Mi and Redmi smartphone owners often face a shortage of internal memory, especially when using the camera and installing heavy applications. The built-in Mi Cloud (or Xiaomi Cloud) system is designed to solve this problem by transferring photos, contacts and settings to virtual space.
How much space Xiaomi Cloud gives becomes critical when the device’s internal memory is overflowing. Many users are unaware that the standard limit can be increased, and some synchronization features don’t occupy the quota at all. Understanding the tariff structure and expansion capabilities will help avoid losing important data and having to constantly clean the gallery.
In this guide, we will take a closer look at the current conditions for providing disk space, how to validate and expand it, and how to manage your data effectively in the Xiaomi ecosystem so that your smartphone runs quickly and without the errors associated with overflowing.
Basic storage for the Mi Account
The standard amount of cloud storage that each user receives when registering for a Mi Account is 5 GB. This is a starting quota, available free and perpetually. It is important to understand that this amount is common to all services associated with the account, including system backups, gallery and notes.
It is worth noting that in some regions or when registering through certain promotions, the amount of free space may temporarily increase to 15 GB or even 50 GB. However, such bonuses often have an expiration date, after which the limit returns to the standard value.
Five gigabytes is a modest amount for today’s standards, where a single minute video in 4K can weigh several hundred megabytes. So the baseline is enough mainly for synchronizing contacts, SMS, call history and system settings, but not for a full backup of the media library.
- 📸 The base limit of 5GB is quickly filled with high-resolution photos.
- 📱 System backups take up a minimal place compared to video.
- 🔄 If the limit is exceeded, synchronization of new files is automatically suspended.
⚠️ Warning: Don’t store a single copy of important data only in the cloud with a basic tariff. When space is overflowing, new photos may not load, and old ones may be deleted when trying to make room unless the storage is properly managed.
How to check the occupied volume and detail
To manage data effectively, you need to know exactly what your quota is doing. There's a handy stats tool in the interface of your MIUI or HyperOS smartphone. Go to Settings, select your Mi Account, and click on Cloud, and you'll see a color diagram of the space allocation.
The system breaks up busy gigabytes into categories: Gallery, Recorder, Notes, Contacts and Device Backups. Often users are surprised to find that the lion's share of space is occupied by deleted photos that are still in the basket, or old backups of broken phones.
A detailed check reveals the “heavy” files that can be deleted or moved to your computer, and displays your subscription status and expiration date if you’ve previously expanded your subscription, and regular monitoring helps you avoid a sudden sync stoppage.
☑️ Checking the vault
If you use the web version of the service through a browser on your computer, statistics are also available in your personal account, but the mobile application provides more flexible tools for instant freeing up space, such as the function “Clear Remote” or compressing originals.
Tariff plans and memory expansion
When the standard 5GB is not enough, Xiaomi offers several options for paid expansion. Tariff plans may vary slightly depending on the region of use of the account and the payment currency, but the structure remains similar.
The most popular option is a 50GB tariff, which is ideal for an active smartphone user, which allows you to store thousands of photos and several hours of video. For families using one cloud for multiple devices, options are available for 200GB and 2TB.
| Tariff plan | Memory capacity | Estimated price (mo) | Who's right for? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 5GB | Free of charge. | Only contacts and settings |
| Standard | 50GB | ~149 rubles. | Active camera users |
| Expanded | 200GB | ~299 rubles. | Family access and 4K video |
| Maximum | 2 TB | ~649 rubles. | Professionals and archives |
You can pay for your subscription directly from your mobile phone balance (for some operators), with bank cards or through mobile payment systems, and the subscription is automatically renewed if you do not turn off auto payment in your account settings.
Family access to Xiaomi Cloud
Features of synchronization of the Gallery
The heaviest element consuming space in the Mi Cloud is the Gallery, which offers original synchronization of photos and videos by default, which guarantees the preservation of all the details of the images, but quickly consumes the available gigabytes.
There's an important option called "Storage Optimization," which saves smaller copies of photos on the device, and transfers the originals in full resolution to the cloud, allowing you to free up space on the smartphone itself without losing access to the full versions of the images over the network.
Videos consume significantly more space than photos. A minute of recording in 1080p can take up to 150-200 MB. If you have a 50 GB tariff, then approximately 200-300 minutes of video will fill it completely.
- 🗑️ Deleting photos in the cloud removes them on the phone when synchronization is enabled.
- 📐 Storage optimization does not affect the quality of photos in the cloud, only on the device.
- 🎥 Video in the video 4K format 4-5 More space than in Full HD.
⚠️ Note: Before enabling optimization, make sure that the originals are fully uploaded to the cloud. If you interrupt the process, only poor quality previews may remain on the device, and the originals will not be saved in time.
💡
Use the Free Space feature in the Gallery app, which automatically finds photos that have already been successfully uploaded to the cloud and deletes local copies of them from your phone, leaving only thumbnails.
Synchronization of system data and applications
In addition to media files, Xiaomi Cloud stores critical system data: Contacts, messages (SMS/MMS), call history, notes, voice recorder and Wi-Fi settings take up relatively little space, but their loss can be fatal when changing devices.
The backup feature is worth noting: it creates a complete cast of the system: a list of installed applications, the location of icons on the desktop, alarm clocks and system settings, which allows you to restore the state of the new Xiaomi phone to the same state as the previous one in minutes when you buy a new phone.
The size of the backup depends on the number of apps installed and their data. Cache games can significantly increase the size of the backup. It is recommended to periodically check the date of creation of the last backup in the Settings menu → Advanced Settings → Backup and Restore.
💡
System data (contacts, SMS, settings) have little or no effect on the 5GB limit, so their synchronization should be kept on for security.
It is important to distinguish between synchronization via Mi Cloud and local backup. SD-It doesn't take up space in the cloud, but when you lose your phone, you lose your copy.
Frequent problems and ways to solve them
Users often encounter an error called “Not enough space in the cloud,” even if the files are visually less than 5 GB. This may be because the system takes into account not only visible photos, but also hidden system files, a shopping cart or remote application data waiting to be deleted.
Another common problem is desynchronization, if you change your account password or have not logged in for a long time, you may need to re-authorize, without which the process of downloading new data to Mi Cloud will not be necessary, and the phone will constantly give out error notifications.
In some cases, clearing the cache of Google and MIUI services helps. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find Mi Cloud Services, and select Clear Data (not to be confused with deleting an account) This will reset sync errors without losing personal files.
- 🔄 Check the stability of the Internet connection when downloading large files.
- 🔐 Make sure your account has a confirmed phone number and email.
- 📅 Check the date and time on the device – time desynchronization blocks the input.
⚠️ Note: If you plan to sell a phone, be sure to log out of your Mi Account and remove the device from the trusted list via the website. otherwise, the new owner will not be able to activate the smartphone due to activation blocking.
Comparison with competitors and alternatives
Compared to competitors like Google Photos or Yandex.Disk, Xiaomi’s base 5GB looks modest.Google, for example, provides 15GB of shared space that is shared between Mail, Drive and Photos.However, Mi Cloud integration into the MIUI shell is deeper and works more natively for system settings.
The main advantage of Xiaomi Cloud is the ability to fully restore the system “as it was”, including the placement of icons and passwords from Wi-Fi, which third-party clouds do not know. Third-party services are more often focused on storing files, rather than cloning the state of the OS.
For storing heavy video archives, it is often more profitable to use third-party solutions or a physical hard drive. But for the operational operation of a smartphone and protection against data loss when a screen is broken, the native cloud remains an indispensable tool in the brand ecosystem.