Owners of budget smartphones such as Xiaomi Redmi 5A often face a critical shortage of free space. The basic version of the device is equipped with only 16 gigabytes of internal memory, of which the system and pre-installed applications available about 10-11 GB. This volume is catastrophically insufficient for the installation of modern “heavy” applications, messengers with huge cache and games with high resolution graphics.
Fortunately, engineers have designed a microSD card slot to physically expand storage, but the standard Android operating system (and MIUI shell) only treats the flash drive as an additional external storage for media files. To make the phone perceive the card as part of the system partition, you will need to perform a number of specific actions.
The unification process, often referred to as “Adoptable Storage”, is not always available through the standard settings menu on Xiaomi devices. In this article, we will discuss both software methods for activating the function through the developer menu, and a more advanced method using the use of the device. ADB-A team that is guaranteed to work for Redmi 5A.
Note: The procedure for formatting the memory card as an internal storage device will completely destroy all data on it, so be sure to back up your files before you start. Let’s take a look at the technical details and step-by-step plan for successfully expanding your smartphone’s memory.
Hardware limitations and memory card selection for Redmi 5A
Before you start the software part, you need to make sure that the media used meets the technical requirements. Xiaomi Redmi 5A is equipped with a memory controller that works correctly with cards of microSDHC and microSDXC format. However, the read and write speed directly affects the performance of the entire system after combining.
Using a slow memory card will lead to the fact that applications will run longer, and the system interface can begin to slow down when accessing data, so saving on the class of media speed in this case is strongly discouraged.
- 🚀 Make sure to choose Class 10 or higher speed cards for stable operation.
- 💾 The recommended card size is 32 to 128 GB, as large volumes may be incorrectly determined by the controller.
- ⚡ Pay attention to the marking UHS-I, which guarantees a minimum recording speed of 10 MB / s.
It is also worth considering that the slot in Redmi. 5A It means you can't use two at the same time. SIM-You have to choose between two SIMs or one SIM and a flash drive. To implement the memory expansion function, a microSD card is a prerequisite.
If you plan to store not only applications, but also large volumes of photos and videos on the combined section, it is better to immediately purchase a 64 GB or 128 GB card. Smaller volumes will quickly be filled with system files and application cache.
Programming and backup
Any interference with the structure of memory partitions carries the risk of data loss. Before you start manipulation, you need to secure your information. Standard MIUI tools allow you to make a full copy of contacts, messages and settings to the cloud or to the computer.
You also need to prepare the memory card itself, if it already has files on it, you need to copy them to the computer, and in the process of setting up the card, it will be formatted into a file system other than the standard FAT32 or exFAT, and will become unreadable for other devices without special software.
⚠️ Note: Once the card is converted to internal memory, it will be encrypted with the keys of a particular phone, and you can't just insert it into another smartphone or computer and read the data.
To perform advanced settings, you may need access to hidden system functions. Make sure your Mi Account is tied to the device and the battery is at least 50%. Sudden power outage during formatting can damage the file table.
It is also recommended to disable all antivirus programs on your computer if you plan to use it to prepare the card, although in most cases the work is done directly on the smartphone.
Activation of Developer Mode and Standard Methods
The first step to extending the system is to include a developer menu, which is hidden by default in the MIUI shell so that inexperienced users don’t accidentally change critical settings.
To activate, you need to go to the settings and find the "About the phone" item. 7-10 once on the line “Version MIUI". After a series of clicks, the system will notify you that the developer mode is activated.
Next, the path is to advanced settings. Go to Settings → Advanced settings → Developer. In this list, we are interested in the item "USB debugging" (USB debugging), which should be included, as it may be required for diagnosis or use of specialized utilities.
Some firmware versions MIUI for Redmi 5A They had a built-in but hidden map formatting option. → Memory. If you put a "Format as internal storage" button on the map, you're lucky, but most of the time, you don't have that option, and you have to use the command line.
- 🔍 Enable the display of hidden system processes in the developer menu for full control.
- 📱 Make sure the Android version meets the requirements for Adoptable Storage (usually Android 6.0)+).
- 🛠 Check if the bootloader is locked, although this is not a critical requirement for this operation.
If there is no standard switch, don’t despair. This is a routine behavior in many regions where manufacturers prefer not to give the user full control over the memory structure to avoid complaining about “slow performance” due to cheap flash drives.
