How to transfer contacts with Xiaomi to another phone: all working methods

Transferring contacts from one smartphone to another is a challenge that every user faces when changing devices, and is especially relevant for Xiaomi owners, where contacts can be stored in different places: in the phone’s memory, on the phone. SIM-Mi Account or Google account: An error in the transfer method often results in the loss of important numbers or duplicate records.

In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to transfer contacts from Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi, POCO, Black Shark models) to other devices – be it a new Xiaomi, an Android smartphone of another brand or even an iPhone. Each method is illustrated with step-by-step instructions taking into account the nuances of MIUI firmware and synchronization features.

Important: Before you start the transfer, check where your contacts are stored. To do this, open the Contacts app, click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Contact Management → Contact Source. Here you will see all the accounts available (Google, Mi Cloud, SIM, phone).

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1.Move contacts over Mi Cloud (the most reliable way for Xiaomi)

Syncing through Mi Cloud, Xiaomi’s official cloud storage, ensures that all contacts are safe and quickly transferred to a new device, which works even if you don’t have a Google account or switch to another Xiaomi/Redmi.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔄 Automatic synchronization in the background
• 📱 It works on all devices with MIUI (including POCO and Black Shark)
• 🔒 Data is encrypted and stored in the cloud Xiaomi
• 📞 Not only numbers are preserved, but also photos of contacts, notes, groups.

To move contacts through Mi Cloud, follow the following steps:

On an old Xiaomi phone:

1. Open the Settings. → Mi Account (or Xiaomi Account).
2. Make sure you are logged in. If not, log in to your account.
3. Go to Mi Cloud → Contacts and turn on the sync slider.
4. Wait for the synchronization to be completed (the inscription Synchronized will appear in the upper right corner).

On the new phone:

1. Sign in to the same Mi Account.
2. Enable contact synchronization in Mi Cloud.
3. Open the Contacts app – all records will appear automatically.

⚠️ Note: If you delete contacts from your phone after syncing with Mi Cloud, they will also disappear from the cloud.To avoid this, export backup via Settings before deleting. → Mi Cloud → Backup.

Sign in to Mi Account on your old phone

Enable contact synchronization in Mi Cloud

Wait for synchronization to complete (check the date of last update)

Sign in to the same account on a new device

Enable synchronization on the new phone-->

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2.Using a Google Account (Universal Method for Android)

If your contacts are linked to a Google account, it will take only a few minutes to transfer them to any Android smartphone (including Samsung, Huawei, Realme), which is also suitable for transferring contacts from Xiaomi to iPhone (via iCloud).

How to check if your contacts are synced with Google:

1. Open Contacts → Contact Management → Contact Source
2. If you have Google on the list, your contacts are already synced.
3. If not, turn on sync in Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync.

Instructions for transfer:

• 📱 On the old Xiaomi, make sure your contacts are synced with Google (see above).
• 📲 On your new phone, add the same Google account to Settings. → Accounts.
• 🔄 Enable contact sync for this account.
• 📞 Open the Contacts app – the data will appear within 5-10 minutes.

For porting to iPhone:

1. On Xiaomi, export your contacts to a.vcf file (see section 4 of this article).
2. Send the file to your iPhone (by mail, via AirDrop or messenger).
3. Open the file on your iPhone and add contacts automatically.

⚠️ Note: If you use multiple Google accounts, make sure sync is enabled for the correct profile.To avoid duplication, turn off sync with other sources before transferring (Mi Cloud, SIM).

Mi Cloud|Google Account|SIM-map|Manual export/import|Other-->

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3. Transfer of contacts through SIM-map (for older models)

Method by using SIM-The card is suitable for owners of older Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi). 4A, Mi A1) Or if you don't have access to the Internet, but it has limitations:

• 📵 SIM-The card stores only numbers and names (without photos, addresses, notes).
• 📏 Limitation on the number of contacts (usually 200-250 records).
• ⚠️ Risk of data loss in case of incorrect map extraction.

Step-by-step:

1. On the old Xiaomi, open the Contacts app.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Contact Management → Imports/Exports → Exports to SIM-map.
3. Select contacts for export (you can note everything) and confirm the action.
4. Wait until the copy is completed (may take a few minutes).
5. Extract. SIM-A card and insert it into a new phone.
6. On the new device, import contacts through Contacts → Manage → Import with SIM.

If the new phone does not support import with SIM (such as some iPhone models), use a microSIM/nanoSIM adapter or transfer contacts to an intermediate device.

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Before exporting to SIM-Check the format of the card: some old phones only support microSIM, and new ones support nanoSIM.

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4.Export and import of contacts via VCF file

The.vcf (vCard) format is a universal way to transfer contacts between any device, including iPhone, Android, and even computers, and it allows you to store all the contact information: numbers, email, addresses, photos, and notes.

How to export contacts to a VCF file on Xiaomi:

1. Open Contacts → Contact Management → Import / