Changing a smartphone often causes users mixed feelings: joy from acquiring a new gadget and anxiety about losing important information. The situation when you need to pump data from your phone to your Xiaomi phone, occurs to thousands of owners of equipment every day, whether it is a transition from an Android device of another brand or updating a model within the Mi ecosystem. Modern technology allows you to make this process as painless as possible, saving not only contacts and photos, but also the placement of icons on the desktop, Wi-Fi passwords and call history.
The process of migrating data has become much easier in recent years thanks to the development of cloud services and specialized software. However, despite automation, it is important to understand the differences between methods to choose the most suitable for your particular situation. For example, transferring from an iPhone will require other actions than synchronizing between two Android smartphones. In this article, we will discuss all the available methods in detail so that you can choose the best option and avoid typical errors.
Before you start taking action, make sure both devices are ready to go, charge the old and new phone to at least 60-70%, as copying a lot of data can be a significant energy drain, and check for free space on the target device to avoid errors in the middle of the procedure.
Using the Mi Mover app for quick migration
The most effective and native tool for smartphone owners of this brand is the built-in Mi Mover application, which is designed specifically for work in the MIUI and HyperOS environment, ensuring maximum compatibility and speed of data transfer over a local Wi-Fi channel without using Internet traffic, which is ideal for those who want to copy absolutely everything from system settings to the messenger cache.
To get started, open the app on both devices. On the new smartphone, select Recipient and on the old one, Sender. The system will automatically create an access point or prompt you to scan. QR-The code for the connection. Once you've established the connection, you'll see a detailed menu for selecting data categories.
- 📱 Contacts and Messages – Full Copy of Phone Book and History SMS/MMS correspondence.
- 🖼️ Multimedia – photos, videos, audio files and recordings of the recorder in the original quality.
- ⚙️ System settings – Wi-Fi passwords, alarm clocks, blacklist and interface settings.
- 📲 Annexes — APK-Installed program files (data within applications may not be transferred for security reasons).
⚠️ Note: When you transfer applications via Mi Mover to the new phone, only installation files will be installed. To save progress in games or correspondence in messengers (for example, WhatsApp), you need to use their built-in backup functions.
An important advantage is the ability to interrupt the process and resume it later if the connection is lost. The transfer speed is directly dependent on the number of files and the distance between devices, but on average it is between 20 and 40 MB / s, which is much faster than Bluetooth.
☑️ Preparation for transfer via Mi Mover
Synchronization through Google Account
The classic method that works on any Android device, including Xiaomi, is that you tie your old phone to Google's cloud storage, upload key data there, and then when you log in to the same account on the new device, all the information is automatically pulled up, which is the most reliable way to save contacts, calendar and notes.
To activate sync, go to the old phone's settings and find the "Accounts and Sync" section. Make sure your Google account is added, and there are active switches opposite the "Contacts", "Calendar", "Documents" points. Press the "Sync" button or wait for an automatic update.
On the new Xiaomi smartphone, when you first turn on, the system will prompt you to log into your Google account. If the phone is already set up, just add an account through Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google. After login, the data will start to load in the background.
| Type of data | Where it's stored | Free tariff limits |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Google Contacts | 15 GB (total) |
| Photos and videos | Google Photo | 15 GB (total) |
| Files. | Google Drive | 15 GB (total) |
| Passwords. | Google Password Manager | No restrictions. |
It’s worth noting that Google’s standard free storage limit is 15GB, and it’s common for email, drive, and photos. If you have a lot of high-quality media, that amount may not be enough, and you’ll need to either compress the download quality or purchase a Google One subscription.
What to do if the synchronization is suspended?
Transferring data from iPhone to Xiaomi
The transition from iOS to Android has long been considered a difficult process, but Xiaomi has made it much easier. The main tool here is also the Mi Mover app, which is available for download from the App Store, which allows you to download data from your phone to your Xiaomi phone directly using a wireless connection.
The process starts with installing the app on your iPhone. Once launched, you'll need to grant permissions to access contacts, photos and media. The new Xiaomi selects Recipient mode, and the iPhone selects Sender mode. Scanning QR-code will start the transfer process.
- 🍏 Contacts – transferred to the memory of the phone or Google account.
