Transferring photos and videos from Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphones to your computer seems like a simple task – until you encounter connection errors, slow speed or unexpected limitations of MIUI. In this article, we will analyze 7 proven ways to transfer media files, including little-known firmware chips that speed up the process by 2-3 times.
Feature of Xiaomi devices - flexible settings USB-Connections and built-in wireless tools, such as PTP mode (PTP) Often solves problems with defining the phone as a drive in Windows 11/10, a) the function of the rapid transmission to MIUI 14+ It allows you to send files without cable at speeds up to 20 But everything in order.
Important: If you use Xiaomi with an unlocked bootloader or custom firmware, some methods (such as Mi Drop) may not work smoothly, in which case the priority is physical USB connection or cloud services.
Classical method: transmission by USB-cable
The most reliable method, but with nuances: Modern Xiaomi smartphones (starting with the Redmi Note 10 and Xiaomi 11) use MTP by default, which sometimes conflicts with Windows drivers. If your computer does not see the phone as a drive, follow these steps:
- 🔌 Connect your phone to your PC with the original cable (cheap cables often don’t support data transfer).
- 📱 On the phone screen, select File Transfer Mode (FTP) ATLD (PTP) (if MTP doesn't work).
- 🖥️ In Windows, open Device Manager and check if there is an exclamation point near Xiaomi. ADB Interface.
- 🔄 If the device is not detected, install drivers manually from the site MIUI (squash).
To speed up the transfer of large files (video 4K, RAW-photo):
- Connect your phone to the USB 3.0 port on your PC.
- In the developer settings (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version – tap 7 times) turn on Debugging over USB.
- Use Total Commander or Far Manager file manager, which can copy files faster than standard Windows Explorer.
Use the original cable
Select the "File Transfer" mode on the phone
Connect to USB 3.0 (Blue Port)
Disable blockers (antivirus, firewall)
Check the free space on the PC
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⚠️ Note: On Xiaomi 13 Pro and Redmi models K60 When you connect to a MacBook, you may need to install Android File Transfer (the official software from Google), without it, macOS will see the phone, but will not display files.
2. Wireless transmission via Mi Drop (speed up to 20 MB/s)
Mi Drop - built-in in MIUI application for transferring files over Wi-Fi Direct. It works without the Internet and supports sending folders weighing up to 10 GB. The main advantage is speed: when connecting to a 5 GHz router, files are transmitted at a speed of 15-20 MB / s (versus 2-5 MB / s in Bluetooth).
Instructions:
- On your phone, open Settings → Connections and Sharing → Mi Drop.
- Select files (photo/video) and click Send.
- On your computer, open your browser and go to the address http://mi.com/drop (or scan. QR-phone-screen).
- Confirm receipt of files on the PC.
| Model phone | Max, speed Mi Drop. | File size limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Xiaomi 14 Ultra | 20 MB/s | 10 GB per session |
| Redmi Note 12 Pro+ | 15 MB/s | 5 GB per session |
| POCO F5 | 12 MB/s | 3 GB per session |
| Xiaomi 11T | 10 MB/s | 2 GB per session |
If Mi Drop doesn't find the computer:
- 🔄 Restart router and phone.
- 📶 Make sure both devices are connected to the same 2.4GHz network (5GHz may not be supported on older models).
- 🛡️ Temporarily turn off the firewall on your PC (e.g. Windows Defender or Kaspersky).
Po Po Po USB-cable
Through Mi Drop (Wi-Fi)
Cloud services (Google Drive, Mi Cloud)
Bluetooth or NFC
Another way.-->
3. Cloud services: Google Photos vs Mi Cloud
Cloud storage is convenient for backup, but has limitations, like Google Photos compresses video above 1080p at a free rate, while Mi Cloud only gives 5GB of free space.
| Parameter | Google Photo | Mi Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Max. File size. | 15 GB (compression when exceeded) | 5GB (no compression) |
| Loading speed | Depends on the Internet. | Up to 10 MB/s (servers in China) |
| Automatic synchronization | Yeah (tunes in) | Yes (wi-fi only) |
| Access to PC | photos.google.com | i.mi.com (requires VPN for Russia) |
How to transfer files via Google Photos:
- On your phone, open the Google Photos app and enable Backup and Sync.
- Select the photo/video folders to download (e.g. Camera or DCIM).
- On PC, go to photos.google.com, highlight files and click Download.
