Where does Xiaomi store contacts: local memory, SIM or cloud?

Introduction: Why it is important to know where contacts are stored

Losing contacts on a smartphone is one of the most frustrating situations for a user, especially if you have hundreds of important numbers dialed over the years. Xiaomi offers several ways to store contacts, and each has its own nuances. Where exactly your numbers are stored depends on how you added them: through your Google account, Mi Account, manually to your phone’s memory or on your phone. SIM-map.

If you've never set up sync, there's a risk that all contacts are stored locally, which means that if you reset your phone, break it, or steal it, you'll lose them. In this article, we'll look at how to check the storage location, how to transfer contacts to a secure cloud, and what to do if they're gone. And we'll also uncover the hidden path to the contact database file in MIUI, which can be copied manually for backup.

1. Main locations for keeping contacts in Xiaomi

Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi, POCO and Black Shark) support four main types of contact storage.

• 📱 Local phone memory – contacts are stored in the database contacts2.db It's only available on this device, it's not synchronized.
• 📇 SIM-card – limited number of records (usually up to 250), supported only name and number, no photos, emails or additional fields.
• ☁️ Google Account – synced to the cloud, available on all authorization devices, supports complete contact data (including photos and notes).
• 🔶 Mi Account (Xiaomi Cloud) is an alternative cloud storage from Xiaomi, which works even without Google services, but less universally.

To find out where your contacts are stored, open the Contacts app, click on the three dots in the top right corner, and select Contact Management → Import/Export. This will show a list of all sources with the number of records in each.

⚠️ Warning: If you see that all contacts are stored only in the phone memory, export them to the cloud immediately.

2. How to check where a particular contact is stored

Not all contacts are stored in one place, for example, some may be tied to a SIM-map, and others to Google account to find the source for a particular number:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Find the right contact and click on it.
3. At the top of the screen will appear the source icon: 📱 — localism; 📇 — SIM-map; 🔶 — Mi Account; ☁️ — Google.

If the icon is not there, the contact is stored in the phone's memory, which is the most unreliable option, since this data is not automatically backed up.

3. where the contact database in MIUI is physically stored

For power users: All contacts in Xiaomi are stored in the database file contacts2.db, which is located along the path:

/data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db

This file contains all local contacts, including those synced to Google or Mi Account (but not the cloud copies themselves). /data/data/ is only available with root rights or through ADB.

If you need to manually copy the contact database (for example, before your phone firmware), use ADB pull:

adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db

⚠️ Note: Do not edit the file contacts2.db manually without backup.Database damage can cause all contacts on the device to be lost.

💡

If you don’t have root rights but need to save contacts, use the standard export to the VCF file via the Contact Management → Export menu.

4 How to transfer contacts from the memory of the phone to the cloud

If your contacts are only stored in Xiaomi memory, they need to be transferred to a reliable cloud storage, the most popular options are Google Contacts and Xiaomi Cloud.

Method 1: Sync with Google Account

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
2. Select your account (or add a new one).
3. Activate the Contact Switch.
4. Go back to Contacts → Manage → Import/Export and select Export in Google.

Method 2: Synchronize with Mi Account

1. Go to Settings. → Mi Account and log in.
2. Enable contact synchronization in your account settings.
3. In the Contacts app, select Management → Sync with Mi Cloud.

Once synchronized, all contacts will be available on contacts.google.com (for Google) or on the Mi Cloud web version.

Check your internet connection|Sign in to Google or Mi Account|Make a backup copy of local contacts|Make sure there is enough space on your account.-->

5 How to Recover Remote Contacts

If your contacts are gone, don't panic -- you can restore them if they've been synced to the cloud.

Recovery from Google Contacts

1. Go to contacts.google.com.
2. In the left menu, select Cancel Changes.
3. Specify the time range (up to 30 days ago) and confirm the recovery.

Recovery from Mi Cloud

1. Open i.mi.com and log in.
2. Go to the Contact section → Basket.
3. Select the necessary contacts and click Restore.

If contacts are not synchronized, try using data recovery software (such as Dr.Fone or Tenorshare UltData), but the chances of success depend on whether the data was overwritten after deletion.

6. Manual export and import of contacts (VCF-file)

The most universal way to back up is to export contacts to a.vcf (vCard) file, which can then be imported to any device, including an iPhone or computer.

Exporting contacts to file

1. Open Contacts → Management → Import / Export.
2. Select Export to file.
3. Specify which contacts to export (e.g., from your phone’s memory only).
4. Click Export and save the file to a convenient location (e.g., Google Drive or Google Drive). SD-map).

Import contacts from the file

1. Copy the.vcf file to your phone (for example, via Telegram or Explorer).
2. Open Contacts → Management → Import / Export → Import from the file.
3. Select a file and confirm the import.

If the problem is not solved, try resetting the Contacts app settings (Settings → Apps → Contacts → Storage → Reset) This will not delete the contacts themselves, but will return the standard display settings.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions