How to combine flash drive and memory of Xiaomi phone: the complete guide

Why Xiaomi owners want to combine flash drive and internal memory?

Xiaomi smartphones are famous for their price-performance ratio, but even flagship models sometimes suffer from a lack of internal memory, especially in the budget devices of the Redmi or POCO series, where 32-64 GB on board are quickly clogged with photos, videos and applications, in such cases, users begin to look for ways to expand memory with a flash drive — not just as a removable drive, but as a full continuation of internal storage.

Technically, the challenge is two-fold: either physical integration (where the system perceives the flash drive as part of internal memory) or logical integration (automatically moving files to removable media). In this article, we will discuss both options, including hidden MIUI features that the manufacturer does not advertise. It is important to understand that not all methods are equally safe: some can lead to data loss when you extract the flash drive or reset settings.

Before you start, check:

• 🔹 Version MIUI: on old firmware (below) MIUI (12) some functions may not be available.
• 🔹 Type of flash drive: only microSD class will be suitable for combining UHS-I or A1/A2 (Cheap cards will slow down the system).
• 🔹 Presence OTG: If the phone does not support USB OTG, External drives cannot be connected.

Method 1: Adoptable Storage (official method for Android)

Adoptable Storage is a feature that appeared in Android 6.0 Marshmallow and allows you to format a flash drive as part of internal memory. On Xiaomi, this method is unstable due to the limitations of MIUI, but it can still be activated.

Instructions:

1. Insert the flash drive into the slot (or plug in through) OTG-adapter).
2. Go to Settings → Memory → [Name of the flash drive].
3. Select Configure as internal memory (if no item is available, see spoiler below).
4. Confirm the formatting (⚠️ All data on the flash drive will be erased!).
5. After the reboot, the flash drive will appear as part of the internal memory in the Warehouse section.

⚠️ Note: When using Adoptable Storage, the speed of the flash drive directly affects the performance of the system. A1 Suitable for storing photos and music, but for applications it is better to take A2 or UHS-II.

Backup of data from a flash drive|Checking the class of the card (minimum) A1)|Formatting in FAT32/exFAT (if required)|Verification of support OTG (externally)-->

Method 2: Transfer applications to a flash drive (without combining)

If full memory integration seems risky, the other way to do this is to transfer applications to a flash drive without formatting, a method that doesn't increase internal memory, but makes room for new programs.

How to move:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Annexes → Application management.
• 🔍 Select the application you want (e.g. Telegram or Spotify).
• 💾 Press Warehouse. → Change. → Memory map.
• ⚠️ Not all applications support portability (system programs cannot be moved).

💡

Before you migrate applications, manually clean their cache (Settings → Applications → Storage → Clear cache) and this will reduce the amount of data you carry and speed up the process.

Method 3: Use OTG-storage

If your Xiaomi supports USB OTG (virtually all models after 2018), you can connect an external SSD or flash drive via an adapter and use it as a memory extension, a method that is suitable for POCO F3, Redmi K40 and other Type-C devices.

Step-by-step:

1. Buy it. OTG-Adapter (for example, Baseus or original from Xiaomi).
2. Connect a flash drive or SSD to your phone.
3. In the notification that appears, select Use as internal memory.
4. Confirm the formatting (the flash drive will be formatted in ext4 or f2fs).

⚠️ Note: When connecting through OTG The flash drive will be linked to a particular phone, and if you plug it into another device, the data will be unavailable without formatting!

Built-in microSD|External flash drive through OTG|SSD through OTG|I don't use it.-->

Method 4: Hidden MIUI functions for memory management

MIUI has several non-obvious memory optimization tools that help avoid the combination of a flash drive and internal storage, such as Memory Cleanup automatically deletes unnecessary files, and Smart Storage brings rarely used data to the cloud.

Where to find these features:

• 🧹 Settings → Memory. → Cleanup – removes cache and temporary files.
• ☁️ Settings → Memory. → Smart storage – transfers photos and videos to Mi Cloud (requires a Xiaomi account).
• 🔄 Settings → Memory. → Auto Cleaning – Set up automatic cleaning on schedule.

💡

Smart storage saves up to 30% of internal storage space, but requires a stable internet connection to access files in the cloud.

Method 5: Forced association through ADB (for advanced)

If standard methods don’t work, you can try to force memory to be combined via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which is suitable for pure Android models (such as Xiaomi Mi A2) or custom firmware.

Instructions:

1. Install ADB on your PC (you can download from the Android Developers website).
2. Turn on USB Debugging on your phone (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times press to unlock Developer Mode).
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell sm partition disk:179,64 private (where 179.64 is the flash drive ID, it can be recognized by the adb shell sm list-disks command).
4. Reset the device.

⚠️ Attention: Wrong commands ADB This can cause you to lose all the data on your phone or flash drive. If you're not sure what you're doing, use other methods!

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When combining memory, Xiaomi users often face typical problems:

• 🚫 The flash drive is not defined – check the format (should be) FAT32 or exFAT and speed class.
• 🐢 Phone brakes - the fault is a slow flash drive (class below) A1).
• 🔄 Data is lost after extraction – this is normal for Adoptable Storage.
• ❌ You can’t move the app – some programs (such as Google Play Services) are blocked for portability.

If after combining the memory, the phone began to overheat or discharge quickly, return the settings to the original state:

1. Go to Settings. → Memory.
2. Select the flash drive and click Format as portable.
3. Reset the device.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions