Changing your smartphone to a Xiaomi model is always an exciting process, often overshadowed by the fear of losing important contacts, photos or correspondence history. Fortunately, the Android ecosystem on which the MIUI or HyperOS shell is based provides a powerful tool for migration: your Google account. Using the “Corporation of Good” cloud services is the most reliable and versatile way to transfer information, since it is independent of the manufacturer of the old device.
Unlike proprietary utilities like MI Mover, which require you to install apps on both phones and have a stable Wi-Fi connection between them, Google syncs happen at the server level. That means you don't have to keep both devices on at the same time in the same room. Just log in on a new gadget to access your digital life.
In this article, we will discuss in detail what data is to be transferred, how to properly prepare an old device and what to do if synchronization is interrupted. We will look at the subtleties of working with Google Drive and system security settings to make the transition to the new Xiaomi as smooth as possible and without losing valuable files.
Preparing the old device for migration
The first and most critical step is to check the sync status on your current smartphone, whether it’s Android or iPhone. If you’re switching from another Android smartphone, make sure that the system settings activate forced synchronization of all important partitions. Users often forget that contacts can be stored in memory. SIM-maps or locally in your phone’s memory, not in the cloud.
For iPhone owners, the situation requires pre-installing the Google Drive or Google Photos app from the App Store, since native integration of iOS with Google services is limited compared to Android. You need to manually start the backup process in the application and wait for its full completion, which is especially important for a large library.
⚠️ Warning: Before starting the procedure, be sure to check the free space in your Google cloud storage.The basic tariff provides only 15GB, which are shared between Mail, Drive and Photos.If the space runs out, no synchronization of new data will occur.
Also make sure that the device has the latest version of Google Play services installed.Outdated components can cause errors when trying to download a large amount of data to a new Xiaomi device. Check the connection to the network: it is recommended to use Wi-Fi to download heavy files, so as not to waste mobile traffic.
☑️ Pre-transfer check
What data is transferred through Google
Many users mistakenly believe that Google accounts copy everything, including folder structure and system application settings. In fact, the spectrum of information transmitted is strictly regulated by security policies and API technical capabilities.
The first thing that syncs contacts, calendars and notes (if you use Google Keep) is a database that is restored almost instantly after you enter your username and password on your new device, followed by media content: photos and videos if you have enabled the autoboot feature in the Google Photos app.
Special attention should be paid to passwords saved in the Google Chrome browser and application data. Many programs support backup of settings and progress in games via Google Drive. APK-App files don’t “move” in the full sense of the word – the new phone just gets a list of things to download from the Play Market.
Below is a table showing what is to be moved and what will have to be adjusted manually or using third-party methods:
| Type of data | Transfer method | Automation |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts and Calendar | Synchronization of the account | Complete. |
| Photos and videos | Google Photos/Google Drive | Full (when loading is enabled) |
| Annexes (APK) | Listing in Play Market | Partial (request required) |
| Wi-Fi passwords | Google Sync | Full (on Android 10+) |
| Files in folders | Manually through the Disc. | Absent. |
The process of authorization on the new Xiaomi
When you first turn on a new Xiaomi smartphone, the system will prompt you to select a language and connect to the Wi-Fi network. It is at the initial setup stage (Setup Wizard) that the key point of implementation in the ecosystem occurs. You will be prompted to log in to an existing Google account or create a new one. Select the Login option and enter the account information that was used on the old device.
Once a password is successfully verified, Google’s security system may request a sign-in confirmation, which may be a push notification on an old phone (if it’s still on hand and connected to the internet) or entering code from an SMS. This two-factor authentication step is critical to protecting your data from unauthorized access.
If you missed the account entry step when you first set up, don't worry. You can always add an account later through the settings menu. Go to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google and click Add Account. However, in this case, the automatic portability of apps and some system settings may not start automatically and you will have to restore them manually.
⚠️ Note: When you enter a password on a new device, be careful about the keyboard layout. Several failed login attempts may temporarily block access to your account by Google's security system, which will delay the setup process.
