Owners of the popular budget smartphone Xiaomi Redmi 4X often face a lack of built-in storage. The model was released in versions with 16 or 32 gigabytes of internal memory, of which a significant part is occupied by system files of the MIUI shell. After installing several “heavy” programs and accumulating the cache of messengers, the device begins to work slower, and notifications of space shortage appear more often.
Fortunately, the Snapdragon 435 processor architecture and firmware features allow the MicroSD card to be used not just as a flash drive for photos, but as a full extension of the system partition, allowing you to install games and utilities directly on the external media, freeing up precious megabytes of the main module, but with standard menu tools this is impossible, you need to perform specific actions.
In this guide, we will discuss proven methods for activating Adoptable Storage. You will learn how to prepare the drive, what risks exist during formatting and how to properly configure the system for stable operation. It is important to understand that after the procedure, the memory card will be encrypted and can not be read on other devices without re-formatting.
Preparation of equipment and selection of memory card
Before starting any manipulations with the file system of the smartphone, you need to make sure the quality of the equipment used. The card slot in Redmi 4X supports drives up to 128 GB, however, for the correct operation of applications, it is recommended to choose Class 10 or UHS-I speed cards. Slow drives can cause "freeze" interface and long loading programs.
Make sure to back up all the important data on the memory card. The storage process involves completely formatting it, during which all the information will be permanently deleted. Copy photos, documents and music to your computer or cloud storage so that you do not lose them during the setup process.
You will also need a computer running Windows, macOS or Linux and is serviceable. USB-To interact with the system partitions of Android will require tools ADB (Android Debug Bridge is a standard set of utilities from Google that allows you to send commands directly to the smartphone operating system, bypassing the limitations of the user interface.
⚠️ Note: Use of low-quality memory cards of unknown brands can cause file spreadsheet damage and data loss.SanDisk, Samsung or Kingston products are recommended.
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Check the speed of writing a memory card on your computer before installing it on your phone. If the read speed is less than 20 MB/s, using a card to run applications is not recommended.
Activation of the developer mode and debugging via USB
In order for your computer to see your Xiaomi Redmi 4X in debugging mode, you need to activate the hidden developer menu. Without this step, sending commands through ADB will be impossible. The process of enabling is simple enough, but requires careful attention when confirming actions on the smartphone screen.
First, go to the standard settings menu and select About Phone. Find the MIUI version and quickly click on it 7-10 times in a row. The system will notify you that you have become a developer. Then a new Additional (or Advanced Settings) section will appear in the main settings menu, where you need to find the Developers option.
Inside the developer menu, we're interested in the USB Debugging option. Activate the switch. When you first connect to your computer, you'll see a request for debugging permission from that computer. You'll need to tick "Always Allow" and click OK. It's also recommended that you turn on the "Install via USB" option if it's available on your firmware version.
- 📱 Click 7 times on the build number in the About Phone section».
- 🔓 Enter the “Developers” menu in the advanced settings.
- ✅ Activate the switchboard "Debugging by" USB».
- 💻 Confirm. RSA-key on the smartphone screen when connecting to a PC.
Now your Redmi 4X is ready to receive system commands. Make sure the ADB drivers are installed correctly on your computer. The command line (terminal) when you enter the adb device command should display the serial number of your device with device status.
☑️ Verification of readiness for modification
Install ADB and drivers on your computer
Working with system partitions requires special software. You don't need to download heavy development environments like Android Studio, but you need a minimalist set of Platform-tools that contains only the necessary executables: adb.exe and fastboot.exe.
Download the current version of the toolkit from the official developer site or verified mirrors. Unpack the archive into the root folder of the disk, for example, in C:\adb, so that the path to the files does not contain Cyrillic characters, which can cause errors in the command line. Open the terminal in this folder by clamping Shift and right clicking, then select "Open PowerShell window here" or "Open command line".
