Changing your smartphone is always stressful, with the fear of losing important contacts, communications and settings. However, Xiaomi’s ecosystem provides several reliable ways to migrate data that make this process as smooth as possible. Before you start direct recovery, you need to understand what type of backup was used before, since it depends on the choice of tool for transfer.
Owners of Redmi and POCO devices often have a local copy in the memory of an old device or a cloud archive in the Mi Cloud. Each of these methods has its own nuances when deployed on a new gadget. In this article, we will discuss all the options available in detail so that you can choose the most suitable for your situation and not lose a single megabyte of valuable information.
The first step is always to set up a newly purchased gadget. After switching on and selecting a language, the system will offer to connect to a Wi-Fi network, which is a prerequisite for working with cloud services. If you plan to use a local method, the Internet may not be as critical, but you still need a connection to activate your Mi Account. MIUI or HyperOS on both devices is quite relevant. Older versions of firmware may not correctly recognize archive formats created on more recent software releases. → About the phone and looking at the build number. 💡Make sure that the new phone has at least 50% battery charge before starting a massive data recovery process to avoid a sudden shutdown. If the old device used a specific version of Android and the new one has a much more recent version, some system settings may not be automatically transferred, which is normal behavior, since the structure of system files may have changed by developers. In this case, you will have to manually reconfigure some personalization options.
Data recovery via Mi Cloud
The most versatile and modern way is to use the Mi Cloud cloud storage, which allows you to recover contacts, messages, call history, notes and even place icons on the desktop without physically connecting the two devices to each other.
The sync process starts automatically after logging in to your account, if the relevant item has been activated in the cloud settings. You need to go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud and make sure that the switches opposite the desired data categories are blue.
It's worth noting that 5GB of free storage may not be enough for a full backup of photos and videos, so it's often just contacts and system settings that get into the cloud. For multimedia, it's better to use other methods or expand the data plan. Recovery takes place in the background and can take some time depending on the speed of the Internet connection.
⚠️ Note: When you recover from the cloud, the old data on the new phone can be replaced by data from the archive. If you have already created new contacts, they can be duplicated or deleted depending on the sync settings.
Use of local backup copy
Local backup is an archive created directly in a phone’s memory or on a memory card, ideal when there is no fast internet or you need to transfer data from specific applications that do not support cloud sync. Files are usually located along the MIUI/backup/AllBackup path at the root of internal memory.
To transfer this archive to the new Xiaomi, the easiest way to use a computer as an intermediate or cable to connect two phones. Once you copy the backup folder to the same directory on the new device, you need to go to the recovery menu. It is hidden in the Settings section → About Phone → Reserve and Restore → Mobile phone.
☑️ Checklist for local transfer
Your copy should appear on the list of available archives, with the date and time of creation, select it, enter the unlock password (if it was installed at the time of the backup), and start the process. The system will warn you that current data may be overwritten, so be careful.
| Type of data | Local backup | Mi Cloud | Mi Mover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Yes. | Yes. | Yes. |
| Annexes | Yes (APK + data) | Only a list. | Yes. |
| Photos and videos | Yes. | Limited. | Yes. |
| Wi-Fi passwords | Yes. | Yes. | Yes. |
| System settings | Yes. | Partially. | No. |
Migration with the Mi Mover app
The Mi Mover (or “Mi Moving”) app is a standard tool for quickly migrating from an old Android smartphone to a new Xiaomi. It creates a direct Wi-Fi connection between devices, which provides high data transfer speeds without the consumption of mobile traffic. You can find the program in the Tools folder or search in settings.
To get started, run the app on both phones, and on the new device, select Receiver, and on the old device, Sender. QR-If you have a code or a manual Wi-Fi Direct connection, you can select data categories to transfer. The algorithm itself will identify compatible applications and then move their installation files and data.
What should I do if the transmission is interrupted?
This method is especially good because it tries to transfer not just the APK-application files, but also internal data, including logins and game progress, if Android security allows, but for banking applications, the data will still have to be re-entered for security reasons.
Transfer through Google Account
Don’t forget the basic functionality of the Android operating system, which is deeply integrated into the MIUI shell. When you first set up a new phone, the system will offer to restore data from your Google account, which is great for contacts, calendar events, passwords in Chrome and a list of installed applications.
Just enter your Gmail address and password, and then the phone starts downloading a list of previously installed software, you can choose which apps to download automatically and which ones you don't need yet, and the synchronization of contacts and calendars occurs almost instantly after you connect to the network.
💡
Google Account is the foundation that keeps your digital identity, so setting it up is the number one priority when changing devices.
But it’s important to understand the limitations: it won’t transfer photos from the gallery unless Google Photos is synced, or save files in the folders of downloads or documents, but rather a way to restore the “skeleton” of your digital presence, which then becomes “muscle” in the form of files by other methods.
Solving Common Problems in Recovery
When you move data, you often encounter errors that may seem critical, but have simple solutions. For example, if a new phone doesn't see a local backup, check the folder structure. The archive should be strictly in the MIUI/backup/AllBackup path, any deviation in the hierarchy will result in the system not finding the file.
Another common problem is space shortage: a backup can take up tens of gigabytes, and if a new device has little free memory, the process will end in error. Always clear the space before you start, or use an SD card if the phone model supports reading it as internal storage.
⚠️ Warning: Never interrupt the recovery process by forced restarting, which may result in file system damage or partial loss of data that cannot be re-recovered.
If the Mi Moving app is stuck at a certain percentage, try turning off the power saving on both devices and bringing them closer together. Sometimes interference from other Wi-Fi networks can signal, so ideally conduct the procedure in a place with a minimum number of wireless signal sources.