Many users, when buying a new smartphone like the popular Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro, are faced with the need to quickly transfer the entire phone book. This is a critical stage, as the loss of contacts can lead to serious inconvenience in work and personal life. Fortunately, modern Android operating systems and the MIUI shell provide built-in tools for instant data import.
The process of copying the SIM card’s memory to the device’s internal storage takes literally a few minutes. You don’t need to download third-party apps or have access to the Internet if you use standard system tools. In this article, we’ll take a look at each step in detail so you can activate your phone book on a new gadget without errors.
Before you start, make sure your SIM card is installed in the appropriate slot and the phone sees it.If you just turned on the device after you bought it, the system may itself suggest importing the data, but we'll look at a manual method that works always and gives you full control over the process.
Preparation of SIM card and data verification
Before you start importing, you need to make sure that your SIM card actually has numbers saved. Often users confuse contacts stored in the memory of an old phone with entries on the operator's chip. To check this, you can temporarily install the SIM card in any other device or use the preview function, if it is available in the contact management menu.
SIM cards have limited capacity and formatting, which may differ from what the modern Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro supports. Usually, only the name and one phone number are stored on the operator’s chip, without additional fields like email, address or photos. So after the transfer, you may notice that some parts are missing - this is normal, because SIM-The card cannot physically store the extended information.
It is also important to check if the SIM card is correctly defined in the system. If you have a dual-slot model, make sure you know which slot (SIM 1 or SIM 2) the chip with the right numbers is in, which will help avoid confusion when choosing the source of the data in the settings menu.
- 📱 Make sure that the SIM card is installed in the active slot and has a network signal.
- 🔍 Check on your old phone that the numbers are stored in memory. SIM, Not a Google account or a device memory.
- 🔋 Charge the battery Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro at least before 30-40% In case the process takes a long time due to a large amount of data.
📊 Where do you most often transfer contacts?
SIM card.
From a Google account.
iPhone through the app
Manually recruiting new ones
The main and most reliable way to move numbers is to use Google’s built-in Contacts app or Xiaomi’s system app. Depending on the version of the MIUI shell, the interface may be slightly different, but the logic of action remains the same for all the brand’s devices. First, open the app menu and find an icon with a phone handset or a human silhouette.
When you start the app, look at the top of the screen or the side menu, where you usually hide the extra settings. You need to find the item responsible for managing or fixing data. In newer versions of the firmware, this section is often called "Fix and Manage" or simply "Manage," and this is where the tools for working with external data sources lie.
Select the import option and specify the source. In this case, we are interested in the item "Import with". SIM-The system will suggest you to choose which account or device to store data to. It is recommended to select your main Google account so that contacts sync with the cloud and do not disappear when resetting in the future.
⚠️ Note: If you choose to save only in memory of the phone, then if the device breaks or sells it, you will lose all the numbers.
Once you select the target storage, you start copying. You can see a request to allow access to contacts on the screen — be sure to click "Allow." The system automatically reads all the records from the chip and creates copies of them in internal memory or the cloud. When you complete, you will see a notification about successful import.
Using the Mi Mover app for migration
If you're switching from an old Android smartphone, especially another Xiaomi or Redmi, Mi Mover, a proprietary utility that allows you to transfer not only contacts from the SIM card, but also photos, messages, Wi-Fi settings and even desktop icons, works by creating a local Wi-Fi network between devices, which ensures high transfer speeds.
To work, you need to install the app on both phones, if it is not built into the system (the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro has it by default). Run the program on the new device, select the Recipient role, and on the old phone, "Sender." Scan QR-The code will connect the gadgets directly.
In the list of data for transfer, be sure to mark the item "Contacts" and specify the source. The utility is able to pull data not only from internal memory, but also offer to import them from the installed memory. SIM-This is especially useful if the old phone had contacts scattered across different storage facilities.
What if Mi Mover can’t see the contact?
