How to sync Xiaomi with Xiaomi: the complete guide

Changing a smartphone, even within the same ecosystem, is often stressful for fear of losing important contacts, photos or progress in games. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco devices are in a favorable position, as the manufacturer has provided powerful built-in tools for rapid cloning of information. Competent synchronization allows you to transfer not just files, but the actual state of your digital space to a new gadget in minutes.

This process does not require deep technical knowledge, but knowing the nuances of the MIUI shell or HyperOS significantly speeds up the procedure. In this article, we will examine all available methods, from using a proprietary application to cloud services, so you can choose the most suitable option for your situation.

Before you start, make sure both devices are at least 50 percent charged and also connected to a stable Wi-Fi network if you plan to work over the cloud. Local Wi-Fi Direct data transfers don't usually require an internet connection, but the stability of wireless modules is critical to the success of the operation.

Using the Mi Mover app for local porting

The fastest and most reliable way to sync shaomi with shaomi is to use the pre-installed Mi Mover utility, which creates a direct connection between devices, bypassing Internet channels, allowing you to transfer large amounts of data, including heavy videos and applications, at high speed, and you can run the program through the settings menu or find it in the Tools folder.

To get started, you need to open the app on both smartphones, and on the old device you choose the role of Sender, and on the new device you choose the role of Receiver, and the system will ask for permissions to access files and locations that you need to provide for the correct operation of the Wi-Fi Direct protocol.

• 📱 On the new phone, click “Recipient” and wait for the appearance QR-screen-code.
• 📷 On the old device, select “Sender” and scan the code with the camera.
• 🔗 After pairing, select data categories for transfer: contacts, messages, images, applications.
• 🚀 Press the “Send” button and wait for the process to be completed without breaking the connection.

Importantly, when you migrate apps, some of them, especially banking or two-factor authentication-protected apps, may require re-entry into your account, a normal Android security response that isolates application data when you change hardware.

⚠️ Warning: Do not open other apps or lock the screen while Mi Mover is running, as this may interrupt the data stream and cause a connection error.

Synchronization through the cloud service Mi Cloud

For those who prefer automation and constant availability of data, the ideal solution is Mi Cloud, which allows you to store backups of settings, contacts, notes and even desktop layouts in the cloud. When you log into your Mi Account on a new device, the system will offer to restore data from the last saved point.

To activate the function, go to your phone's settings, find "Mi Account" and log in. In the sync menu, you'll see a list of services that can be updated in the background. Contacts, gallery and voice recorder sync is usually enabled by default, but you should activate all the necessary items for a full migration.

The peculiarity of working with Mi Cloud is that some data, for example, installed APK-files of applications, may not be transferred completely if their size exceeds the limits of free storage (usually 5 GB), in which case the system will offer to buy additional space or select only critical files.

Using the cloud is especially important if your old phone is already unavailable, lost or broken, but you have taken care of backing up beforehand, in which case, recovering from Mi Cloud is the only way to return deleted contacts and notes without the old device.

The Role of Google Accounts in Xiaomi Ecosystem

Despite the power of Xiaomi’s own services, Google’s infrastructure cannot be ignored, as it remains the foundation of the Android operating system.Sync through Google account ensures the safety of contacts, calendar events, passwords in the Chrome browser and progress in games through the Google Play Games service.

When you first set up a new smartphone, it will ask you to enter a Google account, and if you use the same account as your old device, most of the data will be automatically pulled up as soon as you connect to the Internet, including apps you buy, music on YouTube Music, and documents.

To check sync status, go to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google, where you can manually run an update for each service or see when the last successful data upload occurred. If you see an error icon, try deleting your account and adding it again.

• 📧 Gmail: All correspondence and shortcuts are restored.
• 📅 Calendar: All appointments and reminders will appear instantly.
• 📷 Google Photos: Mi Cloud alternative for storing media in original quality.
• 🔑 Password Manager: saved logins for websites and applications.

Note that some specific MIUI shell settings, such as themes, fonts or icon locations, are not saved in Google profiles. You must either use Mi Mover or Mi Account login to transfer them.

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Use Google Photos as a backup channel for important snapshots, even if you use Mi Cloud. Double backup ensures you don't lose your memory of important events under any circumstances.

Transfer data messengers: WhatsApp and Telegram

The synchronization of messengers deserves special attention, as they store the correspondence history in their own databases, often not available for standard system backup tools. WhatsApp, for example, uses Google Drive storage for backup, and this process needs to be configured separately within the application itself.

To transfer WhatsApp to your new phone, open chat settings on your old device, select Backup, and click Save. Make sure the process is complete. When you install the app on your new phone and log in to the same number, the system will prompt you to restore the history from the copy you found.

With Telegram, the situation is simpler: this messenger is completely cloud-based, you just need to install the app and enter a phone number. All secret chats (Secret Chats) are not synchronized between devices for security reasons, they remain only on the device where they were created.

⚠️ Warning: Two-factor authentication in messengers may require you to enter a code sent via SMS or a password you set before. SIM-The card is active and is on the phone at the time of installation.

There is also a backup mechanism for Viber that can use Mi Cloud or Google Drive by default. Check in Viber settings on your old phone where exactly the copy is saved and make sure you have access to that storage from the new device.

Synchronization of specific data: Notes and Recorder

Xiaomi's standard Notes and Recorder apps have their own storage features. If you're used to using built-in tools rather than third-party ones, porting them is critical, and fortunately both of these apps support synchronization via the Mi Cloud.

To work properly, you need to make sure that the Mi Account settings are ticked against Notes and Recorder, and then the new phone will load the data automatically when you log in, but if you used local saving, you will have to export the data manually.

Export notes can be made by opening a specific note, selecting the menu “More” and sending the file to your messenger or saving in the format.txt or.pdf. Recordings are stored in the folder MIUI/sound_recorder You can copy them through the file manager or the same Mi Mover.

Third-party note-taking apps like Google Keep or Notion sync through their own accounts, so they don’t usually have problems, so remember to install these apps and log in to them on a new gadget.

Solution and troubleshooting

Despite the fact that the processes are fine, users sometimes encounter errors, and often the problem lies in the version of the operating system: if the old phone is Android 9 and the new one is Android 13, some settings may not apply correctly, in such cases, it is recommended to first update the software on both devices to the current versions.

Another common problem is space shortage: Mi Mover requires that the receiving device have more space than the amount of data being transferred. If the memory is full, the process will stop in the middle. Clear the cache in advance or delete unnecessary files.

If synchronization is stuck on a certain percentage, try:

• 🔄 Reboot both smartphones and start the process again.
• 📶 Switch Wi-Fi channels or bring devices closer together.
• 🔋 Disable power saving for synchronization application in battery settings.

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Connection stability is more important than speed: it is better to synchronize slowly but without errors than to interrupt the process and risk the integrity of the file system.