Where to save backup on Xiaomi: cloud, phone and hidden folders

You have made a backup on your Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO, But you can't find where it's been, or you want to make sure that the backup actually came out before you reset the phone to the factory settings? In this article, we will take a detailed look at all possible backup storage locations on Xiaomi devices – from standard Mi Cloud paths to hidden system folders, which most users do not even know about.

The manufacturer offers several ways to create backups: through the corporate cloud, locally on the device itself or even on a computer using Mi. PC Suite. Each method saves copies in different places, and these paths are not always intuitive. For example, did you know that some backups are stored in encrypted form and do not appear in the standard file manager? or that Xiaomi automatically creates mini copies of settings even without your knowledge?

Not only will we show you where to look for backups, but we'll also explain how to manage them properly: port, delete or restore them, and we'll focus on hidden backups of applications that take up gigabytes of memory but are not visible in the phone interface, and if you've ever experienced a shortage of space on your device for no apparent reason, this material will help you find and clean up unnecessary data.

1.Mi Cloud Cloud Storage: The Main Place for Backups

The most obvious and recommended way Xiaomi stores backups is the Mi Cloud, which is integrated into the firmware. MIUI And it automatically syncs data when the function is activated, and to check if your backups are saved to the cloud, follow these steps:

Open the Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud. Here you'll see a list of all the synchronized data: contacts, notes, photos and, importantly for us, backups of the system. Click on "Device Backup" to see the list of available backups. Each copy contains the date of creation, size and model of the device from which it was made.

• 📁 Way in the cloud: Backups are stored on Xiaomi servers and don't have a physical path available to the user.You can only download a copy back to the device via the Mi Cloud interface.
• 🔄 Automation: By default MIUI creates cloud backups every 24 hours when you connect to Wi-Fi and charge.
• 📦 Which includes: Contacts, messages, call log, system settings, data from some applications (e.g. Notes or Calendar.

⚠️ Attention: If you delete the backup from Mi Cloud, it will be impossible to restore it. Xiaomi does not provide a "basket" for cloud copies - deletion immediately clears data from servers.

One little-known fact is that Mi Cloud stores not only full backups, but incremental copies as well, which means that if you only changed a few contacts since the last backup, the system will only save those changes, not the entire list anew. This saves space in the cloud, but makes it difficult to manually manage copies.

2. Local backups on your phone: where to look for files

If you have backed up directly on your device (for example, through Settings) → The phone. → Backup, files are saved to the phone's internal memory:

/storage/emulated/0/MIUI/backup/AllBackup/

In this folder you will find subdirectories with names in the format backup_YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS, where YYYY-MM-DD — The date of the copy, each such directory contains:

• 📄 Backup.info file – metadata copies (device model, version) MIUI, record-list).
• 🗄️ App folder – application data (if included in the backup).
• ⚙️ System folder - system settings, wallpaper, notification sounds.
• 📞 Calllog folder - call log.

It is important to understand that local backups are not encrypted (unlike cloud backups), so they can be viewed and edited manually, but application files are often stored in binary format and are not subject to direct change. SMS It is saved in the sms.db file, which can only be opened with special tools.

⚠️ Note: If you connect your phone to your computer MTP (file transfer mode), folder MIUI/backup To see it, enable the display of hidden files in your file manager settings (for example, in Total Commander or in the file manager settings). ES Conductor).

The size of the local backup can differ significantly from the cloud. For example, a full copy of the system on the Xiaomi 13 Pro with 256 GB of memory can take up to 10-15 GB, while the cloud backup of the same device rarely exceeds 1-2 GB. This is due to the fact that the Mi Cloud excludes from synchronization multimedia files (photos, videos) and app cache.

Battery charge > 50%|Free seat > 2x backup|Background applications disabled|Phone connected to charging-->

3. Hidden system backups: what Xiaomi is copying without you knowing

MIUI It automatically creates mini copies of some data, even if you've never run a manual backup, and these backups are for quick recovery from crashes or updates, but they take up space and aren't always obvious to the user:

Most of these files are stored in a secure area. /data, It's not available without root rights, but some data is duplicated in open folders, like wallpaper settings and themes, and you can find it here:

/storage/emulated/0/.miui/theme/

Especially a lot of space is occupied by card caches (if you use Google Maps or Yandex.Maps) and temporary messenger files. For example, Telegram by default caches all media files in:

/storage/emulated/0/Telegram/Telegram Images/


/storage/emulated/0/Telegram/Telegram Video/

These folders are not backups in the literal sense, but they contain data that you can lose when you reset your phone, and they should be copied manually if you plan on a clean installation. MIUI.

4. Backup copies via Mi PC Suite: where you store it on your computer

Official software from Xiaomi to work with the phone through the computer - Mi PC Suite also allows you to create backups. These copies are saved to the hard drive of the PC, and their path depends on the version of the program and the operating system:

• 🪟 Windows: C:\Users\<Your username>\Documents\Xiaomi\MiPhone\Backup\ Or (in older versions): C:\Program Files (x86)\Xiaomi\MiPhone\Backup\
• 🐧 macOS: /Users/<Your username>/Documents/Xiaomi/MiPhone/Backup/

Backup files in Mi PC Suite has the.mbk extension (e.g, backup_20260515.mbk). You can't open them directly, you can restore them through the program itself, and one of the drawbacks of this method is that the backups are not incremental. Every time you create a full copy, which takes up a lot of disk space.

If you can’t find a backup folder, try:

1. Open Mi. PC Suite and go to the "Backup" section».
2. Press three points (⋮) Next to an existing copy and select “Show in folder».
3. If the item is missing, use the search on the disk with the request *.mbk.

⚠️ Note: Backups created through Mi PC Suite, not compatible with cloud copies of Mi Cloud. You can not restore.mbk file to your phone through the system settings - only through the same program on your PC.

Speed of backup creation through Mi PC Suite depends on the firmware version. MIUI 14 and later process can take 2-3 times longer than on the MIUI 12, because of changes in the storage structure. If the backup is 99 percent hanging, try it:

• 🔌 Disconnect and reconnect USB-cable.
• 🔄 Reset Mi. PC Suite.
• 📱 Reboot the phone.

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If Mi PC Suite doesn’t see your Xiaomi, try enabling Debugging by USB» In Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (Click 7 times on the version, then return to Settings → Additionally. → For developers).

5. Backups through TWRP: storage

Users who install custom firmware often use TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project, which is a backup tool that is stored on internal memory or microSD card and has a unique structure:

/TWRP/BACKUPS/<serial device number>/

Inside you will find folders with dates (for example, 2026-05-15--10-30-22_mi11), containing:

• 📱 boot.emmc.win - copy of boot section.
• 🗃️ data.ext4.win — User data (the largest file).
• ⚙️ system.ext4.win — system-part.
• 🔑 recovery.log – the backup creation log.

Features of backups TWRP:

• 🔧 Full System Scan: Saves all partitions, including boot, recovery and vendor, allowing you to restore the phone even after the bricking».
• 🔒 Encryption: If the phone is encrypted, the data backup will be encrypted.
• 📦 Size: Full copy of Xiaomi with 128 GB of memory can weigh 30-50 GB.

Important: backups TWRP not compatible with official Xiaomi recovery methods. you will not be able to restore such a backup through Settings → Recovery or Mi PC Suite, just through the box. TWRP.

⚠️ Note: If you delete the folder /TWRP/BACKUPS/ manually through the file manager and then try to create a new backup, TWRP Failed to make backup folder may be an error. TWRP Create a folder again through the terminal (mkdir) /TWRP/BACKUPS).

One of the little-known facts: TWRP can create backups for FAT32-Formatted microSD cards, but files larger than 4GB will be automatically broken down.This can cause problems when recovering if the card is damaged. NTFS.

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Bekap TWRP — The only way to save data before customization ROM. Xiaomi’s official methods do not work with non-standard firmware.

6.How to transfer backup from one Xiaomi to another

If you have changed your smartphone (for example, from Redmi Note 10 to Xiaomi 14) and want to transfer data from the backup, take into account a few nuances:

1. Cloud Copies: The easiest way. When you first turn on a new phone, select Restore from Backup and log in to the same Xiaomi account.

Important limitations:

• 🚫 Model incompatibility: Restore the backup with Redmi on POCO It may not work properly due to different versions. MIUI.
• 🔄 Firmware update: If the new model is running on a more recent version MIUI, Some of the settings may not be restored.

For transferring backups between devices, it is convenient to use ADB (For example, to copy a local copy from your phone to your computer, do:

adb pull /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/backup/AllBackup/ C:\Xiaomi_Backup\

And to transfer back to the new phone:

adb push C:\Xiaomi_Backup\ /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/backup/AllBackup/

⚠️ Note: When transferring backups through ADB Keep track of the register of symbols in the tracks. MIUI case-sensitive in folder names (e.g. AllBackup) ≠ allbackup).

7.How to delete unnecessary backups and free up space

Over time, backups accumulate and take up gigabytes of memory, especially for local copies and backups. TWRP. To clean them up:

To find all backups on your phone, including hidden ones, use the command ADB:

adb shell find /storage /data -name "backup" -type d

This team will recursively find all folders with the word "backup" in the title. Be careful: remove system backups (for example, from the backups). /data) This can cause unstable phone operation.

If you want to automate cleaning, you can use a Tasker or Automate script that will remove local backups over 30 days.

1. Select a folder /MIUI/backup/AllBackup/.
2. Filters by date of change (< 30 days).
3. Delete the files that were selected.

⚠️ Note: Some apps (like Google Photos or WhatsApp) create their own backups that don’t show up in the standard interface. MIUI. To find them, check the folders: /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/.thumbnails/ /storage/emulated/0/WhatsApp/Databases/

FAQ: Frequent questions about Xiaomi backups