Changing a smartphone is always an exciting process, which is often accompanied by the fear of losing important photos, contacts or correspondence. Especially relevant is the question of how to transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi when the user moves from one Android ecosystem to another, but with a proprietary shell MIUI or HyperOS. Fortunately, modern technology allows you to make this process as fast and painless as possible, preserving the entire structure of folders and settings.
Unlike switching from iOS to Android, migrating between two Android smartphones, even from different manufacturers, takes a minimal amount of time. You don’t need to be an IT expert to perform the transfer, since most methods are automated. In this article, we’ll take a look at all the available methods, from embedded utilities to cloud services, so you can choose the most convenient option for you.
Preparing devices for data migration
Before you start the immediate copying process, you need to perform a number of preparatory steps that will ensure the stability of the connection. First of all, make sure that both the old Honor and the new Xiaomi are charged at least 60%. The process of transferring large amounts of information can be energy intensive, and discharging one of the gadgets in the middle of the operation will lead to a failure.
The second critical step is to connect to a stable Wi-Fi network. While some methods use direct Wi-Fi connection between phones, having the internet will be required to sync accounts and check application versions. Make sure both devices have Bluetooth and GPS modules enabled, as they are often used to detect devices from each other.
Also, make room on a new device in advance if it's not new. Remove unnecessary system applications or temporary files so that the data writing process goes without memory overflow errors. Check that USB debugging is enabled on Honor if you plan to use advanced methods, although this is rarely required for a standard user.
⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to transfer data directly via Bluetooth via the standard Share menu if there are many files, this method is extremely slow and is not designed to migrate the entire system or thousands of photos.
Using the Mi Mover app for full portability
The most effective and recommended way is to use the official Mi Mover app (in some regions it is called “Mi Moving”), which is designed specifically to transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi, bypassing the limitations of standard Android tools.
The process starts with installing the app on both phones. On the new Xiaomi, it is often preinstalled in the Tools folder. On Honor, you need to download it from the Google Play Store or the official MIUI website. Once you launch, select the role of the device: on the old phone, click "I am sending" and on the new one, "I am receiving".
The devices will find each other through each other. QR-You can check the boxes, check the boxes, check the boxes, check the contacts, messages, call logs, apps, images, music, even your home screen settings, and transfer speeds can reach 40MB/s, which is much faster than cloud methods.
☑️ Preparation for transfer via Mi Mover
Importantly, Mi Mover may not migrate passwords from some banking applications for security reasons, and there may be problems with transferring messenger cache if their internal file structure has changed, in which case it is better to use the built-in backup functions of the applications themselves.
Synchronization through Google Account
The classic method that works on any Android smartphone, including the Honor and Xiaomi bundle, is that your data is stored in the Google cloud and then automatically uploaded to a new device when you sign in, ideal for those who want to save contacts, calendar events and notes.
To start with, on your old Honor phone, go to Settings and find Accounts or Users and Accounts. Select your Google account and make sure that the boxes are ticked against Contacts, Calendar, Notes and Documents. Press the sync button to let the data go to the cloud.
Then take the new Xiaomi. When you first turn on (or after you reset), enter the same Google login and password. The system will prompt you to restore data from the backup. If the phone is already configured, just add an account in Settings → Accounts and Sync and turn on the contact display.
What to do if no contacts appear?
The main advantage of this method is that it is independent of the manufacturer, and even if you decide to switch to Samsung or OPPO in the future, your data will remain with you, but it is worth remembering that free space on Google is limited to 15 GB, so full backups of photos and videos may not fit there.
Hand-over of multimedia and files
Sometimes automatic systems fail or the user wants to transfer only specific folders, such as downloaded files from messengers or documents. In this case, the most common use is a file manager or a connection to a computer. Connect Honor to the PC via the Internet. USB-cable by selecting the "File Transfer" mode» (MTP).
