Sync in Xiaomi Phone: A Complete Guide to Setup and Use

Synchronizing data in Xiaomi smartphones is one of those features that users often forget about until they lose important information. Imagine you change your phone, and all contacts, photos, notes, and even app settings are automatically transferred to the new device. Or accidentally reset your smartphone to factory settings, but after logging in, everything goes back to place. That's the magic of syncing.

In the Xiaomi ecosystem, synchronization works on two levels: through the company’s Mi Account service (now Xiaomi Account) and through standard Google tools, each of which is responsible for its own data types. SMS, So, call records and notes, and Google Drive -- contacts, calendars, app backups. But how does that work in practice? And why does sync sometimes go off on its own? Let's get this straight.

What is synchronization and why it is needed in Xiaomi

Sync is the process of automatically updating data between your smartphone and the cloud servers, and in simple terms, when you add a new contact to your phone book, it immediately stores itself in the cloud and becomes available on all devices associated with your account, which is convenient not only when you change your phone, but also in your daily life:

• 📱 Data security: Even if your phone breaks down or is stolen, all your data will remain in the cloud.
• 🔄 Relevance on all devices: changed the number in the contact on the phone – it will be updated on the tablet and in the web version.
• ⚡ Quick recovery: after resetting or buying a new Xiaomi, just log in to return all settings.
• 🌐 Cross-platform: Some data (like Google contacts) syncs even to your iPhone or computer.

In Xiaomi smartphones, synchronization works through two main channels:

1. Xiaomi Account (Mi Cloud) is the company’s cloud where it is stored SMS, Notes, call records, design themes, and even data from some system applications (e.g. Mi Fit for fitness bracelets).
2. Google Account – synchronizes contacts, calendar, mail, app backups and some system settings (such as Wi-Fi networks).

Both services can work in parallel, for example, your contacts can be duplicated in Google Contacts and Mi Cloud, which creates an additional layer of protection, but this can also lead to confusion if you don’t prioritize correctly.

What data can be synchronized in Xiaomi

Not all types of information are synchronized. In Xiaomi phones, the list of supported data depends on the firmware version (MIUI or HyperOS) and regional settings. Below is a table with the main categories that can be synced through Xiaomi Account and Google:

Important: In 2026, Xiaomi began to gradually abandon the Mi Cloud brand in favor of Xiaomi Cloud, but the functionality remained the same.

Some users wonder why their phone doesn't have a sync option SMS The thing is, these features can be disabled at the regional settings level, for example, in European firmware. MIUI Default call recording blocked due to privacy laws (GDPR). Unblocking it sometimes requires changing the region to India or Russia (but this can affect the stability of other services).

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Before changing the firmware region, back up your data! Some applications (such as banking) may stop working after changing the region.

How to enable synchronization on Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions

Sync settings take no more than 5 minutes, but many users miss this step when they first turn on the phone.

1. sync through Xiaomi Account (Mi Cloud)

To activate sync with Xiaomi’s proprietary cloud, follow the following steps:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Synchronization.
2. Choose Xiaomi Account (or Mi Account in older versions) MIUI).
3. If you are not already logged in, click Login and enter your details. If you do not have an account, register (phone number or email will be required).
4. After you sign in, tap your account and select Mi Cloud (or Xiaomi Cloud).
5. Activate the Synchronization slider at the top of the screen.
6. Below you will see a list of data to sync, including those you want to save to the cloud (e.g. Contacts, Notes, Gallery).

Please note that additional permission confirmation may be required to sync the Gallery and Call Records, and in some regions these options may not be available.

2. synchronize through a Google account

Google sync is usually enabled automatically when you first start your phone, but you can also manually set it up:

1. Go to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
2. Choose your account (or add a new one if you don’t have one).
3. Click on account sync.
4. Enable sliders opposite the data you want to sync (e.g. Contacts, Calendar, Gmail).
5. To back up applications, go back to Settings → Google → Backup and activate backup in Google Drive.

If you use Google Photos to back up photos and videos, make sure the app has Backup and Sync option enabled. To do this, open Google Photos, tap the avatar in the upper right corner and select Photo Settings. → Backup and synchronization.

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Synchronizing contacts with Google and Xiaomi at the same time can lead to duplication of records, and it is recommended to choose one main service.

How to check if synchronization is working

Turning on sync is only half the battle, and you have to make sure it actually works. Here are a few ways to test this.

1.Verification through Mi Cloud

To make sure that data is sent to the Xiaomi cloud:

1. Open your browser on your computer or other device and go to i.mi.com.
2. Log in to your Xiaomi Account.
3. Check the Contacts, Notes or Gallery sections – they should show up-to-date data from your phone.

If the data is not updated, try manually running sync: return to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud and tap the Sync button at the top of the screen.

2. Verification through Google

To check sync with Google:

1. Open Google Contacts in your browser.
2. Make sure all your contacts are displayed there.
3. To check other data (calendar, mail) use the corresponding services: Google Calendar and Gmail.

