Changing a smartphone is always stressful, not so much with getting used to a new interface, but with the risk of losing important contacts, photos or correspondence history. Xiaomi device owners are in a great position because the company has developed a powerful built-in migration tool that minimizes user participation. However, many still use outdated manual copying methods or complex cloud schemes, without knowing about the existence of more efficient solutions.
In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to quickly and safely transfer information from an old device, whether it is Android, iPhone or even a button “calling”. You will learn how the Mi Mover application works, what the nuances of porting with iOS lie in and how to properly prepare both gadgets for synchronization to avoid errors and time loss.
Whether you’ve bought the Xiaomi 14 flagship or the budget Redmi Note, the process of preparing for the data transfer remains similar, and the key is to understand the logic of MIUI or HyperOS, which are focused on seamless experience on the first run. Ignoring the preparatory steps can lead to some files remaining on the old device, and some not showing up correctly on the new one.
Preparing devices for data migration
Before you run any portable tool, you need to make sure that both smartphones are ready for active operation. First of all, check the battery level: both devices must have at least 50-60% of the power. The process of copying large amounts of data, especially photos and videos, actively consumes the resources of the processor and communication modules, so suddenly turning off one of the devices can interrupt the transmission and damage the file structure.
The second critical thing is a stable Internet connection or a proper LAN setup. If you plan to use cloud services, you need Wi-Fi. If the transfer goes directly through Wi-Fi Direct (as Mi Mover does), make sure that both phones are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled. Bluetooth is necessary for the initial handshake and search for a partner device, after which the main data stream will go over a high-speed Wi-Fi channel.
☑️ Checklist before transfer
Also, clear the cache on your old phone and delete the files you don't need to. There's no point in wasting time and resources on garbage transfers that you'll still delete in a week. Pay special attention to messengers: back up chats inside the WhatsApp or Telegram apps themselves, as the system tools may not keep your correspondence history completely.
⚠️ Warning: Do not attempt to interrupt the transfer process, even if it is 99% frozen. Forced reboot at this point can damage the contact database or system settings.
Using the Mi Mover app for Android
The most efficient and quickest way to upgrade to a new phone from Xiaomi is to use the Mi Mover app, which is pre-installed in MIUI and HyperOS, and for older Android smartphones, it can be downloaded for free from Google Play. The utility works without the Internet, creating a direct connection between devices, which ensures high data transfer speeds.
To get started, run the app on both phones. On the new Xiaomi device, select "I'm the recipient" and on the old one, "I'm the sender." QR-And then you have a code that will appear on the screen of your new smartphone, and then you scan the devices, and you'll see a list of the categories of data that you can copy.
The Mi Mover algorithm allows you to select specific file types, which gives you the flexibility to manage the memory of a new phone.
- 📞 Contacts, calls and messages (SMS/MMS)
- 📸 Photos, video and audio files from the gallery
- 📱 Applications and their data (for most programs)
- ⚙️ System settings, alarm clocks and notes
It is important to note that porting banking applications and some secure programs (such as Google Pay or bank customers) is not possible for security reasons, they will have to be installed and configured again by entering logins and passwords. It is also worth considering that some applications may not save their internal cache (such as offline cards or downloaded movies in streaming) if they are not included in the standard data structure of the application.
What if Mi Mover can't see an old phone?
Transferring data from iPhone to Xiaomi
The transition from Apple to Android has long been considered a difficult process, but modern Xiaomi tools have minimized these difficulties.The Mi Mover app is available on the App Store, allowing you to organize a communication channel between the iPhone and Xiaomi without using a computer.
The process starts in the same way: install an app on your iPhone, select "I'm the sender," scan the code from the new Xiaomi. The system will suggest you select data to migrate. It's important to understand that because of the closedness of iOS, you can't migrate the apps themselves - you have to download them again from Google Play, and you won't transfer in-game purchases and subscriptions tied to Apple ID.
As for media and contacts, it goes smoothly. Photos, videos, contacts and calendar events are copied in full. The only caveat is that some photos can be changed if they are stored in HEIC format, which Android converts to JPG on the fly. This is standard procedure, but in rare cases metadata (geolocation, shooting date) can be lost.
