How to make an SD card internal memory on Xiaomi Redmi 9

Many budget smartphone owners face a lack of built-in storage, and Xiaomi Redmi 9 is no exception. Standard 64 or 128 gigabytes are often not enough to install all the necessary applications, games and media storage. The system starts to run slower, and notifications of space shortage appear at the most inopportune moment.

Fortunately, there is an opportunity to expand the available space by turning a MicroSD card into a full extension of the system drive, a process known as Adoptable Storage that allows programs to be installed directly on an external medium, but in the MIUI shell, this feature is often hidden from the average user, requiring additional actions to activate.

In this detailed guide, we will take a look at all the nuances of the procedure, the tools you need, and the pitfalls: you will learn how to prepare a map, which commands to use, and how to avoid data loss. It is important to understand that once formatted, the map will become unreadable on other devices without special resetting.

Preparation of equipment and selection of memory card

Before you start any manipulation of the file system, you need to make sure the quality of the hardware used. The speed of your Redmi 9 depends on the class of the memory card. Using slow media will lead to the fact that applications will run for a long time, and the system can hang.

It is recommended to use cards of the standard Class 10, UHS-I or higher. the minimum volume should be 32 gigabytes, although modern models easily support 128 and 256 GB. Check the card for errors on your computer before installing it in your smartphone to exclude broken sectors.

• 📱 Make sure your smartphone battery is over 50% to avoid shutdown.
• 💾 Backup all important data from the memory card to your computer.
• 🔧 Prepare. USB-cable and computer with driver installed ADB (optionally).
• 📶 Check that your MicroSD card is installed in the slot.

⚠️ Note: The formatting process will completely destroy all files on the memory card. If it has important photos or documents, be sure to copy them to another medium before starting the procedure.

Xiaomi owners often forget that write speed is critical to the stability of the Android operating system. Cheap cards without a brand can quickly fail when you write an intensive cache of applications. Therefore, investing in a quality medium from a proven manufacturer is the key to the long life of your gadget.

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Buy memory cards only from official stores or authorized partners, as the market is full of fakes that are labeled as 64 GB, but have a real volume of 8 GB.

Activation of the developer mode and debugging

To make changes to the system settings of access to the storage will require the inclusion of a hidden menu. The standard MIUI interface does not provide a direct button for converting the card, so we will have to use engineering options. This is a safe procedure if you follow the steps sequentially.

You first need to activate the developer menu. Go to the phone's settings and find the "About Phone" option. There you need to quickly click on the MIUI version several times (usually 7-10), and after you see the "You've become a developer" label, you can move on to the next step.

Then you have to turn on USB debugging, which allows your computer to interact with your smartphone system at a deep level, and without this step, you can't type in special commands. You can find the "Developers" section in the "Additional" menu and activate the "Debugging USB" switchboard.

Some users are wary of turning on the developer mode, considering it risky, but simply turning on debugging doesn't threaten the device until you start typing questionable commands, and in this case, we only use proven system commands to manage the storage.

Instructions for formatting through settings (No PC)

There is a method to try to activate the function without using a computer, although it does not work on all versions of the firmware. This method relies on hidden system menus that may be available in certain regions or versions of MIUI.

Put the memory card in the slot and wait for it to be determined. Go to the storage settings menu. If you're lucky, you'll see "Use as internal storage." If you don't, go to the ADB method described in the next section.

When you select the internal memory format, the system will suggest formatting the media. Accept the warning. Once the process is complete, the phone may suggest moving data and applications. Choose the option to transfer all the contents to maximize space.

It is worth noting that in the latest updates to the MIUI 12 and MIUI 13 shell, Xiaomi often hides this feature even in hidden menus, which is designed to protect users from using slow cards, but limits the functionality for advanced users.

Using ADB for forced conversion

If standard methods don't work, the ADB tool (Android Debug Bridge) is a powerful tool from Google that allows you to control your smartphone from your computer, you need to download platform tools on your PC and connect your phone with a cable.

Once you have the access key on your smartphone screen, open the command line in the ADB folder. Enter the command to log into shell mode. Next, you need to find your memory card ID by running sm list-disks. You will see something like disk:179.64.

adb shell


sm list-disks

Knowing the disk ID, you can start the process of creating partitions. sm partition requires you to specify the partition type. To convert fully, use the private flag. This will turn the card into an encrypted partition that only this phone can access.

⚠️ Note: Once the partition command is executed, the map will be formatted in a file system that is not readable by Windows, and you can only return it to normal mode by re-formatting, which will delete all data again.

It's important to understand the difference between a portable application and a full memory fusion: Adoptable Storage makes the card an integral part of the system, and the applications installed after that will default to the map if the system decides that it's freer.

Application portability and data management

Once formatted successfully, the system will start using the new memory, but the old applications will remain on the built-in drive unless they are moved manually, so go to the settings, select "Applications" and find the program you want.

In the menu of a particular application, click on "Storage." If the program supports portability, the "Move" button will be active. Press it and wait for the process to be completed. Some system applications and mission-critical services will not be able to be moved.

• 📸 The camera and gallery can automatically save new photos to the camera. SD, if this is stated in the settings.
• 🎵 Music and video files are best saved immediately to an external medium to save the main place.
• 🎮 Heavy cache games often require manual data transfer through settings.
• 📱 Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) have their own settings for storing media inside applications.

File management on Xiaomi Redmi 9 is becoming more flexible, so you can store photo and video archives on a map, leaving the internal memory fast and free for the system, and this is the optimal hybrid storage strategy.

Comparison of productivity and possible problems

The switch to using an SD card as internal memory has its pros and cons. The main advantage is increased volume, but the read and write speed of microSD cards is usually lower than that of the embedded memory of eMMC or UFS, which can affect performance.

Below is a table showing the differences in data storage characteristics:

If you notice that the phone is running slower, the memory card may not be able to handle the load, in which case it makes sense to transfer the most heavy and frequently used applications back to the built-in drive, leaving only media files and rarely used software on the map.

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Using a fast memory card standard UHS-I is critical to prevent slowing down of the smartphone after memory expansion.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)