Changing a smartphone is always stressful, not so much with getting used to a new design or interface, but with the risk of losing important digital footprints. When a user moves from the Samsung ecosystem to Xiaomi devices, they face the need to migrate a huge array of information, from trivial contacts and call history to heavy video files and Wi-Fi passwords. Fortunately, the Android operating system provides flexible enough tools to make this process as transparent and fast as possible.
There are several proven synchronization methods, each with its own advantages depending on the amount of information transferred and the speed of the Internet connection. We will consider the Mi Mover application, which is the most effective solution for this task, as well as alternative methods through cloud services and local backup.
It is important to understand that the structure of the file system and the principles of the One shells UI (Samsung and MIUI/HyperOS (Xiaomi) has differences: some system settings or specific widgets may not be transferred automatically, requiring manual adjustment. However, the bulk of user data – photos, documents, messengers and applications – successfully migrates under simple rules, which will be discussed below.
Preparation of smartphones for the transfer procedure
Before running any cloning software, both devices must be trained in basics, a critical step that is often ignored, leading to connection breaks or file read errors. Make sure both smartphones are at least 50-60% charged, as the process of actively transmitting data over Wi-Fi Direct consumes a lot of battery power.
Both devices should be connected to the same Wi-Fi network if you plan to use cloud methods, or have wireless modules enabled for local protocols. If you use a cable (via USB-C to USB-C adapter), make sure it is serviceable and supports data transfer, not just charging.
⚠️ Warning: Do not interrupt the preparation process or lock the phone screens during the initial pairing. If the screens go out, the connection may break and the procedure will have to start again.
While the system will automatically determine the amount of data needed, having a free buffer space of 10-15% of the total memory will ensure stable operation of the file system and prevent failures when writing large amounts of information.
☑️ Checklist of preparations
Using the Mi Mover app for migration
The most efficient and quickest way to transfer data from Samsung to Xiaomi is to use the proprietary Mi Mover tool, which is designed specifically to move users from other Android and iOS devices to the Xiaomi platform, and creates a direct secure connection between phones, bypassing the Internet channel, which ensures high transfer speeds.
On the new Xiaomi smartphone, the app is often preinstalled in the Tools folder. If it is not available, or on the old Samsung, it is necessary to download it. APK-file or find the application in the Google Play Store. After launching on both devices, you must accept the user agreement and provide all requested permissions to access memory, contacts and network settings.
Then you have to choose the role of each device, and on Xiaomi, you click "I'm a recipient" and on Samsung, you click "I'm a sender," and the smartphones will start looking for each other. QR-The code or name of the device you want to choose to pair. The connection process usually takes a few seconds.
What if the Mi Mover can’t see the device?
Once you've successfully connected, you'll open a data selection menu, where you can customize exactly what you want to move, and you'll be able to select apps, photos, music, contacts, messages, even system settings, and you can choose all of them at once, or you can only select critical items.
Transfer of contacts, messages and call logs
Contact book and call history are perhaps the most important piece of data for any user. When moving from Samsung to Xiaomi, it’s important to keep not only the numbers, but also the photos, email addresses and notes attached to them. The Mi Mover app does a great job of converting the contact database into a format that the new system understands.
SMS and MMS messages deserve special attention. Many users store important confirmation codes, correspondence with delivery services or personal conversations. When you move through Mi Mover, messages are stored in the native Messages app. However, if you use third-party SMS applications on Samsung, their history may not be automatically transferred.
The call log also migrates completely, and you'll see the history of incoming and outgoing calls in the same way that it was on the old device, which is convenient for those who are in business or just want to keep a history of communication with loved ones.
- 📞 Contacts: names, numbers, email, positions and avatars are transferred.
- 💬 Communications: texts retained SMS, time of sending and reading status.
- 📋 Call log: full call history with dates and duration.
- 🗓 Calendar: Events and reminders are transferred if they are stored locally.
⚠️ Note: If your contacts are stored in a Google account or on the SIM-card, they can sync automatically when you log in to your account, without using Mi Mover. Check the sync settings in the "Accounts" section before manually transferring to avoid duplicate records.