⚠️ Note: When downloading from Xiaomi phones for Russia/Europe to Mi Cloud, the default server is selected in Singapore. If the speed is low, change the region to India or Hong Kong in the Mi Account settings, this will speed up the download.
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To avoid compressing videos in Google Photos, rename the files before downloading by adding a " " character at the beginning of the title, such as " DSC1234.mp4." The system recognizes them as "other files" and will not compress them.
4. Transfer through FTP-server on the phone (for experienced users)
If you need to move tens of gigabytes of data (such as drone video or a video from a drone) RAW-photo), FTP-A server on a phone is the best option. It's 30 to 40 MB/s when you connect to a 5 GHz router:
- Install the FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer app from Google Play.
- Turn it on. FTP-server in the application settings (Network section) → FTP-server).
- Remember the address of the species ftp://192.168.x.x:2221 and login data (username and password are your Xiaomi credentials).
- On PC, open Explorer (or Total Commander) and enter the FTP address in the address bar.
Advantages of the method:
- 🚀 Speed is limited only by your Wi-Fi capabilities.
- 📁 You can transfer entire folders without archiving.
- 🔒 Encryption is supported (in Solid Explorer).
Disadvantages:
- 🔋 FTP-server severely drains the battery (it is recommended to connect the phone to charging).
- 🌐 Requires a stable connection to a single Wi-Fi network.
How to speed up FTP-20th-pass%
5.Use of Google’s Files app (for Android 13+)
Google’s Files app (not to be confused with standard MIUI Files) has a hidden wireless PC function that runs via WebDAV and doesn’t require registration, up to 10MB/s.
Step-by-step:
- Install “Files” from Google.
- Open the side menu and select Shared via Wi-Fi.
- Click Start and copy the link of http://192.168.x.x:8080.
- On PC, enter this link into the browser and download the files.
Features:
- 🔗 The link is valid for 1 hour (after the time expires, repeat the steps).
- 📎 You can transfer files up to 2 GB.
- 🔒 No encryption – do not use it on public networks.
6.Alternative methods: Bluetooth, NFC and OTG
These methods are suitable for transferring small files (up to 500 MB) or when there is no cable/Wi-Fi at hand.
Bluetooth (up to 2 MB/s)
Slow but versatile, MIUI 14 adds Bluetooth 5.3 support, which has been up to 30% faster than previous versions.
- Turn on Bluetooth on your phone and PC.
- Connect devices (a PC may require a confirmation code).
- On the phone, select files → Share → Bluetooth.
NFC (files up to 10MB only)
It works on models with an NFC chip (for example, Xiaomi 13, Redmi Note 12 Pro+).
- 📱 Turn it on. NFC on the phone (Settings) → Connections → NFC).
- 🖥️ Make sure your PC supports NFC (You need a special adapter).
- 🔄 Bring the phone to NFC-tag on the PC and confirm the transfer.
OTG-cable + flash-drive
If you need to transfer files to a flash drive without a PC:
- Buy it. OTG-Adapter (e.g. Xiaomi) USB-C to USB 3.0).
- Put the flash drive on the phone.
- In the file manager (Files or Total Commander), copy the media to the flash drive.
- Connect the flash drive to the PC.
⚠️ Attention: On phones POCO F4 redmi K50 plug-in OTG-The drive may have a "Device not supported" error. Solution: Reboot the phone with the flash drive connected.
7 Automation: Sync with PC via Tasker
For advanced users who want to automate file transfer, Tasker is a good app, and you can use it to configure:
- 📤 Automatic upload of new photos/video to PC on schedule.
- 🔄 Synchronize with the cloud when connecting to home Wi-Fi.
- 📧 Sending notifications to email after transfer is completed.
Example of tasks for automatically sending photos to the PC:
Profile: Wi-Fi connection (name of your network)
Task:
1. File → List of files (path: /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera, filter:.jpg,.mp4)
2. For each file:
FTP → Download file (server: 192.168.x.x, login/password, path: /Downloads/Xiaomi_Backup)
3. Notification → Show notification (“Files downloaded to PC”)The work will require:
- 📱 Tasker (paid app, ~300 rubles).
- 🖥️ FTP-server on a PC (for example, FileZilla Server).
- 🔌 Static IP-address for a PC on a local network.
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Automation through Tasker saves time, but requires initial setup, and is ideal for professional photographers or bloggers who carry large amounts of media files daily.