How to transfer contacts from Xiaomi phone to Google account: all ways of 2026

Moving your Xiaomi contacts to your Google account is a key step for backup, synchronization between devices, and protection against data loss. After resetting or buying a new phone, contacts disappear because they were stored only in the device’s memory.This article will help avoid such situations by offering 4 proven sync methods, including hidden settings. MIUI and bypassing typical errors.

Unlike standard instructions, here we will discuss not only the basic methods (through Settings). → Accounts, but also alternatives for older Redmi models or custom firmware devices, with particular attention to duplicate contacts, conflicting Mi and Google accounts, and data recovery after a failed sync. 13T Pro, Redmi Note 12 or earlier models – the instruction is suitable for all.

Why it’s important to sync your contacts with Google instead of keeping them on your phone

The main mistake of Xiaomi users is to store contacts exclusively in the local memory of the device.

• 🔴 Data loss when resetting settings, theft or phone breakdown.
• 🔴 Inability to recover after updating MIUI, if it's gone wrong.
• 🔴 Problems when switching to a new phone (even a different brand – Samsung, iPhone).
• 🔴 Contact Duplicates if you previously used your Mi Account for backup.

Google’s account solves these problems: contacts are automatically synced to the cloud, accessible on any device via contacts.google.com, and restored in a single click. Google Contacts also offers tools to clear duplicates, group and export in.vcf format.

Another plus is integration with Google services: Gmail, Google Meet and Android Auto automatically pull up contacts from your account, for example, when you call through Google Duplex or send an email to Gmail, you do not have to manually enter numbers.

Method 1: Automatic synchronization through Xiaomi settings

The easiest way is to enable synchronization directly in the menu. MIUI. It is suitable for all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO Important: Before you start, check that your phone has added a Google account (if not, add to Settings). → Accounts. → Add an account).

Step-by-step:

1. Open Settings (the gear icon on the main screen).
2. Go to Accounts and Sync (or Accounts) → Google in New Versions MIUI).
3. Choose your Google account (if there are several of them – tap on the right one).
4. Activate Contact Sync slider (in some firmware it is called Contacts or People).
5. Click More → Sync Now to start the process manually.

If the slider Synchronization of contacts is not:

• 🔹 Update Google Play Services to Settings → Annexes → Application management → Google Play Services → Update.
• 🔹 Check if the background data for Contacts is disabled (Settings) → Annexes → Contacts → Mobile data).
• 🔹 Delete and add your Google account again (this sometimes resets sync errors).

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If contacts aren’t synced, try clearing the Contacts app cache and Contact Store in the application settings, which often solves the problem of “hangover” sync.

Method 2: Export and import contacts via VCF file

If automatic synchronization doesn’t work (for example, on custom firmware phones or older Redmi models). 4X/Note 5), You can use manually exporting contacts to a.vcf file and then importing them to Google Contacts. This method is also useful for backing up before resetting settings.

Export instructions:

1. Open the Contacts app (phone book icon).
2. Put three points on it (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Contact Management (or Import/Export).
3. Select Export to File → tick All contacts (or select the ones you need manually).
4. Click Export and save the file to Internal Memory or to SD-map.

Now import the file to your Google account:

1. Open contacts.google.com on your computer and log in.
2. In the left menu, select Import. → Select a file and download the saved.vcf.
3. Click Import and wait until it is completed (may take a few minutes for a large number of contacts).

Advantages of this method:

• 🔸 It works on any device, even without access to Google Play.
• 🔸 Allows you to select specific contacts for transfer.
• 🔸 A.vcf file can be saved to a cloud drive (Google Drive, Yandex Disk) as a backup.

Disadvantages:

• 🔸 Manual update – when adding new contacts on the phone will have to repeat the export.
• 🔸 Possible coding errors for Cyrillic names (solved by choice of encoding) UTF-8 export).

Method 3: Sync with Mi Account and then transfer to Google

If you've used Mi Account for backup, contacts could be saved in the Xiaomi cloud, and you can transfer them to your Google account without losing data, which is a good way to use Xiaomi Mi 9, Redmi Note 8 Pro and other models where Mi Cloud was the primary backup tool.

How to transfer contacts from Mi Account to Google:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Account.
2. Make sure that the contact sync slider is on and wait for the process to be completed.
3. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
4. In the Cloud section → Contacts click Export and save the.vcf file.
5. Import this file to Google Contacts (as described in Method 2).

An important nuance: after the transfer, disable the synchronization of contacts with Mi Account to avoid duplication.

1. Back to Settings → Accounts and synchronization → Mi Account.
2. Turn off the Contact Slider.
3. In the app Contacts click ⋮ → Settings → Accounts and delete the Mi Account binding (if any).

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Don’t sync with Mi Account and Google at the same time, which will create duplicate contacts.

If there is an error when exporting from Mi Cloud:

• 🔧 Check if the storage limit is exceeded (free 5GB available).
• 🔧 Try exporting contacts in parts (for example, 200 entries).
• 🔧 Update the Mi Cloud app on Google Play or reinstall it.

Method 4: Use of third-party applications (for advanced users)

If the standard methods did not work (for example, on phones with a MIUI Global Stable is over 2 years old, you can use third-party tools.We only recommend proven high-ranking apps on Google Play:

Use Contacts Backup & Restore:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Launch it and press Backup → Select All Contacts → Next.
3. Save a backup to Google Drive or your device.
4. In the web version of Google Contacts, import the file from the backup.

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Before using third-party apps, check reviews from the last 3 months – some tools may contain adware or may not support new versions. MIUI.

Warning: Avoid applications that request administrator rights or access to SMS/For example, com.android.contacts is a Xiaomi system application, and installation requests are not required. APK from unknown sources should be alerted.

Problem Solving: Contacts are not synchronized or duplicated

Even after you set up your synchronization correctly, you can still get errors, and let's look at typical scenarios and how to fix them:

Problem 1: Contacts don’t appear on Google accounts

• 🔍 Check what's in the Settings → Accounts. → Google is enabled sync only for the desired account (if there are several of them).
• 🔍 Make sure that the contacts are saved to a Google Account, not to a Device or SIM-map (checked in the Contacts app when editing the contact).
• 🔍 Restart your phone and manually start syncing in Settings → Accounts. → Google → More. → Synchronize now.

Problem 2: Duplicate contacts

• 🔄 Open contacts.google.com → Duplicate → Unite everything.
• 🔄 In your phone settings, turn off sync with Mi Account and other accounts (such as Facebook or WhatsApp).
• 🔄 Install Contacts Optimizer for Automatic Double Merger.

Problem 3: The “Synchronization Stopped” Error

• ⚙️ Check if the background data for Contacts and Google Play Services is disabled.
• ⚙️ Clear the cache and application data Contacts (Settings) → Annexes → Contacts → Warehouse).
• ⚙️ Update Google Play Services and Contacts via Google Play.

If none of these methods helped, try resetting the Contacts app settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Contacts.
2. Press Warehouse. → Reset settings (do not delete data!).
3. Reboot the phone and repeat the sync.

How to check if your contacts are successfully transferred to Google

After performing any of the described methods, you need to make sure that the contacts are actually saved in your Google account.

Method 1: Using the web version of Google Contacts

1. Open your browser and go to contacts.google.com.
2. Sign in with the same account as on your phone.
3. Check that all contacts are displayed (use a name or number search).

Method 2: Through phone settings

1. Open Contacts on your phone.
2. Slip on any contact and select Edit.
3. The top of the screen should show a Google account (not a Device or a Google Account). SIM).

Method 3: Through another device

• Sign in to the same Google account on another phone or tablet.
• Make sure the contacts are automatically tightened (may take up to 10 minutes).

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If contacts are displayed in Google Contacts but not synced to your phone, check your account settings in Settings. → Accounts. → Google → Contact sync: sometimes deleting and re-additioning an account helps.

Additional verification:

• 🔎 Create a test contact on your phone and make sure it shows up in Google Contacts in 1-2 minutes.
• 🔎 Remove the test contact in the web version and check if it has disappeared from the phone (this will confirm two-way sync).

FAQ: Frequent questions about moving contacts with Xiaomi to Google