Buying a new smartphone like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 is always a surge of enthusiasm, but the joy of acquiring it can be overshadowed by the need to transfer accumulated files over the years. You will have to solve the problem of migrating contacts, photos, messages and installed applications from your previous device. It is not just copying files, but fully customizing the workspace to yourself.
Fortunately, the Android ecosystem and MIUI offer a lot of tools to automate this process, so you don't have to manually rewrite numbers or search for every photo in the cloud, and current methods allow you to clone the contents of memory with little or no waste or time.
In this article, we’ll take a look at all the ways you can migrate information, the Mi Mover app, Google account sync, and the manual methods for specific cases, and the right method depends on which device you’re using to use the Redmi Note 9.
Preparing devices before data migration
Before you start the copying process, you need to perform a number of preparatory steps. Ignoring this step can lead to errors or interruption of data transmission halfway. Make sure that both the old and new Redmi Note 9 devices are charged at least 50-60%.
If you use a Wi-Fi router, make sure that both phones are connected to the same network, although this is not always necessary to work with Mi Mover, since the application creates a direct connection.
⚠️ Warning: Do not interrupt the file transfer process or open heavy apps on your old phone during migration, which can damage your archives or freeze the interface.
It’s also worth checking if you’re planning to transfer 128GB of data and Xiaomi only has 64GB, the process will end in an error: clear the memory in advance or select selectively transfer only important files.
☑️ Preparation for data portability
Using the Mi Mover app for rapid cloning
The most efficient and quickest way to transfer data is to use the Mi Mover tool, which is pre-installed on all Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI shell and is available for download to other Android devices and iPhones, and allows you to transfer contacts, messages, call history, photos, music and even installed applications.
The process starts with running the app on both devices. On the new Redmi Note 9, select Receiver, and on the old phone, Sender, and the app will request permission to use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which is required to create a local access point.
After the scan. QR-If you have a code or a password, you'll start to connect, and you'll see a list of data categories that you can transfer, and you can flexibly configure what you want to copy, so you can, for example, move all the photos, but you can eliminate the messenger cache to save time.
What if Mi Mover can't see an old phone?
The speed of transfer via Mi Mover is much higher than through cloud services, since data goes directly over Wi-Fi Direct. It can take 15 to 40 minutes to transfer 50 GB of information depending on the number of small files.
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Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s native tool that delivers the highest speed and compatibility when moving from any Android device to Redmi.
Synchronization through Google Account
If you're switching from another Android smartphone, the most reliable way to save contacts and calendar is to sync through Google Account. This method doesn't require any additional software and works at the system level. All you need is your login and password.
When you first turn on Redmi Note 9, the system will prompt you to log in to your existing Google account. Once authorized, the phone will automatically prompt you to restore a backup of apps and settings if it was created on your old device, which includes Wi-Fi passwords, desktop icons and system settings.
For photos and videos, Google Photos is the best option. Install the app on your old phone, turn on autoload and wait until the process is complete. On the new Xiaomi, just log in to the same account, and the entire library will be available in the cloud.
| Type of data | Synchronization method | Internet is required | Speed. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Google Contacts | Yes. | Instantly. |
| Photo/Video | Google Photos/Cloud | Yes. | Depends on the channel. |
| Annexes | Google Play Store | Yes. | Medium |
| Files. | Google Drive / Mi Cloud | Yes. | Low/Mediocre |
It’s important to understand that recovering from the Google cloud requires a stable and preferably unlimited internet connection, and if you have a lot of data, it can take hours or even days if you download terabytes of information.
Transfer data from iPhone to Redmi Note 9
The transition from iOS to Android used to be difficult, but now the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 supports data migration directly from the iPhone.
The process is similar to porting with Android: create an access point on Redmi, connect your iPhone to your phone’s Wi-Fi network and scan. QR-You can move contacts, photos, videos, even calendar events, but iMessage and iOS apps can't be moved because Apple's system is closed.
For WhatsApp, there is a built-in function of exporting chats, but it requires a local copy or using third-party utilities on a PC to convert a database from iOS to Android.
⚠️ Note: When transferring from iPhone photos can be saved in format HEIC. Xiaomi can unlock them, but for compatibility with other devices, it is better to convert them immediately to the Internet. JPEG through camera or gallery settings.
Once the basic transfer is complete, it is recommended to configure Apple’s email and other services (iCloud) through a browser or special apps from Google Play to have access to notes and files.
Manual transfer of files via computer
Sometimes, automatic methods can't handle large amounts of data or specific files, and in those cases, the old-fashioned way of connecting to a computer is the most reliable way. USB-cable and PC with Windows or macOS operating system.
Connect your old phone to your computer and select File Transfer Mode (MTP). Copy DCIM (photo and video), Download, Documents and Music folders to your hard drive. Then connect Redmi Note 9 and transfer the data to the appropriate directories.
MacOS users will need to install a special Android File Transfer driver, since the system does not see the Android device natively. After installing the driver, the copying process takes place through the standard Finder interface.
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When you manually copy the new phone, create the same folder names as the old one, which will help applications (such as a voice recorder or player) automatically find their files.
This method is ideal for transferring heavy files, such as movies or archives of working documents, which are not advisable to drive over the Internet, and you get a physical copy of the data on your computer, which serves as an additional backup.
Features of transferring messages and calls
SMS and call history are the data that is often lost when changing phones, unless you use specialized tools. Mi Mover can transfer SMS and call logs, but only between Android phones.
If you use third-party backup apps, such as SMS Backup & Restore, you can create XML-Archive messages on an old phone, flip it to a new one and restore it. It's a universal method that works even if the Mi Mover crashes.
It is worth noting that transferred SMS can be displayed chronologically mixed with new messages, and in some cases, the system may mark them as “unread”, so be prepared to manually mark everything as read.
Where do backup copies of SMS are stored?
The situation is similar for call history: it is carried in batch, but if you change a SIM card or number, the old call history can lose some of the context, since it is tied to a specific number in the notebook.