How to quickly transfer data from Android to Xiaomi: all the ways 2026

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment: you want all contacts, photos, messages and even app settings to move from the old device without loss. MIUI He's not being predictable — 5 Verified ways to transfer data from any Android device to Xiaomi (including Redmi, POCO and Black Shark, taking into account the features of the firmware MIUI 14/15 The new restrictions of Google.

We're going to look at not only standard tools like Mi Mover or Google Account, but also alternative methods for "everything goes wrong" -- from manual cable transfer to cloud services that bypass restrictions -- and unique life hacks for transferring data from Samsung, Huawei and other brands, where standard methods often fail.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a proprietary application from Xiaomi, which is pre-installed on all new smartphones of the brand.It allows you to transfer almost all data from an old Android device over Wi-Fi Direct (without the Internet) or via cable. OTG. It works even if you have an old phone. EMUI (Huawei), One UI (Samsung or ColorOS (Oppo/Realme).

How to use:

• 📱 Install Mi Mover on your old device (you can download it from Google Play or from the official Xiaomi website).
• 🔗 On the new Xiaomi, open the app (usually it starts automatically when you first turn on).
• 📶 Select the connection method: Wi-Fi Direct or via OTG-Adapter. Second option is faster, but it requires an adapter. USB-C/USB-A.
• 🔄 On your old phone, select data to transfer: contacts, messages, photos, videos, audio, apps (not all supported!).
• ⏳ Wait until the process is complete (may take 5 to 30 minutes depending on the volume).

⚠️ Attention: Mi Mover is not tolerated:

• 🔒 Wi-Fi passwords (they will have to be entered manually).
• 🎮 Game Save (except for cloud-saving games via Google Play Games).
• 📁 Files from folders created by the user (for example, downloads from the browser).
• 📱 System application settings (e.g. Google Assistant or Mi Fit).

Charge both phones at least 50 times%|Shut down. VPN firewalls|Make sure that the new Xiaomi has enough memory|Connect to a single Wi-Fi network (if you use Wi-Fi Direct)|Close all background applications on both devices-->

If the Mi Mover is stuck in the connection phase, try:

1. Reboot both phones.
2. Disable Developer Mode (if enabled).
3. Use a different type of connection (e.g., instead of Wi-Fi Direct, cable).
4. Update the Mi Mover to the latest version.

Mi Mover (Xiaomi)|Google Account|Cable + copying|Cloud services (Dropbox, Yandex Disk)|Another option-->

2. Transfer through Google Account (for contacts, calendar, mail)

If you only need to migrate contacts, calendar events, notes and email, the most reliable way is to sync through Google Account. This method works on 100% of devices and is independent of the Xiaomi model or version. MIUI.

Instructions:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Accounts → Google.
2. Make sure that synchronization is enabled for Contacts, Calendar, Gmail and other relevant data.
3. On the new Xiaomi, log in to the same Google Account when you first enable it.
4. Wait for automatic synchronization (can take up to 10 minutes).

⚠️ Note: If the contacts on the old phone are stored in the device’s memory instead of Google, they must be exported first:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Press. ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/exports → Export to the device (.vcf format).
3. Transfer the.vcf file to the new Xiaomi (e.g., via Bluetooth or Telegram).
4. Import contacts on the new device through the same menu.

To transfer photos and videos through Google Photos:

• 📸 On your old phone, turn on Backup in the Google Photos app (settings) → backup and synchronization).
• 🔄 Wait for the download to complete (check in the Photo section). → Library → Backup copies).
• 📱 On the new Xiaomi, log in to the same account and wait for sync.

💡

If you have a slow Internet connection, you can choose the quality of Google Photos. → Save space (photos will shrink but won’t take up space in the cloud).

3. Manual copying via cable (for files, music, documents)

If you need to move large files (video, music, documents, archives) and Mi Mover refuses to work, use direct cable connection, which is universal and works even on phones with damaged Wi-Fi module.

