Have you just downloaded a new album by a favorite artist or recorded your own tracks, but don’t know how to transfer them to a Xiaomi smartphone? The problem is familiar to many: standard players often ignore user files, and the MIUI interface is not always intuitive. In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to install music on Xiaomi devices, from basic to advanced, including bypassing typical errors.
It’s important to understand that the process depends on several factors: the version of MIUI (since MIUI 9, the media scanning algorithm has changed), the smartphone models (for example, the Redmi Note 12 and POCO X5 have different pre-installed players), and even the audio file format. We tested all methods on current firmware in 2026, so the instructions will work even on new devices like Xiaomi 14 Ultra.
If you've tried to download music over Bluetooth or Mi Drop before, but the files are not visible in the player, don't be quick to blame the technique. 90% of the time, the problem lies in the wrong folder structure or the disabled media scan. Next, you will learn how to fix it in 2 minutes.
1. Standard method: through the built-in Mi Music player
The most obvious, but often ignored, method is to use a pre-installed Mi Music app (also called Music or Mi Music) that automatically scans internal memory and memory. SD-card for audio files, but sometimes requires manual adjustment.
To add music through Mi Music:
- 📁 Move the audio files (formats.mp3,.flac,.wav) to the Music folder on the internal drive or SD-If you don't have a folder, create it manually.
- 🔄 Open the Mi Music app and pull the screen down to update the library. Alternatively, go to Settings. → Scan Media Files and Click Scan Now.
- 🎵 If the tracks don't show up, check if they're hidden. MIUI files with a dot at the beginning of the name (for example,.my_song.mp3) are considered systemic and ignored.
Critical detail: in MIUI 14+, media scanning is disabled by default to save battery. To turn it on, go to Settings → Applications → App Management → Music → Permissions and activate the Storage option.
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If the tracks are displayed without covers after scanning, download the Star Music Tag Editor app from Google Play – it will automatically pull up metadata from the Internet.
2.Using Google Play Music (for older models)
Until 2020, Google Play Music was one of the most convenient ways to sync audio files between devices. Although the service is officially closed, its functionality is partially integrated into YouTube Music. If you have a Xiaomi model before 2021 (for example, the Mi 9 or Redmi Note 8 Pro), you can use an alternative method:
How to download music through YouTube Music:
- Install YouTube Music from Google Play.
- Sign in under your Google account.
- Click on the profile icon → Settings → Downloads.
- Enable the Wi-Fi Only option (recommended) and select the download quality.
- Find a track or album in search and click Download (the arrow icon down).
⚠️ Note: Tracks uploaded via YouTube Music are only available in this app and are not displayed in other players. DRM, They cannot be copied to another medium.
3.Mobile Music Transfers through File Manager
If you prefer full control of files, use the built-in Files by Google or Mi File Explorer, a method that works on all Xiaomi models, including POCO and Black Shark.
Step-by-step:
- 📂 Connect your smartphone to your PC through USB-cable (file transfer mode).
- 🖥️ The computer will open a folder of internal memory. Go to Internal Storage. → Music (or create it).
- 📤 Copy audio files into this folder. For ease of sorting, create subfolders by artist or album.
- 🔄 Turn off the device and open any player (for example, VLC You can manually upgrade the library.
If the music is not displayed:
- 🔍 Make sure that files do not have an upper case extension (e.g,.MP3 instead.mp3).
- 📛 Check if the files are hidden. MIUI This can be done in the File Manager. → Settings → Show hidden files.
☑️ Checking before copying music
4. Download music through SD-map
For owners of Xiaomi with support for microSD (for example, Redmi) 10C or POCO M5) A memory card is the best solution for storing a large music collection: MIUI By default, only internal memory is scanned.
How to set up a scan SD-map:
- Insert the memory card into the slot (if hybrid-slot is used, remove the second one). SIM-map).
- Format the card as internal memory (highly recommended for MIUI): Go to Settings. → Warehouse → SD-map → Set up → Internal memory.
- Copy the music to the SDCard/Music folder.
- In the player (Mi Music or third-party), update the library.
⚠️ Attention: Formatting the card as internal memory binds it to the device, and once it is extracted, the data will not be available on other gadgets, and it can slow down the card's performance on the device. 10-15% encryption.
| Map format | Pluses | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Internal memory. | Automatic media scanning, high reading speed | Device binding, risk of data loss during reset |
| Portable | Compatible with other devices, no encryption | Manual media scanning, possible lags when reading |
| Adoptable Storage (Android 6+) | Combining with internal memory, optimizing performance | Difficulty transferring to another device requires resetting |
5. Alternative methods: cloud services and FTP
If you don't have physical access to your smartphone (like you're in another country), you can download music remotely. Let's look at two reliable ways to do this.
Method 1: Through Google Drive
- 📱 Download audio files to Google Drive from PC.
- 📲 On your smartphone, open the Google Drive app, find files and click Download.
- 🎶 After downloading, move files to the Music folder through the file manager.
Method 2: FTP via Solid Explorer
- 🔌 Install Solid Explorer from Google Play.
- 🌐 Turn it on. FTP-server: ☰ → FTP-server → Start.
- 🖥️ On PC, connect to the address. ftp://[IP-address]:2221 (Logins and passwords will be displayed in Solid Explorer).
- 📤 Drag the files into the folder /storage/emulated/0/Music.
Why is the music not played after downloading?
Typical problem solving
Even after downloading music correctly, Xiaomi users are faced with common mistakes, and here are the most common ways to fix them:
Problem 1: The music is in the folder, but it doesn’t appear in the player.
- 🔄 Reboot the device – it will reset the cache of the media scanner.
- 📌 Install a third-party player (Poweramp or PowerPoweramp) VLC) And do the scan manually.
- 🗑️ Clear the cache of the Mi Music app in Settings → Annexes → Application management → Music. → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
Problem 2: Music is played with distortions or interrupted.
- 🎧 Check the bitrate of files. For Xiaomi, the optimal bitrate is 192-320 kbit / s. >500 kbps can slow down.
- 🔊 Turn off sound effects in Settings → Sound. → The effects of Mi sound.
- 📵 If the problem is on Bluetooth headphones, reset their settings and connect again.
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If the music disappears after the MIUI update, check the.nomedia folder at the root of the storage. It blocks the scanning of media files. Delete the folder and restart the device.