How to create a playlist on Android Xiaomi Redmi Note 8

Xiaomi smartphone owners often face the need to structure their music library so as not to waste time searching for the right track during a trip or training.The Redmi Note 8 model, despite its age, remains popular thanks to a quality sound module and optimized MIUI shell. Creating a personal selection of songs is a basic feature that greatly improves the user experience when listening to audio.

In this article, we will discuss in detail all the available ways to form playlists using both standard system tools and third-party solutions. You will learn how to group compositions by genre, artist or mood, and also understand how to manage files directly through the file manager.

Before you start setting up, make sure your music files are correctly displayed in the device memory. If the tracks are not visible in the list, perhaps they are hidden or in a secure folder, which requires special attention. We will consider these nuances so that the process of creating your ideal collection goes without technical failures and data access errors.

Use of the standard Mi Music app

The MIUI shell comes pre-installed with Mi Music, which offers a flexible enough track sorting experience. To get started, open the app and go to the Songs or All Tracks tab, which displays the full list of available audio. Find the song you want to start forming a new list, and click on the three dots or menu icon next to the title.

In the context menu that opens, select Add to Playlist. If you're creating a collection for the first time, the system will prompt you to enter a unique name for the new folder. Entering the title is a mandatory step, after which the track will be moved to the created section, which is the fastest way to start structuring the library without using complex settings.

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For quick access to frequently used playlists, pin the Mi Music app to the dock bar or use a widget on your desktop.

You can add tracks in batches, which saves time when working with large albums. To do this, click the "Select" button in the main library menu (usually a tick icon or a text button in the corner of the screen). Tick a few songs, then click the "More" button in the bottom panel and again select "Add to the playlist", specifying the desired group.

⚠️ Note: When you remove the playlist from the Mi Music application, the audio files themselves remain in the phone’s memory, but lose their logical grouping inside the player.

The lists you create are managed through a separate Playlist tab at the bottom of the interface, where you can rename groups, change the order of tracks inside them, or completely clean the content, editing is available at any time, allowing you to dynamically update the music to your current preferences.

Creating lists through system audio player

Some firmware versions or pure Android may have a Google standard player or system audio engine active. The way it works is similar, but the interface may be different. Open any track to turn the album cover full-screen, and find the list icon or three vertical dots in the corner.

Clicking on the menu, you'll see the option "Create a playlist" or "Add to..." The system will suggest selecting an existing group or creating a new one. The action algorithm is almost identical to the one you're using in Mi Music, but the interface response speed may be higher due to fewer visual effects.

To add songs to an existing list, select the name from the drop-down list. If you want to create a new folder, enter the name in the dialog box that appears, and after confirmation, the track will automatically go to the selected category.

The system player has the ability to sort inside the playlist by different parameters: duration, date of addition, name. This is useful if you want to arrange the compositions in a certain order to create a continuous mix. Just click on the column title or select the appropriate item in the sort menu.

Working with files through a conductor

An alternative and often more reliable method is to use a file manager, such as Xiaomi Explorer or Google Files, which gives direct access to the file system and allows you to create physical folders that will automatically be recognized by music players as playlists or albums.

Open the Explorer app and go to the Music section or manually find the folder where your tracks are stored (often Internal Storage/Music or Internal Storage/Download). Select the necessary files with a long press, then select the option to Copy or Move.

Create a new folder with a desired name, like "Sport" or "Evening." Move the selected tracks there. Most players treat individual folders as separate albums or playlists, allowing you to structure music at the file system level, regardless of the specific application.

This method is especially useful if you plan to transfer music to other devices or listen to it through a car tape recorder that reads the folder structure, and the physical separation of files ensures that the order and composition of the collection will be preserved in any environment.

Set up third-party music apps

If standard tools don’t seem functional enough, Google Play offers a variety of alternatives, such as Musicolet, Pulsar or Poweramp, which often feature more advanced tools for creating smart playlists, equalizers, and support for complex tags.

Once an application is installed, you need to give it permission to access the device files, which is usually the first time you run it, and the interface is more flexible: you can create playlists based on rules (for example, “all tracks with a rating of 5 stars”) or manually.

In third-party players, the creation process often looks like this: go to the library, select tracks, add to the playlist menu. Some applications allow you to import playlists from other sources or scan folders without ignoring the rest of the library.

⚠️ Note: When installing third-party players, turn off automatic cloud sync if you don’t want your local playlists to mix with your online account library.

Editing and sorting of tracks

Once you create a playlista, you can change the contents. Open the list you want in the Mi Music app or another player. Press the edit button (often looks like a pencil or three dots), where you can remove individual songs, drag them up or down, changing the order of playback.

To change the order of tracks in some applications, you need to press and hold your finger on the song title (an icon of three horizontal lines to the left or right of the title), and then move the item to the right place on the list. Sorting allows you to build a logical sequence, for example, for a party or a run.

Multiple track removal is also available. In editing mode, tick against unnecessary tracks and click Remove. Confirm action. This action will only remove tracks from this list, not from the device's memory.

Remember that file metadata (ID3 tags) is important, and if tracks don't have Album or Genre fields filled, sorting may not work properly. Use tag editors to sort out titles and artists before you form final playlists.

Synchronization and transfer of music

You can transfer the playlists you create between devices if you use cloud services or specific file formats. Standard Mi Music playlists are stored locally, but they can be exported. To do this, find the playlist file in memory (usually in the hidden folders of the application), or use the Share function inside the application, if it is available.

Playlists are usually.m3u or.pls. These files contain only paths to the songs, not the music itself, so when you transfer to another phone, you need the folder structure and file names to match, otherwise the links will stop working.

To sync through the cloud (e.g. Yandex.Music or Spotify), you create a playlist within the service application, in which case the music must be uploaded to the cloud. On Redmi Note 8, just download the service app, log in to your account, and your playlists will appear automatically.

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Local playlists depend on the structure of files on the phone, and cloud playlists are tied to an account and are accessible from any device.

If you use Bluetooth to send music to a speaker or a car, playlists created through the file structure of folders will be the most stable, and external receivers often read folders as playlists.

Solution and optimization

Sometimes users find that the created playlist empty after rebooting the phone or updating the application. This may be due to the operation of the MIUI energy saving system, which aggressively closes the background processes. To avoid this, open the battery settings, find your music player and set the "No restrictions" mode.

Another common problem is that album covers are not in playlists, which is solved by checking for image files in the music folder or editing the file tags themselves through special editing apps, and caching covers can also take time when you first run them.

⚠️ Note: Do not store music files in Android system folders (e.g. root) Android/data), Access to these can be limited to new versions of the operating system.

To optimize the player experience on Redmi Note 8, it is recommended to regularly clean the app cache. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → [Your player] → Memory → Clear the cache. This will not delete your playlists, but will speed up the interface.

If music is played with delays or jerks, try to lower the bitrate of tracks or close the background applications that consume CPU resources. Redmi Note 8 has enough power, but heavy formats like FLAC 24-bit can require more resources with an active equalizer.