How to move applications to the memory card Xiaomi Redmi 9C

Owners of budget smartphones such as the Xiaomi Redmi 9C often face a critical lack of built-in storage.The basic version of the device can have only 32 GB of memory, of which a significant part is occupied by the system files of the MIUI shell.

Making matters worse, today’s Android apps are becoming heavier and take up gigabytes of free space, and social media and navigator caching quickly eats up the remaining resources, leaving users with a choice of deleting files or looking for ways to expand the functionality of the device.

Fortunately, the Redmi 9C has a microSD card slot, which gives hope for a solution. However, standard system tools often fail to transfer a full application to an external drive. In this article, we will discuss the technical aspects of memory in MIUI and consider working optimization methods.

Why Xiaomi is blocking the portability of applications by default

Since Android 6.0, the system has a feature Adoptable Storage, which allows you to combine internal memory and SD-But most manufacturers, including Xiaomi, are forced to turn this off at the firmware level, not only for security reasons, but also to ensure that the device works smoothly.

The fact is that the read and write speed of most memory cards is much lower than that of built-in flash memory eMMC or UFS. If you move system files or active applications to a slow card, the smartphone will start to work slower, there will be “freezes” and interface delays, which is why in the settings menu of Redmi 9C you will find the option to use the card only as a portable storage.

⚠️ Warning: Forced portability may cause some programs that are not optimized to work with external drives to run unstablely.

In addition, the annexes transferred to SD-The card becomes inaccessible if you remove the drive, which creates risks of data loss and application database integrity.

Preparation of memory card and smartphone for work

Before trying to change system settings, you need to properly prepare the external drive. Poor or damaged memory card can cause loss of photos, documents and app health. Redmi 9C recommended to use cards of class speeds at least Class 10 or UHS-I standard.

Insert the card into the slot located on the lower end of the device next to the tray for SIM-Once the drive is detected, the system will suggest configuring it, and at this point it is important to choose the right type of use. If you plan to store only media files, choose Portable Storage. If the goal is to install applications, further preparation through the computer will be required.

• 📱 Make sure the phone is on debugging. USB menu "For developers».
• 💾 Back up all important data from the memory card as it will be formatted.
• 🔋 Charge the smartphone battery to at least 60% to avoid shutdown during the setup process.

Formatting the card with the smartphone will clear it completely, and then the system will create a hidden partition that can only be accessed from this device, and other gadgets will not be able to read the data from this card without re-formatting.

Activation of the transfer function through ADB

To unlock the hidden portability of apps, we'll need a computer and an ADB (Android Debug Bridge) tool, which is a standard developer tool that lets you send commands directly to the smartphone operating system. Don't worry, the process is simple enough and doesn't require superuser rights (Root).

First, you need to download and install the minimum ADB package on your PC. Once installed, connect the smartphone with a cable to your computer. On the phone screen, you will see a request for debugging permission - be sure to click "Allow." Now open the command prompt or terminal in the folder with ADB and enter a command to check the connection:

adb devices

If a device with a serial number appears on the list, it means that the connection is established, then you need to enter a command that will force support for the moved storage.

adb shell pm set-install-location 2

Here, the number 2 indicates the priority of the external memory card. The value 0 returns the automatic choice (by default), and 1 forcibly puts the internal memory. Once the command is executed, the changes take effect immediately, but to correctly display the options in the menu, it is better to restart the device.

Instructions for moving applications in settings

After successfully executing the command via ADB and restarting the smartphone, additional options should appear in the settings menu. Now you can try to migrate already installed applications. However, it is worth remembering that not all programs support this feature - the developer of the application makes the decision by writing the corresponding flag in the manifest.

Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management. Select the program you want from the list. If transfer is possible, the Move or Change button will open on the screen in the storage section. If the button is missing or inactive, then the application is rigidly tied to the system partition.

For some system services and widgets, portability is technically impossible. MIUI, Google Play and instant messenger services often require quick access to the drive, which is a very simple one. SD-In such cases, the system blocks the movement to prevent failures.

⚠️ Note: When moving heavy games, make sure the memory card has a high write speed, otherwise textures may be loaded with a delay.

Working with files and multimedia cache

Even if full-time application portability is not available, you can make room by moving media files and cache. Many modern applications, such as Telegram, WhatsApp or Spotify, allow you to change the way you save downloaded files in their internal settings, which is the most secure and effective method.

Find the "Data and Storage" or "Storage" section in the app settings, and it will be "Save Path"; change it from internal memory to an SD card. After that, all new photos, videos and voice messages will be saved to an external drive without taking up precious gigabytes of the system.

• 📸 In Xiaomi camera go to the settings and select save photo on SD-map.
• 🎵 In music players, specify a folder on the external medium for downloading tracks.
• 🗺️ In navigators (Yandex.Maps, Google Maps) download offline maps to an external drive.

This approach allows you to keep the system partition and applications “light” and place “heavy” content where it belongs, and it also makes it easier to switch to a new phone: just move the memory card, and all your media files will be available immediately.

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Use the file manager to find folders with app logos at the root SD-You can often manually move old downloads there, freeing up space in the phone's memory.

Possible problems and ways to solve them

When using a smartphone with ported applications, specific errors can occur, most often users will encounter a message "App is stopped" or "No access to storage", this usually occurs if the memory card was accidentally removed or the file system is damaged.

Another common problem is that the interface is slow after a lot of applications are transferred, which is a direct sign that the memory card speed is not enough for modern programs, in which case the only solution is to return the applications to internal memory or replace the drive with a faster one.

If you lose your desktop widgets after you move, try restarting the launcher or the smartphone itself. Sometimes it takes time for the system to index files at a new location. Also check the permissions in the application permissions menu.

⚠️ Warning: Never remove the memory card "hot" while the phone is on, guaranteed to lead to read errors and possible loss of application data.

Alternative methods of memory cleaning

If you're messing with ADB-With teams seeming too complicated, and the place is ending right now, use the built-in optimization tools MIUI. The Security app has a Cleanup feature that finds temporary files, remnants of deleted programs, and duplicates, and it allows you to quickly free up several hundred megabytes.

Also effective is the use of “light” versions of applications (Lite), such as Facebook Lite or Google Go take up significantly less space and consume less RAM. For low-end devices like the Redmi 9C, this is often a better solution than trying to port heavy versions of programs.

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Using Lite versions of apps and cleaning the cache regularly is often more effective than risking transferring programs to a slow memory card.

Remember to check the Downloads folder periodically, which often accumulates APK installation files that are no longer needed, but continue to take up space. Delete them immediately after installing programs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)