Budget smartphone owners often face a lack of built-in storage, and the Xiaomi Redmi 7A is no exception. Despite the availability of options with 32 GB of memory, the system and preinstalled services take up a significant part of the space, leaving the user with a minimum for personal needs, in this situation, the only way out is to use an external drive to expand the functionality of the device.
The current Android operating system provides mechanisms for working with external drives, but manufacturers often hide or restrict full access to them. Standard procedure allows you to store only media files, but not the programs themselves. To circumvent this restriction on Redmi 7A, you need to perform a number of specific settings that will turn a regular flash drive into a full continuation of the system partition.
It is important to understand that the process requires care, as wrong actions can lead to data loss. In this article, we will look at all the available methods, including the use of hidden system functions and third-party software.
Preparation of memory card and smartphone for work
Before you start changing system settings, you need to make sure that the equipment used is serviceable and compatible. Xiaomi Redmi 7A supports microSD cards up to 256 GB, but for stable application operation, it is recommended to choose high-speed drives. Slow cards can cause "hangs" of the interface and long loading programs.
The first step is to physically install the media into the device slot, and then the system will suggest formatting the drive. Attention: formatting will completely delete all data, so pre-save important files on your computer or in the cloud. Standard formatting creates a FAT32 partition that is suitable for storing photos and music, but not for installing software.
💡
Use Class 10 or UHS-I cards to ensure that applications are running at a minimum.
To do this, you'll need to turn on the developer mode, which is a hidden menu that allows you to access debugging over USB and other system functions, and without activating this mode, many commands won't be available to run.
- 📱 Go to the Settings menu → The phone.
- 🔨 Find the item Version. MIUI And press it quickly. 7-10 successively.
- ✅ You will receive a notification saying, “You are a developer".
Once the developer mode is activated, you need to enable USB debugging, which allows the computer to interact with the phone at the deep system level, which is necessary for forced transfer of applications, without this step, the computer will not be able to send commands to change the structure of memory partitions.
Activation of the developer mode and debugging
Access to advanced settings opens up possibilities that are hidden from the average user, and the developer menu contains options that affect the processor, interface animations, and, most importantly, behavior. USB-Incorrect setting of these parameters can lead to unstable operation of the device.
Why do you need USB debugging?
To activate the option, go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Developer. Find the “USB Debugging” item on the list and put the switch into active position. The system will issue a warning about potential risks - confirm the action, as you are aware of the consequences.
Also on this menu, check the USB configuration settings. By default, the phone can only work in charging mode. You need to change the setting "Default USB Configuration" to "File Transfer (MTP)" or "PTP" to ensure that the computer correctly determines the device when executing commands via ADB.
Using ADB for Forced Transfer
The most reliable way to make the system count SD-Internal memory card – use of tools ADB (Android Debug Bridge. It's a console utility that lets you control your device from a computer. You'll need a PC to work, USB-cable and installed drivers for Xiaomi.
After connecting your smartphone to your computer and confirming debugging on your phone screen, open the command line in the folder with ADB. First of all, check the connection by entering the adb device command. If a device with a serial number appears in the list, then the connection is established correctly.
adb shell pm set-install-location 2This command tells Android that by default all new applications should be installed on an external drive. However, this does not carry out already installed programs. This will require more complex manipulations or use third-party software. The value of "2" indicates external memory, "0" returns default settings, and "1" forcibly puts everything in internal memory.
☑️ Pre-launch checks ADB
It's worth noting that the set-install-location command doesn't work for all applications, and some software developers don't allow external media installations at the application manifest code level, so even the system command won't help, and the program will remain in internal storage.
Formatting a map as an internal memory
There is a method to fully integrate the internal memory and SD-In some versions of the shell. MIUI This is a hidden feature, but it can be activated through a computer, a process called "Adoptable Storage," and it encrypts the card and becomes an integral part of the system.
To do this, you'll need to run a command through the ADB shell. First, you need to know your memory card ID. Enter adb shell sm list-disks. The system will give you a disk ID, for example, disk:179.64. This ID is unique for each connected drive.
| Team team. | Description of action | Risk of data loss |
|---|---|---|
| sm list-disks | Shows ID of connected disks | No. |
| sm partition disk:ID private | Formatting a card into internal memory | High (100%) |
| sm set-force-adoptable true | Forcedly includes support | No. |
⚠️ Note: After executing the command sm partition, the card will be formatted in a file system that is not readable on a computer without special software.
Once the command is successfully executed, the system will suggest migrating data, which can take a long time depending on the amount of information, and you will have a single space where applications and their data will be distributed automatically.
Manual transfer of installed applications
If you don't want to format the card as internal memory, you can try migrating existing applications through the standard settings menu. However, in Redmi 7A, this feature is often blocked for system applications and many popular services. The availability of the "Move" button depends on the will of the application developer.
Go to Settings. → Annexes → All applications. Select the program you want from the list. If the developer has authorized the transfer, you'll see the active "Move to the port" button. SD-If the button is grey or missing, the application is rigidly tied to the system partition.
💡
Not all apps can be ported with standard means due to Android security limitations and developer requirements.
For those programs that support portability, the process will take anywhere from seconds to a minute, and when you move the app, you'll have a shortcut, and the program will take up space on the flash drive, and you'll have precious space in the internal partition for the cache and important system files.
- 📂 Go to Application Management.
- 🔍 Choose a program that takes up a lot of space.
- 💾 Press the movement button (if active).
Note that after the transfer, the speed of the application can decrease if the speed of reading your microSD card is lower than the speed of internal memory of the phone. Internal memory in Xiaomi Redmi 7A runs faster than most budget memory cards.
Possible problems and ways to solve them
Users often experience errors during memory modifications, the most common being the system's refusal to accept the formatting command, which may be because the Android version or MIUI shell has a lock on changing partition structure without root rights.
Another problem is that the phone is cyclically rebooted after formatting the card as internal memory, which happens if the memory card is faulty or has too low a write speed, the system tries to read the application data, does not have time and reboots, in which case you need to remove the card and boot without it.
⚠️ Warning: If the phone stops turning on after formatting the card, remove the microSD and try to start the device. If the system boots, the problem is precisely incompatibility or damage to the card.
Users also complain that after the system update, the settings are reset and the phone sees the card again as external storage, in which case the procedure for activating internal memory or ADB commands will have to be repeated again.