer, the import function from Google Photos may not work smoothly due to changes in the storage access policy.

Method 2: Manual transfer through file manager

If automatic sync doesn’t work, you can manually copy files from your Google Photos folder to your standard gallery directories, a method that will work on any Xiaomi device, but will take longer.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the file manager (or any other file manager).
2. Go to the Internal Storage folder → DCIM → Google Photos.
3. Select the desired photos or folders (long press). → check-check).
4. Click Copy or Cut (depending on whether you want to leave the originals).
5. Go to the Internal Storage folder → DCIM → Camera (or create a new folder, such as Google Photos Backup).
6. Click Insert and wait for the copy to be completed.

After the transfer:

• 🔄 Reboot the device – it will speed up indexing of new files.
• 📂 Open the Gallery and check for photos in the Device or Folders section.
• 🗑️ If the originals in the Google Photos folder are no longer needed, delete them to make room.

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If there are many photos (thousands of files), copy them in parts by 200-300 This will prevent the file manager from freezing and speed up the process.

Method 3: Using Google Takeout for Mass Exports

If you need to move your entire collection from Google Photos (including metadata and albums), the best option is to use Google Takeout, a method that is suitable for Xiaomi owners who want to create a full backup before deleting a Google account or switching to another cloud.

Export instructions:

1. Go to takeout.google.com from your PC or phone.
2. Sign in with the same account as Google Photos.
3. Uncheck all boxes except Google Photos.
4. Click Next and select: - Archive format:.zip or.tgz - Maximum file size: 2GB (recommended for stability) - Delivery method: Send download link via email
5. Click Create Export and wait for the alert (can take hours to a day).

After receiving the archive:

• 💻 Download files to your computer and unpack them.
• 📁 Connect Xiaomi to your PC via USB-cable (select File Transfer Mode).
• 📂 Copy folders with photos in Internal Storage/DCIM or SD-map.
• 🔄 Disable the device and wait for the gallery to index new files (can take up to 30 minutes).

⚠️ Attention: Google Takeout archives can weigh tens of gigabytes. Make sure your Xiaomi has enough free space, or use an external drive. MIUI 13 and are further supported by the work with OTG-accumulator SD-cards up to 1 TB.

Method 4: Sync with Mi Cloud (for Xiaomi users)

If you’re planning to completely abandon Google Photos, consider moving the collection to Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud, a method that not only allows you to transfer photos to the gallery, but also backups your collection on Xiaomi’s servers.

How it works:

• 📱 Install Mi Cloud from Google Play or App Gallery.
• 🔑 Sign in with your Mi Account (if not, register).
• 📁 In the application settings, activate the Synchronization Gallery.
• 🔄 Wait until the initial synchronization is complete (may take several hours).
• 📂 Now all photos from Google Photos can be uploaded to Mi Cloud and then downloaded back to the gallery via the Restore option.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔒 Data is stored on Xiaomi servers (for some users, this is preferable to Google).
• 📱 Automatic synchronization between Xiaomi devices (if you have multiple gadgets).
• 🆓 5GB free (can be expanded to 100GB for 199) ₽/month).

Disadvantages:

• ⚠️ No Automatic Imports from Google Photos – You’ll have to manually download files from one cloud and upload them to another.
• 📶 Synchronization speed depends on Xiaomi servers (sometimes there are delays).
• 🔍 Search for photos (like Google Photos) is not available.

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Mi Cloud is a good alternative to Google Photos for Xiaomi owners, but it’s only suitable if you’re fully transitioning to the Xiaomi ecosystem and ready to manually port data.

Method 5: Transfer over PC (most reliable method)

For users who want to have full control of the process, the best option is to transfer photos via a computer, which ensures that all files and metadata are safe, and allows you to sort the collection before downloading to Xiaomi.

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Xiaomi to your PC via USB-cable (select File Transfer Mode (MTP)).
2. Open this computer and go to the folder of your phone.
3. Copy all the photos from the folder DCIM/Google Photos on your PC hard drive (create a backup copy!).
4. 🛠️ Optionally: Use programs like FastStone Image Viewer or Adobe Bridge to sort, rename and optimize your photos.
5. Remove duplicates with Duplicate Cleaner or CCleaner (this will save space on Xiaomi).
6. Return the sorted files to the folder DCIM/Camera or Pictures on the phone.
7. Securely remove the device and wait until the gallery updates the media library.

Critical point: When copying via PC, files save the original EXIF-Data (date of shooting, geolocation, camera model) that is often lost in cloud travel, and this is especially important for photographers and those who keep archives of images.

If you have a Mac, use Android File Transfer to access Xiaomi files. Windows 11 may require installing Mi drivers. PC Suite (download from the official website of Xiaomi).

Solving the problem: why photos are not displayed in the gallery

Even after a successful transfer, photos may not appear in the gallery.

If none of these methods worked, try:

• 🔧 Reset the Gallery app settings (Settings) → Annexes → gallery → Warehouse → Drop it).
• 📥 Install an alternative gallery (e.g. Simple Gallery or QuickPic).
• 🔄 Update MIUI Up to the latest version (new builds fix errors with media indexing).

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 12.5 Enhanced and later there is a bug that prevents the gallery from displaying files with the extension.HEIC (Photo format with iPhone. Install the codec to solve HEIF Image Extensions from Google Play.

FAQ: Frequent questions about transferring photos to the Xiaomi gallery