How to transfer all information from Xiaomi to Xiaomi: the complete guide

Changing a smartphone, even to a new model from the same manufacturer, always evokes mixed feelings: joy from the updated gadget and slight anxiety for the safety of files, contacts and settings accumulated over the years. Owners of the Xiaomi ecosystem are in a better position, as the company has developed powerful built-in tools that allow you to clone the contents of an old device to a new almost without the user. The process of data migration has become as automated as possible, which avoids the manual installation of dozens of applications and manual passwords from Wi-Fi networks.

However, despite the simplicity, there are nuances that can affect the speed and success of an operation, such as the amount of internal memory, the version of the MIUI or HyperOS operating system, and the type of data being ported (especially if it is a messenger), in this article we will discuss all the available synchronization methods, from a regular application to cloud services, so that you can choose the best option for your situation, and the right preparation will save you from losing important photos and correspondence.

Preparation of devices before the migration

Before you start the copying process, you need to make sure that both smartphones are ready to work. First of all, check the battery charge on both devices - the charge level should be at least 60-70%. The process of transferring a large amount of data, especially through Wi-Fi Direct, can be energy intensive, and suddenly turning off one of the gadgets will interrupt the operation. Also make sure that the receiving device has enough free space in internal memory to accommodate all files from the old phone.

The second important step is to update the software, and it is advisable that both smartphones have the latest firmware installed, or at least the versions are close to the release date, which minimizes the risk of conflicts when transferring system settings and passwords from Wi-Fi. Go to Settings → About the phone and check for updates. If you haven't updated your old phone in a long time, this is worth doing before migrating.

Also, check your account status. If you plan to use cloud services, make sure you remember the password from your Mi Account and your Google account. Signing in to those accounts on your new device will be key to recovering some of the data without physically connecting your phones. For local Wi-Fi transfer, logging in to accounts is optional, but desirable for full synchronization.

Using the Mi Mover app for local porting

The fastest and most efficient way to move all information from shiaomi to shiaomi without using the Internet is the built-in Mi Mover app, which creates a direct Wi-Fi connection between devices, providing high data rates that significantly exceed those of Bluetooth or mobile networks, and you can find this utility in the Tools folder on your desktop or through a search in settings.

The startup process is simple: on the old phone, select the role of “Sender” (Old phone), and on the new one, select the role of “Receiver” (New phone). QR-When you use a new device or a handheld connection to a Wi-Fi network, you can start analyzing data, and you can select specific file categories to transfer: contacts, messages, call logs, photos, videos, music, documents, and even installed applications with their data.

⚠️ Note: When transferring via Mi Mover, do not interrupt the connection or switch to other applications.The device screen can go out to save energy, which will cause the connection to break, so it is better to keep the screens active or set up an automatic lock on Never».

The app’s feature is that it can port system settings, including Wi-Fi passwords and desktop icons, which allows the new smartphone to be almost a complete copy of the old one in visual terms, but it’s worth considering that some secure banking applications may not be ported along with the login data for security reasons, and authorization will have to be re-authorized.

Sync with Mi Cloud and Google account

Cloud technology offers a more flexible, though less rapid, way to migrate that doesn’t require both phones to be physically present at the time of setting up.Mi Cloud allows you to save contacts, notes, voice recordings, calendar and photos. To activate, go to Settings → Mi Account → Sync and make sure that all the necessary switches are active on the old device.

Similarly, syncing through Google Account, which is the standard for Android, works. Contacts, calendar events, Google Keep notes and passwords stored in Google Password Manager will automatically pull up to the new phone immediately after entering the username and password during the initial setup, which is ideal if the old phone is already sold, lost or broken, but the data has managed to save in the cloud.

It's important to keep in mind the limits of free storage. Xiaomi provides 5GB of space, which is enough for contacts and documents, but not enough for a photo archive. Google gives 15GB, which are shared between Mail, Drive and Photos. If your archive is large, local porting through Mi Mover will be the only free way to keep all the originals in full quality.

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Use the “Storage Cleanup” feature in Mi Cloud before buying additional space – it’s possible that old unnecessary backups take up precious gigabytes that can be freed up.

Transfer of data messengers: WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber

Messengers require special attention, as their correspondence is often stored in secure databases that are not always correctly transferred by standard means of cloning the system. For Telegram, the situation is simple: all chats, channels and groups are stored on the messenger servers. You just need to install the application on a new phone, enter a phone number and get a confirmation code – the entire history of correspondence will be downloaded automatically.

WhatsApp is more complicated. To save your correspondence and media history, you need to back up your old phone before you switch to a new one. Go to Settings → Chats → Backup Chats and click “Create a Backup.” Make sure the copy is saved to Google Drive, not just locally on your device. When you install WhatsApp on your new phone, the app will find the copy and prompt you to restore the data.

Viber also allows you to back up, but they're stored on Google Drive and don't take up space in the Viber cloud. The process is similar to WhatsApp: create a backup on an old device, restore on a new one on the first run. Please note that to restore a WhatsApp or Viber backup on a new device, the same Google account that the copy was made to must be installed on the new device.

⚠️ Note: Two-factor authentication in messengers may require input PIN-code or confirmation through SMS. Make sure that SIM-The card with your number is active and installed on the phone (or in the old one if you move the data in stages) to get the confirmation code.

Transfer of photos, videos and multimedia

Media files usually take up the lion's share of smartphone memory. If you don't use cloud storage because of their fee or slow download speed, Mi Mover remains the best solution. It copies files in their original quality without compressing them. When transferring photos, it is important to consider the structure of folders: the Xiaomi gallery can index images differently if the folders were created manually, not by applications.

If you use third-party galleries or specific photo editing apps, check where they store their projects. Often projects are saved in hidden folders or in the directories of the applications themselves. Local porting via Wi-Fi Direct keeps the /DCIM, /Pictures and /Movies directory structure unchanged, ensuring that all files are found by the system in a new location.

For Google One or Yandex.Plus subscribers, waiting for sync in the cloud is a great option. It will take time, but it will not bother you with a physical connection. However, for 4K video, this method may not be effective due to the huge file size and the limitations on the number of files downloaded per day in some services.

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Local porting over Mi Mover keeps the original quality of photos and videos without compression, unlike some cloud services that can optimize size to save space.

Decision and possible errors

Users may encounter various difficulties in migrating, and one of the common problems is that there is not enough space on the receiving device, even if there is a formal space, due to the file system and the overhead of copying. free up 10-15% Memory over the required amount before the procedure.

Another common situation is that the process freezes at a certain percentage (e.g. 98% or 99%). This often happens when you transfer a large number of small files or corrupted fragments in the database. In this case, do not panic.

Sometimes users complain that fingerprints or facial recognition don’t work after the transfer. This is normal: biometric data is stored in a secure, isolated security module of each particular device and can’t be copied. You will have to re-register fingerprints and configure facial recognition in Settings → Passwords and security on a new smartphone.