Owners of Xiaomi smartphones, in particular the popular model Redmi Note 7, often face the need to transfer the phone book when changing the device or after resetting. SIM-The risk of a device breaking down or accidentally deleting data can be lost forever. Using Google Contacts cloud storage solves this problem by providing instant access to records from any gadget.
The MIUI shell sync process has its own characteristics that distinguish it from standard Android. Many users unknowingly save new numbers to their phone memory, which makes it difficult to restore them later. In this article, we will discuss how to correctly set up a priority account to save and transfer existing records without using third-party software.
Preparing a Google account and checking synchronization
The first step is login. Without an active Google account, you can't automatically save contacts to the cloud. On a Redmi Note 7 device, you need to make sure that you're logged in and your phone book is allowed to sync, not just your email or calendar.
To check, go to the settings menu and find the account section, which shows all the services you have connected to it. If you see your email address, click on it to reveal the list of syncable data. Make sure the switch opposite Contacts is active.
⚠️ Note: If you have just created a new Google account, the initial sync may take a few minutes.Do not try to force system processes to close, let the background do the work.
Often, the user adds an account but forgets to enable the sync slider, in which case the contacts will be stored locally and will not enter the cloud, and once the option is enabled, the system will automatically start exchanging data with the server.
- 📱 Make sure your device is connected to stable Wi-Fi or has good mobile internet.
- 🔒 Check if your Google account has two-factor authentication that requires confirmation.
- 🔄 Forced to run the update by clicking on three dots in the corner of the screen and selecting “Sync».
Transfer of contacts with SIM-Google maps MIUI
If your numbers have historically been stored on a SIM card, they must be imported into a cloud profile, and the standard MIUI interface allows you to do this with built-in tools without requiring additional apps from the Play Market, which is the most reliable way to avoid duplication of records.
Open the Contacts app and go to the import/export settings, and the system will prompt you to select a data source. SIM-The map, and the target storage is your Google account. The process can take time if there are a lot of records, so don't interrupt it.
☑️ Pre-import checks
It is important to note that SIM-Maps have limitations on the length of the name and the number of characters in the number. When you transfer to Google, these restrictions are removed, and you can add email addresses, photos and addresses to the records. Once the procedure is complete, you should check several random numbers for encoding errors.
What to do if the import is frozen?
Change of default location
The most common mistake Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 owners make is to create new contacts in the phone’s memory, so to avoid manual migration in the future, you need to change your system settings, which ensures that any new number you add or save from an incoming call will automatically fly to the cloud.
Go to the Contacts settings and find the location of your preferred save. From the options list, select your Google account. Now the system will ignore the local storage when creating new records.
| Parameter | Phone memory | SIM-map | Google Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory capacity | Depends on the device. | Limited (usually 250) | Up to 15 GB (together with photo) |
| Synchronization | No (only locally) | No. | Automatic. |
| Details | Complete. | Name and number only | Full (photo, email, addresses) |
| Risk of loss | High when broken. | Medium (physical wear and tear) | Minimum |
Once you change the setting, the old contacts that were stored in the phone's memory will not go away. They will remain dead until you manually move them, following the instructions in the previous section, and the new entries will immediately enter the desired section.
- ⚙️ Change of settings does not affect existing local contacts.
- 📝 When calling a subscriber, the system can suggest choosing where to save a new number - always choose Google.
- 👥 Contact grouping also works better in cloud profiles.
Export and import via VCF file
Sometimes direct synchronization is not enough, or you need to transfer the contact database to another phone without entering a password from your account, and in such cases, you use the universal VCF format (vCard), which allows you to create a backup copy that can be saved to your computer, sent by mail or transmitted via Bluetooth.
To create a copy, open the contact management menu and select the export option. You will be prompted to choose the destination - internal memory or SD-The file will be called 00001.vcf This file contains the entire structure of your records, including formatting tags.
⚠️ Attention: File VCF It contains personal data. Don't send it to public chat rooms or store it on public resources without a password. Anyone who opens this file will have access to your entire phone book.
To reverse (import) on a new device or after a reset, you just need to find this file through the MIUI file manager and click on it. The system will suggest adding the contacts found to the selected account, which is a quick way to “fill” the records in one second.
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Save the VCF file not only on your phone, but also duplicate it on your computer or flash drive. The internal memory of your smartphone can fail at any time.
Solving problems with duplicates and synchronization
As data migrates, users often experience the appearance of twins. The same person can be displayed twice: once as a SIM entry, another time from Google. MIUI has a built-in tool to solve this problem, but sometimes manual intervention is required.
There's a linking function in the contact app, and it analyzes names and numbers, and it suggests that you link duplicate cards together, and this is especially true if you've been using different types of save for a long time, and when you combine, the duplicates disappear, you have one full entry.
If sync is not working, check the date and time settings. Incorrect time zone or time lost can block the connection to Google servers due to security certificate errors, and it is also worth clearing the cache of the Contacts and Google Play services app.
- 🧹 Use the “Combine Duplicates” function in the Contact Settings menu.
- 📅 Check if automatic timing is worth the network.
- 🔐 Reconnect your Google account in your phone settings if the error persists.
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The main reason for duplicates is the simultaneous presence of records on the SIM-card and phone memory. Complete deletion of data from SIM After importation, it solves 90% of problems.