How to connect a Xiaomi mobile to a PC

More and more mobile users Xiaomi around the world. And the truth is that this Chinese brand offers devices with good value for money and great performance. In a way, it is the fashion brand. Plus, their phones are pretty, easy to use, and very practical. If you have one of them, perhaps you have ever wondered how connect Xiaomi to PC. To carry out this operation you can use the cable of a lifetime, or resort to various applications.

In today's post we are going to analyze the best ways to connect a Xiaomi device to our PCs. Using both the classic wired and wireless connection. We show you all the methods that exist so that you can choose the one that suits you best:

Connect Xiaomi to PC (with cable)

Before exploring advanced wireless methods, let's briefly review the classic option - connecting using cables.

Windows file manager

This is definitely the easiest and fastest way to transfer data from any type of phone to a PC. It is, on the other hand, let us put it this way, the primitive and simple way. How do you do it? We explain it to you with these simple steps:

1. First we connect the original cable from the phone to the computer through one of its USB ports.
2. In the phone settings we activate the "File transfer mode". With this, the computer will automatically recognize our device as a removable drive connected to the computer.
3. On the PC, we access the contents of the phone folder to browse your device's internal storage. There we will have access to all the photos, videos, documents and any other content.

As you can see, the system is very simple. However, on some occasions, the basic method does not quite work well. Despite having correctly executed the previous steps, we find that it is impossible to transfer the photos from the mobile to the computer. The most common reason for the connection to fail is because the computer does not recognize the device (which is indicated by a message on the screen).

Activate development options

To solve this error we must make sure that our Xiaomi phone has the appropriate connection activated to be able to transfer data to an external device, such as our PC. The technical name of the operation to be performed is "Activate development options". This is how to proceed:

1. First, we will access the settings menu on the phone. There we will go directly to "Options" and, in the menu that opens next, we will select «Phone information».
2. After this, we will activate the miui version. Through it we can access the "Development options".
3. Once this is done we will return to "Phone settings" to search this time the option of "Additional settings" and finally, "Development options".
4. Among the many possibilities that we find in this menu are those of activating or deactivating different options. The ones we should pay attention to, in order to make sure they are activated, are these:
   • USB debugging.
   • Select USB configuration. In this option a drop-down opens where you have to mark MTP. With this, our computer will recognize the phone and allow us to connect.

After having done all this, the permissions and functions of the mobile will be ready to connect Xiaomi to PC. To verify this, we will retry the connection system by the data transfer medium. But even after doing this, we may find that "the connection could not be made." There would therefore be one last stumbling block.

A notification on the phone screen will ask us once again if we want to connect with the PC. It's about a security dialogue, a cumbersome but necessary procedure. The device will ask us what actions we want to apply to the USB cable. At this point you just have to select "Transfer files (MTP –Media transfer protocol-)", after which there will be no more obstacles to connect and start data transfer.

Connect Xiaomi to PC without cables

Now let's forget about the cables. There are many methods to transfer data from your Xiaomi phone to PC wirelessly, safely and quickly. This is a list of the best applications, the most efficient and easy to use:

Share me

This application, formerly known as MiDrop, has been developed by Xiaomi following Apple's AirDrop model. Without a doubt, today Share me It is the most practical solution to transfer files from a Xiaomi to the PC without cables and in a totally efficient way. To use it, simply connect our mobile to the same network as our computer and follow the following steps:

1. First of all, let's go to the ShareMe application on our Xiaomi. This is usually incorporated by default in the most recent models (*)
2. Once open, we look for the option "Connect to computer", which is located in the upper left menu.
3. There we will press "Start" and we will go on to configure the access method.
4. At the bottom there will be a IP address  (actually, an ftp code) that we will have to write in the browser of our PC.
5. Once this is done, the entire tree of files and directories of the phone will be displayed on the screen. Any download on the PC will be done easily and immediately.

(*) If your Xiaomi does not have this application, you can download it through this link: Share me.

Drive

Although Share Me is definitely the most comfortable and effective option to connect Xiaomi to PC, if it is transfer large files, it might be more interesting to use Drive. In 2019, after an expected update, Xiaomi's file manager became also compatible with Google Drive. With this popular application the file transfer process is very simple. We explain it step by step:

1. First of all we have to open the Drive app on our mobile.
2. Then we will select the button with the symbol "+", which we will find in the lower right part of the screen, we will select the file and then we will press "Rise".
3. Now, on the PC screen, we will go to Drive and look for the file that we just uploaded.
4. Once the file is found, we will click with the right button and choose the option "Download".

Telegram

If you have the app Telegram installed on your Xiaomi, you also have a convenient connection tool with which to transfer files to your computer and vice versa. To access this method you simply have to do the following:

1. The first step is open the Telegram application on our computer.
2. Next, we will do the same in the . In case you do not have this application installed yet, it can be downloaded through this link: Telegram.
3. The next thing we must do is search for any conversation in the mobile application and send the file you want to download to your computer.
4. Finally, we will open Telegram web on our computer and press "Download" in the File. In this way data transfer is fast, easy and without cables.

Whatsapp

Like Telegram, too Whatsapp It will help us to make this type of connection without cables between our Xiaomi phone and our PC. The process is actually quite similar to what we have explained regarding Telegram, as shown below:

1. First we open Web WhatsApp on our computer.
2. Then we open Whatsapp on our Xiaomi mobile.
3. Then we open a random conversation in which upload the file that we want to transfer.
4. The last step is to access WhatsApp Web and from there download it to our computer.

An alternative for advanced users: My Flash Tool

To conclude our list of options to connect Xiaomi to PC, we will cite a very practical application, although somewhat more complex than the others: My Flash Tool. That is why we will label it as "only for advanced users", although in reality anyone can dare to try it.

It is a tool developed by the Xiaomi user community and that we allows you to use some advanced phone options. Sounds interesting right? Among the things we can do, we must mention for example the control of the device by means of ADB commands, the change of the phone's ROM, as well as the uninstallation of certain applications that are installed at the factory.

My Flash Tool can be downloaded from this website, although due to its characteristics and its nature, it is better not to use this option to avoid problems. Especially with other simpler options like the ones we have discussed in the previous paragraphs.