Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to move the media library to an external medium, which may be due to the desire to listen to favorite tracks in a car where there is no Bluetooth, or to free up the internal memory of the device. Modern gadgets from Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco do a great job, but the process requires the right approach.
The challenge is not copying files, but getting the hardware and file system right. If you just insert a drive, your phone may not see it or allow it to be recorded. The file system of the drive must be Android compatible and the connection mode is set up correctly. In this article, we'll take a look at all the nuances so you can get it right the first time.
To start with, make sure your smartphone supports OTG technology. Fortunately, the vast majority of Xiaomi models released in the last 5 years have this out-of-the-box feature. You'll need the flash drive itself and possibly an adapter if the connectors don't match. Let's take a closer look at the process, Step-by-step.
Preparation of equipment and compatibility check
Before you start copying, you need to physically connect the devices. Make sure you have a proper USB drive. If your smartphone has a USB Type-C connector and the USB drive has a standard USB-A, you will need a special OTG adapter.
It's important to check the formatting of the drive. Android works best with the FAT32 or exFAT file system. If your flash drive is formatted in NTFS (Windows standard), the phone can see files, but will not let them change or copy new ones.
- 🔌 Check integrity USB-port on a smartphone, it should not be dust or pile.
- 💾 Make sure there is enough free space on the flash drive for your music library.
- 📱 Charge your smartphone at least before 20-30%, As working with external storage devices consumes energy.
⚠️ Note: When connecting powerful external drives (especially) HDD) You might not have enough power to power the port. HDD self-fed.
After the physical connection, a system notification should appear on the smartphone screen"USB-"Accumulated" means the hardware is good. If there's no response, try another adapter or restart the device. Sometimes it takes time for the system to install drivers for the new device.
Adjustment of access to USB-storage MIUI
Once the flash drive is plugged in, Android usually asks for permission to access the data. MIUI or HyperOS, that window may not appear immediately. If there's no notification, pull the notification curtain down. USB-connection.
Click on the notification and select the mode of operation. To work with music and files, select "File Transfer" or "USB-Charge Only mode will not allow you to copy tracks. Some firmware versions require additional permission to access the file manager window that appears.
If the system says that the drive is damaged or requires formatting, don't rush to agree if there is important data on the drive. Try reading it on your computer first. If the USB drive is new or the data is not important, formatting directly from your phone is the fastest way to bring it to the desired appearance.
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Use the Safe Retrieval feature in the notification curtain before removing the flash drive, which will prevent data loss and damage to the file table.
In rare cases, access is blocked by security settings. Go to Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI and quickly press 7 times to activate the developer mode. Then, in the advanced settings, check if the ban is worth it. USB-accessories.
Search and preparation of music files
Now that the drive is ready, we need to find the tracks themselves. The music can be downloaded from streaming services, downloaded from Telegram or transferred from a computer. Either way, we need to find the source file in the phone's memory. The standard tool for this is the File Manager app.
Open the file manager and go to "Music" or "Audio." This is all the tracks that the system recognizes as music files. If you downloaded music from instant messengers, look for the Android/media or Downloads folders. Often the files are in the Telegram/Telegram Audio folder.
| Source of the file | A typical memory path | File format |
|---|---|---|
| Standard booting | /storage/emulated/0/Download | MP3, FLAC |
| Telegram | /storage/emulated/0/Android/media/org.telegram.messenger | MP3, OGG |
| Yandex.Music (offline) | Encrypted cache (not copied) | CACHE |
| VK Music | Encrypted cache (not copied) | CACHE |
It is important to understand the difference between offline streaming services and regular files. DRM-You can't copy them to a flash drive in the car, because they're only played inside the app. MP3 or FLAC file.
If you can't find a file, go to the extension search. In the explorer, click on the magnifying glass and type.mp3. The system will show all the music files on the device, regardless of the folder they're in, and it's the most reliable way to find lost songs.
The process of copying music to an external medium
The process of data transfer in Android is intuitive, but has its own features in the shell MIUI. We will use a standard file manager, as it is already optimized for working with external drives.
First, open the folder with the music in your internal memory. Press and hold your finger on one file to highlight it. You'll see an action menu. To select all the tracks, click three dots in the corner of the screen and select "Select all." This will greatly speed up the process.
☑️ Copying algorithm
Once highlighted, click Copy (two sheet icon) or Move (arrow folder icon). Copying is safer: if the process is interrupted, the originals will stay in place. Moving faster, but riskier with large amounts of data.
Now the system will ask you to choose a destination. From the list of available storage, select your flash drive (usually called USB or brand name, such as Kingston) Go to the root of the drive or create a new folder "Music" to avoid cluttering the space.
⚠️ Warning: Do not remove the flash drive while copying! this will cause file damage and possible data loss.
The speed of copying depends on the class of the flash drive and the number of files. Copying one large file is faster than thousands of small ones. If the process freezes, don't panic right away, but if it costs more than 5 minutes, it may be corrupted.
Alternative methods and file managers
Xiaomi’s standard Explorer is functional, but sometimes users prefer more advanced tools. Third-party file managers such as Total Commander, FX File ExplorerMIXplorer, provide dual-panel mode, which is extremely convenient for dragging files.
In two-panel mode, the screen is split in half: on the left, the phone's memory, on the right, the flash drive. You just pick up the music on the left and drag it to the right, and this eliminates navigation errors and allows you to visually control the process. APK-File, as in the Play Market their choice is limited.
Why should you try Total Commander?
Another method is to use a computer as an intermediary: connect your phone to your PC in file transfer mode (MTP). Open two "My Computer" windows: one with your phone, one with a flash drive (if it's inserted into your PC via an adapter or card reader). Pump music through a PC. This method is often more stable when working with gigabytes of data.
For advanced users, the method is available through ADB (Android Debug Bridge. This requires a computer connection and the use of the command line. the adb push command allows you to directly send files from the PC to the mounted one. USB-It's a storage device, bypassing the phone interface, but for normal music downloads, it's too complicated.
Decision and verification of the result
When you've finished copying, make sure you check the result. Don't just look at the size of the space you're occupied, try playing the tracks. Connect your headphones or Bluetooth speakers and run a few songs from your flash drive through any audio player. The file manager can also open media files.
If the phone says "File is corrupt" or "Format is not supported," the problem may be in bitrate or format. Older car radios often don't read files above 192 kbps or VBR format.
- 🎵 Make sure that track and folder names do not contain special characters that may not be readable in the car.
- 📂 Create a logical folder structure (Genre) → Artist → Album) to make navigation easy.
- 🔄 If the flash drive has ceased to be defined, try to reformat it into FAT32 cluster size 32 KB.
A common problem is that the phone sees the flash drive but doesn't let you write files. It's almost always a matter of access rights or the NTFS file system. The solution is one: formatting in exFAT or FAT32. Remember, FAT32 doesn't support files larger than 4GB, but it's not relevant for music.
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The main key to success is the correct file system (FAT32/exFAT) and the use of the File Transfer mode when connecting.
If you plan to use a flash drive often, consider buying a dual-connector drive (USB and Type-C).This will eliminate the need to carry adapters and make the music download process instant in any situation.