- 📸 Photos and videos – copied to the gallery MIUI/HyperOS.
- 📅 Calendar and Events – synchronized with the system calendar.
- 🎵 Music – tracks are transferred to the corresponding player.
It’s important to understand the limitations of the iOS platform: apps purchased from the App Store can’t be migrated to Android, because they’re different ecosystems, you’ll have to re-download their analogues from the Google Play Store, and you won’t be able to migrate iMessage messages and call history in native format.
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For iPhone users, it is critical to allow Mi Mover to access the “local area network” in the iOS settings, otherwise the phones won’t see each other for data transfer.
Use of the Mi Cloud cloud service
Xiaomi smartphone owners have access to their own cloud storage Mi Cloud, which is deeply integrated into the MIUI shell.This is a great way to create a full backup of the system, including placing icons on the desktop, setting alarm clocks and even the theme of the design.
To create a backup, go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud. Here you can choose categories for backup. Unlike Google, Mi Cloud allows you to save the desktop structure, which greatly speeds up the addiction to the new device, as all icons will fall into place.
However, it is worth considering that the free volume of the Mi Cloud is only 5 GB. This is quite enough for contacts, SMS and settings, but for photos and videos, there will be little space.
⚠️ Note: When you restore from a Mi Cloud backup, the new device must have the same version or a newer version on it. MIUI/HyperOS, Otherwise, system file compatibility conflicts may arise.
Another unique feature is the ability to find a device, lock it or remotely erase data in the event of loss, all of which are also stored in the Mi Account profile and transferred to the authorization.
Manual transfer via computer and USB-cable
For users who prefer full control of their data or do not have a fast Wi-Fi connection, the time-tested method of copying through a PC remains, which is especially relevant for transferring “heavy” files: video to 4K, archives with documents and large folders with music.
Connect your old phone to your computer through USB-cable and select the mode of operation USB «File transfer» (MTP). In Windows Explorer or macOS, open the device that appears, copy the necessary folders (DCIM, Download, Music, Documents on your hard drive. Then repeat the procedure with your new phone by moving the files to the appropriate directories.
This method ensures that the quality of media files does not suffer from compression, as sometimes happens in messengers or clouds with a limited rate, and you get a physical copy of important data on an external medium, which is a good practice of digital hygiene.
Recommended folder structure for manual copying:
/DCIM/Camera – Photos and video from the camera
/Download - downloaded files
/Music - Music
/Documents - documents
/WhatsApp/Media – Media files of the messenger (if not using backup)When you manually copy, it’s important to keep folders structured, especially for media files, so that they’re properly displayed in the gallery and players of a new smartphone. If you just create a Photos folder at the root, the system may not immediately index the content.
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Manual method via PC is the only way to securely transfer files without compression and internet speed restrictions, but it requires a computer and cable.
Transfer data from other Android smartphones
If your previous phone ran on Android but wasn't Xiaomi, the process of transferring data from phone to Xiaomi phone will also be easy.The Mi Mover app is available for installation on most popular brands (Samsung, Huawei, Honor, Realme) via the phone. QR-code or search in the app store.
An alternative and often simpler way is to use the recovery feature when you first set up the new Xiaomi. When you first turn on your phone and select a language, the system will prompt you to copy the data from another device, and you will be asked to connect the phones with a USB-C to USB-C cable or via Wi-Fi.
Cable connection is the fastest and most stable option. Just connect both devices to each other, and the customizer will tell you what to move, and the good thing about this method is that it doesn't require you to install additional apps on your old phone if it's running Android 9 or higher.
- 🔌 Cable connection – maximum speed and stability, does not require Internet connection.
- 📡 Wireless connection – convenient if there is no suitable cable, but depends on the quality of Wi-Fi modules.
- 📲 Bluetooth is extremely slow, suitable only for contacts and small files, not recommended for full migration.
⚠️ Note: When transferring data from Samsung or Huawei phones, some specific shell settings (OneUI or other features) may not be copied. EMUI), such as themes or widgets, as they are incompatible with MIUI/HyperOS.
Once you have finished copying, be sure to check the main applications, and in some cases, especially with banking applications, you will need to re-authorize or re-assign the device for security reasons.