How to download photos from Xiaomi phone to your computer USB: 5 working methods

Transfer photos from Xiaomi to your computer via USB-cable seems like a simple task, but in practice, users face a lot of nuances: the phone is not defined, files are not displayed, the transfer speed leaves much to be desired. MIUI 14/15 and the latest versions of Windows, and also consider the typical errors and their solutions.

Features of smartphones Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO — in flexible connection settings USB, For example, new firmware may default to Charging mode instead of File Transfer, which blocks access to the device's memory. We will show you how to set up a connection, what drivers you may need for Windows, and what to do if your computer can’t see the phone despite all the manipulations.

Important: The instructions in this article are relevant to all modern Xiaomi models (including Xiaomi). 13/14, Redmi Note 12/13, POCO F5/X5) and Windows operating systems 10/11. MacOS and Linux will require additional steps, which we will briefly touch on.

1. Preparing Xiaomi phone for connection

Before you connect devices with a cable, you need to properly configure the smartphone, which will save most of the problems with determining the phone by the computer.

First thing you do is check the regimen. USB-By default, when you plug in the cable, you have a mode selection option in the notification curtain:

1. Connect the phone to the PC.
2. Swipe down from the top edge of the screen to open the notification bar.
3. Tap on the Charge notification via USB (or USB for file transfer).
4. Select File Transfer (MTP).

If you don't have File Transfer on the list, you've got Charging Only on the developer's settings to turn it off:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. 7 times tap the MIUI version to activate the developer mode.
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
4. Find the default USB configuration option and select File Transfer (MTP).

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If you often connect your phone to different computers, set the debugging parameter in the developer settings. USB Including – this will help to avoid problems with the definition of the device.

Also make sure that the phone allows access to files for connected devices:

• 🔒 Unlock the phone screen when connected - some versions MIUI Block access to memory if the device is blocked.
• 📁 Check if the folders are hidden in the Gallery. Open the Files app, go to Categories → Images and make sure the files are displayed.
• 🔄 If you have previously refused access to files for this computer, reset permissions: → Annexes → Permits → USB-device.

2. Connecting Xiaomi to a computer: step-by-step instructions

Now, let's get to the connection process itself, use the original cable from the phone or the certified cable. USB-C Data-enabled cable (not all charging cables are suitable for file transfer!).

Use the original Xiaomi cable

Unlock the phone screen

Select File Transfer (MTP) mode in the notification curtain

Check that drivers for Xiaomi are installed on the PC

Disable the antivirus (it can block access to the device)-->

Follow the instructions:

1. Connect the cable to the phone and USB-Use the port of the computer. USB 3.0 (usually blue) for maximum transmission speed.
2. On the phone in the notification curtain, select File Transfer (if the request does not appear, see Section 1).
3. On the computer, wait for the driver installation (in Windows, a notification about the device setting may appear).
4. Open This Computer (or My Computer) – a new drive with your phone’s name (e.g. Xiaomi Redmi Note 12) should appear there.
5. Double-click on the drive, then go to the Internal Storage folder. → DCIM → Camera (there are photos taken by the camera).

If the phone disc is not displayed:

• 🔌 Try another one. USB-port.
• 🖥️ Restart your computer and phone.
• 🔄 In Windows Device Manager, check if there is an exclamation point near Xiaomi or MTP-If you have one, update the driver manually.

USB-cable

Wi-Fi (Mi Drop, FTP)

Cloud services (Google Photos, Mi Cloud)

I can't take the photo to PC.-->

3. Solving phone definition problems

One of the most common problems is that the computer can't see Xiaomi despite the right setup, so let's look at the main reasons and solutions.

If none of these methods worked, try alternative connection protocols:

• 🔄 PTP (Camera – a mode that sometimes works more stable MTP. Select it in the notification curtain instead of File Transfer.
• 🖥️ ADB — requires the inclusion of debugging USB Android installations SDK, It allows you to manage files through the command line.
• 🌐 FTP-server – you can run on your phone through the Mi File Manager application (Remote access section).

4. Alternative ways to transfer photos without USB

If the cable connection doesn’t work or you need to transfer a photo without a wire, consider these methods:

1. Mi Drop (built-in solution from Xiaomi)

• 📱 Open the Files app on your phone → Mi Drop.
• 🖥️ On your computer, open your browser and go to drop.mi.com.
• 🔗 Scan it. QR-PC screen code with a phone camera.
• 📁 Select a photo and click Send.

Cons: speed depends on the Internet connection, and files are stored on Xiaomi servers for a limited time.

