Installing games on a flash drive for Xiaomi Redmi: a complete guide with nuances

Installing games on an external flash drive for Xiaomi Redmi is a topical solution for users who face a lack of internal memory. Modern mobile games take up gigabytes of space, and budget smartphones often come with only 32-64 GB of internal memory. External drive allows you not only to expand the storage capacity, but also to transfer part of the load from the main memory of the device.

But just copy it. APK-The file on the flash drive is not enough. It requires the right setup to work properly. OTG-Connection, Selecting the Best File System (FAT32, exFAT or NTFS) and taking into account the features of architecture MIUI. In this article, we will analyze all the stages - from the choice of a flash drive to the optimization of the performance of games after installation.

What flash drive to choose for games on Xiaomi Redmi

Not every flash drive is suitable for installing games, the basic selection criteria are:

• 🔹 Volume: minimum 64 GB (for) 1-2 Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile 128 GB).
• 🔹 Speed: class UHS-I U3 or A2 (Provides read/write speeds of 100 MB/s).
• 🔹 Interface: USB-C (For the modern Redmi Note 12/13) Micro-USB with adapter (for older models).
• 🔹 File system: exFAT (optimum for files) >4 GB) or NTFS (If you need support for major updates).

The SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Luxe (USB-C, 128GB) and Samsung Fit Plus (USB-A, 256GB) flash drives were used for testing. Both showed stable performance with games on the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ and POCO X5 Pro. Avoid cheap no-name drives - they often cause freezes when levels load.

⚠️ Attention: Flash drives with interface USB 2.0 (up to 40MB/s) is not suitable for modern games. When loading textures, friezes and long loads will be observed.

Preparation of the flash drive: formatting and file system

Before using the flash drive, you need to format. By default, many drives come in FAT32, which does not support files larger than 4 GB. For games, this is critical - for example, PUBG Mobile weighs ~1.8 GB, but its updates can exceed 4 GB.

Formatting instructions:

1. Connect the flash drive to the PC through the adapter.
2. Open Disk Management (Win + R → diskmgmt.msc).
3. Find your drive, right-click → Format.
4. Select the file system: exFAT - for MIUI compatibility and >4 GB files. NTFS - if you need >16 TB file support (relevant for emulators).

Xiaomi_Games

OK

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After formatting, check the speed of the flash drive using CrystalDiskMark. If the write speed is below 20 MB / s, the drive is not suitable for gaming.

Important: Don’t use FAT32 for games, as this will cause bugs when installing updates, and avoid quick formatting, as it doesn’t check the drive for the bad sector.

Set up OTG and permissions on Xiaomi Redmi

By default, MIUI blocks the installation of applications from external media, to unlock this feature:

1. Connect the flash drive to the smartphone through OTG-adapter.
2. In the notification that appears, click Allow Access.
3. Go to Settings → Applications → Special Rights → Install Unknown Applications.
4. Select File Manager (or MiXplorer if you use it) and enable permission.

2. Transfer of the established game

If the game is already in the internal memory:

1. Put the flash drive on.
2. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
3. Select the game → Warehouse → Change → Specify the flash drive.
4. Confirm the transfer (may take up to 10 minutes).

3. Use Link2SD (requires root)

For advanced users who are ready to get root rights:

1. Install Link2SD from Google Play.
2. In the application settings, select the flash drive as the second partition.
3. Move the game through the Link to SD card menu.

On Redmi models with MIUI 13+, a Link2SD transfer can cause a “Not enough space” error, even if there is free space on the flash drive, so either roll back to MIUI 12.5 or use an alternative like App2SD.

Optimizing the performance of games with a flash drive

Games installed on an external drive may run slower due to reading speed limits.

• ⚡ Turn off background processes: go to Settings → Battery → Battery Optimization and Add Game to Exceptions.
• ⚡ Use the Game Turbo: in MIUI There is a built-in mode for games (Settings) → Special facilities → Game Turbo).
• ⚡ Customize the cache: in the engineering menu (#4636###) increase the size of Dalvik VM Heap to 128–256MB.
• ⚡ Update the drivers OTG: On some Redmi Note 10 helps the firmware of the kernel with support UAS (USB Attached SCSI).

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The most effective way to speed up texture loading is to use a UHS-II-enabled flash drive (like the Lexar Professional 1800x), which has seen Genshin Impact load times cut by 40 percent in tests with the Redmi K40.

For emulators (PPSSPP, Dolphin) additionally configure:

[ppsspp]


TextureCache = Large




FastMemory = True

These settings in the configuration file (ppsspp.ini) will reduce the number of downloads from the flash drive.

Solving common problems

When installing games on a flash drive, users of Xiaomi Redmi often encounter typical errors:

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If the game after the transfer gives a license error (for example, in Google Play Games), delete the application data com.google.android.play.games in the settings.

To diagnose OTG problems, use the command:

adb shell dumpsys usagestats | grep "usb"

This will show the current status of the connection and possible errors (for example, the data, USB_DISCONNECTED or POWER_DELIVERY_FAILED).

Security: How to Avoid Viruses and Data Loss

Installing games from external sources always involves risks.

• 🛡️ Download. APK only from verified sources: APKMirror, APKPure or official developer sites.
• 🛡️ Check the hash of the file before installing it (for example, via VirusTotal).
• 🛡️ Do not store personal data (photos, documents) along with games on a flash drive - some modified ones APK They may contain spyware.
• 🛡️ Regularly scan the flash drive with an antivirus (for example, Malwarebytes for Android).

On MIUI, enable application verification:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Special Rights → Malware Check.
2. Activate the option to scan external devices.

Important: Some games (such as Clash of Clans) block accounts when modified APKs are detected. Use only original files from Google Play or AppGallery.

FAQ: Frequent questions about installing games on a flash drive