Often the problem is the permissions. Go to Settings. → Annexes → Mi Mover → Access rights and make sure that you allow access to contacts and phone, and check if your old phone has a power saving mode that can block the application from running in the background.> The main advantage of this method is that it creates a complete copy of your digital life, but if your goal is to transfer only numbers from the SIM, the standard method through the Contacts app will be faster and easier. After numbers have migrated from the SIM card to the phone, it is critical to configure their proper storage. By default, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro can offer to save new records in memory SIM-map or local phone file. This is a misguided strategy that leads to data loss. You need to switch standard storage to a Google account. Go to your contacts settings and find the Accounts or Sync section. Make sure that your Gmail address is ticked off and synced for contacts is enabled. Now every new number you add will automatically fly to the cloud. If you lose your phone, just log in to your account on any other device and the entire book will recover. Also, check which account is selected by default to create new records. In the Contacts app, manually redirect to your new contacts and remove the need to save your contacts. Type of storage Risk of data loss Access from other devices SIM-High card (physical wear, loss) Only when repositioning the card Do not use Memory of the phone Medium (in case of breakage or reset) No (without export) Only as temporary Google Account Minimum (cloud storage) Yes (from any device) Main option Solution with encoding and duplicates When you transfer contacts from old SIM cards to modern Xiaomi smartphones, users often face the problem of “crackers” instead of letters in names. This is due to differences in the encoding of text. GSM, While modern systems are working with UTF-8. As a result, Russian letters can turn into incomprehensible symbols, and unfortunately, it is almost impossible to fix this directly during the import process from the SIM card, since the data is already read in a distorted form. The only solution is to manually rename these contacts after importing them, or to use third-party contact editors that can convert encodings if the SIM card is still in the device. If you've previously entered these numbers manually or synced them from another device, the book may have double entries. MIUI It has a built-in tool to combat this, and in the contact management menu, select "Combine Repetitive Contacts," and the algorithm will find the matches by phone number and suggest combining them into a single card. 🔄 Check your phone book regularly for duplicates, especially after importing data from multiple sources. ✍️ If names are not displayed correctly, it is easier to quickly re-interpret them by saving them to Google than to look for complex ways to convert them. 🗑️ Before joining contacts, make sure that there is no unique information in different duplicates (for example, in one email only, in another only the address), so as not to lose details. ⚠️ Note: When automatically combining contacts, the system can choose the main photo or name at its discretion. Always check the result of the combination so as not to lose important clarifications in the name (for example, "Work" or "Mobile"). Export and backup contacts After successful transfer and synchronization settings, it is recommended to make an additional backup in.vcf format. This file contains all the information about your contacts in a universal format that is read by almost all phones, email clients and programs. The presence of such a file on a memory card or in cloud storage (for example, Google Drive or Yandex.Disk) is your insurance in case of blocking your Google account. To create such a file, go to the contact settings, select Export, and specify the location of the save, contacts_backup_2026.vcf. Now, you can send this file to yourself by email or save it to a folder of important documents, and in the case of a catastrophic system failure, you can recover the entire book in a couple of seconds just by opening this file. Remember to update this backup periodically, especially if you are actively using your phone and adding many new numbers. Automatic sync with Google is good, but having a local file under your full control gives you an added sense of security and service independence. 💡Keep your contact backup file (.vcf) not only in your phone’s memory, but also send it to your email or upload it to cloud storage to access it even if you lose your device completely. What if your phone doesn’t see the SIM card when you import it? If the SIM card is not displayed in the import menu or the contact list is empty, try the following steps: 1) Reboot the phone. 2) Remove the SIM card tray, wipe the chip contacts with soft dry cloth and paste back before the click. 3) Check in the network settings if the SIM card is active. Sometimes it helps to switch the network mode from 4G on 3G Can I transfer contacts if the screen is broken? If the sensor is not working, but the image is there, you can connect it. USB-mouse-over OTG. If the screen is completely black, but the phone is turned on, try logging into your Google account from your computer via contacts.google.com. If the sync was turned on earlier, all contacts are already there, and you don't need to transfer them from the SIM card - just log into the account on the new phone. How many contacts does the SIM card hold? The capacity depends on the type of SIM card and operator, but usually it is from 200 to 500 entries. While the SIM card often can not save long names (more than 20 characters) and additional numbers for one contact.