Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphone owners often face intrusive cloud storage filling notifications. MIUI and the new HyperOS shell are set to constantly sync media by default, which can be uncomfortable with limited traffic or a lack of free space. Users are looking for ways to turn off Xiaomi Cloud in the gallery to stop automatically downloading photos and videos.
The process of disabling is not always obvious, as developers periodically change the location of settings in the system application “Gallery”, and there are nuances associated with regional accounts and forced migration to Google Photo services. In this article, we will discuss in detail all available methods of blocking sync, consider hidden settings and answer frequent questions.
Why do users turn off cloud syncs?
The main reason for abandoning the use of Xiaomi Cloud is the restriction of free space.The basic tariff provides only 5 GB, which quickly end with active use of the smartphone camera.The system begins to constantly require expansion of memory or data cleaning, which annoys many owners of equipment.
Another important factor is the privacy and speed of the device: the constant background loading of large amounts of data can significantly reduce the speed of the Internet connection and increase battery consumption, some users prefer to store personal photos locally or use alternative solutions such as NAS or hard drives.
⚠️ Before fully disabling sync, make sure you have a backup of important photos on your computer or external media to avoid irretrievable data loss.
It is also worth noting that in some regions, Xiaomi Cloud services have been replaced or integrated with other providers, causing confusion in the application, disabling the feature allows you to regain full control of the gallery and remove unnecessary tabs “Cloud” from the interface.
Here are the main reasons why you should consider disabling the service:
- 📉 Saving mobile traffic and preventing background loading.
- 🔒 Desire to store personal data exclusively on a physical device.
- 🐌 Acceleration of the smartphone by stopping background synchronization processes.
- 🗑️ Freeing up space in the cloud for other system backups (contacts, notes).
Preparing for changing synchronization settings
Before you make changes to your system settings, you need to check your account's current status. Often users don't know that the sync has already been activated until they encounter a space-deprived message. Go to your phone's settings and search for the Mi Account section to see what data is being sent to the server.
It's important to distinguish between backup and gallery sync, the first one creates an archive of settings and application lists, the second one duplicates your photos and videos to the cloud, and the second one, which is directly related to the gallery app.
It is recommended to free up some space on the smartphone in advance. If the process of disconnection is interrupted due to overcrowded memory or a system error, there may be problems with displaying albums. Make sure that the battery charge is at least 20%, although the risk of data loss when software shutdown is minimal.
☑️ Pre-switch check
Step-by-step: disabling through the Gallery app
The fastest way to stop downloading media files is to use the settings inside the app itself, which is suitable for most versions of MIUI 12, 13, 14 and HyperOS. Open the Gallery app on your device and go to the Albums tab.
At the top of the screen, look for a cloud icon or three dots in the menu corner. Click on them to reveal additional options. You're interested in "Sync settings" or "Cloud Albums." That's where the switch that controls data transfers hides.
Once you log into the sync settings menu, you'll see a "Cloud Sync" slider, put it in an inactive position, the system may request confirmation of action, or warn you that new photos will no longer be saved online, and accept the warning.
⚠️ Note: When you turn off sync, old photos may disappear from the cloud, but will remain in the phone's memory. Do not delete files from the gallery immediately after you turn off unless you are sure they are safe.
If the standard path doesn’t work, try an alternative through your account settings:
- 📱 Open the smartphone settings.
- 👤 Click on the top line with your Mi Account name.
- ☁️ Select the Xiaomi Cloud item.
- 🖼️ Find the Gallery section and disable the synchronization switchboard.
Cloud Album Management and Data Deletion
Simply turning off the sync is sometimes not enough, as the gallery may have ghost albums or folders that take up space in the interface. To completely clear the gallery of cloud traces, you need to manually remove cloud albums.
In the Gallery app, go to the Albums tab. Scroll down to the Other Albums or Cloud Albums section. Select the album you want to delete, click on the menu (three dots) and select Delete Album. This action will only remove the album structure in the cloud, but will not affect files saved locally if sync is already disabled.
To clean up the web, you can access i.mi.com from your computer, log in to your account, and delete unwanted photos through your browser interface, ensuring that data disappears from all devices associated with your ID.
What happens to the deleted photos?
Below is a table showing the differences between local gallery and cloud activities:
| Action. | Impact on the phone | Impact on the Cloud | Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shutting down synchronization | No change. | New photos don't load. | Turn on the switchboard |
| Deletion of the cloud album | No change. | Album deleted | From the basket (30 days) |
| Clearing gallery cache | Removal of thumbnails | No change. | Autoboot |
| Deletion of gallery photo | Photo deleted | Photo deleted (if synchronized) | From the gallery basket |
Alternative solutions and replacement of services
After the Xiaomi Cloud is turned off, the user is faced with the issue of organizing backups. It is not recommended to completely abandon backups, since losing or breaking a smartphone can lead to the loss of the entire photo collection. The market offers many reliable alternatives.
The most popular solution is Google Photos. The service is integrated into Android and often offers "original" or "high quality" copying. To set up an automatic replacement, go to the Google Photos app, click on the profile avatar and select "Settings Autoboot."
💡
Use the “Free Space” feature in Google Photos after setting up sync to remove copies of photos from your device that are already securely stored in the Google cloud.
For those who value privacy, there are decentralized clouds or personal NAS servers. Applications like Synology Photos or Nextcloud allow you to automatically download to your personal hard drive immediately after connecting to your home Wi-Fi, eliminating reliance on third-party corporations.
If you’re using an ecosystem of other brands, like Samsung or OnePlus, you can use their cloud services by installing related apps from the GetApps store or Google Play.However, this may require more battery life due to a lack of deep integration with the system.
Frequent problems and ways to solve them
During the shutdown process, users may encounter various errors, such as a synchronization switch that can spontaneously turn back on, often after a system update or when you re-authenticate in your Mi Account.
Another common problem is that the "failed to sync" error even after the shutdown is triggered, which indicates that there are still files in the queue that the system is trying to download, and this can be solved by cleaning the Gallery application data.
To do the cleaning, go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Gallery → Memory. Press Clean and select Clear Cache. Don’t confuse it with Clear All Data, as this can reset the settings of the albums themselves.
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If the sync switch doesn’t turn off (burns gray), check if Traffic Savings or Flight Mode is enabled, which can block changes to the network settings of services.
Sometimes the problem is with an outdated version of the app. Go to the GetApps store or Google Play, find the Gallery app and check for updates. Developers often release patches that fix sync bugs.