How to transfer photos from Xiaomi phone to memory card: all ways (2026)

Xiaomi has at least 5 ways to transfer pictures to a microSD card – from automatically saving new photos directly to the drive to manually copying through the built-in Explorer. But not all methods are equally convenient: some require additional settings in MIUI, others work only with certain models (for example, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ does not support writing on SD in standard mode).

This article provides step-by-step instructions for all firmware versions (from MIUI 12 to MIUI 14), including solutions for cases where the phone does not see the card or issues an “Inadequate Rights” error, and why transferring through the computer can be more dangerous than direct copying on the phone (spoiler: hidden.thumbnails files are to blame, which take up to 30% of the space).

If you use Xiaomi with a hybrid slot (such as the POCO X5 Pro), where the memory card replaces the second SIM, note that when you remove the drive, all associated data (including portable photos) will become unavailable.

1. Automatically save new photos to a memory card

The easiest way to avoid manual transfer is to set up a Xiaomi camera so that all new pictures are immediately recorded on the camera. SD-This method works on most models (except for the flagships with the UFS 3.1, where the option may be blocked).

How to turn on:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Touch the badge. ⚙️ (Settings) in upper right corner.
3. Select the Save Place (or Memory in older versions of MIUI).
4. Slip on the Memory Card (if the option is inactive – see the Formatting section below).

⚠️ Note: After changing the settings, all future photos and videos will be saved to the SD, But the old files will remain in the internal memory and will have to be transferred manually (see section 3).

If the Memory Card option is not available (in gray), it means:

• 🔹 The card is not formatted as internal memory (see the instructions in the next section).
• 🔹 You are using Xiaomi 13 Ultra or another model with write restrictions (solution – manual transfer).
• 🔹 Card damaged or fake (check through Settings) → Memory).

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If after changing the save location, the camera began to "lag", try the class map. UHS-I U3 (For example, SanDisk Extreme Pro – it is optimized for recording. 4K-video.

2. Formatting the card as an internal memory

By default. MIUI recognize SD-The card is a portable storage device, meaning that applications (including the Camera) cannot store data on it without manual confirmation, so to remove this limitation, the card needs to be formatted as internal memory. After this procedure, the drive will be encrypted and will not be read on other devices (for example, on a computer through a card reader).

Instructions:

1. Insert the card into your phone and go to Settings → Memory.
2. Tap your name. SD-maps (e.g. SanDisk) 128GB).
3. In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) and select Storage Settings.
4. Select Internal Memory → Clean and Format.
5. Confirm the action (the process will take 1-3 minutes).

After formatting:

• 📁 All card data will be deleted (restore in advance!).
• 🔄 The card can only be retrieved through Safe Retrieval in the Notification Curtain.
• 📱 Applications (including the Camera) will be able to store data on SD permitless.

⚠️ Note: On some models (Redmi) 10C, POCO M4 Pro) after formatting as internal memory, the option of transferring applications to SD. It's a feature. MIUI 13+ — Changes can only be reset by resetting the settings.

3. Manual photo transfer via Xiaomi Explorer

If auto-save isn’t suitable (for example, you already have thousands of photos in your internal memory), use the built-in Explorer, which works on all Xiaomi models, including those where the card is formatted as portable storage.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the Files app (the folder icon on the home screen).
2. Go to Images or DCIM → Camera (camera photos are stored here).
3. Press and hold your finger on any file, then select the rest of the photos (or tap Select All).
4. In the bottom panel, click Move (do not copy!).
5. Select Memory Map → DCIM → Camera (or create a new folder).
6. Confirm the transfer button Move here.

What to do if:

• 🚫 No button "Move" → The card is formatted as a portable card, but without the rights to write. Solution: reconnect the card or format it as internal memory.
• ⏳ The transfer has been going on for too long. → Close all background apps (especially instant messengers) and connect your phone to charging. MIUI Limits copy speed with low battery charge.
• 🔒 Files are not transferred. → Check if they're protected. DRM (For example, screenshots from banking applications, these files cannot be moved.

