Moving Games to SD Card in Xiaomi Redmi 9: Complete Guide

Xiaomi Redmi 9 smartphone owners often face a critical shortage of built-in storage. Modern mobile games take up gigabytes of space, and the basic 64 GB version may not be enough even to install two or three heavy projects like PUBG Mobile or Genshin Impact. The system starts to run slower, and memory overflow notifications appear at the most inopportune moment. Fortunately, the model is equipped with a memory card slot, which allows you to expand the capabilities of the device.

In this article, we will take a look at all the available ways to free up space. You will learn how to properly configure an external drive and what the limitations of the Android operating system in the shell of MIUI. We will not use complex technical terms without explanation, so that each user can optimize their gadget.

Preparation of a memory card and smartphone

Before you start any manipulations, you need to make sure that your microSD card is working and has sufficient write speed. To run modern games, it is recommended to use UHS-I or higher drives, since low read speed can cause friezes and long loads of levels.

Next, format the drive in the smartphone file system, not on the computer, and that creates the necessary hidden folders for Android to work. Go to the settings menu, select About phone and click on Storage, and here you will see a list of connected media and the space they occupy.

• 📱 Make sure the battery is at least 40% full to avoid accidental shutdown.
• 💾 Back up important photos and videos as formatting will remove all data from the flash drive.
• 🔒 Check the card for errors using built-in diagnostic tools or on a PC before installation.

⚠️ Note: Formatting a memory card will completely destroy all files stored on it. Be sure to copy music, documents and photos to your computer or cloud storage before starting the procedure.

After preparation, you can start setting up. The system will suggest using the card as a portable storage or as part of internal memory. For Redmi 9 with its RAM capacity, the second option can be risky because of the possible slowdown of the interface, so we will consider a more secure method of transferring data without completely merging partitions.

Basic setting of external drive in MIUI

The first step is to format properly. Go to Settings. → The phone. → Storage. Click on your memory card name. In the menu that opens, select "Format." The system will warn you of the loss of data again, confirm the action. This process will create a folder structure. Android/data and Android/obb, which are critical to the operation of games.

After formatting is complete, it is important to check if the file manager sees the new volume. Open the Explorer app and switch to the tab"SD-If you see the standard folders of the system, then the drive is ready to go. Now you can move to the media file port to make room in the internal partition for the system files of games.

Some users try to migrate apps right away, but that's a mistake: first, you need to create a buffer zone, and move all the heavy videos, document archives and music to an external medium, which will give the system the necessary 2-3 GB of storage for temporary files and cache, which will speed up the migration of applications.

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Use the built-in "Security" application" →"Clean up to find the biggest files and quickly transfer them to the SD-Map via the menu "Move to the".

Transfer games through standard Android settings

Depending on the MIUI firmware version and the Android version that is built into Redmi 9, the interface may be different. However, the basic algorithm for moving applications remains the same. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps. Find the game you want to move, for example, Asphalt 9 or Call of Duty.

Click on the name of the app. The page will open with information about the program. Find the "Storage" or "Memory" button. If the game developer has authorized the transfer, you will see an active button "Change" or "Move to" SD-Press it and wait until the process is complete. The progress bar will show the status of the operation.

Unfortunately, many modern online games block this feature, it is done to protect data and ensure stable operation of the anticheat, in which case the button will be inactive or absent. Don't despair, for such cases there are workarounds, which we will discuss below, including working with cache files.

Manual Cache Transfer of Games (OBB and Data)

The most effective method for heavy projects is manual cache transfer, and most games store graphics, sounds and levels not in the app itself, but in individual folders, and we need to move those folders to the memory card, and that would require a file manager with permission to access system folders, like MT Manager or a standard full-access explorer.

First, find the folder with the game's cache in the internal storage, usually on the Internal Storage/Android/obb or Internal Storage/Android/data path. Look for folders with names like com.pubg.imobile or com.garena.game.codm. Cut (not copy, but cut) these folders.

Then go to the memory card. Create a similar folder structure if it hasn't been created: SD Card/Android/obb. Put the cut folders in here. Then start the game. It can scan files for a long time, but then it has to start by taking resources from the flash drive.

⚠️ Note: When manually transferring folders Android/data and Android/obb Strictly observe the register of letters in the titles. A single letter error will cause the game to stop seeing files and require re-downloading.

Adoptable Storage (for advanced)

There is a hidden Android feature that allows you to combine internal memory and microSD card into a single pool. In MIUI, this option is often hidden by developers, but it can be activated via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires connecting a smartphone to a computer and basic command line knowledge.

To activate, you need to enable USB debugging in the "Developers" menu. Connect your phone to your PC, launch the ADB console, and type a command to format the card as internal memory. The command looks something like this: sm partition disk:XXX private, where XXX is the disk ID. After that, the phone will restart, and the system will consider the flash drive as part of the system partition.

This method has its risks: If the memory card fails or is removed, all the applications transferred to it will stop working, and the speed of the smartphone can decrease if the card is slower than the built-in one, use this method only if you are an experienced user and understand the consequences.

Once Adoptable Storage is successfully implemented, the system will start to transfer data to a faster or freer partition, you can install games directly without thinking about where they are stored, but remember that a map formatted in this way can not simply be inserted into another phone or computer without losing data.

Optimizing the performance of games after the transfer

Once the games are moved, it is important to make sure they are stable: The memory card has a lower random read speed compared to the internal memory of eMMC or UFS. This can lead to micro-twitching of the graphics. To minimize this effect, close the background applications before starting the game.

It is also recommended to clear the cache of the game itself after transfer so that it can reset the file indexes. Go to the application settings and click "Clear cache" (not data, namely cache). This will take a few seconds, but will help to avoid errors when loading levels.

• 🚀 Use Game Turbo mode in the Security app to prioritize processor resources.
• 🧹 Regularly delete old logs and temporary files through the cleanup menu.
• 📉 Decreased graphics in the game settings compensate for the possible lack of reading speed SD-map.

If you notice that the game is crashing more often than before the transfer, try to return the cache files back to internal memory. Maybe a particular memory card model is incompatible with the requirements of the game for data streaming speed, in which case it is better to leave only photos and videos on the flash drive, and keep the games inside.

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The speed of the game depends on the speed class of your SD-For the heavy ones. 3D-Projects with minimum required class — A1, a recommended — A2.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)