How to combine duplicate contacts on Xiaomi: the complete guide

The problem of phone book duplication is a common phenomenon faced by owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones after changing their device or resetting settings. When a user restores data from a backup or syncs multiple accounts at once, the list often appears the same entries, which creates chaos and makes it difficult to find the right number. Visual clutter is just the tip of the iceberg, since having multiple copies of a single subscriber can lead to errors when calling and sending messages.

Fortunately, MIUI and HyperOS offer built-in tools for automatic and manual recording merges. You don’t need to install third-party apps that can request access to personal data, as standard functionality does the job efficiently. In this article, we’ll go into detail on all the ways to clean up your phone book.

Reasons for the appearance of duplicates in the phone book

The main reason for repeats is incorrect synchronization of data between different sources. SIM-Map and Google account and then import data from the SIM-The card is stored in the device's memory without deleting the originals, and this causes the system to perceive the same record as two different contacts.

Another factor is the switch from an old smartphone to a new one, and when you transfer data over Bluetooth, Mi Mover or Google One, if a new device has already saved some numbers, they can be duplicated, and the problem is also relevant for those who use multiple mailboxes for synchronization, and each of them stores a copy of the phone book.

It is worth noting that different formats of recording numbers can also interfere with automatic amalgamation, for example, if one number is written as “+79990000000” and the second as “89990000000”, the system can consider them different people, although in fact it is a single subscriber, manual verification in such cases becomes necessary.

⚠️ Note: Before starting a mass merger or deletion of records, it is strongly recommended to back up the current phone book, which will allow you to recover data in the event of unforeseen errors or accidental deletion of important information.

Automatic merger through contact settings

The fastest way to clean up the mess is to use the built-in auto-unification feature, which is ideal for those who want to quickly clear the list without parsing each pair of records in detail, and the system's algorithm analyzes names and phone numbers, finding matches and suggesting that they be combined.

To start the process, you need to open the standard Contacts app and go to the control menu. Depending on the version of MIUI, the interface may be slightly different, but the logic remains the same. You usually need to click three dots in the corner of the screen or the menu button to see the hidden options.

In the menu that opens, select "Contact Management" or "Contact Management" and then the system will suggest the option "Combine Repetitive Contacts". Once you click, you will start scanning the database, and you will see a list of duplicates found with a suggestion to combine them.

• 📱 Open the Contacts app on the home screen.
• ⚙️ Click on the menu (three dots or) and select "Contact Management".
• 🔄 Select the option "Combine Repetitive Contacts" to run the scan.
• ✅ Confirm the merger of the pairs found by checking the correctness of the data.

It is important to understand that automatic fusion is not always perfect, and if contacts have different names (such as "Mother" and "Mother's Home"), the system may not combine them, and in such cases, manual intervention will be required to consolidate the information into a single card.

Manual combination of individual records

If the automation failed or you want to have full control of the process, use manual integration, which allows you to carefully examine the information in each card before the merger, which is especially useful if the duplicates contain different additional information (for example, one record has an email, and the other has an address).

To get started, select the contact you want to edit. In the subscriber card, you need to find the edit button, usually indicated by a pencil or an "Change" icon. At the bottom of the screen or in the action menu, often the "Connect" or "Merge with another contact" button is displayed.

Once you select this feature, you'll open a list of all the other entries in the phone book, and you'll need to find the appropriate duplicate and click on it, and the system will combine the data from the two cards into one, saving all the unique fields (numbers, addresses, social networks) from both records.

There's a nuance when you're working with contacts that are linked to different accounts, and if you're combining a Google record with a phone memory record, the final contact will be saved to the account that you choose to save, and it's important to keep in mind that you're not losing sync with the cloud.

Working with accounts and synchronization

A fundamental aspect of contact management at Xiaomi is understanding where data is physically stored. In modern smartphones, cloud storage like Google Contacts or Xiaomi Cloud is prioritized, as it ensures data is safe when a device is lost.