What you need:

• 🔌 Cable USB-C/USB-A (or OTG-Adapter if the ports are different).
• 💻 Computer (optional, but convenient for intermediate copying).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect the old device to the computer via cable.
2. On your phone, select File Transfer (MTP) mode (usually a notification appears when you connect).
3. Copy the required files (folders) DCIM, Download, Music, etc.) to the computer.
4. Turn off the old device and connect the new Xiaomi.
5. Transfer the files back to your phone (to the same folders).

If you don’t have a computer, you can connect your phones directly:

1. Buy it. OTG-adapter (e.g, USB-C to USB-A for the new Xiaomi).
2. Connect the old device to the new one via an adapter.
3. On the new Xiaomi, open Explorer (Files app) and select the connected device.
4. Copy the files manually.

⚠️ Note: When copying photos and videos, keep the folder structure (e.g, DCIM/Camera). Otherwise, the Xiaomi gallery may not display them correctly.

4. Transfer applications and their data (including games)

Standard methods (Mi Mover or Google Account) only carry the list of installed applications, but not their data (for example, saving games, setting up messengers), to transfer applications with data, you need one of these methods:

Method 1: Backup through ADB (for advanced users)

This method requires a computer and command line knowledge, but allows you to transfer all application data, including system data.

adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab


adb restore backup.ab

Step-by-step:

1. Install. ADB on your computer (instructions on Google website).
2. Turn on the debugging. USB both phones.
3. Connect the old device and execute the backup command.
4. Connect the new Xiaomi and recover the data.

Method 2: Applications with cloud backup

Many applications support cloud storage, and here's how to migrate the most popular ones:

⚠️ Note: Some applications (e.g. banking) prohibit data portability for security reasons, and will have to be reconfigured.

💡

To transfer these games, be sure to link your account to Google Play Games, Facebook or another service before you switch to a new phone.

5. Cloud services: Dropbox, Yandex Drive, OneDrive

If you have slow internet or little space on the new Xiaomi, you can use cloud storage to transfer files, which is suitable for photos, documents and music, but not for applications or system data.

How to move data through the cloud:

1. Install the cloud service application (Yandex Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive) on the old device.
2. Upload files to the cloud (you can choose to automatically upload photos/video).
3. On the new Xiaomi, log in to the same cloud account and download files.

Comparison of services:

💡 Lifehack: If you need to transfer a lot of photos, use Google Photos in Save Space mode (unlimited storage for compressed photos). For the originals, Yandex Drive (gives 10 GB free).

6. Data transfer from Samsung, Huawei and other brands

Samsung, Huawei, Oppo and other brands have their own proprietary data porting tools that often conflict with the Mi Mover.

With Samsung (One) UI)

Samsung blocks access to some system files, so:

• 📱 Use Smart Switch (Samsung’s official app) to export data to your computer.
• 💻 Then transfer files to Xiaomi via cable or cloud.
• ⚠️ Smart Switch doesn’t work directly with Xiaomi – only on PC!

Huawei (EMUI/HarmonyOS)

On Huawei without Google services:

• 🔗 Use Huawei Backup to create a local copy on your memory card.
• 📁 Transfer the backup file (.hbk) to Xiaomi and retrieve the data through the archiver (e.g. ZArchiver).
• 📧 Sync your contacts and calendar through Huawei Cloud, then export to the Huawei Cloud.vcf/.ics.

With iPhone (iOS)

To transfer from iPhone to Xiaomi:

• 🍎 Use Move to iOS (but it only works one way – from Android to iOS).
• ☁️ Alternative: sync your contacts via iCloud (export to.vcf) and photos via Google Photos.
• 🎵 Transfer music via iTunes (export to the Internet) MP3) or streaming services (Spotify, Yandex Music).

💡

To transfer messages from iPhone to Xiaomi, use the application iSMS2droid (iTunes backup and manual file conversion required).

7.Data Transfer Problems and Errors (and How to Fix Them)

Even if you follow the instructions correctly, you can get errors, and here are the most common solutions.

⚠️ Note: If Xiaomi started to slow down or overheat after data transfer, follow the following steps:

1. Reboot the phone.
2. Clear the cache in Settings → Annexes → Application management → Clear the cache.
3. Turn off automatic synchronization in Settings → Accounts.
4. If the problem persists, reset your phone to factory settings (but it will delete all data!).

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability to Xiaomi