How to transfer data from your phone to your Xiaomi memory card: 5 proven ways

Owners of Xiaomi smartphones sooner or later face a lack of internal memory - especially if the device is equipped with a modest 32 or 64 GB. High-resolution photos, 4K video, app cache and system updates quickly fill the storage, forcing users to look for ways to free up space. The logical solution is to transfer files to a microSD card, but here there are nuances: not all data can be moved by standard means, and some applications refuse to work with an external drive.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to transfer data from internal memory to SD-Map in Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi models, POCO You'll learn how to move photos, videos, music and even apps, what restrictions are imposed. MIUI, And how to get around common bugs like "Not enough space" or "No memory card supported." MIUI 12-14 and adapted to the features of the file system Xiaomi.

1.Preparation: Which Memory Card Should I Choose for Xiaomi?

Before transferring data, make sure your SD-Xiaomi supports microSD, microSDHC and microSDXC cards with a capacity of up to 2 TB (in practice, up to 1 TB, since more capacious models are rare and expensive:

• 🔹 Speed class: for recording video 4K and fast file transfer select class cards UHS-I U3 or V30 (SanDisk Extreme Pro, Samsung EVO Class 10 cards are suitable only for photos and music.
• 🔹 File system: cards up to 32 GB formatted in FAT32, above, in exFAT. MIUI It works with both formats correctly, but exFAT will be required to transfer applications.
• 🔹 Manufacturer: avoid no-name cards - they are often forged and have a low write rate.Optimal brands: SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston, Lexar.

⚠️ Note: If you plan to use the card as internal storage (Adoptable Storage feature in Android), note that once formatted, it will not be retrievable without data loss. This mode is not supported by all Xiaomi models (for example, does not work on the Redmi Note 10 Pro with the Redmi Note 10 Pro). MIUI 13).

2. Method 1: Transfer files through the "Conductor" (photo, video, music)

The easiest method is to use Xiaomi's built-in Explorer (Files) that allows you to move media files, documents and archives without any additional applications.

1. Open the Files app (the folder icon on the home screen).
2. Go to Device → select the file folder (e.g. DCIM for photo or Download for downloads).
3. Press and hold the file (or select a few, tick).
4. Slip the Move button (arrow icon to folder).
5. In the top panel, select SD-map → Specify your target folder (or create a new one).
6. Confirm the transfer with the button Ready.

⚠️ Note: If there is an error "Insufficient memory" during transfer, despite the free space on the map, try it:

• 🔄 Reboot the phone.
• 🗑️ Clear the Recycle Bin in the Files app (Bin section).
• 🔧 Format the map in exFAT (pre-copying the data on the PC).

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To speed up the transfer of large numbers of files, connect the phone to charge.MIUI limits background processes at low battery levels, which can interrupt the copying.

Method 2: Automatic transfer of photos and videos in the "Gallery"

Annex Gallery in MIUI It can automatically save new photos and videos SD-To enable this function:

1. Open the gallery. → tap on the badge ⚙️ Settings (upper right corner).
2. Select Camera Settings → Warehouse.
3. Set the switch in position. SD-map.
4. Confirm your choice by pressing OK.

Now all new images will be saved to the memory card. Importantly, this setting does not transfer existing files, only changes the location of the saved for new ones. To move old photos, use Method 1 (via Explorer).

Method 3: Transfer applications to SD-map (with limitations)

Unlike media files, applications cannot be fully migrated to the SD-map MIUI (starting MIUI However, there are partial solutions:

• 📱 App cache: Some programs (such as Google Maps or Spotify) allow you to save offline data to a map. Go to the settings of a particular application and find an option like "Offline Map Storage".
• 🔧 Adoptable Storage: available only on older models (Redmi) 4X, Mi A1) or by manually inserting through ADB. Details in the next section.
• 📦 Transfer APK-Files: you can manually copy.apk-files of applications to the map (for example, through Explorer) → Android → data → app), but this won’t free up internal memory as the application data will remain in place.

⚠️ Note: Attempt to migrate system applications (e.g. Gallery or Settings) to SD-The map will cause malfunctions. MIUI. Also avoid transferring messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) – they may lose access to media files.

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Transfer of applications to SD-The only working option is to use the card as an internal storage (Adoptable Storage), but this requires full formatting of the map and is not supported by most models.

5. Method 4: Use SD-The card is an internal memory (adoptable storage)

Adoptable Storage (built into Android) allows you to "tether" SD-card to phone, so that the system can see it as part of the internal storage, and that's the only way to get applications and their data to the map, but it has some serious flaws:

• 🔒 The card is encrypted and tied to the device – it will not be used in other gadgets without formatting.
• ⚠️ When you remove the map, the application will stop working on it.
• ⚡ Application speed may decrease (depending on the card class).

If you are prepared for these restrictions, follow the steps:

1. Put it in. SD-phone-card.
2. Go to Settings. → Warehouse.
3. Tap your name on it. SD-map → Settings (three points in the corner) → Default storage.
4. Select Internal Memory → Clean and Format.
5. Wait until the process is completed (it can take 5-10 minutes).

Once formatted, the system will suggest transferring some of the data to the map, which is important: this method does not work on all Xiaomi models, for example, on the Redmi Note 11 Pro with MIUI 13, the option may not be available.

Method 5: Transfer data over PC (for large volumes)

If you need to move tens of gigabytes of data (like a movie collection or backups), it's easier to use a computer. USB-cable and follow instructions:

1. On the phone in the notification panel, select the File Transfer (MTP) connection mode.
2. On PC, open This computer – your Xiaomi will appear as a removable drive.
3. Copy files from the phone’s internal memory (Internal Storage folder) to the memory card (SD Card folder).
4. Once the copy is complete, safely remove the device.

🔹 Advantages of the method:

• ⚡ Faster than transferring through the "Conductor" on the phone.
• 🛡️ You can back up your data on your PC before penosom.
• 🔍 Convenient to sort files (for example, divide photos into folders).

⚠️ Note: Do not remove the memory card during copying - this can damage the file system. If the process is interrupted, check the card for errors through the file system. CHKDSK (In Windows: Open the command line on behalf of the administrator and type chkdsk X: /f, where X is the letter of the disk SD-map).

7. Solving Typical Errors in Data Transfer

When working with SD-Xiaomi users often encounter errors. Let's look at the most common and ways to fix them:

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If your phone can’t see the memory card, but it works on other devices, try updating your firmware. MIUI. In some versions (e.g, MIUI 12.5 for Redmi 9) were bugs with support SDXC-map.

8 Frequently Asked Questions