How to copy photos from the Xiaomi gallery: all methods with instructions

Copying photos from the Xiaomi smartphone gallery is a challenge that every user faces. Whether you need to free up space on the device, make a backup copy or just share pictures, the transfer process should be fast and secure. In this article, we will examine all the current ways, from classic USB connection to synchronization via cloud services and wireless transmission.

Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO and Black Shark are all featured in MIUI, which can make file access more difficult because of additional security settings. We've taken into account everything from unlocking memory access to solving problems with displaying files on your PC, and you'll also find a speed comparison for each method and tips for optimizing the process.

1. Copying of photographs through USB-cable

The most reliable and versatile way is to connect your smartphone to your computer using a cable, but Xiaomi users often have difficulties due to the features of MIUI. Let's take the process through the steps, including setting up the data mode.

First, prepare:

• 🔌 Original. USB-cable (or certified with data transmission support)
• 💻 Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux (MacOS may require Android File Transfer)
• 🔓 Unlocked smartphone screen (important for access confirmation)

Connect your smartphone to your PC. The Xiaomi screen will show a notification, "Charge via USB."

File Transfer (MTP)

If this item is missing, go to Settings → Connection & Sharing → USB and activate MTP mode manually.

Unlock the smartphone screen

Connect the original cable

Select the file transfer (MTP) mode

Check the display of the device in "This computer"

Copy files into a separate folder on the PC-->

On your computer, open this computer (Windows) or Android File Transfer (macOS), and your smartphone will appear as a removable drive. Go to the folder:

Internal storage → DCIM → Camera

It stores all the photos taken by the main camera. For screenshots, check the Pictures → Screenshots folder, and for uploaded images, check Download.

⚠️ Attention: If the folder DCIM - empty, check the settings of the gallery. MIUI 14/15 Some files may be hidden in the gallery settings → Albums. → Hidden folders. Also make sure your PC has hidden file display enabled.

To speed up the copying:

• 📁 Use archiving (select files) → PCM → Add to the archives)
• 🔄 Disable the antivirus during transmission (may slow down the process)
• 🔌 Connect to the port. USB 3.0 (blue) on PC

Po Po Po USB-cable

Through the Cloud (Google Photos, Mi Cloud)

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi

Through the memory card.

Another way.-->

2. Wireless transmission via Mi Drop (ShareMe)

If you don’t have a cable, use the Mi Drop app (in the newer versions of ShareMe) that allows you to transfer files between Xiaomi devices or to other smartphones/PCs over Wi-Fi Direct. Speeds reach 10-15 MB/s – faster than Bluetooth, but slower than USB 3.0.

Instructions for transfer to another smartphone:

1. Open the Gallery and highlight the photos you need (press your finger on one picture → mark the rest).
2. Press Share. → Choose Mi Drop (or ShareMe).
3. On the target device, open the same application and select Receive.
4. Scan it. QR-code or confirm the connection manually.

For transmission to PC:

• 🖥️ Install the desktop version of ShareMe (Windows/macOS).
• 📱 On your smartphone in Mi Drop, select Send to PC.
• 🔗 Connect to a single Wi-Fi network or use an access point.

⚠️ Note: When transferring a large volume (more) 1 GB) is recommended to connect to the network 5 GHz, which will reduce the likelihood of a connection breaking, and also watch the battery charge: the process consumes up to 15-20% hourly.

3. Sync with Google Photos

Google Photos is the best backup solution for the cloud, and it automatically uploads all the images to the cloud, freeing up space on the device. 2026 year-end service 15 GB free (together with Google Drive), which is enough for 3000-5000 compressed-quality.

How to set up autosynchronization:

1. Install Google Photos from the Play Market.
2. Open the app and log in to your Google account.
3. Slip on the avatar → Photo settings → Backup and synchronization.
4. Activate the switch and select quality: Original - no compression (considered to be in the 15 GB quota) High quality - compression to 16 MP (free without restrictions until 2027)

To download the photos on PC:

1. Go to photos.google.com.
2. Select the desired photos (or album) → press ⋮ → Download.
3. The files will be packed into ZIP-archive (maximum 2 GB per download).

⚠️ Note: When you delete photos from the Xiaomi Gallery, they are automatically deleted from Google Photos, if sync is enabled. To avoid this, copy the photos to a separate album or on your PC before deleting them.

4.Using Mi Cloud for Backup

Xiaomi’s proprietary Mi Cloud offers 5GB of free and close integration with MIUI. Unlike Google Photos, here backups are created in the background without manually running.

How to turn on synchronization:

1. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Sign in to your account or register.
3. Activate the Gallery switch.
4. Select Sync Settings → specify which folders to copy (e.g., Camera only or all albums).

To download the photos on PC:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. Select the Gallery section.
3. Tag files → click Download (maximum 500 files at a time).

The limitations of Mi Cloud:

• 📉 Free fare - only 5 GB (expanding to 200 GB for 100-200 ₽/month)
• 🔄 Synchronization only works when connected to Wi-Fi (by default)
• 📂 No way to selectively download albums in original quality

5. Transfer of photos through a memory card

If your Xiaomi supports microSD cards (like the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ or POCO X5 Pro), the easiest way is to copy files directly from the drive.

How to transfer files:

1. Remove the memory card from your smartphone (use a SIM tray or adapter).
2. Insert it in the card reader on a PC or laptop.
3. Open the DCIM → Camera (or Pictures for screenshots) folder.
4. Copy files to the desired directory on the hard disk.

If the map is not determined:

• 🔧 Try a different card reader (some of them). USB-Hubs do not support microSD)
• 🛠️ Check the file system of the card: MIUI formatted in exFAT or FAT32. For files. >4GB exFAT required.
• 🔄 Restart your PC – sometimes drivers don’t load immediately.

⚠️ Note: Do not remove the memory card during copying - this can damage the file system. If after extraction the smartphone does not see the card, go to Settings → Memory. → Memory card and click Update.

6. Alternative methods: Bluetooth, email and instant messengers

Other methods are also suitable for transferring a small number of photos, which are less convenient for mass copying, but can help in emergency situations.

Bluetooth:

• 📲 Turn on Bluetooth on both devices.
• 📎 In the gallery, highlight a photo. → Share. → Bluetooth.
• ⚡ Speed: ~1-3 MB/s (slow for large files).

Email or messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp):

• ☁️ In the gallery, click Share. → Mail or select messenger.
• 📎 Gmail: Up to 25MB per Telegram email: up to 2GB per WhatsApp file: compression up to 16MP (quality loss)

FTP-server (for advanced users):

With apps like this. FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer can be launched FTP-It's a server on a smartphone and connect to it from a PC over a local network. It's the same speed as Mi Drop, but it needs to be configured.

💡

For transmission 1-2 The most convenient way to use photos is to use instant messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp (>100 files are optimal USB-Cable or cloud services (Google Photos, Mi Cloud).

Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

The choice of method depends on the number of photos, the availability of the Internet and the recipient devices, and below are recommendations for different scenarios:

For Xiaomi users with MIUI 14/15, we recommend combining the following methods:

1. Sync new photos with Google Photos (for reserve).
2. Once a month, copy all the pictures to your PC via USB (for reliability).
3. Use Mi Drop for fast transfer to other devices.

FAQ: Frequent questions