Changing a mobile device is often a challenge for the user, especially when it comes to the safety of personal data. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones, switching from other Android gadgets or restoring the system after a reset, face the need to quickly transfer the phone book. Fortunately, the Google ecosystem offers a reliable and time-tested cloud storage mechanism that avoids manual reprinting of hundreds of numbers.
Data synchronization is a fundamental process for a modern mobile operating system, ensuring the integrity of information whenever you change. If you have just unpacked a new device or performed a full reset of your current one, setting up your account correctly is the first and most important step. In this article, we will detail how to ensure that all records are transferred, and what to do if the automatic mechanism fails.
Many users mistakenly believe that it is enough to just log into your profile so that all data appears instantly. However, in the shell of MIUI or the new HyperOS, there are nuances of working with permissions and display priorities that can hide your numbers from the owner’s eyes. Understanding these subtleties will allow you to manage your phone book professionally and without unnecessary headaches.
Preparing a Google account and verifying data
Before you start manipulating directly on the Xiaomi smartphone, you need to make sure that the original data is correct. SIM-The cards or locally in the phone "Internal Storage", will not be automatically accessed by the cloud without prior preparation. You should go to your computer or old phone, open your browser and go to contacts.google.com.
Here you'll see a complete list of all the numbers that have ever been synced to your profile, and if you didn't find any important numbers there, they were not stored in the cloud, but locally, so you'll have to go to the contacts app on your old device, select the export menu, and specify the.vcf format or the Save to Google option.
Notice the duplicates that often occur with multiple syncs. Google offers a built-in tool to combine the same entries, making your phone book tidy before being transferred to a new device. A clean database will load faster and take up less space in the app's cache.
⚠️ Warning: Make sure your account has two-factor authorization enabled. When you sign in from a new device or after resetting your password, the system may require confirmation via SMS or an authenticator application, and without access to this data, you will not be able to start syncing.
Checking your account status is a critical step that is often ignored when trying to find missing numbers on your phone’s menu right away, and if the web version of your contacts is empty, your phone will be empty after syncing, regardless of your Xiaomi settings.
Adding a Google account to Xiaomi’s settings
After the initial setup of the Xiaomi smartphone, the account is usually added automatically if you enter the username and password in the Welcome wizard.However, if you missed this step or add an additional profile to work, the procedure must be performed manually through the system menu. Navigation in different versions of MIUI may vary slightly, but the logic remains the same.
Open the main settings menu and find the Accounts and Sync section (in some firmware it is inside the Additional section). Click on the add a new account button and select the Google logo from the list of services offered. The system will redirect you to a secure login page.
☑️ Checking before synchronization
When you log in, the system can request permission to access your device data, which is a standard Android security procedure that allows you to synchronize your email, calendar, and phone book, and without these permissions, the background service will not be able to update the information.
Once you successfully enter your password, you will see a list of services available for sync. Make sure the switch opposite the Contacts item is in the active position. If it is turned off, click on it to trigger a forced update of the server data.
Manual synchronization and display of contacts
Sometimes data is added to an account but not displayed in the standard Contacts or Phone app. This is a common situation with display filters. By default, the app can only show numbers stored in the phone's memory, ignoring cloud records.
To fix this, open the Contacts app and click on the three dots in the corner of the screen (or menu button). Select Contacts to display or Contact Filter. From the list that opens, select All Contacts or your Google account specifically.
If automatic sync doesn't happen, you can force it to run. Go back to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google. Click on your email address and make sure the Contacts slider is on. Then click on three dots in the corner and select Sync.
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If the sync is stalled or gives an error, try temporarily turning off Wi-Fi and start the process via the mobile Internet, or vice versa. IP-Sometimes addresses help to overcome network locks.
It is important to understand the difference between local copying and cloud sync, and when working with the cloud, any changes made to the phone (deleting, editing) will automatically apply to other devices and the web version, which ensures that data is up to date at any time.
Import from the VCF file via the Contacts app
In cases where automatic synchronization is not possible or you want to transfer data from a backup of another phone, the file import method is used..vcf (vCard) format is the universal standard for sharing contact information and is supported by all modern smartphones, including Redmi and POCO.
You first need to get a contact file, which can be exported from a previous device or uploaded from another cloud service. SD-Then open the Contact app on your Xiaomi.
In the control menu (three dots or sidebar), find the Import/Export section of contacts. Select the Import option from storage. The system will prompt you to select the.vcf file. After selecting the file, you will be asked to specify the destination","SIM-map or Google account.
| Preservation site | Advantages | Deficiencies |
|---|---|---|
| Google account | Autosynchronization, loss protection, access from PC | Internet is required for initial download |
| Phone memory | Fast access without internet, works offline | Data will disappear when resetting settings or breakage |
| SIM-map | Universality, transfer to any phone | Restriction on the number of characters in the name, no photo |
It is recommended to always choose to save to your Google account, which ensures that even if you lose your physical device, your phone book will remain safe and sound on the servers of the corporation.
What happens if the VCF file is not opened?
Using Mi Mover to Migration Data
For users who switch to Xiaomi from another Android smartphone, the company has developed Mi Mover, a tool that allows you to transfer not only contacts, but also photos, apps and Wi-Fi settings without using the Internet, creating a direct connection between devices.
The app is pre-installed on all Xiaomi smartphones and is in the Tools folder. The old device will also need to install Mi Mover (available in the Play Market). Run the app on both phones: on the new one, select "I am the recipient", on the old one - "I am the sender".
After the scan. QR-You can select specific groups or individual records. The speed of the transfer depends on the amount of data, but usually the process takes a few seconds.
The main advantage of this method is independence from the quality of the Internet connection and the ability to transfer data that for some reason did not sync with the Google cloud on the old device.
Solution: Contacts are not synchronized
A situation where contacts do not appear or are not updated can be caused by several factors, most often the problem lies in a crowded Google account storage (the limit is 15 GB common for mail, photos and drive) or a failure of Google Play services.
First, clear the cache of Google services. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps → Google Play Services. Select Storage and click Clear Cache (not to be confused with data cleanup, this can reset your payment settings).
Also check if the phone is running the wrong date and time, and if the system time is very different from the real time, security certificates will prevent you from establishing a secure connection to Google servers, and sync will be blocked.
⚠️ Note: If you use third-party launchers or call apps (like Truecaller), they may intercept contact management. Try temporarily disabling such apps or setting the standard Google or Xiaomi Contacts app as the default default.
In rare cases, deleting and re-additioning an account helps, and before doing so, make sure you remember the password, as the system will require it to be re-authenticated, an action that often shakes the system and forces you to re-download any missing data.