Backup important photos on PC|Charge your phone to at least 50%|Close all background applications|Check the free space on the map (should be 10% more than the volume of files transferred)-->

4. Computer-assisted transfer (USB-card-reader)

If there is not enough space on the phone even for temporary copying, you can transfer the photo over the PC, this method is suitable for large volumes (for example, 50+ GB of photos), but has nuances:

• 🖥️ When connecting through USB MIUI It can block access to some folders (for example, DCIM/.thumbnails).
• 🔄 If you use a card reader, the card should be formatted as portable (otherwise, as a card reader). Windows/macOS They won't see the files).
• ⚡ The speed of copying through USB 2.0 (on older Redmi) can be 5-10 times lower than when you’re carrying it directly on your phone.

Instructions for Windows:

1. Connect your phone to your PC through USB-cable (preferably original).
2. On the phone in the notification curtain, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
3. On PC, open This Computer → Find a Xiaomi device.
4. Go to Internal Storage → DCIM → Camera.
5. Copy the photo on the desktop, then paste them into the folder on SD-card (e.g. card) → DCIM → Camera).

⚠️ Note: If you transfer a photo through a card reader, do not remove the card from your phone until you have finished copying! MIUI It can create temporary.nomedia files that hide photos in the gallery. To regain visibility, delete those files through Explorer.

5. Cloud Transfer (Google Photos or Mi Cloud)

If you have a slow one. USB-Whether you're using a card reader or not, you can temporarily upload photos to the cloud and then download them back to the memory card, which is convenient for backups, but has limitations:

• ☁️ Google Photos compresses images when downloading free (quality "High" instead of "Original").
• 📱 Mi Cloud only gives 5GB for free and can block downloads on slow internet.
• ⏱️ Downloading 10 GB of photos even on Wi-Fi will take 1-2 hours.

How to transfer via Google Photos:

1. Install the Google Photos app from the Play Market.
2. Sign in to your Google account and enable autoboot (Settings → Backup and Sync).
3. Wait for the download to complete (check in Photos → Library → Devices).
4. Open Explorer on your phone, go to Google Photos → Folders on your device.
5. Select a photo, click Save on the device and select a memory card.

The alternative is Mi Cloud:

Upload your photo to Mi Cloud (Settings) → Accounts. → Mi Cloud → Gallery, then download them back through the Explorer → Mi Cloud → Important: Before downloading, check if there is enough space for the room. SD-map — MIUI Does not warn about overflowing memory during booting.

6.Transfer by third-party applications

If standard methods don’t work (for example, on Xiaomi Black Shark with custom firmware), use third-party file managers. MIUI:

• 📂 Solid Explorer – supports dual-panel mode (convenient for dragging files between memory and storage) SD).
• 🔍 FX File Explorer – can find duplicate photos before transferring.
• 🔗 Files by Google is a simple interface, but no support FTP (unlike MIUI Conductor).

How to transfer photos through Solid Explorer:

1. Install the app from the Play Market and open it.
2. Enable root access (if there are root rights) or give all permissions.
3. In the left panel, select Internal Memory → DCIM, in the right – Memory Map → DCIM.
4. Select the photos in the left panel and drag them to the right (or use the Move button).

⚠️ Attention: Apps like ES The conductor may request suspicious permissions (e.g. access to the SMS). Nana MIUI 14 such programs are often blocked by security systems – use only trusted managers from the official store.

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The file managers are useful if you want to transfer photos from hidden folders (for example,.face with facial recognition data) or sort pictures by date before copying.

7. Solving problems when transferring photos

If the photo is not transferred or disappears after copying, check these points:

If neither method worked, check the memory card on another device "128 GB for 500 RUB often has a real volume 16–32 GB, which causes files to be damaged when writing. h2testw (Windows or F3 (macOS/Linux).

FAQ: Frequent questions about transferring photos to Xiaomi