Losing important phone numbers when changing your device or resetting is always a stressful situation that every smartphone owner has faced. Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 offers several built-in mechanisms to automatically save and restore your phone book, but they require the correct initial setup. Many users are unaware that by default the system can offer to store data in the local storage of the phone, which makes them vulnerable when the gadget breaks.
To keep your contacts safe and accessible from any device, you need to activate cloud sync, whether it’s your own Mi Cloud service or a universal Google account, which is the standard for the Android operating system. In this article, we’ll go through each of the available ways, paying attention to the nuances of the MIUI shell installed on your device.
Data recovery is a critical process, and it depends on whether you can quickly contact your loved ones or colleagues in an emergency, and we will look at not only automatic methods, but also manually moving records, as well as solving typical problems, such as duplicate numbers or the disappearance of a part of the list after a system update.
Preparing a Google account for synchronization
The most reliable and versatile way to save a phone book is by linking to a Google account.This provides instant access to your numbers from any Android smartphone, tablet, or even through a web browser on your computer. First, make sure your Redmi Note 8 has a valid Gmail inbox added.
The setup process takes only a few minutes, but it requires careful attention when choosing where to save new records. If you just add an account but don't turn on sync, the data will only remain in the phone's memory. To avoid this, go to the settings section and find the account item.
You need to open the Settings menu. → Accounts and syncs. This will show you a list of all the services you've connected to, and you can select your Google account and make sure that the switch next to Contacts is active, and if the slider is blue, you can see that the system is ready to share data.
- 📲 Open the Settings app on the main screen.
- 📧 Go to Accounts and Sync (or Users and Accounts").
- ✅ Make sure the Contacts tick is included for your Google account.
⚠️ Note: If you see an exclamation mark icon next to your account, it means an authorization error. Try to delete the account and add it again by entering the password.
Once sync is activated, the system will automatically start uploading all the numbers saved in the Google cloud to your device, a process that can take some time depending on the number of contacts and the speed of the Internet connection, and you can watch progress at the top of the screen or in the status bar.
Setting up the Mi Cloud cloud service
Xiaomi smartphone owners have the unique ability to use the company’s own cloud storage, the Mi Cloud, which is deeply integrated into the MIUI shell and allows you to synchronize not only contacts, but also messages, notes, photos and settings. The service requires registration of a Mi Account, which is created when you first turn on your phone or manually in settings.
The main advantage of using the Mi Cloud is the ability to quickly restore the full state of the phone when you switch to a new model of the same brand. However, it is worth considering that there is only 5 GB of space available for free, which is shared between all types of data. If you store a lot of photos, the space for contacts can quickly run out, although text data takes up negligible volume.
To activate the function, go to Settings → Mi Account. At the top of the screen, you will see your account status and available cloud storage. Click on "Mi Cloud" and in the list that opens, look for "Contacts." Make sure the switch is activated.
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Check the status of Mi Cloud storage regularly, as when overflowing, synchronization of new contacts will automatically stop.
The feature of working with Mi Cloud is the ability to manage contacts through the web interface on the site i.mi.com. This is convenient if you need to quickly edit a number or restore a deleted record, and only a computer is at hand. All changes made to the site will instantly appear on your Redmi Note 8.
- ☁️ Go to the Mi Account settings through the main menu.
- 🔄 Activate the synchronization switch for the "Contacts" section".
- 🌐 Use the web version of the cloud to manage data if necessary.
It's important to understand the difference between backup and synchronization, because synchronization keeps the data up to date in real time, whereas backup creates casts of the state of the system at a certain point in time, and the phone book prefers constant synchronization.
Transfer of contacts with SIM-maps and other devices
Often users switch to Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 from push-button phones or older smartphones, where the entire phone book is stored directly on the phone. SIM-In this case, the first step is to import data into internal memory, so that you can then sync it to the cloud. SIM-The card is not recommended because it has limited capacity and does not support the storage of additional data, such as a subscriber’s photo or multiple numbers.
The import process is standard for all Android devices and is done through the built-in Contacts app. Open the app, click three dots in the corner of the screen or menu button and select Import Contacts. The system will suggest you choose a source — in this case, it will be yours. SIM-map.
Once you have selected the source, you will be asked to specify your destination. It is critical to choose a Google or Mi Cloud account rather than a Phone account, so that you do not lose data in the future. If you choose Phone, contacts will only be stored in a local database file that is not protected from resetting.
| Source of data | Storage capacity | Photo support | Risk of loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIM-map | Low (up to 250 records) | No. | High-pitched |
| Phone memory | Tall. | Yes. | High (on discharge) |
| Google Account | Unlimited | Yes. | Low. |
| Mi Cloud | Depends on the tariff. | Yes. | Low. |
If you are switching from another Android smartphone, it is most convenient to use the configuration function on the first turn on, which will prompt you to copy data via cable or Wi-Fi. You can also export contacts on the old device to a.vcf file, transfer it to a new phone and open it for automatic addition to the list.
Removing duplicates and combining records
When using multiple synchronization sources (e.g., Gmail and Mi Cloud, plus import from SIM), there is often a problem of duplicate contacts. The list may appear two Ivan Petrovs with different numbers or the same data, which not only clutters the phone book, but also makes it difficult to find the right subscriber.
Xiaomi’s built-in Contacts app has a powerful tool to automatically combine duplicates, analyzing names, phone numbers and emails, suggesting that similar entries be combined into a single card, which allows you to save your call and correspondence history in one place.
To start the cleaning process, go to Contacts, click on the menu (three dots) and select Clear Duplicates or Join Contacts. The application will scan the database and give a list of pairs or groups of records.