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Before you move contacts, clear duplicates on an old Samsung through Contacts → Contact Management → Combine Repetitive Contacts. This will save time on the new device.
Migration Multimedia: Photos, Videos and Music
The biggest move is to move media files. A modern user gallery can weigh tens of gigabytes. Apps like Google Photos are good for cloud storage, but they don't always carry metadata (geotechs, shoot dates, albums) exactly the way direct file copying does.
When using Mi Mover or manually copying through a computer, the folder structure is usually saved. DCIM/Camera It's going to be in the Xiaomi gallery, it's going to be in the screenshots, it's going to be in the album, and it's going to take longer for large-scale video files to be transmitted, so it's really important to have a stable battery charge.
Music files and podcasts are also portable without loss of quality, but it is worth considering that the standard Xiaomi player may interpret ID3 tags differently if the file encoding was specific to Samsung. In most cases, the system will automatically scan the media library and update the indexes.
| Type of data | Storage format | Difficulty of transfer | Safeguarding metadata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photo (JPG/HEIC) | DCIM / Pictures | Low. | Complete. |
| Video (MP4/MKV) | DCIM / Movies | Average (weight) | Complete. |
| Audio (MP3/FLAC) | Music | Low. | Depends on the tags. |
| Documents (PDF/DOC) | Download / Docs | Low. | Complete. |
If you've used Secure Folder on Samsung, you can't transfer data from there by standard methods, you first need to extract files from the secure container into your phone's normal memory, and then start migrating.
Transfer of applications and accounts
The list of installed applications is another important aspect. Mi Mover can transmit APK-Application files that are not installed from the Play Market, as well as the apps themselves from the Google Store, but data inside the applications (logins, game progress, cache) are not always transferred.
For social networks and instant messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber), the situation is as follows: Telegram and Viber store their correspondence history on their servers, so it is enough to simply log in to the account by phone number. WhatsApp will need to make a local backup on Google Drive on the old phone and restore it on the first launch on a new one.
Banking and Google Authenticator applications will require special attention, not portable for security reasons, but you will have to re-enter banking applications, perhaps by confirming a sign-in via SMS or a bank call.
Google, Mi Account, Samsung Account (for some services) must be re-entered. Xiaomi will prompt you to log in to Mi Account when you first set up – this is desirable to do to activate the device search and cloud storage functions.
Problem Solving and Troubleshooting
Despite the smoothness of the process, sometimes there are failures. 99% or some apps may not open on a new device, often due to differences in Android versions or incompatibility of older versions of apps with the new shell. MIUI/HyperOS.
If the transmission is interrupted, don't panic. Check to see if one of the devices is power-saving mode that could kill the background transmission process. Also try to restart both smartphones and repeat the procedure by selecting only the data that was not copied the first time.
Problems with the display of fonts or “curve” interface in some applications on Xiaomi are solved by updating the applications themselves through the Play Store or GetApps. Xiaomi shell can agresively manage background processes, so for important messengers it is worth setting up the autorun permission.
⚠️ Note: After transferring data, be sure to check the work NFC-Access keys and bank cards (Mi Pay / Google Pay) will need to be added again, since security tokens are not transferred between devices.
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The most reliable way to avoid errors during transfer is to perform migration in stages: first contacts and photos, then applications, and at the very end - customization of specific services.
Alternative methods and cloud synchronization
If Mi Mover is not possible for some reason (e.g., Samsung’s older Android version is below 4.4 or technical issues), you can use the classic method through your Google account, which is less fast but very reliable for basic data.
On your old device, go to Settings → Accounts → Google and make sure that you sync contacts, calendar, Keep notes and photos (via Google Photos). On the new Xiaomi, just type in the same Google account when you first set up, and the data will “tighten up” automatically.
For photos and videos, Google Photos offers unlimited (compressed) or paid storage in the original. This is a great way to not depend on the physical presence of the old phone. However, for a full copy of the system, including the placement of desktop icons and Wi-Fi passwords, it is better to still use local methods or Samsung Smart Switch service (if it is compatible with a soot device, which is rare).
It is also possible to transfer data through a computer, connecting phones alternately as USB-This is the longest, but most controlled way to manually sort garbage before downloading it to a new smartphone.