How to increase memory on Xiaomi smartphone: all the ways from microSD to the cloud

Xiaomi smartphone owners sooner or later face a shortage of internal memory — especially if the device from the budget line of Redmi or Poco with 32-64 GB on board. High-resolution photos, app cache, system updates and games quickly eat up precious gigabytes, forcing users to look for ways to expand storage. But how to properly increase memory on Xiaomi, so as not to lose data and not slow down the phone?

In this article, we’ll look at all the current methods, from physically adding a microSD to optimizing your internal drive to using cloud services, and focus on the hidden features of MIUI that allow you to transfer applications to a memory card without rooting, and compare the pros and cons of each method. If your Xiaomi Mi 11 or Redmi Note 12 constantly gives a notification “Memory is full”, you will find a solution here to your needs.

1.Using a microSD memory card: pros and pitfalls

The most obvious way to increase memory is to install a microSD card. Modern Xiaomi smartphones (except for the flagship models of the Mi and Mix series) support cards with a capacity of up to 1 TB, but there are nuances:

• 🔹 Speed of operation: Class maps A1/A2 (For example, SanDisk Extreme is suitable for installing applications and UHS-I — videotape 4K. Cheap cards without marking will “brake” the system.
• 🔄 Formatting: Xiaomi offers to format the card as internal memory (Adoptable Storage), but this will bind it to the device – on another phone data will not be available.
• ⚠️ Limitations MIUI: Even after formatting, not all apps can be transferred to a map (for example, WhatsApp or Google Play Services will remain in internal memory).

To install the microSD:

1. Insert the card into the slot (on most Xiaomi models it is combined with a tray for SIM, so you will need a hybrid adapter or rejection of the second SIM).
2. Go to Settings → Memory → SD card.
3. Select Configure as internal memory (for applications) or Portable storage (for photo/video).
4. Confirm the formatting – the process will take 5-10 minutes.

⚠️ Note: If you format a card as internal memory, do not remove it without first "mounting" in the settings. Otherwise, you risk losing data or damaging the file system.

2. Transfer applications to a memory card without root rights

MIUI allows you to partially migrate applications to microSD, but with reservations, which only works for cards formatted as internal memory, and is not supported by all applications.

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Select an app (like Facebook or Spotify).
3. Click Warehouse → Change → SD Card.
4. Confirm the transfer – the process may take several minutes.

Important: only a portion of the application data (usually cache and media files) will be transferred, and the main files will remain in internal memory. MIUI.

Make sure the card is formatted as an internal memory

Check the free space on the map (needs at least 2-3 GB)

Close the application before transfer

Backup of important data-->

If the Change option is inactive, the application does not support the transfer, in which case only cleaning the cache or deleting unnecessary data will help.

3. Internal Memory Optimization: What Can Be Deleted Without Risk

Before you spend money on a memory card, try to free up space in the internal storage. MIUI caches a lot of unnecessary files, and users often do not notice how much space they take up:

• 📸 Photo/video duplicates: Use the built-in Gallery app → Albums. → Duplicates or Google Photos to find duplicate files.
• 🗑️ App cache: C Settings → Memory. → Clean up to 1-3 GB of garbage at a time.
• 🎮 Game data: Games like Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile download gigabytes of additional files, which can be deleted in the game settings or through Settings → Annexes → [play-name] → Warehouse → Clear the data.
• 📥 Download: Download folder is often clogged with old ones APK, Check it out through Files or Explorer.

⚠️ Note: Do not manually delete files from folders /data or /system — it could cause a failure. MIUI. For deep cleaning, use the built-in Optimization utility (broom icon in the settings menu).

4.Cloud storage: when physical memory is scarce

If you’re a frequent document, photo, or video user, cloud services can be an alternative to microSD. Xiaomi offers a few options:

• ☁️ Mi Cloud: Embedded cloud from Xiaomi with 5 GB free. Suitable for backups of contacts, notes and photos (but not for video). → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud.
• ☁️ Google Drive: 15GB free, integration with Google Photos (automatic photo/video download in original quality). Install Google Photos and enable Backup.
• ☁️ Cloud: 10-20 GB free, convenient for users from Russia (fast download / download).

To automatically upload photos to the cloud:

1. Go to Google Photos (or Mi Cloud).
2. Go to Settings → Backup and Synchronization.
3. Enable the option and select quality (Original or High Quality).
4. Connect to Wi-Fi – the first download can take several hours.

The advantage of clouds is access to files from any device, but there are also disadvantages: to view videos or edit documents, you need the Internet, and free space may not be enough for large libraries.

5. Connecting an external drive over USB (OTG)

If your Xiaomi supports USB OTG (most models since Redmi 4), you can plug in a flash drive or external hard drive, which is convenient for transferring large files (such as movies or backups), but does not replace permanent storage.

What you need:

• 🔌 adapter OTG (for example, Xiaomi USB-C to USB universal Micro-USB/USB-C → USB-A).
• 💾 Flash drive (recommended) USB 3.0 for speed) or portable HDD externally powered (hard disks without power may not be determined).

How to connect:

1. Insert the adapter into the phone port and the flash drive into the adapter.
2. In the notification that appears, select Open Files (or go to Files). → USB-accumulator).
3. Copy or move files as if they were a regular memory card.

⚠️ Note: Not all applications are able to work with OTG-For example, Netflix or YouTube will not allow you to download videos directly to the flash drive, and avoid removing the drive during data transfer, this can lead to file loss.

6.Reset to factory settings: a last resort

If all the methods have been tried and the memory is still full of unknowns, the last option is hard reset, which will completely clean the phone, returning it to the state of "out of the box".

• 📱 Make a backup copy through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset → Local backup.
• ☁️ Sync important data with Mi Cloud or Google Account (contacts, calendar, notes).
• 🔐 Remember passwords from accounts - after reset, you will need to re-enter.

For discharge:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
2. Choose to erase all data.
3. Confirm the action and wait for the reboot (it will take 5-15 minutes).

Once reset, the phone will be as new as it is, but all memory problems will disappear, a method that should only be used if other options have not worked, as data recovery can take a long time.

💡

Factory reset removes everything, including viruses, cache and system debris, but it doesn't increase physical memory capacity, it just frees up space.

FAQ: Frequent questions about increasing memory on Xiaomi