2 Google Photo or Mi Cloud

• 📱 Upload photos to Google Photos or Mi Cloud (Xiaomi account settings).
• 🖥️ On your computer, open photos.google.com or i.mi.com and download files.

Advantage: photos are automatically synced and can be downloaded at any time, disadvantage: originals can be compressed (in the free version of Google Photos).

3. FTP-server via Mi File Manager

• 📱 Open the files. →... → Remote access → FTP.
• 🔗 Start the server and write down the address (for example, ftp://192.168.1.10:2121).
• 🖥️ On PC, open Explorer, enter the address in the address bar and press Enter.

Plus: high speed transmission over the local network. Less: the phone and the computer must be on the same Wi-Fi network.

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To transfer a large number of photos (more than 1000) optimally use USB-cable FTP Over Wi-Fi. Cloud services are suitable for backup, but can compress originals and limit download speeds.

5. Optimization of file transfer speed

If photos are copied too slowly (e.g. 100 photos are transmitted for longer than 5 minutes), check these settings:

1. Port and cable

• 🔌 Use the port. USB 3.0 (blue) on your computer and supported cable USB 3.1 (usually marked with a logo) SS).
• 📏 The length of the cable should not exceed 1 meter - long cables reduce speed.

2. Phone settings

• 📵 Turn off Mobile data and Wi-Fi for transfer time – background synchronization inhibits copying.
• 🔋 Make sure your phone is not under 20% — MIUI Can limit performance at low charge.
• 🧹 Close all applications in multitasking (Recently) → Close it all down).

3. Computer settings

• 🛡️ Temporarily disable the antivirus (such as Avast or Kaspersky) as it can scan every file you transfer.
• 🖥️ In Task Manager, check if other software is loading your system (such as torrents or Windows updates).
• 🗃️ Copy files to a folder on a Local Disk (C:) rather than a network or external drive, which will speed up the process.

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For maximum transfer speed, turn off the optimisation option on your phone MIUI It limits the background processes, but sometimes it interferes with file transfers.

If the speed is still low (less than 5 MB/s), try:

1. Connect your phone to another computer to rule out a problem with your PC ports.
2. Use a card reader: Remove the microSD from your phone (if the photo is stored on it) and paste it directly into your computer.
3. Archive photos on your phone (for example, in the ZIP) and transfer a single file – this will reduce the number of I/O operations.

6. Security in the transmission of photos

Transferring photos from phone to computer is not only a technical process, but also a matter of privacy.

1. Checking files for viruses

• 🛡️ After transfer, scan the folder with the photo antivirus (for example, Windows Defender or Dr.Web CureIt).
• 📁 Do not open files directly from your phone’s drive – copy them to your computer first.

2. Protection of personal data

• 🔒 If there is personal information (documents, bank cards) in the photo, delete them from the phone after transfer or archive them with a password.
• 📱 In the Gallery settings, turn off the option to Show hidden folders if you store confidential photos.

3. Backup

• ☁️ Before you delete your photos from your phone, make sure they are saved in two places (e.g., on your PC and in the cloud).
• 💾 Use the Mi program. PC Suite to create a full backup of your phone.

Important: If you sell or transfer your phone to another person, it is not enough to simply delete the photo through the Gallery. → The phone. → Reset) and format the memory card separately.

7. Frequent errors and their solutions

Let’s look at the typical situations faced by Xiaomi users when transferring photos.

Error: "Device not recognized" (Code 43)

⚠️ Attention: This error often occurs due to driver conflict.Do not attempt to install drivers manually through Drive Update - this can aggravate the problem:

1. Turn the phone off the PC.
2. In Device Manager, remove all devices with Xiaomi names, MTP or ADB.
3. Restart the computer.
4. Connect the phone again and wait for the automatic driver installation.

Mistake: "Folder is empty" or "No access"

⚠️ Note: If you see the folders DCIM Or Pictures, but they're empty, the problem is not the connection, but the display settings. → If this does not help, the photos may be stored in another folder (for example, in a different folder, MIUI → Camera).

Error: "Not enough disk space"

This error occurs when you try to copy a photo to a C: disk, where there is little space.

• 📁 Select another disk to save (e.g. D: or E:).
• 🗑️ Clear the space on the C drive: using the Disk Cleanup utility (enter in Windows search).
• 💾 Use an external hard drive or flash drive for temporary storage.

Error: "The file is too big for the end file system"

This means that you are trying to copy the photo to a disk formatted in the FAT32 (Maximum file size: 4 GB. Solutions:

• 📁 Copy the photo to a disk with a file system NTFS exFAT.
• 📦 Break up large files (such as videos or videos) RAW-photo) in parts with the WinRAR archiver.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions