How to write a phone number on a Xiaomi smartphone with a surname: all ways

Keeping contacts with full data — surname, first name and patronymic — on Xiaomi smartphones seems like an easy task, but many users face unexpected challenges. Unlike older push-button phones, where the fields for a name were strictly separated, a modern shell is a very difficult task. MIUI It offers flexible settings that are not always intuitive, such as the name may disappear when synchronized with Google Contacts, and in some firmware versions the name field is generally hidden by default.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to add a number with a surname on Xiaomi, Redmi and other devices. POCO — From basic manual input to imports from other sources, we'll focus on the nuances. MIUI 14/15, where the contact interface has changed, and common errors that may cause the last names to appear incorrectly, if you want your phone book to be structured and searchable, read on.

1. Basic method: adding contact through the "Contacts" application

The most obvious method is to create a new contact directly in the standard Contacts app, but even here there are pitfalls, especially if you use a Mi Account or Google account to sync. MIUI:

Open the Contacts app (an icon with a person's silhouette on a green background). In the lower right corner, click the button. + (Or add contact. Here it is important to choose the right account to save:

• 📱 Device – Contact will only be saved on this phone (not synchronized).
• 🌐 Google Contact will be available on all devices through your Google Account.
• 🔄 Mi Account – sync through Xiaomi account (useful if you have multiple brand devices).

Once you select an account, you will see the form to fill out. Here the key point is the Name field. MIUI 14/15 It is not divided by default into "Family" and "Name", but if you click on the icon ⚙️ (Next to the field, additional options will open:

Select an account to save|Press on. ⚙️ near the field "Name"|Please enter the surname in the field "Family"|Fill out your name and patronymic (if necessary)|Check the format of the phone number (+7 or 8)|Keep contact with the "Ready" button"-->

Important: If the Patrimony field is not displayed, update the Contacts app via Google Play or check regional settings – in some localizations MIUI field hidden.

2. Adding a surname through editing an existing contact

Often users first save a number without a surname, and then want to edit it. MIUI It's not as obvious as other shells, for example, if you're trying to change the name of a contact, the system might suggest you create a duplicate instead of editing.

To avoid duplication:

1. Open the contact that needs to be edited.
2. Press three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Edit.
3. If the "Family" field is missing, click on the icon ⚙️ near the field "Name".
4. Fill in your name and keep the changes.

If after saving the name does not appear in the contact list, check the display settings:

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 15 by default, you can turn on "Show only names." To fix this, go to Settings. → Contacts → Display names and select the option "Family, Name" or "Family Name".

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If you often work with contacts where last name is important (such as business partners), turn on the sorting by last name in the same settings, which will make it easier to search in a large phone book.

3. Import of contacts with surnames from other sources

If you already have a phone book on another device or in a file (such as.vcf or.csv), you can import it to Xiaomi with the names saved.

• 📄.vcf (vCard) files usually retain the name structure, but in MIUI It may not be displayed correctly if the file encoding is not UTF-8.
• 📊 When importing from.csv (e.g. from Excel), be sure to check the columns match: the Surname field should mapper on the FAMILY_NAME or LAST_NAME.
• ☁️ When synchronized with Google Contacts or iCloud, surnames can stick with names if non-standard separators were used in the original file.

Instructions for import from the.vcf file:

1. Place the file in the phone’s memory (for example, in the Download folder).
2. Open Contacts → Settings → Import / Export → Import from the file.
3. Select a file and account to import (recommended by Google for reliability).
4. Make sure that the names are correctly displayed (sometimes manual editing is required).

4. synchronize contacts with surnames through Google and Mi Account

One of the common causes of losing surnames when transferring contacts is incorrect sync, for example, if you previously saved contacts only on your device and then enabled sync with Google, surnames may not be transmitted.

For Google Account:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
2. Make sure the switch opposite the Contact is on.
3. Go to contacts.google.com from your PC and check that the surnames are displayed correctly. If not, edit them there.
4. On the phone force update sync: Contacts → Settings → Synchronize.

For Mi Account:

• 🔄 Synchronization can be unstable if you have traffic savings enabled.
• 📵 If your last names are missing after changing your phone, make sure you are logged in to the same Mi Account.
• 🔧 To force the data to be updated, go to Settings → Mi Account → Synchronization → Contacts → Synchronize now.

Only on the device.|Synchronizing with Google|Using Mi Account.|Importing from the file|Another way.-->

⚠️ Note: If you use both syncs (Google and Mi Account), there may be a conflict of versions of contacts, in which case the last change takes priority, which sometimes leads to the loss of surnames.

5. Features of displaying names in MIUI 14 and 15

In the latest versions of the shell MIUI The developers have changed the way names are displayed, and now by default, contacts are sorted by name, not by last name, which is inconvenient for many users, and in some regional versions of the firmware, the "Pattimacy" field is hidden.

How to adjust the display to your needs:

• 📌 To sort by name, go to Contacts. → Settings → Display names and select Surname, Name.
• 🔍 For easy search, turn on the option to Show names in the list (not available in all versions). MIUI).
• 🌍 If the field "Patchim" is missing, change the language of the system to Russian (Russia) - in some localizations (for example, English) this field is hidden.

V MIUI 15 also introduced the Smart Groups feature, which automatically categorizes contacts (e.g., Family, Work) so that surnames are correctly displayed in these groups:

1. Open Contacts. → Groups.
2. Click on the group and select Display Settings.
3. Make sure you have the option to show full names.

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V MIUI 15 contact names can be cut off in the widget on the home screen, so to fix this, increase the size of the widget or turn off the option "Abbreviated Names" in its settings.

6. Solving problems with surnames: frequent errors and their correction

Even after correctly saving the last names, they may not show up correctly.

If none of the solutions worked, try resetting the Contacts app settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → Contacts.
2. Select Warehouse. → Reset the settings.
3. Restart your phone and check the display of surnames.

Critical case: If the names are missing after resetting the phone to factory settings, restore them from a Google backup or Mi Cloud.

1. When you first turn on your phone, select the Restore option from backup.
2. Sign in to your Google Account or Mi Account.
3. Choose the most recent backup of contacts.

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To avoid data loss, export your contacts to.vcf file regularly. → Settings → Export and save the file to the cloud or PC.

7. Alternative methods: applications for contact management

If the standard application Contacts in MIUI It's not OK, you can use third-party solutions, and they offer more flexible settings for your name, for example:

• 📇 Truecaller – automatically adds open source data to your contacts (including surnames).
• 📊 Contacts+ — allows you to configure the display of names, add custom fields (for example, "Position").
• 🔄 Simpler Contacts – a minimalist application with easy sorting by surname.

When using third-party applications, consider:

• 🔒 Not all apps support synchronization with Mi Account.
• 📱 Some functions (such as calls) may not work smoothly if the application is not system-based.
• 🛡️ Before installing, check the app’s permissions – it will have access to all your contacts.

To install a third-party contact app:

1. Download it from Google Play (for example, Contacts)+).
2. At the first start, allow access to contacts.
3. Import existing contacts from the system application.
4. Configure the display of surnames in the application parameters.

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Third-party contact apps may conflict with system services MIUI. If the call has stopped working after the installation, or SMS, Go back to the standard application.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions