Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones often face the unpleasant situation when internal storage is overflowing and the system starts to work slower. Lack of memory is one of the most common problems that prevents installing updates or new games. Fortunately, most models support the installation of microSD cards, which allows you to expand the available space.
But just inserting the drive is not enough. To use external storage efficiently, you need to configure the system correctly so that it correctly transfers data and application cache. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the nuances of working with external memory on the shell of MIUI and HyperOS.
Preparation of memory card and smartphone for work
Before you start transferring data, you need to make sure that the drive used is compatible and serviceable. Xiaomi smartphones usually support cards up to 1 TB or more, but for stable operation it is better to choose models with a speed class at least 10 Class or UHS-I. Slow cards can cause applications whose data is stored on them to freeze.
The preparation process begins with a physical installation SIM-In some models, the memory card is installed instead of the second one. SIM-So, be careful when you remove the tray, and once you install it, the system should automatically detect the new drive and suggest that you set it up.
If you don't get an automatic suggestion, you'll need to format manually through the settings, which is a critical step, because without the right file system, the phone won't be able to write application data to it.
⚠️ Note: The formatting process completely removes all data from the memory card. be sure to back up photos and documents on your computer before starting the procedure.
To check the speed of the new drive, you can use special utilities from Google Play. If the map shows low recording results, it is better to replace it, otherwise you will encounter long downloads when you start heavy games.
Formatting a memory card as an internal storage
Modern versions of Android, including the shells from Xiaomi, allow the memory card to be used as an extension of internal memory, often called Adoptable Storage. Unlike Portable Storage, which is used only for media files, this method allows the system to transfer the applications to the same place.
To activate this feature, go to Settings → About Phone → Storage. Find your card in the list and click on it. In the menu that opens, select Format. The system will offer two use cases: Use as portable storage and Use as internal storage.
If you choose the second option, you turn the card into a system partition, and then all new applications will be installed by default there, if their architecture allows, but it is worth remembering that the card will be encrypted and will not be read on other devices without re-formatting.
☑️ Pre-formatting verification
The process can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes depending on the volume and speed of the card.Do not interrupt the power of the phone at this time, otherwise there is a risk of damaging the file table.
Instructions for the portability of installed applications
Once formatted successfully, you can move your existing programs. Unfortunately, there is no Move All button in MIUI, so each application requires a customized approach. Go to Settings → Apps → All applications.
Find a program you want, like a navigator or a game, and click on it to open the control page. If the application supports portability, you'll see an active "Move to the control page" button. SD-map or "Change" in the "Storage" section".
- 📱 Click on the name of the application in the list.
- 💾 Select "Memory" or "Storage".
- 🔄 Click the "Change" button and select SD-map.
- ✅ Confirm the action and wait for the process to end.
It is worth noting that not all programs can be ported completely, and some system components and critical services must remain in internal memory to ensure the stability of the operating system.
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Move primarily heavy games and applications with a large amount of cache, such as cards or instant messengers, to maximize the load on the system partition.
If the movement button is missing or inactive, the app developer has banned installation on external drives, in which case only cleaning the cache or deleting the program will help.
Configure saving photos, videos and downloads
Freeing up space for apps often requires moving media content. The camera on Xiaomi smartphones can default to storing images in internal memory, but this is easy to fix. Open the Camera app, click on three bars in the corner, and select settings.
In the settings menu, find the switch "Save to" SD-From now on, all new photos and videos will be automatically sent to an external drive, which will save you a lot of space to install new games.
A similar procedure is worth doing for the browser: If you often download files from the Internet, change the download path in the settings of the Chrome browser or Mi Browser, which will allow you to save large files immediately to the map, bypassing internal storage.
| Type of data | Where to change | Recommended map size |
|---|---|---|
| Photos | Camera settings | 32-64GB |
| Video 4K | Camera settings | 128GB and higher |
| Music. | Player settings | Anybody. |
| Documents | Conductor/Files | Anybody. |
Remember to check the DCIM and Download folder on your memory card periodically to make sure that the files are actually written there.
Working with multimedia in social media applications
Messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber are the main memory eaters, storing thousands of photos and videos that take up gigabytes over time, and fortunately most of them have a way to save media files.
In WhatsApp, this feature is located in the Settings section. → Data and storage → The way of preservation. SD-After that, all new images from the chats will be kept separate from the system files. → The way to preserve.
⚠️ Note: When transferring save paths in messengers, old files may remain in the same folder. You will have to manually move them through the file manager or clear the application cache.
It is also useful to set up automatic cache cleaning in the applications themselves. For example, in Telegram you can set autodelete downloaded files after 3 days, 1 week or 1 month, which eliminates the need for manual control.
Why do messengers take up so much space?
Possible problems and methods of solving them
Despite the simplicity of the procedure, users may encounter errors, and it is common for applications to stop running or not to work smoothly after transfer, which may be due to slow card reading speed or damage.
If the system writes"SD-card is "damaged" or constantly suggests formatting the drive, try to retrieve and paste it again.Perhaps contacts have oxidized or the card was retrieved without first safely retrieving.
- 🔍 Check the card for errors through the computer.
- 🔄 Try formatting the card back to the exFAT file system.
- 📲 Update your smartphone to the latest version.
- 🚫 Avoid using cards purchased from dubious sites.
In some cases, the problem lies in the phone slot itself. If the card is not detected in any mode, you may need to clean the tray contacts or repair the connector.
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The stability of the ported applications depends on the quality and speed of the memory card, and cheap drives often cause failures.