Owners of Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones often encounter non-obvious organization of the file system and MIUI interface when they try to manage their music collection. The question of where the playlist is located in Android Redmi arises because standard applications do not always intuitively display user playlists, hiding them deep in the menu or shifting responsibility to third-party services.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that modern versions of the shell HyperOS and MIUI are gradually abandoning the built-in local players in favor of integration with cloud services. This leads to the fact that familiar music folders may disappear from view, and previously created lists of tracks become inaccessible through the standard interface. Understanding the logic of the Android file system and the specifics of the Xiaomi media scanner will help you quickly restore access to your favorite songs.
In this guide, we will analyze in detail all possible storage locations for playlists: from system databases to cloud synchronization. You will learn how to manually create a folder structure so that the phone automatically sees your music, and what settings need to be changed so that playlists are displayed correctly.
Standard Music application and its features
Most Redmi devices come pre-installed with a proprietary application "Music"which by default tries to aggregate all audio files into a single library. However, the interface of this application often changes from version to version, and the playlists tab may be hidden or renamed. Typically, access to custom playlists is in the bottom navigation bar or in the side menu, called up by swiping.
If you don't see the lists you created earlier, the application may not have access to storage or the display filter is not configured correctly. In new MIUI updates, the local playlists feature is sometimes deactivated by default in favor of recommendations from online services. You need to go into the settings of the player itself and make sure that the switch "Show local music" is active.
It is worth noting that the standard Xiaomi player sometimes “loses” playlists after a system update. This is because the media file indexing process is reset and the database takes time to rescan the device's memory. In such cases, it is recommended to simply wait a few minutes or restart your smartphone.
⚠️ Attention! In some regions of the global version of the firmware, the Music application may be replaced by Google Play Music (which has also ceased support) or YouTube Music. In such cases, local playlists may not be displayed at all without installing third-party software.
⚠️ Attention! The interface and button layout may differ depending on the version MIUI (12, 13, 14) or new HyperOS. If you do not find the described items, check the “Settings” section inside the player application itself.
Searching for playlist files through Explorer
The most reliable way to find a playlist in Android Redmi is to access the file system directly through the built-in one. Explorer. Playlists created by the user or downloaded from the Internet are ordinary text files with the extensions .m3u, .pls or .xspf. They are not hidden in system partitions unless you put them there yourself.
To search, use the search function inside the Explorer application. Enter the file extension, for example .m3u, and the system will show all available playlists on the internal memory and SD card. Often, users save them in a folder Download or in the root of a directory Music.
If you created a playlist manually, adding songs there, check the path /MIUI/music/. In some firmware versions, this is where the configuration files of the standard player are stored. However, it is worth remembering that simply having a playlist file does not guarantee that it will be displayed in the application interface if the paths to audio files within the list are specified incorrectly.
Use the search by file extension in Explorer by entering ".m3u" or ".pls" - this is the fastest way to find all playlists on the device, even if they are hidden in deep folders.
When transferring music from a computer to a phone, an error often occurs: the playlist sees the files, but cannot play them. This is due to the difference in paths. On a computer the path could be D:\Music\Track.mp3, but on the phone it became /storage/emulated/0/Music/Track.mp3. In this case, the playlist will have to be edited in a text editor, indicating the current paths.
Setting up the display of music in the gallery and library
Often the problem of missing playlists lies not in their physical absence, but in the settings for scanning media files. The Android system uses a Media Scannerservice that indexes all audio and video. If this service does not work correctly or the music folder is marked as hidden, playlists will not appear in the library.
Check if there is a file named .nomediain the folder with your music. The presence of this hidden file is a command for the system to ignore this directory when scanning. Deleting this file (via Explorer with the display of hidden items enabled) will force the phone to rescan the folder and add tracks to the general database.
It is also worth checking application permissions. Go to Settings → Applications → All applications → Music (or your player). Make sure that permission has been granted to access "Files and multimedia". Without this right, the application simply does not see the contents of your storage, even if the files are there.
| File type | Extension | Where is usually stored | Compatibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| M3U playlist | .m3u / .m3u8 | /Music/Playlists | High (universal) |
| PLS playlist | .pls | /Download | Medium (old format) |
| XSPF playlist | .xspf | /DCIM | Low (rarely used) |
| Database | .db | /Android/data/... | System (do not edit) |
☑️ Checking the visibility of music
Working with third-party music players
If standard Redmi tools do not cope with the task, the optimal solution would be to install a specialized player. Applications like PowerAMP, Pulsar or Musicolet have their own, more flexible playlist management mechanisms that do not depend on MIUI system restrictions.