Once authorized, Xiaomi will immediately start the background loading of the app list, and you will see icons that say “Download” or “Waiting” appear on the desktop, which is the normal behavior of the system that seeks to recreate the user’s familiar environment.
Configure the synchronization of contacts and calendar
The most important part of migration is the phone book. Xiaomi devices with MIUI shell or HyperOS may default to sync with the Xiaomi Cloud. To make your contacts saved to Google appear in the phone book, you must explicitly specify this in the settings.
Go to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google. Here you will see a list of all the services tied to your inbox. Find Contacts and make sure the switch next to it is active (blue or green). If the slider is turned off, turn it on - the system will immediately start pulling numbers from the cloud.
If you are in business correspondence or planning meetings through Google Calendar, syncing should also be enabled, otherwise you risk missing important events, as Xiaomi’s standard Calendar app can only display local events or Mi Account events.
What to do if the contacts are duplicated?
It’s important to understand that changes made to contacts on the new phone will also be synced, and if you edit a number or add a photo to a subscriber on Xiaomi, those changes will affect all other devices that log in to the same account, including a tablet or computer, in a few seconds.
Photo recovery and multimedia
Gallery work requires a separate approach, as photos take up the largest amount of memory. Unlike contacts that weigh kilobytes, photo albums can take up gigabytes. The main tool here is the Google Photos app, which is usually pre-installed on Xiaomi or available in the Play Market.
When you log in, open Google Photos. If you have autoloaded your photos on your old phone, you will see them all right away. However, they may be in the cloud and take up little space on the device itself. To access them without the Internet or edit them with full quality, you need to download the files to the phone's memory.
To selectively download, open the photo, click on three dots in the corner, and select Download to Device. For mass downloads, it is more convenient to use a computer by visiting photos.google.com, or use the Free Place feature in the app settings, which will clear the phone of photos already stored in the cloud.
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Use the Traffic Saving mode in Google Photos if you have to restore the media library over the mobile Internet, so as not to exhaust the data packet limit in one session.
Don't forget about the other types of files: documents, music, and downloads. They don't sync automatically. The best way to transfer them is to use Google Drive. Upload files on your old phone to a separate folder on Drive, and on the new Xiaomi, just download them to the right directories.
Transfer of applications and their data
The process of restoring applications on Xiaomi takes place through the Google Play store. Once authorized, the system will offer to restore applications that were installed on the previous device. You can choose to restore everything or manually tick only the necessary programs.
It is important to distinguish between the transfer of the application itself and its data. Most modern programs (social networks, banks, instant messengers) store data on their servers. It is enough to enter a login and password to restore correspondence and settings within the application. However, progress in games or setting specific gates can be lost if the developer did not use Google Play Games to save progress.
For applications that do not require server authorization (for example, voice recorders, simple calculators, offline cards), data may be lost. In such cases, you should make a local backup in advance through Android built-in tools or specialized programs for PCs before changing your device.
⚠️ Note: Banking apps and payment systems (Google Pay/Mirr Pay) require re-assignment of cards and setting up biometrics on a new device. For security reasons, card data is never automatically transferred through a Google account.
Also, consider that some applications may not be compatible with the new Xiaomi model or Android version, in which case the Play Market will be reported incompatible, and install them in a standard way will not work.
Synchronization solution and errors
Sometimes, the data transfer process can run into technical hurdles. One of the frequent problems on Xiaomi smartphones is an aggressive power saving system that can kill Google’s synchronization of background services if the screen goes out. To avoid this, it is recommended to keep the screen on or set up “No Limits” mode for Google services during the initial data load.
If you see a “Sync is not working” error or endless waiting, try clearing the cache of Google Play services. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Google Play Services → Storage → Clear the cache. Don’t be afraid to press this button, your data will not be deleted, only temporary service files will be reset.
Another common situation is time desynchronization: If the phone is set to the wrong time or date, a secure connection to Google servers will not be established due to a security certificate error. Make sure that the date and time settings are “Use Network Time”.
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90% of data transfer problems are solved by checking the Internet connection, correctness of the set time and re-entry into the account.
In cases where nothing works, you can try to remove your Google account from your phone settings and add it again, which will force you to start a full cycle of initial synchronization of all services from scratch.