For users who store all the data in iCloud, there is an alternative way: You can log into your Google account on your iPhone, enable contact and calendar sync, and upload photos through the Google Photos app. Once you log in to the same Xiaomi account, all the data will automatically appear, a method that is slower but more reliable if you have a poor direct connection.
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When transferring from your iPhone, be sure to turn off iMessage on your old device before retrieving it. SIM-Otherwise, the cards. SMS Other iPhone users may still be coming to an old phone instead of a new Xiaomi.
Sync through Google Account and Cloud Services
If direct transfer is not possible for some reason or you prefer cloud technology, the Google ecosystem offers a reliable backup. It is the “gold standard” for Android, which allows you to restore the basic data set when you first turn on a new smartphone. When you activate a new Xiaomi system will offer to restore data from the last copy saved in Google Drive.
What this method carries perfectly:
- 📇 Contacts (synchronization is instantaneous)
- 📅 Calendar events and challenges
- 🔑 Saved passwords in Google Password Manager
- 📸 Photos and videos (via Google Photos)
But it has limitations: It won’t tolerate Wi-Fi settings (passwords need to be re-entered), widgets on the desktop, and data inside apps that don’t use Google’s cloud storage. It also depends on the speed of your Internet feed: it can take hours to download tens of gigabytes of photos.
Xiaomi also has its own cloud service, Mi Cloud, which is relevant for users, and if Xiaomi or Redmi were on the old phone, logging into the Mi Account will instantly synchronize notes, voice recorders, call records and screenshots, which is especially convenient, since some MIUI system applications store data in their cloud structure, not in Google.
| Method | Speed. | We need the Internet. | What's transferable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mi Mover (Android) | Very high. | No (locally) | Everything, including settings |
| Mi Mover (iOS) | Tall. | No (locally) | Media, contacts, no apps |
| Google Backup | Medium/Low | Yeah (Wi-Fi) | Contacts, photos, basic settings |
| Manual (PC) | Low. | No. | Files only (photos, music) |
Transferring Multimedia through Computer
The classic old-school method of using a computer as an intermediary may seem archaic, but in cases where you need to transmit terabytes of video in their original quality without any compression, it remains the only alternative: the computer acts as a neutral drive, eliminating the risk of communication interruption through the air.
To implement this method, connect the old phone to the PC through USB-cable and select file transfer mode (MTP). Copy the folders. DCIM (Pictures (screenshots, images from messengers) and Download to your computer hard drive. Then connect the new Xiaomi and transfer the data to the appropriate directories. Android folder structure is universal, so the photos will immediately appear in the gallery.
Special attention should be paid to the Android/media or Android/data folder, where some applications (for example, messengers or navigators) store cache. Direct copying of these folders may not work on the new phone due to differences in access rights and application versions, but it is worth a try if you need to save offline cards or heavy document files.
⚠️ Warning: When copying through a computer, always use the command "copy" rather than "cut" until you make sure that the files opened correctly on the new device.
Nuances of WhatsApp and messengers transfer
WhatsApp migration deserves special attention, as this application stores the history of correspondence in a secure form. Just copy the folder with data here will not work – you need a backup procedure inside the application itself. On an old phone, go to Settings → Chats → Backup and create a fresh backup in Google Drive (for Android) or iCloud (for iPhone).
When you first launch WhatsApp on the new Xiaomi, the app will automatically detect the presence of a backup in the cloud and prompt you to restore the history. This is a critical point: if you miss the recovery phase when you first set up, then it will be more difficult to do this. Make sure that the new phone logs in to the same Google or Apple ID account that was used to create the copy.
Telegram and Viber are simpler. Telegram is completely cloud-based — just enter a phone number and all chats (except secret ones) will be automatically downloaded. Viber requires you to create a local backup or copy in Google Drive, similar to WhatsApp. Without this step, the history of correspondence on the new device will be empty, although the contacts will be saved in the phone book.
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The most reliable way to save correspondence is to make a local backup inside the messenger on the old phone and manually transfer the backup file to the new one if cloud synchronization fails.