How to transfer all data from Samsung to Xiaomi when changing your phone

Changing your smartphone, especially from one operating system or shell to another, always causes some anxiety for the owner. Samsung users who are used to the functionality of One UI often wonder how difficult the process of adapting to the interface of MIUI or HyperOS from Xiaomi will be. Fortunately, modern technology allows you to make this transition as painless as possible, saving all the important contacts, photos, correspondence and configurations of applications.

Unlike the old days, when you had to manually interrupt numbers or search for complex codes for Bluetooth transmission, today there are specialized migration tools. The main and most effective solution is the Mi Mover application, which is pre-installed on most new Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices. However, there are alternative methods that can be useful in specific situations, for example, if the screen of an old device is damaged or if you need to selectively copy.

In this article, we will discuss in detail all the preparation stages, the transfer process itself and the nuances that are not mentioned in the official instructions. You will learn how to properly prepare both smartphones to ensure the transfer speed is maximum, and what to do if the process is stuck at a certain percentage. The key factor for success is the same battery level on both devices, preferably at least 60%, since the intensive operation of the Wi-Fi module consumes energy quickly.

Preparing devices before data migration

Before you start the process of cloning information, you need to do a series of preparatory activities, which is not just a formality, but a necessity that will protect your data from loss or damage. The first step is to clean up unnecessary garbage on the old Samsung, which will speed up the transfer, and also to check the free space on the new Xiaomi.

Make sure both smartphones are connected to a stable Wi-Fi network, although Mi Mover does not always require internet to work, as devices create a local access point. However, having a network will be required to log in to accounts and check application versions. It is also recommended to turn off power saving mode on both devices so that the system does not suspend the transfer process in the background.

If your Samsung has a microSD card installed, consider moving it physically or pre-copying the content to your computer. While many Xiaomi models support memory cards, the file system or folder structure may differ, which will cause some media files to not immediately appear in the gallery.

⚠️ Note: Before migrating, make sure to back up important data to a cloud server or PC. Despite the high reliability of modern transfer algorithms, the risk of a technical failure or software error is always non-zero.

Using the Mi Mover app for full cloning

Mi Mover is a regular tool in the Xiaomi ecosystem, designed specifically for these cases, which allows you to transfer contacts, messages, call history, photos, videos, music, documents, system settings and even installed applications. The main advantage is the ability to transfer data without using Internet traffic, as it creates a direct Wi-Fi connection between devices.

The process starts with launching an app on both smartphones. On the new Xiaomi, you choose the Receiver role, and on the old Samsung, you choose the Sender role. If the app is not found in the Tools folder on Samsung, it can be downloaded from Google Play Market for free or scanned. QR-code that will appear on the screen of the new phone.

After connecting devices, which occurs by scanning QR-If you have a code or a password, you can choose the categories of data to transfer. You can choose all at once or you can mark only the right items, for example, only the gallery and contacts. The transfer speed depends on the amount of data and the distance between the phones, but on average it is 10 to 40 MB / s.

It's important not to interrupt the process or switch to other applications while copying. The screen may go out, but the device should not go into deep sleep. If you have a lot of high-resolution photos, the process can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.

Alternative method: Google Account and synchronization

If you can’t use specialized software for some reason, the Google ecosystem comes to the rescue, and it’s the most reliable way to migrate contacts, calendar events, notes, and passwords. When you first set up the new Xiaomi, the system will offer to restore data from the cloud if you enter the same login and password.

To successfully sync, you need to make sure that the old Samsung is on autoload. Go to Settings → Accounts and Archiving → Account Management → Google. Here you need to check that the switches opposite Contacts, Calendar and other desired items are active, and click the sync button.

Photos and videos are best transferred through Google Photos. Install the app on both phones, log in to your account and enable Autoload and Sync. Once all images are in the cloud, they will automatically appear on the new device when you log in to the same account.

This method is good for its versatility, but has a limit on the amount of free storage - 15 GB. If you have a large archive of media files, you will either have to buy additional space, or choose only the most important photos for the cloud, and the rest is transferred manually.

Transfer of messengers: WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram

Messengers require special attention, as their correspondence history is often stored locally or in specific cloud storages not directly related to system synchronization. WhatsApp on Android has a built-in backup feature on Google Drive.

On the old Samsung, open WhatsApp, go to Settings → Chats → Chat Backup and click on “Backup.” Make sure you select the right Google account. On the new Xiaomi, the first time you install WhatsApp, WhatsApp will offer to restore a story from the found copy.

The situation with Viber is similar: → Settings → Account → Backup Viber. However, sometimes a direct transfer through Google Drive can fail when you change the phone manufacturer, and in such cases, the Chat Transfer feature within the app itself, which works similarly to Mi Mover via a mobile phone, helps. QR-code.

Telegram and Signal work differently. Telegram stores its history in the cloud, so simply log in to your account by phone number. Signal requires you to back up the file on your device and manually transfer it, since there is no cloud backup by default.

Manual copying of files via PC and USB-cable

For users who have a terabyte of information, or if wireless methods are unstable, the classic way through the computer remains the most reliable: you will need a USB cable (preferably an original or high-quality analogue with support for high transfer rates) and a file manager on a PC.

Connect Samsung to your computer, select file transfer mode (MTP) in notifications. Copy the DCIM (camera photos and videos), Download, Documents and Music folders to your computer's hard drive. Then connect Xiaomi and move those folders to the appropriate internal memory directories.

The advantage of this method is that you can audit files by removing duplicates or unnecessary screenshots before downloading to a new device, and the speed of copying via USB 3.0 is much faster than over Wi-Fi, which is critical when transferring tens of gigabytes of video.

After copying, it may be necessary to reboot the new phone so that the Android media scanner indexes the new files and they are correctly displayed in the gallery and player.

Typical problems and ways to solve them

Despite the automation of processes, users may encounter difficulties, and one of the common problems is that devices cannot see each other in Mi Mover, in which case make sure that both phones are enabled with GPS and Bluetooth, and all requested storage and network access rights are allowed.

Another common situation is broken paths to files after transfer, where some applications may not see the transferred files if the folder structure has changed, either through the application settings, where you can re-specify the path to the media files, or by creating shortcuts in the file system.

If the process is stalling in the Preparing data stage, try clearing the Mi Mover app cache on both devices via Settings → Apps → All apps → Mi Mover → Memory → Clear the cache. It also helps to reboot both smartphones before trying again.

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Expert advice: When migrating apps, especially banking and government services, it’s best to reinstall them from Mi Store or Google Play, which ensures you get the latest version with up-to-date security certificates, rather than an old error copy.

⚠️ Note: Do not try to migrate system files or applications modified with root rights if they are on an old device. On a new Xiaomi with a blocked bootloader, this can lead to unstable system operation or a cyclical restart.

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The fastest and most complete way to migrate is to use Mi Mover over Wi-Fi, but for critical data, always have a backup on your PC.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)