Often times, duplicates are caused by the phone displaying contacts from multiple sources at once. For example, you have 100 numbers in Gmail and the same 100 numbers are imported into the phone's memory. In the Contacts app, you see 200 records, but this is just a display of the same data from different columns.

To solve this problem at the system level, you can configure the display. In the Contacts settings, there's a section called "Contact Display" or "Contact Filter." Here you can choose whether to only show contacts with the contact. SIM-maps, only from a Google account or all at once. Disabling the extra source will visually remove duplicates.

For users who are actively changing devices, it is critical to set up the correct default account to save new numbers, which will prevent chaos in the future. Check the settings where new records are saved, and select your primary cloud account.

Deletion and cleaning of the phone book

Beyond the unification, it often requires the complete removal of unnecessary entries. - Xiaomi's shell-plated smartphones MIUI I've implemented a handy tool called "Bagnet Deletion," which allows you to select contact groups for elimination, and this is especially true for cleaning old records from the Internet. SIM-maps after transferring them to the cloud.

To use this feature, go to edit the contact list mode, usually by long-clicking on one of the records, after which checkboxes appear to select, you can scroll through the list and mark all duplicate entries, and then press the delete button (basket).

There is also the option of deleting contacts via the Google Contacts web interface, a method that is often even more convenient, as it is easier to see the big picture on a large computer screen and use the Find and Combine feature, which Google offers automatically when similar entries are detected.

• 🗑️ Open the contact list and click “Select All” or select the ones you need manually.
• 📂 Make sure that you choose duplicates, not unique records.
• ❌ Press the basket icon and confirm the action "Delete".
• ♻️ Check the Recycle Bin folder in Google settings if you need to restore the remote.

⚠️ Note: Deleted contacts don't always disappear forever right away. In a Google account, they can be stored in the shopping cart for up to 30 days. However, if you delete a contact only from the device, but not from the cloud, the next time you sync it can come back again.

Using third-party cleaning applications

In some difficult cases, MIUI can't be built into, or you find the interface of Google contacts more convenient, and then specialized software-cliner apps from the Google Play store come to the rescue, and they have more flexible algorithms for finding duplicates that take into account not only exact matches, but also similarity of names.

Popular apps like Contacts Optimizer or Duplicate Contacts scan the database and offer different merging strategies. They can combine contacts by name only, number only, or parameter combinations. It's a powerful tool, but it requires care.

The main risk of using third-party software is access to your personal data. When installing such an application, carefully read the permissions. It is a good tone to use an application that runs locally and does not send your phone book to its servers for "analysis."

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Before using any third-party contact application, export the phone book to.vcf through a standard application. This is your insurance in case the optimizer program gets it wrong and confuses the data.

After cleaning with a third-party application, it is recommended to check the result manually again. Algorithms can be mistaken, combining, for example, "Alexandra" and "Alexandra" (different people) or ignoring duplicates with different number formats.

Preventing the appearance of doubles in the future

To keep the duplication problem from coming back, you need to develop the right contact management habit. The golden rule is to keep all your data in one place. The ideal option is a Google account that syncs with all your devices and services.

Avoid saving numbers directly to the SIM-card, if this is not urgently necessary (for example, when using a notebook phone in parallel). SIM-The card has a limited volume and complex fields, which inevitably leads to the creation of additional entries for one person (one for a call, another for an email).

Check your sync settings regularly, and make sure that your Google account settings on your Xiaomi tick the “Contacts” box, which ensures that any change made from your computer or other phone will instantly impact your current device without making copies.

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Single Storage Point (Google Account) + regularity = No duplicates, no storage on SIM-The card solves 90% of the problems with the phone book.

By following these simple guidelines, you’ll keep your phone book clean and tidy.Structured data not only saves time when searching, but also provides the confidence that you’ll always be able to reach the right person.