How to transfer applications from phone to memory card Xiaomi Redmi 8: all working ways

Why Redmi 8 can’t move apps to the same place SD-map?

Owners of Xiaomi Redmi 8 often face a problem: internal memory is crammed to the end, and transferring applications to the memory card works “somewhat strange.” It’s all about Google policy and the features of the MIUI firmware. Since Android 6.0, the company has limited the ability to freely port applications to external drives – now it depends on the decisions of the manufacturer and the software developers themselves.

Redmi 8 (released in 2019 with Android 9 Pie and updated to MIUI 12.5 based on Android 10), the situation is complicated by the fact that Xiaomi blocks the function of adoptable storage – technology that allows you to format SD-But that doesn't mean you can't make room! There are at least 3 working methods that we'll talk about below.

It's important to understand that not all apps can be ported, such as system utilities (com.miui.gallery, com.android.settings) and some instant messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) don't support this feature, but games, media players and many custom programs do.

Method 1: Standard Transfer through MIUI Settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in MIUI tools, which is suitable for most applications, but does not work with all firmware versions.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select the app you want to migrate (such as Spotify or VK Music).
3. Slip on Warehouse.
4. If the option is active, you will see the Change button (or Move to the SD-Press it.
5. Wait until the process is complete (it can take up to 5 minutes depending on the size of the application).

⚠️ Note: After porting, some applications may run slower – this is due to limited read/write speeds SD-Cards (especially Class Class Class Classes) 4 class 6). For games and heavy programs, it is better to use cards. UHS-I Class 10 or A1/A2.

If the buttons are moved to SD-No map, then no map:

• 📱 The application does not support transfer (most often these are system utilities or programs with a DRM-protection like Netflix).
• 🔧 Your firmware. MIUI modified (e.g. custom firmware LineageOS) and the function is disabled.
• 💾 SD-The card is formatted as internal memory (in this case, the transfer occurs automatically when installed).

Method 2: Formatting SD-The card is an internal memory (adoptable storage)

This method allows the system to be “deceived” by making it perceive SD-It's important that once formatted, the card won't be used in other devices without being cleaned! Also note that Xiaomi doesn't officially support this feature in Redmi 8, so you'll have to use a workaround.

Instructions:

1. Put it in. SD-card to phone and go to Settings → Memory.
2. Tap on the name of your card (for example, SD-map: 64GB).
3. In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) and select Storage Settings.
4. Select Format as internal (if no item, read the spoiler below).
5. Confirm the action – the card will be formatted in ext4 format (or f2fs on new versions of Android).
6. After the restart, the system will suggest moving the data. Choose Move now.

⚠️ Attention: If you extract SD-card formatted as internal memory without first "unmounting" (Settings) → Memory. → SD-map → Remove, the phone can freeze or stop loading, in which case you have to reset the settings to the factory.

Method 3: Transfer over ADB (for power users)

If the first two methods didn’t work, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a tool for low-level device management, which allows you to migrate even those applications for which the button is not in the settings.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/Linux/macOS and established ADB.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB Redmi 8 (see spoiler in the previous section).
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).
• 💾 SD-card formatted as portable (FAT32/exFAT).

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to your computer and open the command line (or terminal).
2. Check the connection command: Adb devices should appear the name of your device.
3. Find out the batch name of the application (for example, for Facebook it is com.facebook.katana). You can do this through Settings → Apps or by command: adb shell pm list packages | grep "facebook"
4. Transfer the application by the command: adb shell pm move-package com.facebook.katana android Where com.facebook.katana is a batch name and android is an identifier SD-The maps (can be found by the adb shell sm list-volumes command).

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If the team returns a Failure error [NOT_MOVED: Operation not allowed means the application does not support transfer even through ADB. Try different software or use a method that formats the card as internal memory.

Advantages of this method:

• ✅ Works for applications that are not portable through settings.
• ✅ It does not require formatting the card (you can use it on other devices as well).
• ✅ Allows you to transfer application data (cache, settings).

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Requires skills to work with the command line.
• ❌ Not all applications are supported (especially system-based ones).
• ❌ After updating MIUI It may be necessary to re-transfer.

Which apps can be moved and which ones can’t?

Not all programs support the work with SD-Here are the main categories:

⚠️ Note: Even if the application is successful, some features may not work properly:

• 🔔 Notifications from moved applications may come with a delay.
• 🎮 In games, lags are possible when loading textures (if the map is slow).
• 🔄 Auto-update apps via Google Play may be disabled.

If the app starts to behave strangely after the transfer, return it to internal memory or reinstall it.

What if applications do not work after transfer?

Sometimes, the programs that are moved over will give you bugs, they won't run, or they're constantly restarting, and here are the typical problems and their solutions.

1. Application Not Installed Error: Reason: Corrupted Data During Transfer Solution: Clear the cache and application data (Settings → Apps → [name] → Storage → Clear the cache/data).
2. App freezes at launch: Reason: slow SD-Solution: Move the app back or use a class map A2.
3. Save or setup disappeared: Reason: the data did not migrate with the application. Solution: check if the program supports saving on SD (for example, in Minecraft you need to manually specify the path to worlds).
4. Google Play doesn't update the app: Reason: Android's limitations on external media. Solution: temporarily transfer the program to internal memory, update, then return it back.

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If the application after transfer is unstable, the best solution is to leave it in internal memory, and on the other hand, the application is not stable. SD-transfer only media files (photos, videos, music).

If nothing helps, try:

• 🔄 Reboot the phone.
• 🗑️ Remove and reinstall the application (data may be lost!).
• 🛠️ Check it out. SD-Card for errors through the computer (utility chkdsk in Windows).

How to optimize memory usage in Redmi 8 without porting applications?

Transfer to SD-The map isn't the only way to make room. Here are 5 alternatives:

• 🧹 Cache Cleanup: Go to Settings → Memory. → Clear the cache. This can release up to 1 to 3 GB.
• 🗑️ Remove Unnecessary Files: Use the Built-in Cleanup Utility (Security) → Cleaning up) or apps like Files by Google.
• ☁️ Cloud Storage: Move photos and videos to Google Photos, Mi Cloud or Yandex Drive.
• 🎵 Offline content: In instant messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp) and music services (Spotify, Yandex Music) clean up the cache of downloaded files.
• 🔄 Lite versions of applications: Replace heavy programs with lightweight analogues: Facebook Lite, Messenger Lite, Twitter Lite.

It’s also worth checking which apps take up the most space:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Sort the list by size (slip to Size in the top panel).
3. Delete or clear the data for the most voracious programs.

If internal storage is sorely lacking, consider buying a Redmi 8 with a large storage capacity (64GB or 128GB) or using cloud-based storage services to store files.

FAQ: Frequent questions about transferring applications to SD-map 8