Sync on Xiaomi Redmi: how to enable, configure and fix errors

Why you need synchronization on Xiaomi Redmi and what it gives

Synchronizing data on Redmi smartphones is not just a handy feature, it's a vital tool for the modern user: Imagine if you lost your phone, it broke down or just died at the wrong time. Without synchronization enabled, all your contacts, photos, notes and even call history can disappear forever, and with it, just log into your Mi Account on a new device, and all data will automatically be downloaded.

But synchronization on Xiaomi doesn't just work as a backup. It brings together an ecosystem of devices: a smartphone, a tablet, a Mi Band smartwatch, a Mi TV. TV For example, you can start reading an article on your phone and continue on your tablet, and the bookmark syncs automatically, or you can get a notification of a missed call on the Mi Band while the phone is in the other room, but many Redmi users have problems: Data is out of sync, your account is out of sync, or the feature is not on the menu at all. In this article, we'll look at everything from basic settings to solving rare bugs.

What data can be synchronized on Redmi

The sync feature on Xiaomi Redmi covers almost all key data types, but not all users are aware of the full feature list.

• 📱 Contacts — phone numbers, email addresses, birthdays and even photos of subscribers — sync with Mi Cloud and can be restored on any Xiaomi device.
• 📷 Photos and videos – automatically upload to the Mi Cloud or Google Photos cloud (depending on your settings). MIUI 14+ You can choose the permission to download (original or compressed).
• 📝 Notes – Texts, checklists and even handwritten notes from the Notes app are synced to the cloud and available on PC via the web version.
• 🎵 Browser bookmarks – if you use the standard Mi Browser browser, all saved pages will be available on other devices.
• 🔄 System settings – wallpaper, themes, application shortcuts, and even some interface settings (such as the order of icons on the desktop).
• 📅 Calendar and Reminders – Events, Alarms and Tasks from Xiaomi’s Standard Apps.
• 💬 Communications — SMS and MMS (Optional, manually enabled in Mi Cloud settings).

It’s important to understand that Xiaomi offers two main synchronization options: through its own Mi Account (Mi Cloud cloud) and through Google services. The former gives more options for integration with the Xiaomi ecosystem, but the latter is more reliable for backup (for example, Google Contacts are less prone to crashes).

Step-by-step: how to enable synchronization through Mi Account

If you want to sync data exclusively through the Xiaomi ecosystem, follow this instruction.It is suitable for all Redmi models (from Redmi). 4X Up to Redmi Note 13 Pro+) version MIUI (9-16).

The first step is to make sure you have a valid Mi Account, and if you don’t have one, you can create one right in your phone’s settings:

1. Open the Settings. → Mi Account (or Settings) → Passwords and security → Mi Account on older versions MIUI).
2. Click Login or Create an Account if you don’t already have one.
3. Fill in the data: email (preferably not) @mail.ru or @yandex.ru, as there may be confirmation issues, password and associated phone number.
4. Confirm your account via SMS or email.

Now we move directly to the synchronization setting:

Connect your phone to Wi-Fi (downloading data to the cloud consumes traffic)

Make sure that there is enough free space on the phone (minimum 500 MB)

Check that version MIUI Updated to the latest (in Settings) → The phone)

Battery charge of at least 50% (for long-term operations)

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1. Go to Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn on the Synchronization slider at the top of the screen.
3. Select Synchronization Settings and tick the types of data you want to reserve (we recommend including at least Contacts, Notes and Photos).
4. Click Sync Now to start the process manually (automatic sync will occur once a day when connecting to Wi-Fi).

If the data does not appear in the cloud after synchronization is enabled, check:

• 🔌 Internet connection (synchronization works only with an active connection).
• 📱 Is there enough space in the Mi Cloud (free 5GB, but photos and videos quickly fill it).
• 🔄 Is the power saving function for Mi Cloud disabled in the battery settings.

💡

If you take pictures often, set up automatic uploads to Mi Cloud only over Wi-Fi. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Photo Photo → Download settings and select only Wi-Fi.

Syncing through Google Account: an alternative way

If you prefer to use Google services or want to have an additional backup, you can configure sync through Google Account. This method is universal and works even if you change Xiaomi to a smartphone of another brand (for example, Samsung or iPhone).