Using ADB to Force Memory Combination
The most reliable way to turn a memory card into an internal drive on the Xiaomi Redmi 5A is to use the Android debugging bridge (ADB), which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer, but gives a guaranteed result.
You will need a computer with ADB drivers installed. Download the minimum set of ADB tools from the official developer source. Connect the phone with a cable in debugging mode over USB, which we included in the previous section.
Open the command line on your computer and type in the adb shell command. If the connection is successful, you will see the command prompt of your phone. Next, you need to find your memory card ID by entering the sm list-disks command.
adb shell sm list-disksAnd the system will respond by giving you a string like disk:179.64 or something like that, and remember this ID, it's unique to your device and your map, and that's the drive we're going to be working on.
☑️ Ready for ADB-team
The next step is to create partitions. The sm partition disk:XXX private 100 command will format the map and allocate 100% of its volume to applications, and if you want to leave some space for files, you can change the percentage.
⚠️ Warning: Partition command is irreversible. Once it is executed, the map structure will be changed, and it will not be possible to restore data using standard means.
Table of comparison of methods of memory expansion
There are several approaches to solving the problem of space scarcity: some users prefer to port only individual applications, others prefer to combine the memory completely. Let's compare the options available.
| Parameter | Standard storage | Portability of applications | Full Association (ADB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Availability | By default. | Depends on the app. | Requires PC and ADB |
| Stability | Tall. | Medium | High (with a good card) |
| Speed of operation | Maximum | Reduced | Reduced |
| Mobility of the map | Complete. | Limited. | Impossible without resetting |
As you can see from the table, full integration through ADB is the most radical, but also the most effective method, allowing the system to decide where to install new programs, eliminating manual control.
However, it is worth remembering that the speed of the phone’s internal memory is always faster than the speed of even the fastest microSD card, so critical system processes will still work with the main chip.
Using the method of porting individual applications is less reliable, since many modern programs (such as WhatsApp or banking applications) do not support external transfers by developers.
What if your computer can’t see your phone in ADB mode?
Application portability and data management after formatting
Once the formatting and rebooting commands are successfully executed, the system will begin to perceive the memory card as an internal drive, and then you can start distributing the data.
New applications will be installed to the combined volume by default, but you need to manually transfer the already installed programs. To do this, go to Settings → Applications → All applications.
Select the desired application from the list. If portability is possible, the "Move" or "Change" button (with storage selection) will be active. Press it and select the memory card. The system will copy the application files and its data to the new partition.
- 📲 You’re going to have to deal with heavy games and social media, they take up the most space.
- 🗑 Do not use Google’s system services and MIUI, This can disrupt the phone.
- 🔄 After the transfer, it is recommended to restart the device to update the paths to the files.
It's important to understand that not all applications support this function, depending on the software developer, if the port button is gray or missing, then the application must be strictly in internal memory for proper operation.
You also need to set the camera and messengers to save media files immediately to the map. In the Xiaomi camera settings, there is a "Save to Save to the map" switch. SD-In Telegram and WhatsApp, you can change the paths to the media folders in the settings of the applications themselves in the section "Data and Storage".
💡
Use Files to analyze your occupied space, and it will show you which folders are inflated the most, and it will clear the cache with a single click.
Possible problems and ways to solve them
Failures can occur during the operation of the combined memory, most often due to the quality of the memory card itself or file system errors, and the phone may issue read error messages or require re-formatting.
If the system stops seeing the card or the applications stop running, try restarting the device, often helping the system re-mount the partitions, and if the problem persists, the memory card may have failed or is slow.
Another common problem is slowing down the interface, which happens when the memory card has a low reading/write rate, in which case the system is constantly waiting for a response from the drive, which creates the feeling of a "laying" phone.
⚠️ Warning: If the phone started to cycle back (bootloop) after formatting the map, it may be that the system files are corrupted.
To return to the original state, you need to format the card back, and you can do this through the Settings → Memory menu, selecting the option “Format”. Note that all the data on the card will be deleted, and it will again become a regular external drive.
Sometimes it helps to update the firmware to the latest available version of MIUI. Xiaomi engineers are constantly improving the work with file systems, and in new versions of the software compatibility with different models of cards may be higher.
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The quality of the microSD card directly affects the overall performance of the smartphone after the combination.Do not use cheap media without a brand.