Third-party players allow you to create playlists on the fly, simply adding tracks to the playback queue and saving it. They can also automatically find playlist files in any directory, prompting the user to import them with one click. This eliminates the need to manually delve into the file system.
When you first launch such an application, you will be asked to select folders to scan. Specify the directories where your music is located. After the analysis is completed, all your playlists located in these folders or subfolders will appear in a separate menu section, usually called Playlists or Library.
⚠️ Attention! When installing a third-party player, it may ask for permission to delete files or access to all files on the device. Read Android requests carefully so as not to grant unnecessary rights to dubious applications.
Synchronizing playlists via cloud services
In the Xiaomi and Android ecosystem, cloud synchronization is playing an increasingly important role. If you use an account Mi Cloud or third-party services like Yandex Music or VK Music, your playlists may be stored not in the phone's memory, but on the server. In this case, searching for the file in Explorer will not yield results.
To access such lists, you must open the corresponding application and log in. Playlists will be loaded dynamically if there is an Internet connection. This is convenient because the playlist is accessible from any device, but requires constant traffic.
Some users prefer a hybrid method: they store files locally, but use a cloud player to manage the queue. In the settings of such applications there is often an item "Local files"that allows you to add music from a memory card to a cloud playlist for offline listening.
What to do if the playlist disappeared after updating Android?
After a major system update (for example, from Android 12 to 13), the media database is often reset. Try clearing the Music or Media Service app cache in your phone settings. If this does not help, you will need to rescan the memory: copy any new music file to the folder with tracks to force indexing.
Manually creating and editing playlists
Sometimes it is easier to create a playlist again than to look for the missing one. On Redmi, this can be done through the standard player: open the list of tracks, click on the three dots next to the song and select "Add to playlist". The system will offer to create a new list or add a track to an existing one.
For advanced users, a manual file editing method is available .m3u. Open such a file in any text editor on your phone. You will see a list of file paths. You can add new lines with paths to songs or delete unnecessary ones, while maintaining the structure of the list.
It is important to respect the file encoding. It is recommended to use UTF-8so that track names in Cyrillic are displayed correctly. If you see “krakozyabry” instead of Russian letters, save the file again by selecting the correct encoding in the editor settings.
The most stable way to store playlists on Redmi is to create a separate folder /Music/Playlists and save the .m3u files there, after first making sure that there is no .nomedia file in it.
Frequent problems and their solutions
Users often complain that the playlist is visible in Explorer, but does not open in the player. Most often the reason is broken links within the file. If you moved music files to another folder after creating the playlist, the links became invalid. The solution is to recreate the playlist from a new folder.
Another common problem is duplication of tracks. This happens when the same song is in different folders, and the media scanner indexes them as different files. Use the “Find duplicates” function in advanced players or manually clean the file system.
If the music plays jerkily or the playlist stutters, check the speed of your memory card. Cheap, low-end microSD cards may not be able to handle high bitrate streaming. Try transferring music to the internal memory of your phone for a test.
Why is my playlist empty after rebooting the phone?
Most likely, the playlist was created in the temporary cache of the application or on a memory card that did not have time to connect during boot. Check that the SD card is securely inserted and create playlists only in the internal storage.
Is it possible to transfer a playlist from iPhone to Redmi?
Yes, if you have a playlist export file (for example, .m3u or .xml). Just copy this file to the Music folder on Redmi and open it with any compatible player. The music files themselves also need to be transferred.
How to make the playlist play in order?
In the player settings, find the playback mode. Select the icon in the form of numbers “123” or the inscription “In order”. Avoid the “Shuffle” mode if you want to follow the structure of the list.
Where are Yandex.Music playlists stored on the phone?
Yandex.Music playlists are stored on the company’s servers and do not have a physical file in the phone’s memory, unless you downloaded them specifically for offline listening. The downloaded tracks are encrypted and are stored in a protected application folder.