How to download applications to the memory card Xiaomi: all the ways and nuances

Why Xiaomi is limiting the portability of applications SD-map and what to do about it

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the problem of lack of internal memory, especially on budget models with 32 or 64 GB of storage. The logical solution is to transfer applications to a microSD memory card, but here users are waiting for an unpleasant surprise: since MIUI 9, the company has significantly limited this function. Unlike older versions of Android, where you can freely move programs to an external medium, modern Xiaomi firmware blocks this ability for most applications.

The reason is because Google's security policy and its performance optimization policy are, you know, SD-cards (even class) A1/A2) They are much slower than the internal memory. eMMC/UFS. This leads to delays in launching applications, increased response times, and potential crashes, but there are workarounds, from partial data porting to full formatting of the card as an internal drive. In this article, we will analyze all working methods, their pros and cons, and also tell you which Xiaomi models still support the classic application transfer.

What Xiaomi models still allow you to transfer applications to the SD-map

If you own a Xiaomi smartphone based on MIUI 8 or older (released before 2017), you are lucky: these devices still retain the original Android app portability feature.

• 📱 Xiaomi Mi 5/5s/5s Plus (2016 year)
• 📱 Redmi Note 3/4 (Snapdragon processor)
• 📱 Redmi 3/3S/3X
• 📱 Mi Max/Mi Max 2

Since MIUI 9 (2017), the feature has been stripped down and almost completely removed in MIUI 10+, but even on new devices, there are loopholes:

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI 12.5+ Android 11+ even formatting SD-The system automatically blocks the movement of programs that do not support external memory (for example, messengers or games with protection).

Method 1: Formatting SD-The card is an internal memory (adoptable storage)

This is the most radical, but also the most efficient way, and the bottom line is that the memory card is fully integrated into the system as part of the internal drive, and the downside is that once formatted, the card cannot be used in other devices without losing data.

Instructions:

1. Put it in. SD-Card to smartphone (class recommended) A1 or A2 32GB).
2. Go to Settings → Memory → Memory Map.
3. Click Format as internal (or Configure in newer versions of MIUI).
4. Confirm the action and wait until the process is completed (it can take up to 10 minutes).
5. After formatting, restart the device.

Now, when you install new applications, the system will ask you to choose a storage location, so you can transfer the programs that are already installed:

• 🔧 Open the Settings. → Annexes.
• 🔧 Select the desired application → Warehouse → Change.
• 🔧 Indicate. SD-card.

⚠️ Warning: Once formatted, the card will be encrypted and tied to your device, and if you take it out and paste it into another smartphone or computer, the data will be unavailable without resetting. Some apps (such as WhatsApp, banking clients) will also refuse to work with external memory for security reasons.

Method 2: Transfer cache and parts of application data

If you don't want a full map formatting, you can transfer at least some apps' cache and user data, which won't free up much space, but it will save you a few gigabytes.

How to do this:

1. Open the Settings → Applications.
2. Select an application that supports portability (usually a game or a program with a large amount of data).
3. Click Warehouse → Clear the cache (if you have an option).
4. If the option is available, move to SD-map, use it.

List of applications that often allow you to transfer data:

• 🎮 Games: PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, Genshin Impact.
• 📷 Editors: Snapseed, Lightroom Mobile.
• 🎵 Music Players: Poweramp, AIMP.

For other programs, you can manually specify the way to save files to the SD-For example, on WhatsApp, it's done this way:

WhatsApp settings → Storage and data → Media saving → Device memory → Select SD- card

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Before transferring the game cache (PUBG, Genshin Impact), make sure that the memory card has a high write speed (class A2 or UHS-I).

Method 3: Use ADB for forced transfer (for advanced users)

If your device does not support the transfer of applications through the interface, you can use the ADB-This method requires connecting the smartphone to the computer and basic command line knowledge.

Step-by-step:

1. Turn on Developer Mode on Smartphone: Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times)
2. Activate USB Debugging in Settings → Additional → For developers.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and install ADB drivers (you can download from the XDA Developers website).
4. Open the command prompt (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) and type: adb devices Make sure your device appears in the list.
5. Enter the command to port the application (replace package.name with a real package): adb shell pm set-install-location 2 This command forces the system to install new applications on the application. SD-default-card.
6. To transfer the already installed application, use: adb shell pm move-package package.name

List of popular application packages:

• 📱 Facebook: com.facebook.katana
• 📷 Instagram: com.instagram.android
• 🎵 Spotify: com.spotify.music
• 🎮 PUBG Mobile: com.tencent.ig

⚠️ Note: Not all applications support forced transfer via ADB. Some programs (such as Google Play Services or system utilities) may stop working after moving. MIUI settings may reset.

Method 4: Transfer applications through third-party file managers

Some file managers, such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer allows you to manually move application files (.apk and.obb) to the SD-This method doesn't always work, but it can help with games or programs that store data in a folder. Android/obb.

Instructions:

1. Install Solid Explorer from Google Play.
2. Give the manager Root rights (if the phone is rooted) or access to system folders.
3. Go to /data/app (for custom apps) or /sdcard/Android/obb (for additional game data).
4. Copy the required files to SD-map (e.g. in the /storage/XXXX-XXXX/Android/obb).
5. Delete the original files (if required) and restart the application.

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ No need to format the map.
• ✅ It works without. ADB computer.
• ✅ Allows you to transfer large game files (.obb).

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Requires Root Rights for Full Access.
• ❌ Not all applications will work after the transfer.
• ❌ Risk of data corruption in case of incorrect copying.

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Third-party file managers are the only way to migrate.obb files (like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile) without losing progress.

Frequent problems and their solutions

When transferring applications to SD-Xiaomi users often encounter errors. Let's consider the most common and ways to fix them.

If the app stopped updating through Google Play after the transfer, try:

1. Transfer it back to your internal memory.
2. Update through the store.
3. Move it back to SD-map.

For games with large files (Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail) it is recommended to:

• 🔹 Use a memory card UHS-I or A2.
• 🔹 Only transfer.obb files, leaving.apk in internal memory.
• 🔹 Turn off automatic game updates on Google Play.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions