How to view cloud storage on Android Xiaomi: a detailed analysis

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a situation where memory overflow notifications block new images or updates from being created, in which users rush to check system partitions first, forgetting that a significant part of the data could automatically fly into a virtual buffer. Cloud storage on Xiaomi devices is represented by two main ecosystems: the proprietary Mi Cloud service and the standard Google Drive, each of which has its own display features in the system.

Understanding where to find these files and how to manage them is a critical skill for any modern user. In this article, synchronizing your photos, contacts and notes can be used to access the Internet but not locally available, or duplicate, using precious gigabytes of internal memory.

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that the interfaces of the shells MIUI and HyperOS may slightly differ visually, but the logic of the file managers remains the same for the entire line of devices. Android provides powerful tools for working with network drives, but Xiaomi often hides some of them in the depth of account settings, so as not to overload the interface with unnecessary elements for beginners.

Access to storage through the Security app

The fastest and most reliable way to assess cloud and local occupancy on Xiaomi devices is to use the built-in Security system application. This tool is preinstalled on each device of the brand and serves as a central node for managing the phone’s resources. When you run the application, you will see a pie chart showing the use of internal memory, but you need to switch the tab to access the cloud.

At the top of the screen or in the side menu (depending on the version of the shell), there is the Cleanup section or directly the Cloud. By clicking on the corresponding icon, the system will redirect you to the Mi Account management menu. This displays not only the current amount of data taken, but also the detail by file types: photos, videos, voice recordings and contacts. This allows you to quickly understand that consumes is the lion’s share of your tariff plan.

It is important to note that this section often displays aggregated information across all connected services if they are authorized under one ID. However, for detailed file management, deletion or downloading back to the device, you will need to switch to specialized applications.

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If the Security app shows an error when updating the cloud status, check for Internet connection activity and updates for the system component of Mi Cloud Services.

File management in the Mi Cloud application

To work directly with files uploaded to the Xiaomi ecosystem, a separate Mi Cloud (or Mi Cloud) application is designed. Unlike Google Drive, which is often already built into the system, this service may require a separate launch through settings or search through the application menu. This is where the backup copies of the system settings are stored, SMS-Messages and call logs that are not visible in a conventional conductor.

The application interface is divided into logical blocks. The top of the screen displays the sync status and available space. Below are the categories: Gallery, Recorder, Notes and Disk. Going to the Drive section, the user gets into the classic file manager, where you can create folders, upload documents and share links. USB-If necessary, transfer files to another device.

⚠️ Note: Deleting files from the Disk section of the Mi Cloud app will cause them to disappear on all synced devices, including old backups.

The Gallery feature inside the Mi Cloud is particularly noteworthy. Users often confuse local albums with cloud albums. To understand where photos are, you need to look at the top plaque in the Gallery app: if it says "All photos" and the volume of the cloud is indicated (for example, 5 GB), then you are looking at mixed content. To view exclusively cloud copies, you need to go to the Cloud tab inside the gallery itself.

Working with Google Drive on Xiaomi

The second pillar of cloud storage on Android is Google's service. On Xiaomi smartphones, it's integrated deep into the system, but often users don't know how to view its contents as part of the file system. It uses the Files app or third-party managers who support cloud storage protocols. The standard way to get to data is through the settings of the Google Drive app itself.

Unlike Mi Cloud, Google offers a more flexible document sharing system. When you open up Google Drive, you see three main tabs: "My Drive," "Available to Me," and "Last." It stores documents, tables, and presentations that rank in your Google account (common to Gmail and Google Photos).

To access Google Drive files as folders on your phone without downloading them, you can use Offline Access. By selecting a file or folder and clicking three dots, you need to activate the Offline Available switch. The files will then appear in local storage in a hidden directory that is accessible even without the Internet, but they will take up space on the internal drive.

Hidden Partitions and System Folders

Advanced users often look for a way to see cloud storage as a regular folder in Explorer. In modern versions of Android 11, 12, 13 and 14, Google has implemented strict restrictions on access to system directories where cloud services data is cached. The Android/data folder is now hidden from standard viewing, making it impossible to directly manage cloud files through third-party file managers without special permissions.

However, you can see the path to the cache through the application settings. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps → Google Drive (or Mi Cloud), you can find the Storage section. It will show the path to the cache and the amount of time occupied. However, this will not allow you to edit files, but only give you an idea of how much space is occupied by the temporary sync buffer.

There's also the concept of a virtual disk. Some file managers, for example, FX File Explorer or Mi File Manager (on the network), you can add cloud storage as a network drive, you can choose to add a new storage, select a type (Google Drive / WebDAV) and log in. SD-card.

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Direct access to the cloud file structure via Explorer is limited by Android security policies, so it is better to use official service applications to manage files.

Problems with display and synchronization

A common problem for Xiaomi users is when cloud storage shows files, but when you try to browse, there is an error or an empty screen. This can be due to a conflict of application versions or outdated security certificates. First of all, you need to check whether the Mi Cloud Services application and the Google Drive itself are updated through the GetApps store or Google Play store.

Another reason for the lack of file visibility can be logging in to different accounts. Xiaomi devices often use multiple profiles: one for the store (Mi Account), another for synchronizing contacts (Google), make sure that the sync settings select the account in which you expect to see the data, you can switch between them in the settings menu of the corresponding application.

If files are missing after a firmware update, don't panic. Display settings are often confused. You need to re-enable the sync slider for the right types of data (e.g. Gallery), the system will reconcile the hash sum of files and re-tweet thumbnails and metadata from the cloud, which can take time with a large amount of data.

⚠️ Warning: Forced data clearing of the Mi Cloud or Google Drive application via phone settings will remove the local cache.The files in the cloud will remain intact, but re-downloading them will take time and traffic.

Cleaning and optimizing space

When the question of how to see is solved, it often becomes a question of how to clean. Cloud storage tends to fill up with duplicates invisibly. The Google Photos app (which is closely related to the Drive) has a built-in tool called Free Space, which finds copies of photos on the device that have already been saved in the cloud, and deletes them locally, freeing up the phone's memory.

For Mi Cloud, a similar feature is in storage management. Going to the account management section, you can see a list of files sorted by size. Often it turns out that older high-resolution videos take up 90% of the space, and they can be selectively deleted or transferred to an external hard drive, pre-downloading the archive through the web version of i.mi.com.

Regular cloud review is a good habit. Once a month, it is recommended to open the Recycle Bin section in both services. Files deleted by the user are often stored there for 30 or 60 days, continuing to occupy space. Cleaning the Recycle Bin is the fastest way to instantly return free gigabytes without losing current data.

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