Transferring data to Xiaomi via Google account: step-by-step instructions

Changing a smartphone always brings mixed feelings: joy from a new gadget and a slight anxiety for the safety of personal information. Owners of the Xiaomi ecosystem are in a favorable position, as the company offers many tools for migration, but the most versatile and reliable is synchronization through a Google account, which allows you to transfer contacts, calendars, notes and even a list of installed applications without resorting to complex third-party programs.

Google’s cloud services are an industry standard that works equally well on both the older Redmi models and the flagship Xiaomi 14.The data recovery process takes 10 to 30 minutes depending on the amount of information and the speed of the Internet connection.The main advantage is that your data is not tied to a particular device and is always available for download.

In this article, we will take a closer look at each step of the preparation and the transfer process itself, learn how to avoid common errors, what security settings you need to check in advance, and make sure that no important detail was lost when you switch to a new device. Understanding how cloud synchronization works will save you hours of manually entering numbers and setting up settings.

Preparing the old device for synchronization

The first and most critical step is to set up your old smartphone correctly, and many users mistakenly believe that it is easy enough to enter a username and password, but without first checking your sync settings, some of the data may remain on the old device, so you need to make sure that all important partitions are activated for transfer to the cloud.

Go to the Settings menu of your current phone and look for Accounts and Sync (the path may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI or HyperOS). Here you will see a list of all the services associated. Find your Google account and click on it to see the details.

Pay special attention to the switches next to Contacts, Calendar, Google Notes and Drive. If any of these switches are turned off, the data in this section will not get to the cloud, and it is worth checking when the last time you synced - the time should be current (for example, "just" or "5 minutes ago").

An important nuance is the status of the account itself. Make sure you remember the password from the Google account, as on the new device, the system may request it to verify your identity. If you have two-factor authentication enabled, make sure you have access to your phone number or backup codes.

⚠️ Note: If the contacts on the old phone are stored in the device memory (“On the device”) or on the device SIM-You need to manually move them to your Google account through the Contact app before you start the process.

Set up a new smartphone Xiaomi

When you first turn on a new Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone, it goes through the initial setup process, and that's when the system will suggest recovering data from the backup, which is not a recommended step if you want to migrate as fully as possible.

During the setup process, you will be asked to connect to a Wi-Fi network. This is a must, as data transfer over the mobile Internet can take too long or interrupt. After connecting, select the option "Copy applications and data" or "Restore from the cloud."

The system will ask you to log in to your Google account. Use the same login and password as the old device. Once you have successfully logged in, Android will prompt you to select a recovery backup, usually marked as "Last Copy" with the date and time of creation.

Once you select a copy, you start the boot process, and first you'll restore the list of applications, and they may not be installed all at once, but they'll be labeled "Pending boot." This is normal system behavior that prioritizes the loading of system components.

Passwords, if you’ve used auto-save passwords in Chrome or Google Password Manager, will also recover after you log in to your browser or password manager, saving you from having to remember complex character combinations for each site.

What exactly is carried through Google

Many users confuse Google sync capabilities with full system cloning, as Mi Mover does. It is important to clearly understand what data is stored in the Google cloud and what remains local, which will help avoid frustration and loss of important information.

Here is a detailed list of what is guaranteed to carry when using a standard recovery mechanism:

• 📞 Contacts: All numbers associated with a Google account, including additional numbers, email addresses and addresses.
• 📅 Calendar: All events, reminders and appointments created in Google Calendar.
• 📧 Email: All Gmail correspondence, shortcuts and filter settings.
• 📝 Notes: Google Keep entries (not to be confused with system notes) MIUI).
• 📱 App list: Icons and app names that will automatically download from the Play Market.
• 🔑 Passwords: Saved logins and passwords in the Google ecosystem.
• 📷 Photos: Only if the “Shoot” function is enabled in Google Photos.

It’s worth noting that system settings such as screen brightness, alarm volume, desktop widget location and wallpaper can also be restored if they were included in Android backup. However, specific MIUI or HyperOS shell settings often remain the default.

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Google accounts transfer structure and content (contacts, apps, email), but do not always transfer files within applications (game cache, offline maps, local documents).

Multimedia transfer: photos, videos and files

The most voluminous block of data is media content. Standard Google account synchronization is not designed to transfer gigabytes of photos and videos in full resolution for free, since storage is limited to 15 GB. However, there are effective ways to solve this problem.

If you use Google Photos, your photos are already in the cloud. Once you log in to your new phone, just open the app and your entire gallery will be available. To save space, you can choose High Quality, which is not in the quota, or Original, which consumes disk space.

To transfer heavy files like 4K videos or document archives, use Google Drive. Upload files on your old phone to a folder on Drive and download them on a new one. Alternatively, use the Backup feature in Google One settings if you have a subscription.

Do not forget about local files in the Download folder or DCIM, They're not in the cloud. They're best moved manually through the cloud. USB-cable to your computer or use the manufacturer’s cloud storage if it is integrated with the file system.

⚠️ Note: When you transfer through Google Photos in "Save space" mode, the image quality is compressed. For professional photo processing, upload the originals to Google Drive or use Mi Mover for local transmission.

Addressing common problems

Data migration is rarely smooth, users may experience app loading freezes, authorization errors, or lack of contacts, and understanding the causes of these failures will help to quickly resolve them.

A common problem is that apps don’t load or hang in “Waiting” status. This is often due to a lack of internal memory on a new device or an unstable connection. Try clearing the cache of the Google Play Store app through the Settings menu → Apps → All apps → Google Play Store → Memory → Clear the cache.

If contacts are not synced, check if your account is selected as the main one for display in the Contacts app. Sometimes the filter is used to display only contacts from the contact. SIM-- A card or a phone, hiding cloud records. Change the filter to "All contacts".

Another challenge is two-factor authentication, where if you change your phone number or lose access to a device that has received confirmation codes, you can be blocked from logging in, and you can create and save backup codes in a safe place in advance.

If sync is interrupted in the middle, don't panic. Just start the recovery process again or manually sync through your account settings. Google can download interrupted files without starting the process again.

Alternatives: Mi Mover vs Google

While Google account is a universal solution, for Xiaomi appliance owners, there is a native tool called Mi Mover. Understanding the differences between these methods will allow you to choose the best scenario for your situation.

Google’s account is ideal for carrying digital identities: passwords, search history, contacts, and app lists. It works on any Android device, but it can’t handle desktop layouts, alarm system settings, voice recorders, and files inside some apps (such as messenger cache).

Mi Mover, in turn, creates an exact replica of the status of the old phone, it even transfers the location of icons, wallpaper, call records and files of any format, but this method requires both devices at hand and installing the application on both phones.

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The ideal strategy is to use your Google account to restore contacts and passwords, and to transfer heavy photos, videos and system settings, run Mi Mover, which will provide 100% data migration.

If you’re switching from an iPhone to Xiaomi, a Google account will also be helpful, but for a full migration, it’s best to use the “Go to Android” feature when you first set up or the Mi Mover app, which supports data transfer from iOS.

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