Modern Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones allow you to take incredible quality images and record video in 4K, but these files take up a lot of space on the internal drive. When the internal memory is filled, the device starts to work slower, and installing new applications becomes impossible. The solution is to expand virtual space through the Mi Cloud service, which offers reliable data storage.
Buying more space in the cloud is not just a waste of money, but an investment in the safety of your personal photos, contacts and notes. Unlike on-premises storage, cloud data will not be lost even if you lose or break your gadget. Next, we will discuss in detail how to register a subscription, choose the right tariff and adjust the sync.
Many users mistakenly believe that the service only works in China, but it is not. Global accounts fully support international card payments and binding to numbers in other countries. The limit of free storage is only 5 GB, which in modern conditions fills up in just a couple of weeks of active use of the camera.
The benefits of extended storage Mi Cloud
The main value of the service is its deep integration with the shell of MIUI and HyperOS. You do not need to install third-party applications or manually download files - the system itself will offer to move heavy media files to the cloud, freeing up space on the device. This is especially true for models with a small amount of internal memory, where every gigabyte is in the account.
Another important aspect is security. When you buy a subscription, you get the ability to create full backups of the system, which means that when you upgrade to a new Xiaomi smartphone, you can restore all settings, desktop icons and Wi-Fi passwords in minutes, a process that takes less time than the initial setup of the device.
⚠️ Warning: Storage Optimization automatically removes the original photos from the device, leaving only thumbnails in the gallery. Full image will only load when the file is opened, so a stable Internet connection is required to view the photo without delay.
It also allows you to find a device if you lose it, lock your screen remotely, or erase sensitive data, all of which are available as soon as you activate your account and start using cloud services, and it's a comprehensive protection for your digital life.
Review of tariff plans and prices
Xiaomi offers a flexible charging system that allows you to choose the option that suits your needs. The basic plan is often enough to store documents and contacts, but for photo and video archives it will be small.
Payment is made monthly or annually, and annual subscriptions are usually more profitable as the cost of a month of use is reduced, and the following is a table with the main rates available to global users.
| Tariff plan | Memory capacity | Approximate price (mo) | Who's right for? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 50GB | ~$0.99 | For storing documents and contacts |
| Standard | 200GB | ~$2.99 | For an active amateur photographer |
| Premium | 2 TB | ~$9.99 | For video bloggers and large families |
| Ultra | 6 TB | ~$29.99 | For professional use |
It's important to understand that the space you buy is shared by all devices tied to the same Mi Account. You can use it on your smartphone, tablet, and even through the web interface on your computer. This makes a 200GB or 2TB tariff a great solution for family use if you share access between family members.
Can I share a subscription with my family?
How to pay for a subscription from a card or phone
The process of buying the cloud is as simple as possible and takes no more than a minute. You can pay for a subscription directly through your smartphone settings or through the web interface. The system automatically determines your region and offers affordable payment methods, including Visa, MasterCard and Mir bank cards (depending on the country).
To subscribe through the phone menu, you need to do the following: first make sure you are logged in to your account, then go to the cloud settings section.
- 📱 Open Settings and click on the top plaque with your Mi Account name.
- ☁️ Select Mi Cloud or Cloud from the list of services.
- 💳 Click on Change the Storage Plan or Buy a Place.
- ✅ Select the appropriate rate and confirm payment via Google Play, Mi Pay or by entering card details.
In some regions, payment via a mobile operator is available, and if supported, it will be displayed in the list of payment methods, and once a successful transaction is completed, the amount of available space will increase instantly, and automatic data synchronization will begin if it was previously enabled.
☑️ Pre-payment checks
Synchronization and optimization
Once you have bought a Xiaomi cloud, it is important to properly configure what will be saved there. By default, the system can only offer synchronization of contacts and notes, leaving a heavy gallery on the device. To free up space, you need to activate the appropriate switches.
Go to the cloud management menu and find the Gallery section, and you should turn on the sync option, and the system will suggest you turn on "Storage Optimization," and if you agree, the original photos will be removed from your phone and moved to the cloud, and the device will have smaller copies of them, which saves up to 90% of the space.
⚠️ Warning: Before enabling storage optimization, make sure you have a stable Wi-Fi connection. Downloading large amounts of data via a mobile network can result in significant traffic costs or interruption of the process.
Also worth paying attention to is the synchronization of the recorder, call records and SMS. This data takes up little space, but its loss can be critical. Include these items in the synchronization menu to make sure that all important information is safe. It takes only a few clicks to set up.
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Tip: Turn on Wi-Fi-only synchronization in your mobile network settings so that you don’t spend mobile traffic uploading photos to the cloud.
Subscription management and cancellation of auto-renewal
Mi Cloud subscriptions are usually automatically renewed, which is convenient because you don’t have to remember to pay every month and your data is kept uninterrupted, but if you decide to cancel the service or change the rate, you will need to manually cancel the autorenewal.
Subscription is managed through the app store through which the payment was made. If you paid through Google Play, you need to cancel there. Go to Google Play profile, select Payments and Subscriptions, search the Xiaomi Cloud list and click Unsubscribe.
If payment was made directly through the Xiaomi interface, cancellation is made in the Mi Account settings. It is important to do this 24 hours before the date of the next charge, otherwise the money will be written off for the next period, and refunds may take time or be impossible depending on the rules of the payment system.
Recovering Data from Cloud Storage
The main purpose of buying a cloud is to be able to quickly return data if necessary, which may be needed when buying a new phone, after resetting to a factory setting, or if you lose an old device, the recovery process is fully automated and does not require technical knowledge.
When you first log in to a new device, the system will prompt you to restore data from a backup of the Mi Cloud, and you will simply select a restore point (date) and tick the types of data you want to return, which can be contacts, messages, system or application settings.
To recover photos, you can simply open the Gallery app on any device by logging in to your account. All synced images will appear in the Cloud album or will automatically upload to the main feed. The download speed depends on the speed of your Internet connection.
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Regularly checking for fresh backups in the Mi Cloud is a guarantee that you will not lose important data in case of sudden breakage of your smartphone.