How to download photos from the phone Xiaomi: all working ways of 2026

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO have become an integral part of our lives, storing thousands of photos from family holidays to work documents. But when memory runs out or we urgently need to transfer pictures to the computer, many users are faced with the question: how to quickly and safely download photos from a Xiaomi phone without losing quality and without spending hours on forwarding.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven ways, from classic USB connectivity to modern cloud services and wireless technology, each suited to different situations: whether you need to transfer 10 photos or 10,000 pictures, whether you have a cable or only Wi-Fi on hand, whether data privacy is important, and we’ll also explain why some ways may not work on Xiaomi’s new MIUI 14/15 models due to changes in security policy, and how to get around it.

Important: The instructions are valid for all Xiaomi devices (including Redmi Note 12 Pro+, Xiaomi 13 Ultra, POCO F5, etc.), regardless of the version of MIUI or Android. If you have an older model (for example, Redmi 4X or Mi A2), some steps may be slightly different - we will point out this in the relevant sections.

1. Classic method: transfer of photos through USB-cable

The most reliable and fastest method is to connect your phone to your computer via cable, which is suitable for transferring large amounts of data (e.g. 50 GB of photos at a time) and does not require Internet access, but it has nuances, especially on newer versions of MIUI.

What you need:

• 🔌 Original. USB-cable (better from the kit – cheap cables may not support data transmission)
• 💻 Computer with Windows, macOS or Linux (ChromeOS may be limited)
• 🔐 Unlocked phone screen (some models require a password when connected)

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your phone to your computer with a cable. On the Xiaomi screen, you'll see a notification, "Charge over USB" -- click on it.
2. Select File Transfer Mode (or File Manager on older versions of MIUI). If this is not available, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → USB and turn on File Transfer.
3. The computer will open a conductor window with folders of the phone. Photos are usually stored in: Internal drive → DCIM → Camera Internal drive → Pictures → Screenshots
4. Copy the files you want to use on your computer (drag and drop or use Ctrl+C → Ctrl+V).

⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi with MIUI 14/15 You may have a device not identified error on the first connection, so you can turn off the cable, restart the phone, reconnect and select Charge Only, and then again, File Transfer".

Make sure the cable supports data transfer (not just charging)

Unlock the phone screen

Enable the File Transfer mode in the notification curtain

Check that drivers are installed on your computer (for Windows)

Disable the antivirus if it blocks access to files-->

2. Wireless transmission via Mi Drop (formerly Mi Share)

If you do not have a cable, you can use the branded service Mi Drop (formerly Mi Share), which allows you to transfer files between Xiaomi devices over Wi-Fi Direct.

Benefits of Mi Drop:

• 🚀 Transfer speeds up to 10 MB/s (depending on the phone model)
• 🔒 There are no limits on file sizes (unlike Bluetooth)
• 📱 Works between any devices Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO (even on different versions MIUI)

How to use Mi Drop:

1. Open the Mi Drop app (if not, download it from Google Play).
2. Click "Send" on the source phone and "Get" on the receiver phone.
3. Select photos (possibly in packs) and confirm the shipment. Devices automatically connect via Wi-Fi Direct.
4. On the receiver, save files to the gallery.

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If Mi Drop doesn’t find the device, check that both phones have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, and try restarting the app or reconnecting to the network.

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ Does not work between Xiaomi and other brands (e.g. Samsung or iPhone).
• ❌ In some models (for example, POCO X5 Pro) may require firmware updates.

3. Cloud services: Google Photos vs Mi Cloud

Cloud storage is convenient for backing up and accessing photos from any device. Xiaomi offers two main options: Mi Cloud (branded cloud) and Google Photos (universal solution).

Comparison of services:

How to upload photos to Google Photos:

1. Install the Google Photos app from the Play Market.
2. Open it and log in to your Google account.
3. Click on the avatar → “Photo settings” → “Backup”.
4. Enable backup and select quality ("Original" or "High").
5. Wait for the download to be completed (you can monitor the progress in the notifications).

⚠️ Note: If you select “High Quality” in Google Photos, the photos will be compressed to 16 MP resolution and the videos will be compressed to 16 MP resolution. 1080p. To maintain original quality, choose “Original” but note that it takes up space in your Google storage.

Google Photo|Mi Cloud|Yandex Disc.|iCloud|Other|Not using.-->

4. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct transmission (for small files)

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct are suitable for transferring 1-10 photos to another device without the Internet, which are slower than USB or Mi Drop, but do not require cables or registration in the cloud.

How to transfer photos over Bluetooth:

1. Turn on Bluetooth on both devices (Settings → Bluetooth).
2. Connect the devices (click on the name of the receiver phone in the list of available).
3. Open the gallery, select a photo → “Share” → “Bluetooth”.
4. Select the conjugated device and confirm the transmission.

Bluetooth limitations:

• ❌ Transmission speed: ~1-2 MB / s (for 10 photos of 5 MB required) ~30 seconds).
• ❌ Maximum file size: up to 50 MB (on some Xiaomi models – up to 100 MB).
• ❌ It can break off with a lot of data.

Alternatively, Wi-Fi Direct (faster than Bluetooth, but more difficult to set up):

1. Activate Wi-Fi Direct on both devices (Settings → Wi-Fi → Wi-Fi Direct).
2. Connect to the receiver device (enter a password if required).
3. Use any file manager (such as Mi File Manager) to transfer photos over a local network.

5. Use of third-party applications (SHAREit, Xender, Snapdrop)

If proprietary methods are not suitable, you can use third-party applications to transfer files, which often offer higher speed and cross-platform (for example, between Xiaomi and iPhone).

Popular applications:

• 📲 SHAREit – speeds up to 20 MB/s, works without the Internet.
• 📲 Xender – supports transfer between Android, iOS and PC.
• 🌐 Snapdrop – web service for transferring files through the browser (does not require installation).

How to use Snapdrop (without installing applications):

1. Open snapdrop.net on both devices in your browser.
2. The devices will automatically detect each other on the local network.
3. Drag the photo into the browser window on the source phone and confirm reception on the second device.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party applications (especially SHAREit and Xender), disable access to contacts, messages and geolocation in the resolution settings.These applications often request redundant rights, which can threaten privacy.

6 Special cases: how to download photos from a blocked or broken Xiaomi

If your phone screen crashes or you forget your password, the standard methods won't work, and there are a few solutions, from simple to radical.

Methods for a locked phone:

• 🔑 Unlocking with Mi Account – if the phone is tied to a Xiaomi account, you can reset your password via account.xiaomi.com (email confirmation is required or if you need it). SMS).
• 🖥️ Connecting to a PC in Fastboot mode – if USB-Debugging has been enabled, you can access files through ADB (technical skills required).
• 🛠️ Removing a memory card – if the photos were stored on a microSD, you can insert it into another phone or card reader.

If the screen is not working, but the phone is on:

1. Connect Xiaomi to your computer via USB.
2. On your computer, open the Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS/Linux) and type: adb devices If the device is defined, use the command to copy files: adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/ C:\Xiaomi_Photos\
3. If ADB is not enabled, try connecting via Mi PC Suite (the official software from Xiaomi).

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If the phone doesn’t turn on completely, the only way to save the photo is to contact a service center to extract data from internal memory (cost). ~1500–3000 ₽).

FAQ: Frequent questions about transferring photos from Xiaomi