How to transfer music to Xiaomi: all ways with step-by-step instructions

Transferring music tracks to a Xiaomi smartphone is a challenge that every new owner of the device faces. Whether you buy a Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 or the flagship Mi 13 Ultra, sooner or later the question arises: how quickly and without loss of quality to download your favorite songs? The problem is complicated by the variety of formats (.mp3,.flac,.wav), memory limitations and features of MIUI firmware.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to transfer music, from classic USB connectivity to cloud sync, and focus on the nuances that are often overlooked: why some files aren’t defined as music, how to get around MIUI’s restrictions on access to folders, and what to do if your smartphone doesn’t see the connected drive, and you’ll find a comparative method table for speed and convenience, and at the end, answers to frequent questions on the topic.

1. Music transfer via USB- Cable: Step-by-step instruction

The most reliable and versatile way is to connect your smartphone to your computer via cable, which works on all Xiaomi models, regardless of the MIUI version, and does not require an Internet connection, but there are pitfalls: for example, newer versions of firmware may not include file transfer mode (MTP) by default.

To avoid problems, follow this algorithm:

• 🔌 Connect your smartphone to your PC with the original cable (cheap analogues may not support data transfer).
• 📱 On the screen Xiaomi will appear notification “Charging through” USB" — tap him.
• 🔄 Select File Transfer Mode (MTP). If this is not the case, see the spoiler below.
• 🖥️ Open the explorer on your computer: the smartphone will appear as a removable disk (e.g., Redmi Note 12).
• 🎵 Go to Internal Storage → Music (or create it if it is not available).
• 📁 Transfer the drag-and-drop music files or copy (Ctrl+C → Ctrl+V).

An important caveat: if you're porting music in.flac or.ape format, a standard MIUI (Mi Music) player may not play it. Install a third-party player, such as a Poweramp or VLC.

✅ Music copied to Music folder

✅ Files do not have special characters in their name (?, *, /)

✅ The format is supported by the player

✅ Cable disabled via "Safe Removal" (on PC)-->

2. Music transfer over Bluetooth: when justified

Bluetooth devices are more associated with the transfer of photos than music, but this method is valid if:

• 🎧 You need to drop 1-2 tracks from another phone (e.g. iPhone on Xiaomi).
• 🔄 No cable or Wi-Fi is on hand.
• 📱 Both devices support Bluetooth 5.0+ (transfer speeds up to 2 Mbps).

Instructions for MIUI 14:

1. Turn on Bluetooth on both devices (Settings → Connections → Bluetooth).
2. On a source (such as an iPhone), select the track → Share → Bluetooth.
3. On Xiaomi, confirm the file acceptance in the notification.
4. The music will be saved in the Bluetooth folder (move it to Music manually).

⚠️ Attention: Bluetooth compresses audio when transmitting, so.flac or.wav will lose quality. Use USB or Wi-Fi for these formats.

Via USB- cable | Over Wi-Fi (FTP/ cloud) |Bluetooth| Through memory card |Another way-->

3. Memory card use: pros and cons

If your Xiaomi supports microSD (such as Redmi 10C or POCO M5), transferring music through a memory card may be the best solution.

• 🔄 Does not take up the internal memory of the device.
• 📁 You can change the music card quickly (for example, for a car).
• 🛡️ Data will not be lost when the phone is reset.

Algorithm of action:

1. Insert the card into the computer through the card reader.
2. Copy the music to the Music folder on the map (create it if not).
3. Insert the card in the smartphone and wait for its recognition.
4. In the player (Mi Music or third-party), select the source "SD- card".

Limitations:

• ❌ Not all Xiaomi models support memory cards (e.g. Mi 11 Ultra – no slot).
• ❌ The A1 card reading speed may not be sufficient for high-bitrate music.
• ❌ On some firmware MIUI, the player does not see music on SD without additional settings.

💡

If the player doesn’t see music on the memory card, go to Settings → Apps → Music → Permissions and enable storage access.

4. Cloud services: Mi Cloud, Google Drive, Yandex Disk

Cloud storage is convenient for syncing music between devices, but has speed and volume limitations.

* When using Telegram without limits on the scope, but files are stored only in the cloud.

The following steps are provided for Google Drive:

1. Download music to Google Drive from your computer.
2. Install the Google Drive app on Xiaomi.
3. Find the downloaded files in the application → highlight them → “Download”.
4. The music will be saved in the Download folder – move it to Music.

⚠️ Warning: When downloading large files (.flac or albums) over the mobile Internet, you quickly consume traffic. Use Wi-Fi.

5. Music over Wi-Fi: FTP and LAN

If you have a local network set up at home, you can stream music over Wi-Fi without cloud intermediaries, which is 3-5 times faster than Bluetooth and does not require cables.

Method 1: Built-in FTP-server MIUI

Starting with the MIUI 12, the firmware has a built-in FTP- server:

1. Connect your smartphone and PC to the same Wi-Fi network.
2. On Xiaomi, go to Settings → Connections → FTP- server.
3. Start the server and write down the address (e.g. ftp://192.168.1.10:2221).
4. On a PC, open the Explorer, enter the address in the address bar and copy the files to the Music folder.

Method 2: Applications for file transfer

If the built-in FTP doesn’t work (for example, on custom firmware POCO), use third-party utilities:

• 📲 Send Anywhere is a code transfer or QR.
• 📲 Xender is fast, but a lot of advertising.
• 📲 LocalSend is open source, without restrictions.

Speed comparison (test on Redmi Note 11):

• 🏆 FTP (MIUI): ~10 MB/s.
• 🥈 LocalSend: ~8MB/sec.
• 🥉 Send Anywhere: ~5MB/s.

💡

The FTP- server in MIUI is the fastest way to transmit over Wi-Fi, but requires a stable connection to a single network.

6. sync with iTunes (for iPhone owners)

If you're switching from iPhone to Xiaomi, porting music from iTunes can be a problem because of the closed Apple ecosystem.

Method 1: Exporting through iTunes Match

If you have an iTunes Match subscription:

1. Enable iCloud Music Library in iTunes settings.
2. Install the Apple Music app on Xiaomi.
3. Log in and download tracks for offline playback.

Method 2: Manual copying of files

For users without a subscription:

1. Connect your iPhone to your PC and open it in iTunes.
2. Go to File → Devices → Transfer purchases (for downloaded music).
3. Find files in the iTunes Media → Music folder on your PC.
4. Copy them to Xiaomi via USB (see section 1).

⚠️ Warning: Music purchased from the iTunes Store is protected by DRM and will not be played on Xiaomi without removing the protection (this violates the license agreement).

7. Automatic sync: Spotify, YouTube Music, VK Music

If you use streaming services, porting music to Xiaomi is all about installing the app and logging in, but you need to:

• 🎵 Spotify: Download playlists via Settings → Offline Mode (up to 10,000 tracks per device).
• 🎵 YouTube Music: Click Download next to the album (premium subscription required).
• 🎵 VK Music: Free download tracks to My Music → Downloaded.
• 🎵 Yandex Music: Available for premium users (folder Yandex/Music).

Where are the downloaded tracks stored?

Streaming service files are encrypted and stored in private folders (e.g. /Android/data/com.spotify.music/files) and cannot be copied to another phone or played off-app.

💡

To save space, select “Normal” (96 kbps) instead of “High” (320 kbps) in Spotify settings.

Frequent Questions (FAQ)