Why Music is Not Saved in Xiaomi’s Music App and How to Fix It

Did you download your favorite tracks to the Mi Music app (or Xiaomi Music), but after a phone reboot or update, they disappeared without a trace? Or did the music just not appear in the playlists even though the files are in the device's memory? This problem is familiar to many owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones - and it has at least 10 different reasons, from firmware bugs to incorrect sync settings.

In this article, we will not only explore all the possible reasons why music is not saved in a standard Xiaomi music player, but also give step-by-step instructions for restoring tracks – from checking application permissions to manually transferring files to the correct folder.

Let's warn you right away: some solutions require access to system settings, so if you have a limited MIUI (like a work phone), some methods may not work, but 90% of the time, the problem is solved without root rights, so you have to follow the instructions carefully.

1.The Music app does not have access to the phone's memory

The most common reason for music to disappear is that the app doesn't have permission to read and write files, and once the MIUI is updated or the settings are reset, the rights can be reset automatically, which makes the player stop "seeing" tracks, even if they are physically stored in memory.

To check and restore permits:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the music (or Mi Music) in the list and tap it.
3. Go to the Permissions section.
4. Make sure to turn on: 📁 Storage (file and media access) 🔄 Autorun (to keep the player running in the background) 📱 Display over other windows (for a mini player)

If permissions are already enabled but the music is still not displayed, try resetting the app cache:

1. In the same app management menu, click Storage.
2. Tap Clear cache (do not clear the data, otherwise playlists will be deleted!).
3. Restart your phone and check if the music is coming.

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If the tracks did not return after cleaning the cache, try to manually update the media library: open the Music application, go to Settings → Update media files.

2.The music is saved in an unsupported folder

Xiaomi’s standard Music app scans only certain system folders for audio files, and if you upload tracks to a random directory (like Download/Music or Telegram/Audio), the player simply won’t see them.

The official ways to music in MIUI:

• 🎵 /storage/emulated/0/Music/ - the main folder for audio files
• 🎧 /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Music/ — System folder for downloads from Mi Music
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/Download/ — sometimes scanned, but not always scanned

How to transfer music to the correct folder:

1. Connect your phone to your PC or use a file manager (such as Mi File Manager).
2. Find a folder with your music (most often it is Download, Telegram or Zalo).
3. Select all audio files (with extensions.mp3,.flac,.m4a, etc.) and move them to /Music/.
4. Restart the Music app and wait for the library to update.

3. Android Media Scanner Failure (media scanner)

In MIUI, as in any Android, media scanner is the system process that indexes media, and if it doesn't work properly, the music can be displayed in the file manager, but not in the player, often after:

• 🔄 Firmware updates
• 📱 Installations of custom recaveri (TWRP)
• 🗑️ Cleaning up system application data

How to forcefully update the media library:

1. Open the Music app.
2. Go to Settings → Update media files.
3. If you do not have an option, use an alternative method: adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE -d file:///storage/emulated/0/ (ADB is required and USB debugging enabled).

If the problem persists, try restarting the media scanner process:

1. Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management → Three points (⋮) → Show system-based.
2. Find Media Storage (or Multimedia Storage).
3. Clear the cache and data, then restart the phone.

4. Conflict with cloud synchronization Mi Cloud

If you use Mi Cloud for backup, music can be automatically deleted from your device after syncing, due to the Storage Optimization feature, which replaces local files with cloud links.

How to turn off automatic cleaning:

1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Go to Synchronization → Music.
3. Turn off the option to Optimize Storage (or Delete Local Copies).
4. Return to Mi Cloud Settings → Storage and click Download All to recover files.

If the music has been removed from the cloud, check the Mi Cloud Recycle Bin:

• 📁 The Recycle Bin stores files for up to 30 days.
• 🔄 You can recover via the web version of i.mi.com (Basket section).

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Turn off Storage Optimization in Mi Cloud if you want to store music locally, otherwise, after synchronization, files will be replaced with stubs.

5. File damage or incompatible format

Xiaomi’s Music app doesn’t support all audio formats, and if tracks are.wav,.ape or.dts, they may not be displayed in the library, although they take up space in memory, and files may be corrupted when downloaded or transferred.

List of supported formats in Mi Music:

How to check and correct files:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and open the music folder.
2. Try to play a problem file on your computer (for example, via VLC), if it does not play, the file is corrupted.
3. For format conversion, use Audacity or online services such as Online-Convert.

6. Track metadata errors (ID3 tags)

The Music app sorts tracks by metadata (title, artist, album) that are stored in ID3 tags. If tags are damaged or missing, the songs can:

• 🔍 Not displayed in the library
• 🎵 Appear in the Unknown Tracks section
• 🔤 Have incorrect names (hieroglyphs, symbols)

How to fix metadata:

1. Install the Mp3tag program (free) on your PC.
2. Connect your phone and open the music folder in Mp3tag.
3. Select all files and press Ctrl+A, then Ctrl+S for massive tag editing.
4. Fill in the fields Artist (performer), Title (title), Album (album) and save the changes.

For quick fix on the phone:

• 📱 Use apps like Star Music Tag Editor or Automate (you’ll need to set up automatic tag filling).
• 🔄 After editing, update the library in Mi Music (Settings → Update Media Files).

7. Reset settings or update MIUI

After major MIUI upgrades (e.g. 12 to 13) or factory resets, the music may disappear for several reasons:

• 📂 The /MIUI/Music/ folder is cleared as "system."
• 🔄 The media scanner resets the file index.
• 📱 The Music app is being replaced with a new version with an empty library.

Critical information: If you reset via Settings → Additional → Reset, all local files in /MIUI/ and /Android/data/ folders will be deleted irrevocably.

How to return music after updating:

1. Check the /Music/ folder – sometimes the files stay in place, but the player can’t see them.
2. If the music was stored on a memory card (SD-card), remove it and connect it to the PC for verification.
3. Restore data from backup (if you did backup via Mi Mover or Titanium Backup).

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Before any MIUI update, back up your music to your PC or cloud, connect your phone to your computer and copy /Music/ to a safe location.

8. Viruses or malicious applications

Rarely, but it happens: some viruses or “optimizers” (for example, Clean Master, DU Speed Booster) delete “unnecessary” files, including music, and the problem can occur after installing pirated modifications of applications.

Signs of viral activity:

• 🛡️ Music disappears without you doing it.
• 📱 Unknown apps appear on the menu.
• 🔋 The phone is quickly discharged or warmed.

How to check and clean the device:

1. Install an antivirus (such as Malwarebytes or Dr.Web Light).
2. Scan the system for threats.
3. Check the list of installed apps in Settings → Apps and remove suspicious ones.
4. If the music is missing after installing the "cleaner", reset its settings or delete it.

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Don’t use “optimizers” from unknown developers; they often delete files without warning, considering them “junk.”

FAQ: Frequent questions about saving music in Xiaomi

If none of these methods worked, try alternative players like Poweramp, VLC or BlackPlayer, which often work better with custom formats and are independent of the system media scanner.

⚠️ Warning: If the music disappeared after rooting the phone or installing custom firmware, the problem may be partition damage /data/media/.