If your phone is not responding or your device is identified as “Unknown”, you need to install Google USB Driver universal drivers or Qualcomm specific drivers. In Windows Device Manager, find your device (possibly marked with a yellow exclamation point) and update the driver by indicating the path to the folder with the drivers installed.
adb versionType this command into the terminal. If you see the version number, it means the toolkit is working correctly. Then reconnect the smartphone and type in the adb devices. Confirm the request on the phone screen. Only after the device appears in the list can you go to formatting.
⚠️ Warning: Do not use third-party software to "manage the phone" with questionable reputations.Official tools ADB Safe because they require explicit confirmation of each user’s activity.
Formatting the map as an internal storage
The most important step is to transform the usual SD-maps to part of the system section. MIUI It does not have a button "Use as internal memory", so we apply the command via ADB. This operation will change the file system of the map to a format ext4 (or f2fs) and encrypt it with a key tied to a specific instance of a smartphone.
In the computer command line, type in the adb shell sm list-disks command, which will show your memory card ID, usually a disk:179.64. Remember or copy this number, it will be needed for the next command. Be very careful not to select the ID of the built-in drive.
To start the formatting process, use the command:
adb shell sm partition disk:XXX privateInstead of disk:XXX, substitute your ID. Once you type in the command, it will go automatically. The screen of your smartphone may go out or blink, which is normal, the system restructures the file structure. Wait for the success message to appear in the terminal.
| Parameter | Meaning/Description | Importance |
|---|---|---|
| Type of file system | ext4 / f2fs | Tall. |
| Encryption | On (device binding) | Critically. |
| Access to PC | Absent (no root) | Medium |
| Recording speed | Depends on the class of the card. | Tall. |
| Compatibility | Only the Redmi 4X | Critically. |
Once you've finished, restart your phone, and in the storage settings, you'll see that the total amount of memory available has increased, and the system will now see the card as an integral part of the internal drive.
What to do if the team is not executed?
Setup of application installation by default
After successful formatting, the Android system on Xiaomi Redmi 4X may still offer a choice of installation location when downloading new programs, but by default will tend to use advanced storage.
To get new apps installed on the map immediately, when downloading from Google Play or GetApps, keep a close eye on pop-ups. If you don't request, go to Settings. → Annexes → All applications. Select the program you want, go to Memory, and click Change (if it's active). SD-map and confirm the transfer.
Not all applications support portability, but developers can prohibit the installation of their products on external drives for security reasons or for stability.
In such a change button, the storage will be inactive or absent. MIUI system applications such as Phone, Messages or Camera cannot be moved in principle.
- 📥 New applications can request installation location automatically.
- ⚙️ For older programs, use the “Applications” menu in the settings.
- 🚫 System utilities cannot be transferred.
- 💾 Cache of some games can be transferred separately through the game settings.
It is recommended to periodically check the list of installed programs and move those that occupy the most space, which will help maintain a balance between the speed of the system and the amount of free space.
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Even after the memory expansion, Android system processes will occupy the internal partition, so it will not be possible to completely free the internal memory.
Possible problems and ways to solve them
A smartphone with extended memory can be difficult to use, and users often experience slowdowns when the card reads faster than the built-in eMMC, so it’s worth considering replacing the drive with a faster model.
Another common problem is app update errors. If the store can't write data, try clearing the cache of the Google Play Store service. Go to the app settings, find the marketplace, select Memory and click Clear Cache. Also, rebooting the device that rewires the encrypted partition helps.
If the phone stopped seeing the card or it appears to be corrupted, there may have been a file system breach, in which case you will have to remove the card, connect it to the PC through the card reader and check for errors with standard Windows tools, or format it again after losing data.
⚠️ Note: When you reset your smartphone to the factory settings (Hard Reset), the data on the memory card formatted as internal will be lost forever, since the encryption keys are stored in the internal partition.
To extend the life of the memory card, reduce the number of write cycles, turn off automatic log saving in applications if possible, and do not install programs on the map that constantly access the disk in the background.