How to Reset Photos from Xiaomi Phone to Your Computer: All Ways to 2026

Transferring photos from Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO to your computer seems like a simple task – until you encounter connection errors, slow transfer or unexpected MIUI restrictions. In 2026, users have at least 5 working ways to reset photos, but each of them has nuances, from transfer speed to compatibility with different versions of Windows and macOS.

This article will not just list the standard methods like “plug on USB”, but will examine the problems that arise in practice: why the computer does not see the DCIM folder, how to circumvent the MIUI restriction on transferring files over Wi-Fi, and why the Mi PC Suite sometimes “hangs” by 99%. We also tested the speed of each method on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Redmi Note 12 Pro+ – the results in the comparison table below.

1. Transfer of photographs through USB-cable: step-by-step instruction

The most reliable way, but with pitfalls: Modern Xiaomi smartphones use the MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) protocol, which can conflict with Windows or macOS drivers. If you have never connected a phone to this computer, the system will require you to install drivers — even for Windows 11.

What to do in order:

• 🔌 Connect your phone to your PC with the original cable (cheap cables often don’t support data transfer).
• 📱 On the phone screen, select File Transfer Mode (or FTP, If only a photo is needed).
• 🖥️ Open This Computer (Windows) or Finder (macOS) – the phone should appear as a removable disk.
• 📁 Go to the Internal Storage folder → DCIM → Camera (or Screenshots if you need screenshots).

Original cable (not charging) connected

Selected mode "File transfer" on the phone

VPN/firewalls on PC disabled

Trying another. USB-port (preferably 3.0)

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⚠️ Attention: If the folder DCIM It's empty, but there's a photo on the phone, check the settings of the gallery. MIUI 14/15 The default photo can be saved to the Mi Cloud or on the cloud. SD-To see all the photos, open the Gallery app, click three dots. → Settings → Show hidden folders.

2. Wireless transmission over Wi-Fi (without cables)

The method is convenient if you want to reset a photo to a laptop without finding a cable. Xiaomi offers two options: through the built-in Wi-Fi transfer function in the gallery or using third-party applications like Send Anywhere. The first method works only on the local network, the second – even over the Internet.

How to transfer photos through the standard MIUI function:

1. Open the Gallery app on your phone.
2. Select the necessary photos (clasp your finger → tick).
3. Press Share. → Wi-Fi transmission.
4. On your computer, open your browser and enter an address that will show the phone (e.g. 192.168.1.100:8080).
5. Download the archive from the photo (speed depends on the router – usually 5-15 MB / s).

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If Wi-Fi transmission is permanently interrupted, try connecting your phone and computer to the router via an Ethernet cable (if possible) to eliminate interference from other devices on the network.

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 15 Wi-Fi transmission may not work if the phone is power-saving. Turn it off in the battery settings before transfer. Also check that the computer does not block the firewall connection (especially for Avast and Kaspersky).

3.Using Mi PC Suite: Official Solution from Xiaomi

Mi PC Suite is a proprietary utility for controlling your phone from your computer, which allows you not only to drop photos, but also to install firmware, to reserve data. But the program has two serious drawbacks: it only works on Windows (there is no version for Windows). macOS/Linux) It often gets stuck when transferring large files (>500 MB).

Instructions for use:

• 📥 Download Mi. PC Suite from the official website (do not use third-party sources!).
• 🔗 Put the phone on. USB and select the File Transfer Mode.
• 🖥️ In the program, go to the Files tab. → DCIM → highlight the photo → Exports.
• 📁 Specify the folder on the computer to save.

⚠️ Note: When sending a photo via Mi PC Suite Error Not able to copy the file, try the following:

1. Rename the files on the phone (remove Cyrillic and characters like #, $). 2. Break the transfer into batches of 100-200 photos. 3. Check the free space on the PC disk - Mi PC Suite requires at least 10% free space for temporary files.

4. Cloud services: Mi Cloud, Google Photos and Yandex Drive

Cloud storage is convenient for automatic backup, but has limitations:

• 📱 Mi Cloud only gives 5GB for free (photos in original quality take up space quickly).
• 📷 Google Photos compresses photos for free storage (quality High instead of original).
• ☁️ Yandex Drive limits download speed at a free rate (maximum 5 MB / s).

How to reset photos via Google Photos:

1. Install the Google Photos app on your phone.
2. Enable Autoboot: Settings → Backup and Synchronization.
3. On your computer, open photos.google.com and download the photo through the web interface.

Google Photo

Mi Cloud

Yandex Disk

iCloud (if you have an iPhone/iPad)

I don't use clouds.

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Important: If you delete photos from your phone before they are uploaded to the cloud, they will be lost forever. Check the sync status in the app!

5. Alternative methods: FTP-server ADB

For advanced users, there are two non-obvious methods:

1. FTP-phone-side

Apps like this FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer is now available FTP-It's faster than Wi-Fi, but you need to connect to the same network:

1. Install Solid Explorer from Google Play.
2. Open the side menu. → FTP-server → Launch.
3. On your computer, connect via ftp://[phone address]:2221 (login/password will show the application).

2. Transmission via ADB

The method for those of you who are familiar with the command line, allows you to copy a photo even if the phone screen is not working.

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

Where C:\Photos\Xiaomi is the folder on the computer for saving.

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ADB-The method is the only way to pull a photo from a phone that has a broken screen, but it works. USB-debugging.

Comparison of all methods: speed and reliability

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even with the right settings, users encounter typical errors. Here's how to fix them:

1 The computer cannot see the phone through USB

• 🔄 Reboot both devices.
• 🔧 Update drivers through Device Manager (Windows).
• 📱 On the phone, turn on the debugging. USB (see the instruction above).
• 🔌 Try another cable or port (USB 2.0 is sometimes more stable than 3.0).

2. Slow Wi-Fi transmission

• 📶 Switch the router to 5 GHz (less interference).
• 🚫 Disconnect other devices from the network.
• 📡 Move your phone closer to the router.

3. Mi PC Suite gives an error "Device not supported"

• 📋 Check that you have the latest version of the program.
• 🔄 Reset your phone settings to factory (pre-reverse your phone!).
• 📱 Update. MIUI last-minute.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions