Any Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphone owner will sooner or later be faced with the question: where are the files uploaded to Mi Cloud physically stored? The answer to this question is important not only out of curiosity — the location of the servers depends on the speed of downloading / downloading, the jurisdiction of data processing and even the availability of the service in your region. Unlike Google Drive or iCloud, where data center information is public, Xiaomi traditionally keeps these details secret. But we have collected all the information available from official statements to the results of independent tests.
Many users mistakenly think that Xiaomi’s cloud works on the same principle as local storage on a smartphone, but it’s actually a distributed infrastructure where your photos, contacts and backups can be physically located in different countries depending on the region of your account’s location, while Xiaomi is actively using partner data centers (such as Alibaba Cloud or AWS), which further complicates the picture.
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Official information: what is known about the location of the Mi Cloud servers
Xiaomi
user agreements
privacy policy
three main regions
China
Singapore/Hong Kong
Europe
Xiaomi
transfer data between regions
Privacy policies
In 2021, Xiaomi confirmed a partnership with Alibaba Cloud to store data for international users, meaning that account files registered outside China are likely stored on Alibaba servers in Singapore, Indonesia or Malaysia. For European users, the company declared compliance with GDPR, which implies storing data in the EU – probably in AWS data centers in Frankfurt (Germany) or Dublin (Ireland).
In 2020, Xiaomi temporarily moved some of its servers from Hong Kong to Singapore due to political instability, which slowed down file downloads for users in Russia and CIS countries as the data route became longer, and the company has not commented on whether the servers returned.
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How to determine the region of your Mi Cloud account
The storage region is not tied to your location, but to the country of registration of your Xiaomi account, which can be found in several ways:
- 📱 Through smartphone settings: go to Settings → Xiaomi account → Personal information: Region will include a country (e.g., Russia or China»).
- 🌐 On the Mi Cloud site: log in to i.mi.com, open Profile – the country of registration is displayed under the name.
- 📧 By email domain: if you used mail with a domain when registering @mi.com or @xiaomi.com, Your account is linked to China.
Important: If you signed up with a phone number with a code of +86 (China), your data is stored on servers in China, even if you are physically located in another country, which can create problems with access to the service (for example, blocking a VPN in China) or synchronization speed.
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Physical Data Centers: Where Your Files Are Stored
Based on traffic analysis, traceroute tests and data from independent researchers (for example, the CloudPing project), we can identify key locations of Mi Cloud servers:
| Region of the account | Possible location of servers | Infrastructure provider | Delay (MS) for Russia |
|---|---|---|---|
| China (+86) | Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou | Xiaomi owns its own + Alibaba Cloud | 200–350 |
| CIS/Russia | Singapore, Hong Kong | Alibaba Cloud | 150–250 |
| Europe (EU) | Frankfurt (Germany) | AWS (Amazon) | 80–120 |
| India | Mumbai, Chennai | Alibaba Cloud + Local Partners | 180–280 |
| United States/Canada | Virginia (USA) | AWS | 160–220 |
To verify, you can use the ping or traceroute command to the domain api.account.xiaomi.com. For example, in the terminal (Linux/macOS) or Command Prompt (Windows) you can:
tracert api.account.xiaomi.comLast one. IP-The address in the chain will indicate the approximate location of the server, and by comparing it with geolocation databases (for example, IPLocation), you can determine the country.
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If download speeds to Mi Cloud are too slow, try using a VPN with servers in Singapore (for Asian accounts) or Germany (for European accounts), which can shorten the data route and speed up sync.
Why server location is important to the user
Four key aspects depend on where your data is stored:
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⚠️ Note: If you use Xiaomi with Chinese firmware (e.g. Redmi) K50 Ultra, your account is by default linked to Chinese servers, which can result in loss of cloud access when you change. SIM-Cards for foreign or device use outside of China.
How to move data between Mi Cloud regions
If you have changed your country of residence or want to optimize your cloud speed, you can change your account region.
Create a backup of data on the PC (photos, contacts, notes)
Make sure your account does not have active subscriptions (Mi Cloud+, Xiaomi TV+)
Prepare a new phone number or email to link
Charge your device to 50% and connect to Wi-Fi-->
Follow the instructions:
- Go to account.xiaomi.com and log in.
- In the "Personal Information" section, click "Change Region".
- Select a new country and confirm the action by SMS/email.
- Wait for the data transfer (it can take up to 3 days).
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What happens if you interrupt the data transfer?
Mi Cloud Alternatives: When to Use Other Services
If you are not satisfied with the speed, security or functionality of the Mi Cloud, consider alternatives:
- ☁️ Google Photos: unlimited storage of compressed photos (until 2021), easy search by content.
- 📁 Yandex Disk: 10 GB free, high speed for users from Russia / CIS.
- 🔒 Proton Drive: Swiss zero-knowledge encryption service (even administrators can’t see your files).
- 🌍 Syncthing: Decentralized synchronization between devices without cloud servers.
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If you are critical to privacy, avoid storing sensitive data (document scans, passwords) in Mi Cloud. Use encrypted archives or specialized services like Cryptomator + Google Drive.