How to transfer memory to Xiaomi memory card: the complete guide

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a shortage of free space on the device. MIUI operating system and modern applications take up gigabytes, turning a basic 64 or 128 GB into a critically small resource. When storage fill notifications appear more often, the only sensible way out is to expand the physical storage capacity with a microSD card.

Not only does data porting free up valuable internal space, it also speeds up an interface that doesn’t have to compete for resources with heavy media, but it’s not always intuitive, because Android has changed the logic of external storage in recent versions, and you’ll have to figure out the intricacies of formatting and choosing the type of storage for each application.

In this article, we will take a look at how to properly prepare a memory card, transfer photos, music and, most difficult of all, the applications themselves, and why not all programs are portable, and how to set up an automatic camera recording to an external medium, and this guide will help you turn your smartphone into a multimedia center without having to buy a new model.

Preparation of memory card and formatting

The first step is to properly prepare the external media. You should not immediately insert an old card from a camera or another phone, as the file system may be incompatible or contain errors. For stable operation in conjunction with Xiaomi, it is recommended to format the drive directly in the smartphone, this will create an optimal partition structure for recording data.

Insert the microSD card into the slot (often combined with a tray) SIM-You can see the maps, and you can wait for the system to notify you, go to the settings menu, select About phone or Storage, and the system will offer you two options for use: as a portable storage device or as part of internal memory. The first option is suitable for photos and music, the second is for installing applications, but it makes the map unreadable on other devices without re-formatting.

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Use U3 or V30 speed memory cards to install applications to avoid lags when running programs.

The formatting process will completely destroy all the data on the map, so copy important files to your computer or the cloud beforehand. Once you complete the process, the system will assign a letter or ID to the new partition, and it will be available for writing.

• 📸 Backups before any formatting to avoid losing your family archive.
• ⚡ Use original or certified memory cards to avoid data loss.
• 📱 Check the compatibility of the card volume with your smartphone model (not everyone reads 1TB).

Transfer of photos and videos to MIUI

The easiest and safest way to free up space is to move the media library. Xiaomi Gallery by default saves all the pictures in internal memory to a folder. DCIM/Camera. To change this behavior, you don’t have to manually transfer your already taken pictures, although you can do this through a standard file manager.

Open the Camera app, click on the three bars in the top right corner and select Settings. scroll down to Save in SD-Now, you can start the map, and you can activate the switch, and from now on, all new photos and videos will be automatically recorded on an external drive, which is a key setting for those who shoot a lot in high resolution. 4K.

To transfer existing files, use the built-in Explorer app. Select folders DCIM, Pictures, Download and MIUI (If there are heavy files, select the “Move” function and specify the path to the SD-The process can take time depending on the amount of data, so don't interrupt it and keep the screen on.

Installation of applications on a memory card

How to migrate apps to a memory card is one of the most challenging issues in the Android ecosystem. Since version 6.0, Google has introduced Adoptable Storage, which allows internal and external memory to be combined into a single space, but manufacturers including Xiaomi often hide this capability or limit it to ensure that the system is stable.

If your smartphone supports native movement, you will find the corresponding button in the application management menu. → Annexes → All applications, select the program you want and click Memory. If the Change button is active, you can move the app to the memory. SD-Unfortunately, for many system applications and mission-critical services, this option remains unavailable.

⚠️ Note: Moving system applications or Google Play services to a memory card can lead to unstable smartphone operation and constant departures of the interface.

There is also a method through the developer mode that forcibly activates the default option to an external medium. Go to Settings → About Phone and click on MIUI Version 7 times to activate the developer menu. Then, in the advanced settings, find “Forcing permission to host applications in external storage.” After rebooting, try moving the applications again.

• 🚀 System applications are better not to touch, so as not to disrupt the operation of the OS.
• 💾 Games with a large amount of data (cache) are most convenient to store on a map.
• 🔄 After the transfer, the application can load a little longer than usual.

Setup of messengers and social networks

Messengers like WhatsApp and Telegram are the biggest memory eaters, storing thousands of images and videos that are often duplicated in the gallery, and fortunately, most modern versions of these apps allow you to flexibly configure the way you save media files.

Telegram does this through settings: Data and memory → File Path. Here you can select a memory card and even set up automatic cache cleaning when you fill a certain amount. This is an effective method of combating space shortages without losing correspondence, since Telegram media files are stored in the cloud and downloaded as needed.

WhatsApp is more complicated because it is tightly tied to the structure of Android folders. However, you can manually move the WhatsApp/Media folder to the memory card and then create a symbolic link (root rights required) or simply set up an automatic backup in Google Drive, removing local copies. In the WhatsApp settings, you can turn off auto-save to the gallery, which will prevent duplicate files.

Instagram and Facebook don’t have a separate save path setup, they use a standard folder, so they need to use the rule of cleaning the cache regularly through phone settings or using the “Cleanup” feature in Xiaomi’s Security app.

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Regular cleaning of messenger cache can free up to 5-10 GB of space monthly.

Working with the file system and cleaning

After transferring data, it is important to keep the file system in order. File fragmentation and the presence of “junk” residual files from remote applications can slow down. The built-in “Cleanup” tool in MIUI does a good job of basic tasks, but for deep analysis, it is better to use third-party file managers such as Total Commander or FX File Explorer.

Pay attention to the Android/obb and Android/data folder. It stores the cache and game data. If you've moved the game to a map, make sure the folder with its name has moved correctly. Sometimes, after you move the game, the games stop.