MIUI 12 has limited storage space and is not sufficient for some people who need to save large multimedia files such as photos, and videos, or install games. If your MIUI 12 internal memory is full you can use the SD card as internal storage and then move the apps and files to the external memory.
This article teaches you how to install and move apps to SD card on MIUI 12. To do this, first, we’ll teach you how to change MIUI 12 storage location settings to SD card.
How to Set SD Card as Internal Storage In MIUI 12
In case your MIUI 12 does not prompt you automatically, use these steps:
1. Insert the SD card on your MIUI 12 and wait for it to be recognized
2. Open Settings and tap on Storage.
3. Tap the name of your SD card.
4. Tap the three dots on the top right corner of the screen.
5. Select Storage Settings.
6. Tap Format as internal option.
7. Select Erase & Format at the prompt and wait.
You can now move apps to the SD card.
However, after formatting your SD card to behave like internal storage and moving your MIUI 12 apps to external memory it is not recommended to remove the card and put it in another smartphone, the apps won’t show on the device.
How to Move Apps to SD Card on MIUI 12
1. Open your MIUI 12 and go to Settings from the app drawer or the quick settings dropdown.
2. Scroll down and select Apps.
3. Find the app that you want to move to your SD card and tap on it.
4. Now tap on the Storage option.
5. Tap on the Change button and then tap on Move.
You can undo the change by tapping on the Change button and moving apps to internal storage. please note: not all apps support SD card use, some are MIUI 12 system apps and cannot be moved to SD card.
Why Can’t I Move my Files to SD Card on MIUI 12?
If you’re unable to move files to an SD card on your MIUI 12, these are some of the most common reasons:
The SD Card is not properly formatted.
- SD card has insufficient space.
- The card is damaged.
- The card has a virus or malware.
- The card is read-only (write-protected).
- The SD card file system might be corrupted.
- The card is not placed properly.
It must be noted that not all Android devices allow you to move an installed app onto the SD card. Some apps also allow you to move only a small part to the SD card and the rest remains in the internal storage.
To this, it is not recommended to move MIUI 12 system apps to SD cards because of their limited write times and lifetime, where you can damage the SD card and data loss can occur, it is advisable to keep files in SD cards and not apps.
When you use an SD card as internal storage on your MIUI 12 the SD card formats in such a way that no other device can read it.
If you want to stop using the SD card that has been formatted as default/internal storage on your MIUI 12, it is not as simple as removing it directly. To do this, you will need to reformat the card as portable. Here’s how you can do it.
How to Reformat SD Card on MIUI 12
1. Open your phone and swipe down.
2. Tap Settings and select Storage.
3. Tap on the name of the SD card.
4. Tap the three dots on the top right corner of the screen.
5. Select Format as portable.
6. You will see a warning screen that tells you what happens next. Make sure all the files on the SD card are backed up elsewhere.
7. then Tap Format.
Many MIUI 12 users wish to move apps to SD cards to save space on their phones. Since moving your apps can make your MIUI 12 and apps installed to be slow, you can instead take a backup of your MIUI 12 data to the computer or Google and make more free space on the device.
You can also uninstall unnecessary apps on your MIUI 12 and move them back into the internal memory. Then format the SD card as removable media. Now it will be safe to install Android updates on your MIUI 12.
Can I Use My Formatted SD Card on Another Phone?
To use the SD card on another device, you have to reformat it as a portable storage device. You would need to back up all the data saved on the card to your computer or Google.
Moreover, MIUI 12 and other Android smartphones’ internal memory is faster than SD, so it is not good enough to move apps from internal storage to SD card. If you move apps from internal to external SD Card it will change due to the fact that SD Cards have maximum speed for read and write.
Hence, it is better to free up space on your than to move or install apps on the SD/external memory. You can do this without deleting your apps.
How to Free Up Space on MIUI 12 Without Deleting Apps
1. Download the Google Files app from the Play Store
2. Open the Files app and allow it to access your storage.
3. The app will now scan MIUI 12 storage to find large files.
4. Select and remove them from your phone.
Clear Cache
1. Open Settings on your MIUI 12.
2. Scroll to Apps.
3. Check the installed apps list with storage space.
4. Select the app that takes up more space.
5. Scroll to Storage.
6. Tap Clear data.
Another way to free up space on MIUI 12 without deleting apps is to utilize cloud storage like Google One or Microsoft 365. You can upload photos and videos to Google Drive or OneDrive and delete those files from your phone. That’ll free up space on your MIUI 12 and you can access those photos and videos from other devices.
Conclusion
Having to decide what apps, photos, or videos to delete in order to free up storage space on your MIUI 12 device is frustrating. While your MIUI 12 comes with internal storage, you may be looking for more if you’re a videographer, photographer, or gamer. You follow the steps to change storage location and install and move apps from internal memory to SD card/expandable memory on MIUI 12 for extra space.