How to pull photos from the cloud Xiaomi: 5 proven ways

Xiaomi Cloud (or Mi Cloud) cloud storage automatically saves your photos, freeing up space on your smartphone. But what if you want to transfer your photos to another phone, computer, or just create a local copy? In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to upload photos from the Xiaomi cloud, from standard methods to little-known life hacks for users with limited traffic or slow Internet.

It is important to understand that the process depends on several factors: whether you use Mi Account with Chinese or global firmware, whether sync is enabled in the Gallery, and which files to download (single photos or the entire library, POCO Mi-series, and also tell how to avoid typical errors like “not enough space” or “files are not displayed".

If you haven’t used Xiaomi cloud before, check if sync is enabled before you start: go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Gallery. Without this step, photos simply won’t be uploaded to the cloud, and there will be nothing to download.

1. Download photos through the official Mi Cloud app

The most reliable way to do this is to use the Mi Cloud app, which is pre-installed on all Xiaomi smartphones, which is suitable for selectively uploading individual images or entire albums.

To download the photo:

• 📱 Open the Mi Cloud app (cloud icon on white background).
• 🔑 Sign in with the same Mi Account that was used for syncing.
• 🖼️ Go to the Gallery section (or Photos in English version).
• 📁 Select the photos or albums you want, click Download (down arrow icon).

Please note: if there are many photos, the application may offer to download them in the form of ZIP-In this case, after downloading the archive will need to unpack manually (for example, through Files or WinRAR on the PC).

⚠️ Note: When downloading via mobile Internet (not Wi-Fi), the operator can block large files or limit speed. If photos are not loaded, try connecting to another network.

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If the Mi Cloud app doesn't show photos, check if the sync in your account settings is disabled, sometimes restarting the app or reconnecting your account helps.

2. uploading via the web version of Mi Cloud on your computer

If you want to download photos on a PC or laptop, it is more convenient to use the web version of Mi Cloud. This method is also suitable if the phone has little space to download the archive.

Instructions:

1. Open your browser on your computer and go to i.mi.com.
2. Sign in to your Mi Account (the same login and password as on your phone).
3. On the left menu, select the Gallery.
4. Tick the necessary photos or click Select all for downloading the entire album.
5. Click Download (cloud icon with a down arrow).

The photos will be downloaded in ZIP-If there are more than 500 files, the service will break them down into multiple archives of 2 GB each, and you can unpack them using standard Windows tools (right click). → Extract everything) or through 7-Zip.

⚠️ Note: If you see a 403 Forbidden error when downloading through your browser, try clearing your browser cache or using incognito mode. Sometimes the problem is solved by changing your browser (for example, from Chrome to Firefox).

3. Automatic sync with Google Photos

If you use Google services, you can set up automatic photo transfer from Mi Cloud to Google Photos, which is convenient for backing up or transferring images to Android devices of other brands.

How to do this:

• 📲 Install Google Photos from Play Market.
• 🔄 In Mi Cloud settings, enable Autoboot in Google Photos (not available on all firmware).
• 🔗 If you don’t have an automatic option, download photos via the web (Section 2) and upload them manually to Google Photos.

Importantly, when you do this, the metadata (date of shooting, geotags) can get lost. To avoid this, download the original files without compression.

4. Backup of the entire gallery

If you want to save all photos from the Xiaomi cloud without selective downloading, use the backup feature, which is suitable for creating a full copy of the library before you reset your phone or sell it.

Steps:

1. On the phone, open Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Backup.
2. Select Gallery and click Create Backup.
3. Wait for the process to be completed (it can take anywhere from a few minutes to hours depending on the amount of data).
4. Download your backup to your computer via i.mi.com in the Backups section.

The main advantage of this method is the preservation of the structure of folders and metadata, the disadvantage is the large size of the archive and long download time.

Connect your phone to Wi-Fi|Charge the battery at least 50%|Free up space on your phone (minimum 1GB)|Turn it off. VPN (can block synchronization)-->

5. Alternative methods: through file manager and ADB

If standard methods don’t work (for example, due to account lock or sync errors), you can try workarounds, one of which is accessing cloud files through a cloud-enabled file manager.

Instructions for MiXplorer or Solid Explorer:

• 📁 Install a file manager (e.g. MiXplorer) from the Play Market.
• 🔗 In the manager menu, select Add Cloud Storage → Mi Cloud.
• 🔑 Sign in with your Mi Account account.
• 📥 Go to the Gallery folder and copy the files to local storage.

For advanced users, there is a way through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), but it requires unlocking the bootloader and developer rights. This method is relevant if the cloud is locked and cached copies of photos are left on the phone.

adb pull /sdcard/MIUI/Gallery/Cloud/ C:\Xiaomi_Photos\

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB This can cause data loss if you don't specify the path correctly.Be sure that the phone is debugging on before you execute the commands. USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to unlock the developer menu).

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Mi Cloud-enabled file managers are the most versatile way to get the web version and the application down, but require third-party software installation.

6. Solving typical downloading problems

When uploading photos from Mi Cloud, users often encounter errors, and let's look at the most common ones and how to fix them.

Problem 1: Photos are not displayed in the cloud.

• 🔍 Check if synchronization is included in Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → gallery.
• 🔄 Restart your phone and wait until sync is complete (may take up to 24 hours).
• 📶 Make sure your phone is connected to Wi-Fi (mobile internet can block large files from downloading).

Problem 2: The archive is damaged.

• 🖥️ Try downloading the archive to your computer, not your phone.
• 🔄 If ZIP-File not open, request re-archival in Mi Cloud.
• 🛠️ Use archive recovery software, such as WinRAR with the Recovery option.

Problem 3: There is not enough space on the device.

• 🗑️ Free up space by removing unnecessary files or apps.
• 💾 Download photos in parts (100-200 pieces at a time).
• 🖥️ Use your computer to download if your phone doesn’t have enough memory.

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If Mi Cloud is constantly giving out a server unavailable error, try changing the DNS on your phone or computer, for example, use Google DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1).

FAQ: Frequent questions about downloading photos from Mi Cloud