If the data is not synchronized, try:

• 🔄 Reboot the phone.
• 📶 Check your Internet connection (synchronization only works if you have a network).
• 🔧 Update Google Play Services and Xiaomi Cloud in Play Market.

Common synchronization problems and their solution

Even in the most modern Xiaomi smartphones (for example, Xiaomi 14 or Redmi Note 13 Pro)+) Sometimes synchronization failures occur. Let's look at common errors and how to fix them.

1. Synchronization is not enabled

Symptoms: the synchronization slider returns to the "Off" position or an error appears when turned on.

Decisions:

• 📱 Check the firmware version: in older versions MIUI (Below 12) there may be cloud bugs. Update the system in Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🔒 Reset permissions: go to Settings → Annexes → Permit management → Autostart and enable Autostart for Xiaomi Cloud and Google Play Services.
• 🗃️ Clean up the app data: For Xiaomi Cloud, perform Settings → Annexes → All applications → Xiaomi Cloud → Warehouse → Clear the data. Attention: this will remove local settings, but it will not affect data in the cloud.

2. Data not updated

Symptoms: Changes to your phone don’t show up in the cloud (or vice versa).

Decisions:

• ⏳ Wait: Sometimes synchronization takes up to 24 hours, especially if there is a lot of data.
• 📡 Check the network: sync only works when connected to Wi-Fi or mobile Internet. In some regions, Mi Cloud can be blocked by providers - try using the same system. VPN.
• 🔄 Forced synchronization: in Settings → Accounts and sync tap on your account and choose Sync.

3. "Not enough space" error

Symptoms: A notification appears about cloud storage overflow.

Decisions:

• 🗑️ Clear unnecessary data: log into Mi Cloud via your browser and delete old backups or photos.
• 💰 Buy extra space: in Mi Cloud available rates from 50 GB (about 100 rubles per month). Google Drive can expand the space to 100 GB for 139 rubles / month.
• 🔄 Reconfigure backup: Turn off synchronizing unnecessary data (such as call records if you don’t use them).

⚠️ Note: if you delete data from the cloud manually (e.g. via the web version of Mi Cloud), it will also disappear from your phone the next time you sync. Always make a local copy of important files before clearing the cloud.

How to Disable Synchronization and Remove Data from the Cloud

Sometimes users want to turn off sync for privacy reasons or to save battery power. Here's how to do it right.

1. disable synchronization Xiaomi Account

To temporarily suspend synchronization:

1. Go to Settings. → Accounts and synchronization → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn off the Synchronization slider.
3. If necessary, turn off synchronization of individual data types (e.g. Gallery or Notes).

To remove data from Mi Cloud completely:

1. Go to i.mi.com.
2. Log in to your account and go to the Data Management section.
3. Select the data type (such as Contacts) and click Delete.

2. disable Google synchronization

To disable synchronization with Google:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
2. Select your account and disable sliders in front of unnecessary data.
3. To completely delete data from Google, go to your Google account settings and manually clear the sections you want.

⚠️ Warning: Disabling contact or calendar sync may result in data loss when you reset your phone or change your device. Before you turn off, export important information to a local file (e.g., contacts in.vcf format).

Synchronization between several Xiaomi devices

One of the key benefits of Xiaomi’s ecosystem is the ability to sync between multiple devices: smartphones, tablets (Xiaomi Pad), laptops (Xiaomi Book), and even smartwatches (Mi Watch).

1. Synchronization between phones

If you have two Xiaomi smartphones (like the Redmi Note 12 and the other two). POCO F5), The same is true for Xiaomi Account:

• 📞 Contact and SMS It will be automatically available on both devices.
• 📝 Notes from the Mi Notes app synced in real time.
• 🖼️ Photos from Mi Cloud Gallery will be available on both phones (if gallery sync is enabled).

However, if you use Google Contacts as your primary source, they will not be duplicated in Mi Cloud, and to avoid confusion, it is recommended to choose one primary contact storage service.

2. Synchronization with tablets and laptops

On the Xiaomi Pad tablets and Xiaomi Book laptops, you can also log in to Xiaomi Account and access synchronized data:

• 📱 On the tablet: installing Mi Cloud and Mi Notes apps will allow you to view notes and contacts.
• 💻 On a laptop: through the web version of Mi Cloud you can download backups or view photos.

To synchronize files between devices, it is convenient to use the proprietary application Mi Share (formerly Mi Drop), which allows you to transfer files over a local network without the Internet.

3.Sync with smartwatches and fitness bracelets

The Mi Watch or Mi Band smartwatches sync with your phone via the Mi Fitness app (or Zepp Life in newer models).

• 🏃 Step, pulse and sleep data are automatically sent to Xiaomi’s cloud.
• 🔔 Notifications from the phone (calls, SMS, messengers) duplicated by the clock.
• ⚙️ Some settings (such as alarm clocks) are synchronized between the phone and the clock.

To ensure that the synchronization works correctly, make sure that:

• The phone and watch use the same Xiaomi Account.
• In the settings of the Mi Fitness application, Autosynchronization option is enabled.
• The phone is allowed to auto-start for the Mi Fitness app.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions about Synchronization in Xiaomi