The main advantages of syncing through Google:

• 🌍 Access data from any device (including PCs via contacts.google.com and photos.google.com).
• 🔒 More secure data protection (two-factor authentication, encryption).
• 📤 15GB of free cloud storage (vs. 5GB in Mi Cloud).

To enable synchronization:

1. Open the Settings. → Accounts and synchronization (or Settings) → Passwords and security → Accounts on MIUI 12 and below).
2. Select Google and sign in to your account (or create a new one).
3. Activate sliders against the data you want to sync: Contacts to back up numbers; calendar for events and reminders; disk to back up files; photos to automatically upload photos to Google Photos.

More. → Synchronize now

Note that synchronizing Google Contacts and Mi Contacts works independently. If you enable both options, contacts can be duplicated. To avoid this, select one primary service and disable synchronizing contacts in the other.

Common synchronization errors and their solutions

Even after setting up correctly, sync on Redmi can malfunction, and here are the most common problems and ways to fix them:

If none of these methods worked, try resetting your network settings:

1. Go to Settings → Connections and Sharing → Network Reset.
2. Confirm the reset and restart the phone.
3. After rebooting, re-enter Mi Account and Google Account.
4. For Google Account: Go to contacts.google.com (for contacts) or photos.google.com (for photos). Make sure that recent changes (such as an added contact or photo) are displayed in the web version.

If the data in the cloud is outdated, run forced synchronization:

• For Mi Cloud: Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Synchronize now.
• For Google: Settings → Accounts and synchronization → Google → More. → Synchronize now.

You can also use the test action:

1. Create a new contact on your phone (e.g., the Sync Test with 123456789).
2. Wait 1-2 minutes (or start syncing manually).
3. Check if the contact is in the cloud (Mi Cloud or Google Contacts).
4. Remove the test contact after the check.

💡

If you often test synchronization, create a separate contact group called the Test and add verification notes to it, so you don't have to clear the main contact list.

How to Recover Data from Sync on a New Phone

If you bought a new Redmi or reset the old one to factory settings, you can restore data from sync in a few steps, the main thing is to use the same Mi Account or Google Account that was previously linked.

Recovery through Mi Cloud:

1. When you first turn on your phone, select Restore from backup and log in to your Mi Account.
2. If the phone is already configured, go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Data recovery.
3. Select the latest backup and click Restore.
4. Wait for the process to be completed (it can take anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours depending on the amount of data).

Recovery via Google:

1. When setting up your phone, select Copy Data and log in to Google Account.
2. Select a backup from the previous device (it should show up automatically if sync was enabled).
3. Check the data you want to restore (contacts, applications, SMS etc.).
4. Click Restore and wait until it is completed.

Important nuances:

• 🔄 Recovery does not overwrite existing data on the phone. If the new device already has contacts, they will be combined with the restored ones (doubles are possible).
• 📱 Applications are restored only through Google (only application data is reserved in the Mi Cloud, but not the application itself). APK-file).
• ⚠️ If you restore data to a phone with a different version MIUI, Some settings (such as themes or wallpaper) may not apply.

How to Disable Synchronization and Remove Data from the Cloud

If you choose not to sync (for example, due to lack of cloud space or privacy issues), you can disable it or completely delete backups, but remember that once you delete data from the cloud, it will not be possible to restore it.

Synchronization disconnection:

1. For Mi Cloud: Go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud. Turn off Sync slider. To turn off sync of individual data (e.g., only photos), go to Sync Settings and uncheck the boxes.

Google

• Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
• Turn off sliders in front of unnecessary data types.

Delete data from the cloud:

⚠️ Note: Deleting data from Mi Cloud or Google will lead to permanent loss of data on all devices associated with your account.

1. For Mi Cloud: Go to i.mi.com and log in to your account. Go to Contacts, Photos or Notes. Select unnecessary data and click Delete. To clean up the entire cloud, go to Settings. → Delete your account and data (this will delete ALL, including backups).

Google

• Go to myaccount.google.com.
• Choose Data Management and Personalization → Managing your data.
• Find the service you want (like Google Contacts or Google Photos) and delete the data.

If you want to completely remove your Mi or Google account from your phone (for example, before selling), do the following:

1. For Mi Account: Go to Settings → Mi Account. Click on the account icon in the top corner and select Delete Account. Confirm Deletion (password entry required).

Google Account

• Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
• Click on your account and select Delete your account.

Use third-party services such as Evernote or OneNote to transfer notes.