How to Recover Data on Xiaomi’s New Phone: From Old System to Clean MIUI

Buying a new smartphone is always a pleasant thrill, but the process of transferring digital assets accumulated over the years often turns into a real stress. Xiaomi device owners are in a favorable position, as the MIUI and HyperOS ecosystem offers powerful built-in tools for migration. You do not need to be a technician to transfer everything important, whether it is photos from a vacation or a contact list.

The process of recovering information varies significantly depending on the operating system on your previous gadget. If you move from another Android device, the procedure will take a minimum of time due to the full compatibility of file formats. iPhone owners are a little more complicated, but here the company's engineers have designed effective bridges for data transfer.

It is important to understand that before any manipulations begin, it is necessary to ensure a stable connection and sufficient battery power on both devices. Interrupting the synchronization process can lead to archive damage or partial loss of information. In this article, we will discuss all current methods, from standard system utilities to advanced cloud storage settings.

Preparing for data migration and checking compatibility

The first step is to carefully prepare both devices. Make sure that the new Xiaomi phone has the latest firmware version installed, as older builds may contain bugs that interfere with the correct connection. Charge both smartphones to a minimum of 60-70%, since the process of transferring large amounts of data via Wi-Fi Direct consumes a significant amount of power.

Special attention should be paid to the state of memory: the amount of free memory on the receiving device should exceed the size of the transmitted data by at least 10-15%, this is necessary for temporary files and correct decompression of application archives. If you plan to transfer terabytes of photos, you may need to first clean the gallery of duplicates.

Also check the status of accounts. Google account login must be done on both devices if you plan to use standard Google sync. Xiaomi ecosystem users will need a Mi Account that allows you to synchronize not only contacts, but also notes, voice recorder and system settings.

Using the Mi Mover app to transition to Android

The most effective tool for Android owners is the Mi Mover app, which is built into the default system on all modern Redmi and Poco models. → The phone. → Mi Mover or find the app in the Tools folder. On an old device, you need to download the app from Google Play or scan it. QR-code that will appear on the screen of the new phone.

The connection process takes place through the creation of a local Wi-Fi hotspot, which guarantees high transmission speeds without using Internet traffic. QR-You can then connect the device to a code or manually enter a password, and you can select the data categories to transfer: images, videos, music, documents, contacts, messages, and even the apps you have installed with their settings.

⚠️ Warning: Do not open other apps or lock smartphone screens while transferring files.The screen must be on constantly, otherwise the power saving system may break the connection.

The app allows you to configure filters flexibly, for example, you can eliminate system caches or temporary messenger files so that you don't clog your new phone with digital junk. Once the process is complete, Mi Mover will automatically place the files in the corresponding folders, and you just have to wait for the indexing gallery.

Transfer information from iPhone (iOS) to Xiaomi

Switching from the Apple ecosystem to Android requires using a dedicated mode in the same Mi Mover app. When you launch on the new Xiaomi, select the option “I send” (if transferring from another Android) or “I receive”, and on the iPhone, launch the Mi Mover app from the App Store and select “Send” mode.

Importantly, the limitations are that because of the closedness of iOS, you can't migrate the apps themselves, their data, alarms and some system settings. Only contacts, photos, videos and calendar events are available for migration. You can also use sync through your Google account to transfer contacts, adding it to your iPhone settings.

The transfer speed from the iPhone may be lower than between two Android devices, due to the limitations of the Apple operating system on the background of the applications. It is recommended to break the process into stages: first contacts, then media files. Make sure that the iPhone allows access to the local network for the Mi Mover application.

Recovery from Google backup and cloud services

If you don’t have an old phone on hand or it’s been lost, the only way to recover it is to use a cloud copy. When you first activate a new Xiaomi, the system will prompt you to restore data from a Google Drive backup. Select the desired restore point by date, and the phone will start downloading a list of apps, Wi-Fi passwords and contacts.

Google Photos is a special service, which is that if you have autoloaded on your old device, all your photos are already in the cloud, just install the Google Photos app or log in to your account through your browser to access the entire media library, which frees up space on the device and ensures that data is safe even if the phone physically breaks down.

Mi Cloud users can recover notes, voice recorders and call schedules. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Xiaomi Cloud → Recover. Here you can selectively upload only the necessary categories without affecting the rest of the system.

Local backup and manual file transfer

For advanced users who want to have full control, a local backup function is available, which allows you to create an exact copy of the system or its individual parts on an internal drive or a computer. SD-To create a backup, go to Settings. → The phone. → Reservation and rehabilitation.

You can choose to create a new copy here. The system will select components: system data, applications, photos, music, etc. The local backup files are stored in the hidden folder MIUI/backup/AllBackup, so after transferring to a new phone (via cable or computer), you need to specify the path to this archive for recovery.

Manual transfer via computer remains the most reliable method for large media files. Connect your old phone to your PC in file transfer mode (MTP), copy the DCIM, Download, Documents and WhatsApp folders (if any). Then connect the new Xiaomi and move the data to the appropriate directories. This ensures the integrity of the original files without compression.

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Use a USB 3.0 cable and a USB 3.0 port on your computer for maximum speed copying large video files. The cable from the kit usually only supports USB 2.0, which is much slower.

Recovery of data from messengers: WhatsApp and Telegram

Messengers have their own storage architecture, and system tools can’t always correctly transfer the history of correspondence. WhatsApp is critical to use built-in backup. On an old phone, open Settings → Chats → Backup Chats and click “Backup” on Google Drive.

When you install WhatsApp on a new Xiaomi, log in to the same phone number, the app will automatically detect that you have a backup in the cloud and prompt you to restore it. Importantly, the new device must have the same Google account as the old one, otherwise the app will not see the archive.

Telegram works differently: all correspondence history is stored on the messenger servers. You just install the application and enter the phone number. All chats, channels and media (unless secret storage is enabled) will be downloaded automatically. Secret chats are not transferable for security reasons.

⚠️ Note: WhatsApp backup is tied to phone number and Google account. without access to SIM card to receive SMS-It is impossible to restore the code and Google account.

Frequent problems and ways to solve them

Despite the fact that processes are fine, users may encounter errors, and one of the most common problems is “hanging” during the installation phase of applications after recovering from Google copy, in which case cleaning the cache of the Google Play service through the app menu or waiting in the background for 1-2 hours helps.

If Mi Mover breaks the connection, try to turn off mobile internet on both devices, leaving only Wi-Fi. Sometimes a frequency conflict (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) interferes with stable transmission. Also make sure that both phones have turned off the option of traffic saving or energy saving for the carrier application.

In case photos are transferred but not displayed in the gallery, try clearing the cache of the Gallery app or running a media scanner. Files may lie in a folder but do not have an index record in the system database. Rebooting the device also often solves the display problem.

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The main difficulty in transferring is not the files themselves, but authorization in the applications of banks and social networks. SMS-access.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions