Where to listen to the recordings of calls on Xiaomi: a complete guide

Redmi and Poco smartphone owners often face the challenge of saving important information from a phone call, whether it’s an order confirmation, a customer agreement, or just valuable information that can’t be missed, call recording becomes an indispensable tool, but once a call is over, many users are left confused about where the system saved the audio file and how to find it among hundreds of other applications.

To make matters worse, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS have their own specific storage logic, which is different from standard Android. Files can be hidden in system folders, can only be accessed through a proprietary voice recorder, or synced to the cloud if you haven't turned this option off. In this article, we'll take a look at all the possible ways to access your audio recordings so you can instantly find the file you want.

We'll look at both standard methods through the phone interface and advanced ways to search through the file system, and we'll also look at the frequent problems when there are records that seem to be there, but they can't be reproduced. Understanding the storage structure on Xiaomi devices will allow you not only to find current records, but also to properly organize their backup.

Search for records through the standard phone application

The fastest and most obvious way to listen to a recent conversation is to use the built-in Phone app. Unlike many other manufacturers, Xiaomi integrates the playback feature directly into the call log, which makes navigation much easier. You don't have to search for a separate folder if you want to quickly check the content of yesterday's call.

To do this, open the Phone app and go to the Journal tab (or "Recent"). Find the contact or number that was recorded on the list. Next to the subscriber's name or phone number should display a special icon — usually a small cassette or tape recorder. By clicking on this icon or selecting "Listen" in the call menu, you immediately start playing.

If the icon is not immediately visible, try clicking on the phone number or contact name to reveal details about the call. The menu that opens often shows a playback button, which is the most convenient method for prompt listening, without requiring knowledge of file paths.

It's worth noting that some versions of the firmware may have slightly different interfaces. If you don't see the record icon, make sure the auto record feature is active at the time of the call. Sometimes the system may not record the call due to third-party apps or Google Dialer bugs.

Use of the Dictator application for archive management

The primary storage of all audio recordings on Xiaomi smartphones is the system app Dictaphone, which is where not only phone recordings are collected, but also voice notes are collected, and it is a centralized library where files are sorted by date and category, making search more structured.

To find the desired record, open the Dictaphone app (may be called Recording). On the home screen, you will see a list of all available files. Call records are usually marked with a special tube icon or are in a separate tab if the interface is divided into categories. By clicking on the file, you can listen to it, speed up playback or edit.

💡

In the Dictaphone app, you can use the "Audio Only" function to extract sound from a video if you accidentally recorded a conversation through a video call.

There's a powerful editor available inside the app, so you can cut off the early parts of a conversation, remove the silence, or save important pieces as separate files, which is especially useful if you need to send the client just the essence of the agreement, not the entire twenty-minute conversation.

⚠️ Note: When you clear the cache of the Dictator or Phone application through system settings, your records may be permanently deleted. Always check what data you are clearing.

You can also change the recording format in the voice recorder settings, which is M4A or MP3 by default, which ensures good quality with a small file size. If you plan to transfer recordings to older devices, make sure the format is compatible with the receiving party.

Physical location of files in smartphone memory

For those who want to copy files to a computer or archive them, you need to know the physical path to the data.The Android file system on Redmi and Poco devices has a well-defined structure, a violation of which can lead to the fact that the moved files will no longer appear in applications.

Open the Explorer app and go to internal memory. The path to call records is usually as follows:

/MIUI/sound_recorder/call_rec/

It's in this folder. call_rec All your conversations are stored if you can't see the folder. MIUI immediately, make sure that the Explorer settings include hidden files, although on modern versions of Android this folder is usually visible.

In the newer versions of Android (11, 12, 13 and above), access to root folders can be restricted by security. If you can’t log into the Android/data folder or system directories, use Xiaomi’s built-in Explorer, rather than third-party apps like Total Commander, which may lack rights.

By copying files from here, you back them up, and this is critical before you reset your phone to factory settings, because when you format the memory, all the data from that folder will be destroyed.

Comparison of storage formats and sound quality

Record quality and file format directly affect how legible the voice of the interlocutor will be. Xiaomi devices use different codecs depending on the model of the phone and the version of the operating system, Understanding the difference between them will help you choose the best settings.

The M4A format is the de facto standard for modern Xiaomi smartphones.It provides a great balance between size and quality. Files in this format take up the minimum space, which is important if you record long conversations.

If you notice that the recordings take up too much space, check the voice recorder settings. You may have set the maximum recording quality that is not required for normal conversations.

Synchronization with the cloud Xiaomi and Google

One of the most useful features of Xiaomi’s ecosystem is the ability to automatically sync records to the cloud, which saves you in situations where your phone is lost, broken or accidentally dropped, but not all users know how to activate this feature and where to look for files in the cloud.

To enable synchronization, go to Settings → Mi Account → Cloud. Make sure the switch opposite to "Dictorney" or "Records" is active. After that, all new records will automatically be downloaded to Mi Cloud servers.

You can listen to the recordings from any device on the cloud, by going to i.mi.com from a computer or other phone, just log in to your Mi Account, select the Dictophone section, and you get access to the entire archive, and it also frees up space on the smartphone itself by deleting local copies.

⚠️ Attention: Free cloud space Mi Cloud is limited to 5GB. If you write a lot, the place can quickly run out and sync will stop.

Also worth mentioning is syncing through Google Drive. Some users set up folder backups. call_rec through third-party synchronization apps, as native support for Google Drive for this folder in the MIUI It's not always explicitly implemented. It provides additional data insurance.

Solving problems with missing or unreadable records

Sometimes users are faced with a situation where the call seems to be going, the record icon was burning, but the file is missing in the folder, a common problem that often involves application permissions or features of Google Dialer in certain regions.

First, check if the Phone app has the necessary permissions. Go to Settings → Apps → Phone → Permissions. Make sure that access to the microphone and memory(s) is allowed. Without that, the system cannot physically save the audio file.

The second common cause is memory overflow: If there is no space left on the device, the recording may be interrupted or not saved, try to keep at least 1-2 GB of memory free for stable operation of the system.

💡

If the recording went missing immediately after the call, it's likely that the memory protection mechanism has gone off or that the recording process has gone down.

Also, files can become unreadable (playback error) if the file system is corrupted, in which case, try copying the file to your computer and opening it there, and if the file is not read there, it may have been corrupted at the time of writing.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)