The switch to a new smartphone is always accompanied by a desire to quickly customize the device for yourself, and the first step for most users is to restore the phone book. Owners of Xiaomi Poco M3 often face the question of how to import saved numbers as quickly as possible so as not to waste time on manual input. The modern operating system MIUI, installed on the basis of Android, offers several effective ways to solve this problem, each of which has its own characteristics.
Before you start taking action, you need to make sure that the SIM card is properly installed in the device tray. Contacts stored on the operator chip are usually of a limited format, which can lead to the trimming of long names or the loss of additional fields during transfer. Understanding these technical limitations will help avoid frustration and loss of important data during the migration process.
In this article, we will discuss in detail the algorithm of actions for secure copying of records, consider working with cloud services and local storage. You will learn how to combine duplicate records and why the vCard format is the most reliable way to back up for long-term storage. M3 within minutes.
Preparation of the device and checking the SIM card
The process starts with a physical check of the SIM card and its correct display in the system, make sure that the SIM card tray is inserted before the click, and the network icon appears in the status bar, and if the device does not see the chip, the contacts will not be available for import, so this step is fundamental to the successful execution of the operation.
Go to your phone's settings and check if your carrier is displayed. To do this, go to the Settings menu. → The phone. → All specs → SIM-So here you'll see the status of each card installed, and if the SIM card is defined by the system, you can go to the contact management software.
⚠️ Note: If the SIM card is non-standard size and was cut by hand, make sure that the copper contacts are not damaged and chipped, as this can cause a failure when reading data.
It’s also worth noting that older SIM cards may have a memory limit of 250 or 500 entries, and if your phone book exceeds that limit, some numbers may not have been saved to the chip earlier, and you’ll have to look for them in backups of your old phone or in your Google account.
Import contacts through the standard application
The quickest and most direct way to transfer data is to use the built-in functionality of the Contacts app in the MIUI shell, which requires no internet connection and works directly with the phone’s file system and installed SIM cards. The algorithm is simple and intuitive, even for beginners.
Open the Contacts app and find the menu button, which is often presented as three dots or a gear in the corner of the screen. In the list that opens, select "Import/Export Contacts." The system will prompt you to select a data source, in our case it will be "Import with a new device". SIM-map".
☑️ Pre-import checks
Once you have selected a source, you will be asked to specify your destination, you can save the numbers to your phone’s internal memory or directly to your Google account, and you should choose cloud storage, as this will provide automatic synchronization and data protection in the event of a device loss or breakdown.
The copying process may display progress bars, do not interrupt the process or switch between heavy applications to avoid software failures, and after the operation is complete, the system will notify you of successful importation or report errors.
Working with contacts through system settings
An alternative way to copy data is through a deep android settings menu that duplicates the functions of the contact application, but sometimes works more stable with a large amount of data, a method that is especially useful if the standard application is not working correctly or freezes when trying to import.
Go to Settings → Applications → All Apps. Find Contacts or Contact Management. Inside the app menu, there are often additional import and export options hidden that may not be visible in the main interface.
Use a Settings search for quick access. Click on the magnifying glass at the top of the Settings screen and type in the "import" request. The system will provide the desired menu item, which will save time searching deep in the MIUI structure. This approach is universal for most Xiaomi models.
⚠️ Note: When copying through system settings, make sure that the correct account is selected for saving, otherwise contacts may dissolve in local storage and not sync with the cloud.
If you use two SIM cards, the system will ask you which card you want to read data from, and be careful when choosing to keep numbers from the second SIM card, and once you select the card, you will repeat the process of selecting the target storage that we described earlier.
Using Google Cloud Sync Sync
The most modern and reliable method is direct sync through Google services. If your previous phone was running on Android, chances are your contacts are already saved in the cloud, and on Poco M3 they do not need to be copied from the SIM card manually - just log in to your account.
However, if the numbers are physically only on the SIM card, you can first upload them to the phone in any of the described ways, and then force them to start sync. To do this, go to Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google. Make sure that the switch opposite the Contacts item is activated.
The advantage of this method is that you can manage contacts from any device via your browser. You can edit numbers, add photos and combine duplicates through contacts.google.com, and all changes will instantly appear on your Poco M3.
It's important to understand the difference between copying and synchronizing. Copying creates a new record in the phone's memory, leaving the original on the SIM card, while synchronizing ensures that data is constantly matched between the device and the server, which is a more advanced approach to organizing personal information.
Removal of duplicates and sorting
After mass importation of data from the SIM card, users often face the problem of duplication of records, this occurs when the same number is stored on both the SIM card and in the phone's memory, or if different formats of recording the number (for example, with and without the country code) were used.
The MIUI shell has a built-in tool to clean the phone book. Open the Contacts app, click on the menu and select Contact Organizer or Contact Management. There you will find the Repeated Contacts Unit feature.
The system will analyze the database and propose to combine records that have the same phone numbers or names, a secure operation that does not delete data, but only structures it, creating a single contact card with multiple numbers or sources.
| Parameter | SIM card. | Phone memory | Google Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name limit | Limited (often 10-15 characters) | No restrictions. | No restrictions. |
| Supplementary fields | Only number and name. | Address, email, notes | All fields + photos + categories |
| Security | Low (if card is lost) | Medium (depending on the backup) | High (cloud storage) |
Cleaning the phone book regularly not only improves visual perception, but also speeds up the search for the right subscriber, and duplicates can also interfere with the correct operation of the number detector and messengers who are looking for matches in the database.
Export of contacts for backup
After successfully migrating and putting order in the phone book, it is strongly recommended to back up your phone book, which will protect you from future data loss, and the most universal format for this is vCard (.vcf), which is supported by all operating systems.
To create a backup, go back to the import/export menu in the contacts app. Select Export to Storage or Export to File.vcf. The system will create a file with all your contacts that will be stored in the device's memory.
Where to look for a backup file?
You can copy it to your computer, send it to your messenger, or upload it to a cloud drive. If you change your phone to a device of another brand (such as a Samsung or an iPhone), you can easily restore the entire phone book by simply opening the file.
⚠️ Note: Do not store a single copy of contacts only on the SIM card. SIM cards have the ability to fail, get lost or blocked by the operator, which will lead to irretrievable loss of numbers.