How to transfer everything from shiomi to shiomi: from A to Z

Changing a smartphone, even to a newer model of the same manufacturer, always causes a slight panic: what if something is lost, important contacts are lost or correspondence is not preserved? Happy owners of the Xiaomi ecosystem are more fortunate than users of other brands, as the company has developed powerful built-in tools for migration. The process of transition to a new device has become as automated as possible, but requires compliance with a certain sequence of actions for the ideal result.

In this article, we’ll take a look at all the sync options available, from a proprietary app to cloud services, so you can choose the one that’s most suitable for your situation. It doesn’t matter if you’re changing your budget to a flagship or just updating your device—proper preparation ensures that your new gadget will be an exact replica of the old one, but with improved performance.

Before you start, there are several layers of data transfer: the base layer includes contacts and calendar, the middle layer includes photos and documents, and the full layer includes cloning the system with all the passwords and application settings, and the choice of method depends on how deeply you want to integrate the new device into your digital life.

Preparing both devices for migration

The success of the operation depends on 90% of the preparatory stage. Many users make the mistake of starting the process on devices with low battery charge or unstable connection. Before you throw everything from shaomi to shaomi, make sure that both smartphones are charged at least 60-70%. The process can take from 15 minutes to several hours depending on the amount of information, and a sudden power outage can lead to file damage.

The second critical point is the software update. Make sure both devices have the current version of the MIUI shell or the new HyperOS. Different versions of the operating system may contain incompatible database formats, which will lead to errors when restoring backup. Go to Settings → About the phone and check for updates.

You also need to make room on the receiving device. Even if you bought a phone with a lot of storage, system files and pre-installed apps already take up a lot of space. Carefully check the available space by comparing it to the amount of data on an old phone.

⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to start the transfer if one of the devices is connected to the device. VPN It can disrupt the local connection between phones and interrupt the process at the handshake stage.

The final step is to clear the cache of heavy apps on your old phone, which is not a mandatory but recommended action that will speed up the new gadget immediately after you turn it on, and delete the temporary files of messengers and browsers that will still be downloaded again.

Using the Mi Mover app for full cloning

The most efficient and quickest way to move everything from shiaomi to shiaomi is to use the built-in Mi Mover (or "Mi Move") application, which creates a direct Wi-Fi connection between devices, bypassing the Internet, which provides high speeds for transferring large amounts of data, and you can find the utility in the Tools folder or search in settings.

Run the app on both phones. Select Receiver on the new device and Sender on the old one. QR-This is a code that will appear on the screen of a new smartphone, and this action will connect the devices into a single local network.

Once connected, you'll be asked to select data categories to port, and you can drag and drop everything from system settings, desktop icons, Wi-Fi passwords, call history, and SMS. The most valuable thing is that Mi Mover can even migrate authorization data to many applications, even though banking programs will still require re-entry for security reasons.

While transferring, don't switch to other apps or lock screens. Although the connection is secure, background activity can slow down or cause a connection to be timed out. Once the process is complete, the new phone will restart and begin the final setting of the environment.

⚠️ Warning: If the connection is interrupted during the transmission, don't panic. Just start the process again - the application is smart and will try to continue from the break point or correctly handle duplicates.

Comparison of data transfer methods

Beyond the proprietary tool, there are other ways to migrate, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your current situation: whether you have a computer at hand, whether the Internet is stable, and how much data is available.

Below is a table that will help you navigate and choose the best path for your situation.

As you can see from the table, Mi Mover benefits in versatility and speed, as it does not depend on the speed of your ISP. Google Account is good for basic synchronization, but will not save the settings of the call or specific system settings. Cloud services are convenient in that they do not require both phones at hand at the same time, but are limited by the amount of free storage.

For users who change devices frequently, the best strategy is a combination of methods: basic setup through a Google account, and heavy files and specific settings through local copying.

Work with Google Account and Mi Cloud

Google’s ecosystem remains the industry standard for personal data retention, and to flip contacts, calendar events, and notes, just make sure that your old phone has a checkmark on Settings → Accounts and Sync and manual sync.

When you first activate the new Xiaomi smartphone, the system will offer to restore data from the Google cloud. This will take time, as the applications will be downloaded from the Play Market again, but you will get a clean system without junk files. Photos and videos are best stored in Google Photos, enabling the function "Suppress and sync" in high quality or original (if you have a subscription).

Mi Cloud offers deeper integration, and it can save not only media files, but also voice recordings, messages, and even the location of icons on the desktop. To use this method, you need to log into your Mi Account on both devices. From the cloud menu, select "Create a backup" on your old phone and "Restore" on your new one.

It's important to keep data security in the cloud in mind. Use complex passwords and two-factor authentication, because the cloud stores the key to your digital identity. Losing access to your account can mean losing all data if you don't have a local backup.

Transfer of multimedia and heavy files

Photos, 4K videos, music and documents often take tens of gigabytes. It's not always reliable to transmit them over the Internet. The easiest way is to use a file manager. Xiaomi has a great Explorer that can work over the network.

Open Explorer on both phones. Select Remote Control or FTP Access from the menu. Create a hotspot on one phone and connect to it from the other. You will access the file system as a network drive. Copy the DCIM folders (camera), Download and Music to the new device.

The alternative is to use a microSD card if your models support this format, write all the data on the card on the old phone, then move it to the new one, which is a "old-fashioned" but extremely reliable method that requires no network settings.

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Use a USB-C to USB-C cable (if both phones support data transfer) to copy files via MTP, which will give you a maximum speed comparable to copying to a flash drive.

Don't forget to check the Android/data and Android/obb folder if you have heavy games or specific apps storing cache locally.Although modern apps store data in the cloud, some offline programs can lose progress without manually copying those directories.

Nuances of WhatsApp and Viber messaging transfer

Messengers are perhaps the most sensitive part of migration: simply copying files is not enough, because databases are encrypted. WhatsApp on Android has a built-in feature to create a local backup or copy on Google Drive.

To save your email history, go to Settings → Chats → Backup and click Create. Make sure the copy is created on Google Drive, which is linked to your account. On your new phone, WhatsApp will offer to restore the story when you install it — agree and wait for the process to end.

With Viber, the situation is similar: Settings → Account → Backup Viber.However, Viber sometimes gets cranky when changing devices unless the phone number has been moved to a new one. SIM-Make sure the card is on time. SIM-The card with your number is installed in the new phone and receives SMS confirm.

⚠️ Note: WhatsApp and Viber backups are tied to your Google account and phone number. If you change your phone number, you won’t be able to recover your correspondence using standard methods, such as using third-party backup utilities or changing your number inside the app before moving.

For Telegram, it's not a big deal: it's completely cloud-based, just enter your login and password, and all chats (except secret chats) will be automatically downloaded, secret chats are tied to the device and not portable, which is a security feature.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)