Where to find storage in Xiaomi phone: a complete picture guide

You bought a new Xiaomi smartphone, Redmi or POCO, but you can't find where the memory is stored? Or suddenly the place is running out and you don't know where the gigabytes went? This problem is familiar to many users - especially those who have moved from iPhones or old Android devices. In MIUI (the company shell of Xiaomi), the storage partition is hidden in an unobvious way, and standard settings are often misleading.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways to find storage on Xiaomi phones, from basic settings to hidden menus for power users, and learn how to check occupied space, clear unnecessary files, and even migrate data to the top of the list. SD-If your model supports memory expansion, and we also reveal a secret trick to analyze memory through the use of a computer. ADB, which will show the hidden files of the system.

1. Standard method: through MIUI settings

The easiest way is to use the built-in MIUI tools. This method works on all models, from the Xiaomi Mi 5 (2016) to the new Xiaomi 14 or Redmi Note 13. The interface may vary slightly depending on the version of the shell, but the logic remains the same.

Open the Settings app (the gear icon on your desktop) scroll down to the About section of the phone -- but don't click on it! Immediately above it you'll see the Warehouse item (sometimes called Memory).

• 📱 For MIUI 12/13/14: Settings → Warehouse
• 🔄 For older versions (MIUI 10-11): Settings → Additionally. → Warehouse
• 📊 What you will see: a diagram with the distribution of memory by category (applications, photos, systems, etc.).

Note the System Data bar — there’s often up to 10-15GB of junk hidden here, which MIUI doesn’t show in standard analysis. To see details, tap any category (like Apps) and then click Sort by size.

2. Alternative method: through the "Files" (Conductor)

If you need to look at specific files (like downloads or screenshots), use Xiaomi’s standard Explorer, which is called Files and is usually installed by default. If it’s not available, download it from Google Play (the official Mi File Manager app).

Open Files and go to Device tab, and here you'll see the full storage structure:

/storage/emulated/0/ ← This is your primary storage.


├── DCIM/ ← Camera photos and videos




├── Download/ ← downloads from the browser




├── Pictures/ ← Save pictures




├── Movies/ ← Video




├── Android/ ← Application data




└── MIUI/ ← System shell files

An important nuance: in MIUI, the /storage/emulated/0/ path is a virtual link to real storage (/data/media/0/). If you plug your phone into a PC, you'll see the same structure, but in a different way. Don't be afraid, that's normal for Android.

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To quickly find large files, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of Explorer → Storage Analysis. The system will show files from 10 MB and larger.

3. Hidden folders and system files: how to see them

By default, MIUI hides many system folders and files so that users don't accidentally delete important data, but sometimes you need to access it -- for example, to clean the cache of applications manually or find backups. Here's how to do this:

1. Open Files → Settings (three lines in the upper left corner).
2. Activate the switch to show hidden files.
3. Return to the root folder of the storage (/storage/emulated/0/).
4. Now you will see gray folders with a dot at the beginning of the name (e.g..thumbdata,.miui,.android_secure).

⚠️ Attention: Delete files from folders.android_secure or.data can cause app crashes, and if you're not sure, you'd better use standard cleaning through Settings. → Warehouse.

4. How to check storage through ADB (for advanced)

If you want the most detailed memory allocation (including hidden system files), use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting the phone to a PC, but will show the exact size of each folder, including those that MIUI hides from the user.

Instructions:

1. Install ADB Tools on your PC.
2. Turn on the phone Debugging over USB (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version → Press 7 times, then go back to Additional → For Developers).
3. Connect your phone to your PC and type in the command line: adb shell df -h /storage/emulated/0
4. For detailed analysis, use: du -sh * | sort -rh (will show folders sorted by size).

Example of conclusion:

/storage/emulated/0/Android:  12G


/storage/emulated/0/DCIM:      8.2G




/storage/emulated/0/Download:  3.1G

5. Data transfer to SD-card (if supported)

Many Xiaomi models (especially the Redmi series and the low-end model) POCO) But there are some nuances: since Android 6.0, Google has limited the ability to migrate apps to the microSD card. SD. V MIUI It's done like this:

• 📁 Photo/video/music: You can manually transfer files (select files) → Move it → choose SD-map).
• 📱 Applications: only if the developer has added support (checked in Settings) → Annexes → [select the application] → Warehouse).
• ⚠️ Limitation: SD-The card is formatted as portable storage (files are only available on this phone) or internal (expands memory, but is encrypted).

To use SD as internal storage:

1. Put the card in and wait for the notification.
2. Tap to set up → Select the Internal Storage.
3. Agree with the warning (the data on the map will be erased!).
4. Wait for the formatting to be completed (it can take up to 10 minutes).

Buy a class card UHS-I (U1/U3) speed|Check the compatibility of the phone model|Make a backup copy of data from the card|Format only via phone, not via PC-->

6.Separate Cleanup: What Can Be Deleted Without Risk

If your memory is running out and you don’t want to buy it. SD-This is what you can remove without harming the system:

⚠️ Warning: Don't clean the folder Android/obb/ manually, this is game data (like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile), and deleting the games will cause them to crash and have to be re-downloaded. → Annexes.

For automatic cleaning, use the built-in MIUI tool:

1. Go to Settings. → Warehouse.
2. Click Clean in the upper right corner.
3. Select Deep Clean (scans unnecessary files).
4. Check the category for deletion (cache, temporary files, etc.).

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Regularly clean the cache through Settings → Storage is the safest way to free up space.Do not use third-party cleaners (such as Clean Master), as they often delete important system files.

7. Frequent storage problems and their solutions

Sometimes users are faced with unusual situations where the memory "disappears" or the phone shows incorrect data.

• 🔍 "Memory is full, but files are scarce": "Hidden application files (e.g. Telegram or WhatsApp cache media) are often to blame. → Annexes → [select the messenger] → Warehouse → Clear the data.
• 📉 "Internal memory decreased after the update": MIUI It's a system reserve. That's normal, after you upgrade to the system. MIUI 14 system may be 1-2 More GB.
• 🚫 "You can't move the appendix to SD": The developer has banned this feature. The solution is to use it. SD as an internal storage facility (see Section 5).
• ❓ "Files take up less space than the system shows": This is due to sparse files that take up space on the disk but do not appear in the conductor. The solution is to reset to factory settings (pre-save data!).

If none of the methods worked and the memory continues to “disappear,” check the phone for viruses (e.g., through Google Play Protect) or reset (Settings → About Phone → Reset).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions