How to copy contacts from SIM card to Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 phone

The switch to a new smartphone is always accompanied by a desire to quickly start using the device without being distracted by routine settings. For owners of Xiaomi Redmi Note 8, one of the first tasks is to transfer the phone book to avoid losing important numbers and connections. In older phones, information was often stored exclusively on the plastic of the SIM card, but modern Android smartphones require a more flexible approach to data storage.

The process of migrating numbers on Redmi Note 8 devices may seem obscure due to the features of the MIUI shell. Security and interface hide some standard import features, forcing users to search for hidden menus or additional applications. Understanding the right sequence of actions will avoid data loss and save time.

In this guide, we will take a look at all the ways you can transfer records, from standard tools to cloud services, and learn how to properly set up your contact display and why storing numbers in your phone’s memory or Google account is more reliable than using a SIM card.

Preparation of the SIM card and compatibility check

Before starting the procedure, you need to make sure that your SIM card is technically correct and correctly recognized by the device. Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 supports standard and micro-SIM cards, however, old cards with a lot of memory can be read incorrectly. If the card was cut out of the format of the mini-SIM scissors, there is a risk of chip damage or displacement of the contact area.

Insert the card into the appropriate slot and wait for the network signal to appear. It is important to understand that modern smartphones may not display numbers if they are written in an outdated format or contain special characters that Android does not recognize.

⚠️ Note: Do not remove the SIM card during the process of importing or exporting data. Interrupting contact can damage the file system of the card and lose part of the records without the possibility of recovery.

Make sure there is enough room in your phone's memory to create duplicate records. Although a single number takes up a few bytes, with a large volume of the phone book (more than 500 records), the system can run slower. Free up a few megabytes by removing unnecessary cached files or temporary application data.

Import contacts through the standard application "Contacts"

The main and most reliable way to transfer data is to use the built-in functionality of the MIUI shell. This method does not require the installation of third-party software and works even without an Internet connection. The algorithm of actions was developed by Xiaomi engineers for maximum compatibility with the hardware of the Redmi Note 8.

To start, open the standard Contacts app (a human silhouette icon) and the top right corner of the screen is a control menu marked with three dots or vertical bars, and clicking on this element will reveal a drop-down list of available operations.

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If you don’t see the import menu, try switching to All Contacts display mode through the view settings so the system understands the data source.

In the menu that opens, select Import Contacts. The system will suggest selecting a data source. In this case, we need to specify the SIM card (can be designated as SIM 1 or SIM 2, depending on the slot), After selecting the source, the phone will scan and show a list of the numbers found.

In the next step, the system will ask where exactly to save the data: select the phone option or, more preferably, your Google account. Save to the Google cloud ensures that if you lose or break your smartphone, the numbers will not be lost. Press the confirmation button and the copy process will start.

Using the Mi Mover app for migration

If the standard import for some reason does not work or you are switching from another Xiaomi smartphone, a great solution will be the proprietary utility Mi Mover. This application is preinstalled on the Redmi Note 8 and allows you to transfer data not only between phones, but also manage local backups.

Run the Mi Mover app from the Tools folder or through settings search. Although the program's main function is wireless transfer between devices, it also works with local backup files, which can contain data from the SIM card if a backup was previously made.

• 📱 Open the application and select the device role (Sender or Receiver).
• 🔄 Click on the menu icon in the corner and select "Import from local storage".
• 💾 Find a contact backup file (usually with the.vcf extension or located in a folder) MIUI/backup).
• ✅ Confirm the data recovery and wait for the process to end.

This method is especially useful if you need to transfer not only numbers, but also the history of calls or calls. SMS-messages that can also be saved in backup. The interface of the program is intuitive and supports Russian.

Syncing with a Google account as an alternative

The most modern and secure way to work with a phone book is direct sync with Google services. Unlike SIM card storage, a cloud account allows you to edit numbers from your computer, restore deleted records for the past 30 days and instantly transfer the book when you change your phone.

To set up sync on Xiaomi Redmi Note 8, go to the phone settings and find the Accounts and Sync section. Select your Google account from the list. If you do not have an account, you need to add it by entering your login and password.

Within your account settings, make sure the switch opposite the Contacts button is activated. Once activated, the system will automatically start checking the data. If you pre-imported the SIM card numbers into your phone’s memory (as described in the second section), they will automatically fly to the cloud at the first opportunity to connect to the network.

Using the Google Contacts cloud offers the advantage of automatically combining duplicates, so if you have the same number written under different names, the system will suggest combining them into one card, which will make the phone book tidy.

Solution: duplicates and coding

When transferring data from old SIM cards to Redmi Note 8, users often face the problem of duplication of records, which occurs if the numbers have already been stored in the phone's memory before, and importing from the SIM card creates copies of them. MIUI It has a built-in tool to solve this problem.

Go to the Contacts app, click on the menu and select Organizer or Contact Management, and it will have the "Combine Duplicates" function, and the system will analyze the list and suggest that you merge the same records, saving all the data associated with them (photos, addresses, social networks).

Another common problem is the incorrect display of names (krakoshibar instead of letters), which is due to the difference in encoding. If you encounter this, try changing the language of the phone's interface to English, importing, and then returning Russian. In some cases, exporting contacts to a.vcf file through a computer with changing the encoding to UTF-8 helps.

⚠️ Note: When combining duplicates, carefully check the result. Sometimes the system may mistakenly combine different people with similar names if the phone numbers differ only by one character or recording format (for example, the system can mistakenly combine different people with similar names, +7 and 8).

Exporting contacts back to SIM card

While SIM storage is considered outdated, there are times when you need to move the numbers back, such as to install the card in a button phone or transfer to another person. Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 allows you to perform a reverse operation.

The process is similar to importing. Open Contacts, go to settings, and select Export Contacts. Use Phone or Google as your source, and SIM as your destination.

The system will alert you to the limitations: you can only write the number and name on the SIM card, all other data (photo, email, addresses) will be lost, and there is a limit on the number of characters in the name (usually up to 10-15 characters), so long names can be cut off.

Once the selection is confirmed, the phone will start writing data to the chip, a process that may take longer than importing, as the write speed on the SIM card is much lower than the speed of the smartphone’s internal memory.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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The best strategy is to import all data from the SIM card once into your Google account and no longer use the SIM card as storage to avoid future data loss.