Combining flash drive with memory Xiaomi Redmi Note 7: the full guide

Owners of the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 smartphone often face a lack of free space. Despite the availability of versions with 64 or 128 gigabytes of internal memory, modern applications, high-resolution games and voluminous video files are rapidly filling the available volume. The standard storage extension through a microSD card in this model, as in many modern Android devices, works in the “flash drive” mode, which allows you to store only media files, but not applications.

There is a technically complex but effective way to circumvent this limitation by turning the external USB-It's a full-fledged extension of the internal system, and it requires the use of the developer mode and the driver-mounted computer. Combining a flash drive with a phone memory allows you to install heavy games and programs directly on an external medium, significantly unloading the main partition.

However, before you start manipulating, you need to be aware of the risks: Interfering with the structure of memory partitions can lead to data loss or unstable operation of the operating system. This article describes in detail how to use the ADB tool (Android Debug Bridge) to reconfigure the file system. Carefully follow each step to avoid errors.

Preparation of equipment and software

To successfully perform the procedure, you will need not only the Redmi Note 7 smartphone itself, but also a number of additional accessories. USB-A cable that can transmit data, not just charge the device, and cheap charging-only cables will prevent the computer from seeing the phone in debugging mode.

It's also necessary. OTG-adapter, as the Redmi Note 7 uses a Micro-USB connector, not a modern Type-C. This adapter will connect a flash drive. USB-A 16 to 64 gigabyte flash drive can cause compatibility or overheating problems with the smartphone power port.

⚠️ Attention: During the setup process, all data on the plug-in will be permanently deleted. Pre-copy important documents, photos and videos to your computer or cloud storage.

On the computer side, you'll need an installed ADB Tools package, a set of Google console utilities that let you manage your Android device. Windows users can download the pre-built "Platform Tools" archive, which doesn't require a complicated installation, but simply unpacks into the root folder of the drive.

Don't forget to also install drivers for your device. Without them, your computer won't be able to recognize your smartphone in debugging mode, and commands simply won't run. Often, drivers are installed automatically when you connect through Xiaomi Mi PC Suite or Mi Flash Tool.

Activation of the developer mode and debugging

The first step in the software part is to enable a hidden menu for developers, which is hidden from the user by default to prevent accidental changes in system settings. → About the phone and find the item "Version" MIUI».

You need to quickly click on this item seven times in a row. After the fifth or sixth click, the system will warn you that there are still a few clicks left. As a result, a pop-up notification will appear, "You became a developer!". Now, a new item "For developers" has appeared in the main settings menu, in the "Additional" section.

Go to this menu and scroll down to the Debugging section. You need to activate the USB Debugging switch. When you connect your phone to your computer, you'll see a request for debugging permission on your smartphone screen. Be sure to tick "Always Allow" and click "OK," otherwise your computer won't get permission to access.

Also on this menu, you should find the option “Default USB Configuration” and select the “File Transfer (MTP)” mode, which will ensure the correct interaction with the file system when you connect, without these settings, further ADB commands will simply not execute or will give an authorization error.

Once you have all the settings on, connect your smartphone to your computer. The phone screen should have a digital security key. Confirm the connection. You can check the success of the connection via the command line on your PC by entering the adb device command. If the serial number of the device with device status appears on the list, then the connection is established.

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If the command line doesn’t see the adb command, try writing the full path to the executable file or moving the platform-tools folder to the root of the C drive: to simplify the path.

Adoptable Storage Technology and Features

The feature we're going to activate is called Adoptable Storage, which was introduced by Google back in Android 6.0, but many vendors, including Xiaomi in the MIUI shell, often hide or restrict its availability. The essence of the technology is to encrypt an external drive and combine it with an internal data partition.

Once activated, the system stops seeing the flash drive as a removable medium, and it becomes an integral part of the smartphone, which means that you can't just take the flash drive out and paste it into the computer, because the data will be unreadable without the encryption keys stored in the phone's memory.

There are two main approaches to implementation:

• 📀 Full transfer: All internal memory is emulated on a flash drive (requires root rights and complex markup).
• 📂 Hybrid Mode: The flash drive becomes the preferred place to install new apps, but system files remain inside.

In the case of the Redmi Note 7, without obtaining superuser rights (Root), we can use a forced mount command, which allows the system to perceive the OTG-connected drive as internal memory, but it is worth considering that the speed of the applications will depend on the speed of reading / writing your flash drive.

⚠️ Note: Using a slow flash drive (class 4 or 6) will lead to noticeable "lags" in the interface and a long load of applications. USB 3.0 and higher.

It is important to understand the difference between conventional formatting and formatting as internal memory. In a conventional format, a FAT32 or exFAT file system is created that is understandable to all devices. When formatted as internal memory, an encrypted partition is created that is only understood by that particular smartphone.

Step-by-step instructions for combining memory through ADB

Now, let's get to the practical part. Make sure the flash drive is through OTG-The cable is connected to the phone, and the phone is connected to the computer (CMD) PowerShell in the tool folder ADB.

First, we need to know the ID of the connected drive. Type the following command:

adb shell sm list-disks

In the answer, you'll see a string like disk:179.64 or something like that. Write down these numbers, which you'll need for the next step. Note that the numbers may be different.

Next, you need to format the disk as internal memory.

adb shell sm partition disk:XXX,XX private

Where XXX,XX is your ID, private refers to creating a private partition, so if you want to leave some space for normal files, you can use a percentage command, but you can use the full volume to maximize the effect.

Once the command is executed, the phone can restart or sound, a notification will appear in the storage settings to set up a new drive, and follow the instructions on the screen to select the "Use as internal storage" option.