How to Save Contacts with SIM on Xiaomi Redmi 7: Full Guide

Changing your smartphone or switching to a new model like the legendary Xiaomi Redmi 7 often involves transferring important information. The most critical element for most users is the phone book, which stores the numbers of friends, colleagues and emergency services. The data migration process may seem complicated only at first glance, but in fact the MIUI system provides convenient and convenient tools for this task.

Device owners often face a dilemma: leave numbers on the SIM card or transfer them to internal memory. SIM-The card has its limitations, such as the inability to save additional fields (address, email, photo) and the risk of data loss if the chip is physically damaged.

In this detailed guide, we will take a look at all the available ways to import contacts on Redmi 7.You will learn how to avoid common errors, how to set up sync correctly and what to do if the system gives an error when reading the card. MIUI, modelled.

Preparation of the device and checking the SIM card

Before proceeding with manipulation of the phone book, it is necessary to make sure that the technical serviceability of the information carrier is correct. SIM-The card must be properly installed in the slot and defined by the operating system. If the phone does not see the card, the import procedure will not be possible, so the first step should always be to diagnose the connection.

Plug the SIM card into the corresponding Xiaomi Redmi 7 tray and wait for the network icon to appear in the status bar. Make sure that the card does have saved numbers that you plan to move. You can go to the contact management menu and check the source of the display, selecting the display only from the SIM card.

⚠️ Note: If the SIM card is non-standard size and has been cut with scissors, the contacts may be read with errors. In such cases, it is recommended to first copy them to another phone with a full slot, and then export the file.

It's also worth checking if the card is locked with the pin code the system requests when it boots.Putting the wrong code multiple times will result in locking, making it impossible not only to make calls, but also to read the phone book. PUK-code in case of unforeseen lockdown.

Classic method of importation through standard application

The easiest and fastest way to migrate recordings is to use Xiaomi’s built-in Contacts app, which requires no internet connection and works even offline. The action algorithm is unified for most versions of the MIUI shell.

Open the Contacts app on the home screen or in the Tools folder. In the upper right corner, you will find a menu represented by three dots or the More button. By clicking on it, you will see a drop-down list where you want to select Import/Export Contacts.

In the menu that opens, select the option “Import with” SIM-The system will prompt you to select the target folder to save. It is recommended to choose Phone or your Google account, so that the data is not lost when you extract the card. After choosing the storage location, click OK and confirm the action in the pop-up window.

The copying process takes a few seconds, and when you're done, you'll see a successful import notification, and now all the numbers are available in the device's memory, and you can edit them, add photos, and link email addresses.

Using Google Contacts Cloud Sync

The most reliable way to manage a phone book is sync with a Google account, which allows you to not only transfer contacts to Redmi 7, but also back them up in the cloud, and if you lose or break your phone, you can recover all your data just by logging in to your account on a new device.

To start, make sure your Google account is added to your phone settings. Go to Settings → Accounts and Sync. If you don't have an account, add it by entering your username and password. Make sure the slider opposite Contacts is activated and is lit in blue.

Now go back to the Contacts app, open the import/export menu and select Import with SIM-As a place to save, specify your Google account (usually signed by your mail), the system automatically downloads the numbers from the SIM card and sends them to Google servers, from where they are distributed by phone memory.

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Use the web version of Google Contacts (contacts.google.com) for easy editing, deleting duplicates, and sorting numbers from your computer.

The advantage of this method is that it automatically updates, so if you lose your phone, the numbers stay in the cloud, and Google Contacts can automatically combine duplicates if you have the same person logged in multiple times with different numbers.

Solving problems with coding and formatting

When transferring data from older SIM cards to modern Xiaomi smartphones, users often face the problem of “crackers” instead of letters, due to a difference in encoding: older cards could use GSM 7-bit or other standards that do not support Cyrillic in full.

If you see strange characters instead of names after importing, try changing the encoding when exporting. Unfortunately, this is difficult to do with standard MIUI tools, so you better use the intermediate step. First export the contacts from the SIM card to the.vcf file to the computer using an old phone or card reader.

On your computer, open the file in a text editor or a special contact management program and change the encoding to UTF-8. After saving the corrected file, upload it back to your phone and import from the.vcf file through the Import/Export menu.

⚠️ Warning: Never try to edit a contact file in a standard Windows Notepad without knowing the basics of encoding, as this can permanently damage the file structure and make numbers unreadable.

In some cases, a simple restart of the phone after importing helps.The Android system can re-index the database and display characters correctly if the problem was in the app's cache.

Managing duplicates and cleaning the phone book

After transferring numbers from the SIM card, there is often a situation where duplicates appear on the list: one contact from the phone’s memory, another one just imported from the card. Xiaomi Redmi 7 has a built-in tool to solve this problem, which saves time.

Go to the Contacts app, click on the menu (three dots) and select Contact Organization or Tools, and you will find the Repeated Contacts Combination feature, and the system will suggest finding duplicates and combining them into one entry, saving all the numbers and information available.

You can also do manual cleaning. Open the contact, press the edit button (pencil), and select the option to delete the extra number or merge, which is especially true if you have previously partially transferred data.

Cleaning your phone book regularly not only improves visual experience, but also speeds up the Contacts app and database search, and removing old, irrelevant numbers is a good habit for keeping the digital space in order.

Create a backup before any action

Before performing any bulk operations such as import, export or deletion, it is strongly recommended to back up your current phone book: This is an "insurance cable" that will save you in the event of a system failure or accidental deletion of important data.

From the Import/Export menu, select Export to Device Memory or Export to Storage. The system will create a.vcf file that will contain all current records. This file can be saved to your computer, sent to your own mail or uploaded to the Mi Cloud.

Having a backup allows you to return to the original state at any time. If the import process from the SIM card failed and confused all the data, you can quickly roll back changes by importing the saved file.

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Backing up contacts to a.vcf file takes less than a minute, but can save hours on recovering lost numbers.

Automatic backups can be set up in a Google account, in which case the system will save changes to the cloud on each Wi-Fi connection, and you do not have to do it manually.

Table of comparison of methods of storage of contacts

To make it easier for you to choose the best way to store data after the transfer, we have prepared a comparison table that will help you weigh the pros and cons of each option for your Redmi 7 use case.

As you can see from the table, Google Account storage is the most functional and secure option, combining cloud reliability with rich contact card capabilities, and phone memory is suitable for temporary storage or if you don't have a Google account.

SIM-The card should be seen only as a vehicle for transferring numbers between different devices, not as a permanent storage. Modern smartphones, including Xiaomi, offer much more advanced solutions.

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