Copy the required folders (usually DCIM, Pictures, Download, Documents) to your computer's hard drive. Then plug Xiaomi in and transfer those folders to similar directories or to the root of internal memory. The folder structure on MIUI may differ, but the main media files are recognized in any folder.
An alternative is to use cloud storage, such as Yandex.Disk, Google Drive or Mi Cloud, and upload files to the cloud on your old phone and download them on your new phone, which is convenient because it doesn't require a cable or a computer at hand, but depends on your Internet connection speed.
When you manually copy, pay attention to hidden folders that start with a dot, which often store application settings or cache, and if you copy the entire folder, the hidden files will also be transferred, which will help keep some programs configured.
| Method | Speed. | What's transferable | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mi Mover | Tall. | Everything (Applications, photos, settings) | Low. |
| Google Account | Medium | Contacts, Calendar, Notes | Low. |
| USB Cable + PC | Tall. | Files, Photos, Videos | Medium |
| Bluetooth | Low. | Separate files | Low. |
Features of transferring WhatsApp and Viber
Messengers store their correspondence history separately from the main system, so it takes a separate approach to transfer them. The most reliable way for WhatsApp is to use the built-in backup feature on Google Drive. On Honor, go to Settings → Chats → Backup and click “Create”.
Once you install WhatsApp on Xiaomi and log in to the same phone number, the app will find the backup in the cloud and prompt you to restore your message history. It's important to use the same Google account as the old device. Viber is similar to the procedure and also tied to cloud storage.
There are third-party PC utilities that promise to move correspondence without the cloud, but using them carries security risks, and it is better to spend a little time on the standard procedure through Google Drive to ensure that personal data is safe. Local backups can also be transferred manually through the file manager by copying the folder. WhatsApp/Databases.
Note that secret chats on Telegram are not stored in the cloud by definition, because they are tied to the device. They are impossible to transfer, and this is a feature of encryption, not a system error. Conventional Telegram chats are synchronized automatically through the server, since they do not require backup.
Set up the new Xiaomi after the transfer
Once the data has been successfully transferred from Honor to Xiaomi, it is recommended to conduct an initial setup of the MIUI system. Xiaomi shell has many features that were not on Honor, such as “Second Space” or advanced control gestures. Take time to study the Settings menu → Additional features.
Check all applications. Some programs, especially banking ones, may require re-authorization or biometrics (fingerprint, face) adjustments, and make sure that notifications are correct, as MIUI aggressively manages energy and can kill background processes.
To optimize the work, it is recommended to go to the Security app (standard for Xiaomi) and perform a system scan, and it is also worth updating all applications through Google Play and checking for system updates in the About Phone → MIUI version.
⚠️ Warning: After transferring data for the first hours, the phone can run slower and warm up more. This is normal: the system indexes files and optimizes application databases in the background.
Possible problems and ways to solve them
Unforeseen difficulties can occur in migrating, and one of the common problems is the “Not enough space” error, even when there is free memory, which may be due to fragmentation of the file system or the peculiarities of counting space in different file systems (exFAT vs. ext4), in which case you can try to transfer data in smaller portions.
Another common situation is that fonts or icons are not displayed correctly after transfer, and this is solved by clearing the theme cache. Go to the Themes app, select a profile and click Reset or just restart the device, and alarm clocks and alarm clock settings sometimes get confused, and you need to check them manually.
If the data transfer is interrupted by 99%, don't panic. Most often, you can resume the process from the same place just by running the Mi Mover again. However, if you used the method through Google, just wait for the background synchronization to end by turning on the screen and connecting the charger.
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Tip: After successfully transferring data and verifying its integrity, perform a full Factory Reset on your old Honor phone before selling it or disposing of it so that your personal data does not fall into the wrong hands.
In conclusion, moving from Honor to Xiaomi is a step forward in terms of functionality and customization, and the right data port will make you feel at home on a new device from the first minutes of use, while retaining all important digital habits.
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Using the official Mi Mover app is the most complete and secure way to migrate, allowing you to transfer up to 95% of user data without losing structure.