Where to find the cloud in the Xiaomi Redmi phone: hidden folders and settings

Many Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone users are faced with the question: where do their photos go or where do they keep backups if they turn on sync? The answer lies in the concept of the cloud. It is a virtual storage that does not take up physical space on your device, but is accessible from anywhere in the world with the Internet. Finding it on a smartphone screen is not as easy as a regular folder with documents, because it is more a service than just a file.

There are several layers of cloud storage in the Android ecosystem and the MIUI shell (or the new HyperOS), and there's a built-in solution from the manufacturer Mi Cloud that's tightly integrated into the system, and there's Google's universal storage, and understanding the difference between the two is key to managing your data. Often users confuse local backups that lie in hidden memory with real cloud synchronization.

In this article, we will take a closer look at all the possible places where your cloud might be hiding on Xiaomi devices, look at standard access paths through settings, file managers, and specialized applications, learn how to distinguish system sync files from user data, and understand how to properly configure access to your photos and documents.

Main System Storage Mi Cloud

The first and most obvious place where the cloud is on the brand’s devices is the built-in Mi Cloud service, which is the equivalent of iCloud for Apple’s hardware and is deeply integrated into the operating system. To get into its settings, you don’t need to search for a separate application on the desktop, since it is accessed through the main menu of device parameters.

Click on the Settings icon and at the top of the list, select your Mi Account. This is where Mi Cloud shows all the stats on your seat, the list of synced apps, and the ability to manage files, and it stores contacts, messages, notes, and a gallery if you activate the appropriate switches.

It's important to understand that Mi Cloud is not just a folder, it's a continuous sync mechanism. If you delete a photo from the gallery on your phone, it will disappear from the cloud if sync is enabled. However, if you use Clear Memory, the photos are deleted from the device, but remain in the cloud, taking up space there.

⚠️ Warning: When you reset to factory settings without first checking sync status, you risk losing data that didn't have time to load onto the server.

For more in-depth file management, such as documents or voice recordings, there is a separate "Storage Management" menu or web interface at i.mi.com. Through the browser on your phone, you can access the cloud file system as if it were an external hard drive.

Google Drive and Android System Integration

The second layer of cloud storage is Google's service, which is the backbone of the Android operating system. On Redmi and Xiaomi smartphones, it runs parallel to the manufacturer's services. The main app is called Google Drive, and it can be found in the Tools or Google folder on the desktop.

However, many users don't know that the backup is done through Google Drive, even if they use Mi Cloud for photos. In the phone's settings along the Settings path → Google → Backup, you can see what is saved. These are application lists, Wi-Fi password settings, and call history.

• 📂 Google Photos: a separate app often confused with a gallery that stores media files in the Google cloud, not Xiaomi.
• 📄 Documents: Files saved in Google’s Files app can also be synced to Google Drive.
• ⚙️ Settings: System interface settings are often saved in Google Play profile.

The difference between two clouds (Mi and Google) can be confusing, for example, contacts can be duplicated: some are in a Xiaomi account, others are in a Google account. To check where a copy is located, open the Contacts app, click on the filter menu and see which accounts are displayed.

💡

Use Google Photos to automatically upload your photos to free up space on your device even if the main Mi Cloud cloud is crowded.

Finding hidden folders through the Explorer

Often, when people ask where to find the cloud, they mean a local folder where the app downloads files from the Internet or backs up before sending them. In the Android file system, this data is stored in hidden directories.

Inside the conductor, go to folder viewing mode (usually the "Folders" or "Internal storage" tab). MIUI And Android. Inside the folder. MIUI often found underfolder gallery_cloud or backup, where temporary synchronization files may lie.

It’s also worth checking the Android/data path. It stores app cached data, including cloud storage like Dropbox or Yandex Disk, if installed. However, starting with Android 11 and up, access to the data folder is restricted by system permissions, and the explorer may not show content without special permissions.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files inside the folder Android/data manually, if you are not sure of their purpose, this can lead to malfunctioning applications that will no longer find their cached data.

If you're looking for a specific file that should have come from the cloud, use the Explorer search function. Enter a file extension (like.pdf or.jpg) and sort the results by date. Often files end up in the Download folder if they were downloaded from a browser or messenger.

Third-party cloud services on Xiaomi

Xiaomi’s ecosystem is not limited to its native services, users often install additional storage applications, and can be found in the Tools folder or search the system, with Yandex Drive, Cloud Mail.ru and Dropbox being the most popular.

Each of these applications creates its own folder structure in the phone’s memory. For example, Yandex Drive can create a Yandex folder at the root of internal memory, where screenshots or photos from the camera are automatically saved if the appropriate autoboot function is enabled.

To manage all clouds, there are aggregators like Owlfiles or File Commander that allow you to see the contents of different cloud storages in the same interface without switching between applications, which is convenient if you use a hybrid storage scheme.

When installing these apps, Android can request permission to access all files, which is necessary for the autoload function to work properly, and without this permission, the app will not be able to "see" new photos in the gallery and upload them to the cloud.

Automatic synchronization setting

It's not enough to find the cloud, it's important to set it up properly, and automatic synchronization allows you to not think about data security, and in MIUI and HyperOS, it's a separate mechanism that can be configured flexibly.

Go to the Mi Cloud settings and select Gallery, and you can activate Clear Memory mode, and when you turn on the original photos that are already uploaded to the cloud, they will be deleted from the device, freeing up precious space, leaving thumbnails in their place.

Also worth paying attention to the background synchronization settings. The system can restrict cloud services to save battery. To avoid this, find the cloud application in the Apps list, go to Battery and select No Limits mode.

For Google Photos, the settings are inside the app itself. Click on the profile avatar and select "Google Photo Settings" → Autoboot. You can specify whether to upload photos only via Wi-Fi or allow the use of mobile data, which is important if you have unlimited rates.

⚠️ Attention: Turning on sync via mobile network can lead to fast traffic consumption. Video files are especially "heavy" and can quietly exhaust your limit of gigabytes.

Access problems and their solution

Sometimes users can't find their files in the cloud because of sync errors, and the most common problem is desynchronizing your account, and if you've recently changed your password or enabled two-factor authorization, the application may require you to log in again.

Check the date and time on the device. Incorrectly set time disrupts security protocols, and the server simply refuses to connect to the phone. Set the automatic time settings in Date and Time.

If files are not loading, try clearing the cloud app cache. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find Mi Cloud or Google Drive, select Memory and click Clear Cache. This will not delete your data, but will reset temporary program errors.

In rare cases, the problem may be on the server side. Check the news resources or status of Xiaomi/Google services. If the servers are not available globally, no action on the phone will help - just wait.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)