How to transfer video from Xiaomi to your computer: all working ways

Transferring video files from Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphones to your computer seems like a simple task — until you encounter connection errors, slow transfer or format incompatibility. Unlike photos, videos take up significantly more space (one video in 4K@60fps can weigh 5-10 GB), so standard methods like email do not work here. Besides, MIUI has its own peculiarities: for example, blocking folders through MTP or automatic cloud backups, which are not always convenient.

In this guide, we will analyze 5 proven ways to transfer video - from the classic USB-cable to advanced solutions such as FTP-We will focus on the typical problems: why the computer does not see the phone, how to speed up the transfer of large files and what to do if the video is not played after copying. You will also find a table comparing methods for speed and reliability – this will help you choose the best option for your model (Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 Pro, Xiaomi 13T etc.).

1.Transfer the video through USB-cable (MTP)

The most obvious way is to connect the phone to the PC via cable, but there are nuances: Xiaomi defaults to MTP (Media Transfer Protocol), which often runs unstable on Windows 10/11. If the drivers are not installed or conflict, the system may not recognize the device.

To avoid problems:

• 🔌 Use the original cable from the kit – cheap analogues may not support data transfer.
• 🖥️ On the computer, turn off the energy saving modes for USB-Ports (in Device Manager).
• 📱 On the phone in the connection menu, select File Transfer (MTP), Not Charging.
• 🔄 If the PC can’t see the phone, restart both devices and reconnect.

After successful connection:

1. Open This Computer → Find Xiaomi device in Portable Devices section.
2. Go to Internal Storage → DCIM → Camera (there are videos captured on camera).
3. Copy files to the desired directory on your PC. Use archiving to speed up (e.g., create a file). ZIP-archive right on the phone).

Use the original cable |Enable MTP mode on your phone |Deactivate USB power saving on PC |Reboot devices if you make an error-->

⚠️ Note: On MacOS for working with MTP You'll need to install additional software, like Android File Transfer, without which you won't be able to read files.

2. Video transmission over Wi-Fi (without cable)

If you don't have a cable or it's damaged, you can wirelessly transfer the video.

• 🌐 Built-in FTP-server MIUI (It works on all models after MIUI 12).
• 📲 Third-party apps: Send Anywhere, Feem or LocalSend.
• 🖥️ Cloud services with local synchronization (e.g. Resilio Sync).

Consider the method of FTP-server:

1. On the phone, open Settings. → Connection and sharing → FTP-server.
2. Activate the server and write down the address (e.g. ftp://192.168.1.100:2221).
3. On PC, open Explorer → enter the address in the address bar → enter the login / password (by default: anonymous without password).
4. Copy files from the /DCIM/Camera folder.

The speed of transmission over Wi-Fi depends on the standard of the router:

USB-cable|Wi-Fi (FTP/applications)|Cloud services|Another option-->

⚠️ Note: When transferring large files (>1 GB) Wi-Fi may cause a breakdown. To avoid this, turn off your phone's Power Saving Mode and make sure the router doesn't overheat.

3. Use of cloud services

Cloud storage is convenient for backup, but has limitations:

• ☁️ Xiaomi Cloud gives 5GB for free, but high-resolution video will quickly fill the space.
• 📁 Google Drive and Yandex Disk offer 15GB, but download speeds depend on the Internet tariff.
• 🔒 For sensitive videos, it’s better to use Proton Drive or Mega with encryption.

Instructions for Xiaomi Cloud:

1. On your phone, open Settings → Xiaomi Cloud → Gallery → turn on synchronization.
2. Wait for the video to load (time depends on the speed of the Internet).
3. On PC, go to i.mi.com → log in → download files.

For Google Photos:

• 📸 Install the Google Photos app and enable autoboot.
• 🖥️ On PC, open photos.google.com → Choose a video → Download.
• ⚠️ Please note: Google Photos compresses video for free storage (High Quality). Original Quality tariff is required for the original resolution.

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If the video doesn’t load into the cloud due to its large size, break it down using the Video Splitter app (available on Google Play).

4. Transfer via memory card (microSD)

If your Xiaomi supports memory cards (such as the Redmi Note 11 or POCO M5), you can transfer the video to a microSD and then paste it into your computer via a card reader.

• 📱 Xiaomi Series Phones 12/13 flagships POCO F often doesn't have a card slot.
• 🔄 MicroSD cards in the class below A2/U3 It will slow down when writing/reading large files.
• 🔍 Videos captured on the main camera are saved by default to internal memory, not to the card (you can change the settings in the Camera app).

How to transfer the video to the map:

1. Open the file manager on your phone.
2. Find the video in the DCIM/Camera folder.
3. Select the files → Copy → choose SD-map → Insert.
4. Remove the card, paste it into the card reader and copy the files to the PC.

5. Advanced methods: ADB and terminal

For power users, there are ways to stream video over ADB (Android Debug Bridge) or Termux.

• 🔧 Automation of the transfer (for example, on a schedule).
• 🚫 USB-Ports or Wi-Fi are not working.
• 🔒 Access to system folders is required (e.g, /data/media).

Example of a command to copy videos via ADB:

adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/ C:\Video\Xiaomi

For this:

1. Install ADB on your PC (download Platform Tools from Google’s website).
2. On your phone, turn on Developer Mode (7 times click on the MIUI version in the settings) and activate Debugging over USB.
3. Connect the phone to the PC and execute the command above in Command Prompt.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB It requires caution - the wrong commands can damage system files or erase data.

Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

To determine the way, evaluate the priorities:

For most users, it is optimal. USB-cable (if there are no driver problems) or Wi-Fi via FTP (The cloud is convenient for backups, but not suitable for regularly transferring large files.

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For video in 4K resolution and higher, high-speed methods are prioritized: USB 3.0, microSD (U3/V30) or ADB. Wi-Fi and clouds are suitable for files up to 1-2 GB.

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

When transferring video from Xiaomi to PC, users face typical problems:

1 The computer cannot see the phone through USB

• 🔌 Check the cable (try another one).
• 🖥️ Update the drivers MTP via Device Manager.
• 📱 On the phone in the developer settings, turn on debugging by USB (Sometimes it helps even without ADB).

2.The video is not being copied due to the "file is too big" error

• 📁 Break the file into parts (for example, by using the MX Player or Video Splitter).
• 🔄 Use an archiver (such as ZArchiver) to compress video into ZIP.
• ☁️ Upload video to the cloud in parts.

3.The video was copied, but not played on PC

• 🎥 Install codecs (e.g. K-Lite Codec Pack).
• 🔧 Check the file extension: Xiaomi sometimes saves video to the file extension.mp4 codeced (HEVC).
• 📺 Use some kind of player. VLC PotPlayer, which supports most formats.

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If the video is not played in HEVC (H.265) format, convert it to H.264 using HandBrake or FFmpeg.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions