Many Xiaomi smartphone users are facing a shortage of built-in storage sooner or later. MIUI uses up a lot of space, and modern high-resolution apps and photos quickly fill the remaining space. When notifications of memory shortages start appearing daily and the phone is running slower, the question of freeing up gigabytes arises. One of the most effective solutions is to use an external microSD storage format.
Unlike many competitors, Xiaomi often retains the memory card slot even in modern models, allowing you to expand the memory to 512 GB or more. However, the process of transferring files is not always intuitive, since the settings of the system are scattered across different menus. It is important to understand that porting system applications without root rights on new versions of Android is often limited to developers for the sake of security. In this article, we will discuss all the available ways of migrating data, from simple copying media files to complex formatting methods.
The right file system organization will not only free up space, but also speed up the device. You don't have to be an experienced programmer to do this. You just have to follow the algorithm carefully and understand the difference between internal and external memory. We'll look at the nuances of working with the FAT32 and exFAT file system, and how to circumvent the system's constraints.
Preparation of a memory card and installation in a smartphone
Before you start transferring data, you need to make sure that your memory card is working and ready to go. Poor-quality drives can cause data loss or freeze your smartphone. It is recommended to use cards of class 10 or higher speed, especially if you plan to store applications there or shoot videos in 4K.
Insert the card into the appropriate tray slot SIM-Most Xiaomi models use a combined tray, so be careful when removing the paper clip. Once the device is turned on, the system should automatically detect the new media.
- 📱 Check if the phone sees the card in the Settings menu → The phone. → Warehouse.
- 💾 Make sure that there is no important data on the card, as when you configure it as internal memory, it will be formatted.
- 🔒 If the card was used in another device, it is better to copy the data to the computer before installing it.
If the system offers to format the map, agree only if a copy of the data has already been created. Formatting will destroy all information without the possibility of recovery by standard means.
Basic transfer of photos and videos through the Explorer
The easiest and safest way to make room is to move media content, photos and videos take up the lion's share of the memory of the average user, and the standard MIUI Explorer app allows you to do this quickly and without third-party software.
Open the Explorer app and go to Internal Drive. Find the DCIM folder that stores the camera shots, and the MiVideo or Movies folder for videos. Select the files you want or entire folders, click on More, and select Move.
⚠️ Note: When moving large amounts of data (more than 10 GB), do not turn off the smartphone screen and do not run heavy applications, so as not to interrupt the recording process.
As a target directory, please indicate your SD-You can create a separate folder there, like this, Archive_Photo, After the process is complete, check if files are opening from a new location, and only then delete the originals if they are not deleted automatically.
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Use size sorting in Explorer to quickly find the heaviest video files and move them first.
Setting up SD-maps as internal memory
The Adoptable Storage feature allows the system to consider the card as part of the internal storage, which allows you to install applications directly on the computer. SD-This feature is often hidden in newer versions of Android, and it may require additional actions to activate it.
If your smartphone supports this feature natively, the first time you install the card, the system will suggest using it as internal memory, otherwise you will need access to your computer and the ADB utility (Android Debug Bridge), a more complex method that requires you to include USB debugging in the Developer menu.
The order of actions through the command line is as follows:
adb shell sm list-disks
adb shell sm partition disk:XXX privateWhere XXX is your drive ID that you can recognize by the first command, and once you do that, the phone will reboot and the card will be formatted into an encrypted format that only that device can read.
Risks of using the card as internal memory
Transfer of applications and messenger cache
Even if you don't use internal memory, some of these apps can be migrated, especially messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Viber, which store a huge amount of media in their folders that can be redirected.
In WhatsApp settings, go to Data & Storage → Storage. You can choose the default save path. For Telegram, select Data & Memory in your settings → Save Path and specify a memory card. This will automatically free up gigabytes in internal memory.
With conventional applications, the situation is more complicated. Android by default does not allow you to move. APK-files to external drives without special permissions. → Annexes → All applications can be found on the "Move to" button. SD-If it is active (not grey), you can safely carry the application.
| Type of data | Can we move it? | Transfer method | Impact on speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photos and videos | Yes. | Conductor/Camera settings | No. |
| Music and Documents | Yes. | Conductor | No. |
| Cash messengers | Yes. | Application settings | Minimum |
| System applications | Partially. | ADB/Root rights | Possible slowdown. |
☑️ Checking before transferring applications
Automatically store new data on SD
To avoid repeating the transfer procedure constantly, it is advisable to set up automatic saving of new files to an external drive, this applies not only to photos, but also to downloads from the browser and voice recordings.
Open the Camera app, click on the three bars in the corner of the screen and select Settings. SD-Now, all the new images and videos will be immediately on the map.
For browsers like Chrome or the built-in Mi Browser, you can also change the download path. Go to your browser settings, find the Downloads section, and change the save path to /storage/emulated/0/Android/media/... (path SD-This will help keep the internal memory clean for the system to work.
⚠️ Note: It is not recommended to keep on SD-card files that require high speed access, such as active game databases or paging files, as this can cause lags.
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Saving automation is key to order, and if you set up your camera and browser once, you'll forget about the memory overflow problem for a long time.
Possible problems and ways to solve them
During operation, users may encounter card read errors or reports of file corruption, often due to improper extraction of the drive or the use of a poor adapter.
If the phone doesn't see the card, try removing it, rubbing it with soft cloth and pasting it again, make sure it sits in the tray before you click, and it's also worth checking the map for errors with your computer, running a file system check.
In some cases, re-formatting directly in your smartphone helps. Go to Settings → About Phone → Storage, select your card and click on Clear or Format. Remember, this will delete all data.