How to clean up completely USB-drive on smartphones Xiaomi Redmi: all working methods

USB-Drives (flash drives) remain one of the most popular ways to transfer data, despite the development of cloud services. Xiaomi Redmi smartphone owners often face the need to clear the flash drive directly through the phone - whether to free up space, remove viruses or prepare the drive for new use. However, standard formatting methods via Android do not always work correctly: The system may produce errors such as “Disk Failed to Format” and some files remain “undeleteable".

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven cleaning methods USB-Xiaomi Redmi drive (including Redmi Note models) 12/13, Redmi 10/11, POCO X5 and others on the base MIUI 14/15). You will learn how to format a flash drive through built-in phone tools, third-party apps, and even a PC if other methods have failed, and we will focus on common errors (e.g., "Disk is Write Protected") and how to get around them without losing data.

Before you start, make sure that the flash drive is not important files - cleaning will delete everything without the possibility of recovery! If you need to save data, first make a backup.

1. Clean up through the standard MIUI file manager

The easiest way is to use Xiaomi’s built-in File Manager, a method that works for most FAT32 or exFAT flash drives, but may not work with NTFS formatted drives (which Android often sees only for reading).

Instructions:

• 📱 Connect. USB-smartphone-based OTG-Adapter (or directly if the flash drive with a Type-C connector).
• 📂 Open the Files app (the folder icon on the desktop).
• 🔍 In the Devices section, find your flash drive (usually displayed as "USB-drive-by).
• ⚙️ Click on three dots in the upper right corner → select "Disk settings" → "Format".
• ⚠️ Confirm the action – the process will take from 10 seconds to several minutes depending on the volume.

⚠️ Note: If the Format button is inactive or absent, your USB drive may be protected from writing (see Section 4). MIUI does not support formatting in NTFS — That's gonna require a PC.

Once completed, the flash drive will be cleaned and ready to use. If the process is interrupted with the error "failed to format", try another method or check the drive for physical damage.

Save important data from the flash drive

Check the connection. OTG-adapter

Close all applications using the drive

Make sure the battery is > 20%

-->

2. Formatting through Android settings (for power users)

If the file manager fails, you can use hidden Android settings.This method works on all Xiaomi Redmi smartphones with MIUI 12 and later, but requires activation of the developer mode.

Steps:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version. Click on MIUI Version 7 times in a row until the notification “You’ve become a developer!” appears.

Settings → Additional → For Developers

"USB configuration"

"File Transfer (MTP)"

Settings → Memory

Formatting as an internal memory

"Clean it."

This method allows you to bypass the limitations of MIUI, but has risks:

• 🔄 Formatting as internal memory will tie the flash drive to your phone – other devices won’t see it without additional manipulations.
• 🚫 Some flash drives (especially volume) > 64 GB may not support this method.

3.Use of third-party applications for deep cleaning

If Xiaomi’s built-in tools fail, third-party utilities will come to the rescue, and we recommend two proven applications that run on Redmi without root rights:

Appendix 1: USB OTG Helper

A simple utility for managing external drives, supports formatting in FAT32, exFAT and even NTFS (with limitations).

• 📥 Download it to Google Play.
• 🔧 After installation, connect the flash drive and select it in the list of devices.
• 🗑️ Click "Format" and select the file system.

Annex 2: AParted (requires root)

A powerful partitioning tool that allows you to not only format, but also change the structure of the drive.

• ⚠️ It only works on rooted devices.
• 🛠️ Supports low-level formatting (useful for broken flash drives).
• 📌 Download XDA Developers.

⚠️ Note: Apps like AParted can permanently damage data on a flash drive if used incorrectly. Don't experiment with partition settings unless you're sure you're doing it!

Tip: Check reviews on Google Play before using third-party utilities – some apps contain ads or require unnecessary permissions.

4. How to remove protection from the recording USB-storage

The “Disk is Write Protected” error is one of the most common flash drive problems on Xiaomi Redmi, and it occurs for three reasons:

1. Physical lock: There is a Lock switch on the USB flash drive body (relevant to older models).
2. Software lock: viruses or improper extraction of the drive.
3. File system corruption: Low-level formatting is required.

Decisions:

• 🔓 Check the flash drive case for the presence of a switch and move it to the Unlock position.
• 🦠 Scan your drive for viruses with Dr.Web Light or Malwarebytes.
• 💻 Connect the USB drive to your PC and use the utility diskpart: diskpart list disk select disk X (where X is your USB drive number) attributes disk clear readonly clean create partition primary format fs=fat32 quick

If nothing works, the flash drive may be physically damaged, in which case try to recover data with Recuva or TestDisk, and then dispose of the drive.

💡

If the flash drive is defined as “read only” even after all the manipulations, try formatting it to exFAT instead of FAT32 – sometimes this solves the lock problem.

5. Cleaning the flash drive through a PC (the most reliable way)

If all the methods on the smartphone did not work, connect USB-This will allow you to use powerful tools like Disk Management (Windows) or GParted (Linux).

Instructions for Windows:

1. Connect the flash drive to the PC.
2. Press Win + R, enter diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.
3. Find your drive in the list, right-click → “Format”.
4. Select the file system (FAT32 for compatibility with Xiaomi) and click “OK”.

For macOS/Linux:

• 🍎 On Mac, use the Disk Utility (Applications) → Utilities → Disk Utility).
• 🐧 In Linux, install GParted: sudo apt install gparted Then select the flash drive → "Format in fat32".

Advantages of this method:

• ✅ It works even with “persistent” flash drives that are not formatted on the phone.
• ✅ Allows you to select any file system (including: NTFS, If you need support for files >4GB).
• ✅ You can check the drive for errors (chkdsk) /f Windows).

*NTFS on Android is read-only without additional drivers.

6.How to back up data before cleaning

Before formatting, be sure to save important files. On Xiaomi Redmi smartphones, this can be done in several ways:

• ☁️ Cloud services: Upload files to Google Drive, Mi Cloud or Yandex Disk. Use automatic sync in Settings → Xiaomi Cloud.
• 📱 Transfer to another drive: Connect the second flash drive through OTG You can copy the data manually, use Xender or ShareIt to transfer it to another phone.
• 🖥️ Copying on PC: Connect your smartphone to your computer in mode MTP And copy the files from the flash drive. Use AirDroid to wirelessly transfer.

⚠️ Note: If the flash drive is damaged, not all files can be copied, in this case, use data recovery software (PhotoRec, EaseUS Data Recovery) before formatting - after cleaning, the chances of returning the data tend to zero.

Tip: to accelerate backup of large files (video, disk images), connect the flash drive directly to the PC - the transfer will go faster than through a smartphone.

💡

Even if the flash drive is not readable, don’t format it right away! try to copy the data using the DMDE program (the free version allows you to recover up to 4000 files).

7. Frequent errors and their solutions

When cleaning USB-Xiaomi Redmi users face typical problems. We have collected the most common and ways to fix them:

If none of these methods helped, maybe yours. USB-The average life of a flash drive is 3-5 years when it's in active use:

• 🐢 Extremely slow recording/reading.
• 🔄 Unintentional shutdown during work.
• 📉 Disappearance of files or change their size.

In this case, it is better to replace the flash drive - data recovery will cost more than a new purchase.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions