How to view contacts on the SIM card in Xiaomi: a step-by-step guide

Many users are faced with the situation when after buying a new smartphone Xiaomi or Redmi need to move numbers from the old device. Often there is confusion: where exactly the records are stored — in the memory of the phone, in the cloud account of Google or directly on the chip carrier. Standard settings of the interface MIUI or the new HyperOS by default hide the contents of the SIM card, showing only the general phone book.

This is for convenience, as the device’s memory is much faster and more functional. However, access to the SIM card file system is still necessary, especially if you want to copy old records or check if important numbers are preserved after resetting. In this article, we will discuss all the ways to view the contents of the card, including hidden menus and standard applications.

Before you start manipulating, you need to understand the difference between storage formats: SIM card has limited memory and supports only basic fields (name and number), while smartphone allows you to add photos, addresses and social networks. The process of viewing data on the operator’s chip does not require root rights or connection to the computer, everything is done by the regular means of the system.

Standard method through the application "Contacts"

The easiest and most secure way to view records is to use a built-in app from Xiaomi, which is pre-installed on all the brand’s devices and has a simple interface. To get started, you need to open a standard Caller or a separate Contacts app, which usually has an orange icon with a human silhouette.

Once you start the application, you go to the listing settings. In modern versions of the shell, the interface may be slightly different, but the logic remains the same. You need to find the point responsible for filtering or managing the contact list, and that's where the data source switch is hidden.

⚠️ Warning: If you don't see the source switch, you may have Google sync enabled, which automatically merges all listings into one.Try temporarily shutting off the internet to see the split.

Then you have to select a specific SIM card if you have two, and the system will only show the numbers that are physically written on the chip, and this action does not copy the data, but only changes the display filter in the current session.

• 📱 Open the Contacts app on the home screen.
• ⚙️ Click on three dots in the corner or the Settings button».
• 👁️ Select “Contacts display” or “Contact filter».
• 💾 In the list of sources, tick your SIM card (SIM 1 SIM 2).

After performing these actions, only numbers written in the memory of the chip will remain on the screen. MIUI allows you to view numbers in this mode, but often blocks the ability to add new records directly to the card, offering to save them to the memory of your phone or account.

Use of Google's system phone book

An alternative and often more reliable way is to use Google’s standard app, which is also pre-installed on all certified smartphones, called Contacts, and has a multi-colored icon, a tool that often provides more detailed access to data source management than the manufacturer’s shell.

To view the data, you need to launch the application and go to the control menu. Unlike Xiaomi's proprietary application, here the settings are often placed in the side menu or hidden under the user's avatar.

In the menu that opens, select Settings or Contact Management, and you will see Contacts for Display, and clicking on it will show you a list of all available storage, including internal memory and both SIM cards.

• 🟢 Launch the Contact App from Google.
• 🔍 Click on the search bar or menu on the left (three bars).
• 📂 Go to "Settings» → «Display contact».
• ✅ Select a specific SIM card from the list offered.

This method is especially useful if the standard MIUI app is not working properly or is buggy after an update.The Google app works consistently even on older versions of Android and allows you to quickly copy data from the map to the cloud.

Display settings in MIUI and HyperOS

MIUI shells and the new HyperOS have deep privacy and display settings, and sometimes users can't find numbers on a SIM card simply because they have "Hide Contacts" activated or a special filter for unfamiliar numbers turned on, a common situation after a firmware update.

To rule out software limitations, you need to go into the deep settings of the application. The path can look like Settings → Applications → All applications → Contacts → Rights and permissions. It's worth checking if there is access to memory and phone. Without these permissions, the application will not be able to read data from the chip.

Also, the contact settings themselves have a "Make Contacts" option, so make sure that it ticks against "All Contacts" or your SIM card specifically, and if you choose "Favorites Only" or "Telephone Only," the SIM card numbers won't show up.

If you have a number on your phone and on your SIM card, the system will show you one record by combining the data, so to see the particular SIM card record, you need to temporarily turn off sync or move the phone book to another account.

Import and export of contacts for inspection

If just looking at the list isn't enough and you need to make sure the data is intact, the best way is to export the contacts. This will create a file (usually in.vcf format) that can be opened as a text document or sent to another phone, which will actually confirm that the data is being read correctly.

To do this, go to the contact settings and select “Import/Export contacts.” As the source, specify your SIM card, and as the recipient – the internal memory of the device. Once the process is completed, copies of all numbers will appear in the phone’s memory.

⚠️ Note: When importing contacts from SIM cards to the phone, duplicates may occur if the numbers have already been saved before.

Exports are especially useful when you want to transfer the number database to a device of another brand, such as an iPhone or Samsung..vcf format is universal and readable by almost any gadget.

• 💾 Go to Import/Export in the Contact Menu.
• 📤 Select "Export with" SIM-map».
• 📂 Specify the save path (usually root folder or Downloads).
• 📄 Find the file. 00001.vcf (Or a similar name, and open it up.

Once exported, you can see the full list in text form, which is the only way to see numbers if the phone interface displays them incorrectly (for example, instead of names, it shows empty lines or characters due to encoding problems).

Problems with encoding and displaying names

A common problem with old SIM cards or foreign carrier cards is the incorrect selection of names. Instead of “Mom” or “Work”, you can see a void or a set of characters. This is due to the fact that the SIM card uses a limited set of characters (often only Latin or basic Cyrillic), and modern smartphones work with Unicode.

If the names don't read, try changing the system language or the input language, although it rarely helps. A more effective method is to import contacts into the phone, as described above. When importing, the system will try to recode the names into a clear format, and if that doesn't work, then the data on the chip is corrupted or written in a non-standard format.

Sometimes the problem is the length of the name. The old SIM card standards allowed names to be kept up to 10-14 characters long. If the name was longer, it could be cropped or recorded with an error. There are no such limitations in the memory of the Xiaomi phone, so after transferring the names can be displayed normally.

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Use the app «SIM-Manager in the phone settings to check the card status and make sure it is determined correctly by the system before trying to read the contacts.

Frequent questions and problem-solving

Users often ask questions about the security and technical details of storing data on a SIM card. Below are answers to the most popular queries that will help you understand the nuances of working with a phone book on Xiaomi and Redmi devices.

One of the big questions is about memory capacity: Indeed, modern SIM cards have a very small amount of storage for contacts (typically up to 250 records), and if you have more, the system can only show a part of it or even refuse to display the list, giving an overflow error.

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Regularly exporting contacts to the.vcf file is the best insurance against loss of important numbers when changing devices or system failures.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that viewing contacts on the SIM card in Xiaomi smartphones is a simple procedure, but requires attention to the details of the interface. Using built-in filtering and import tools, you will always control your phone book, no matter where the data is stored.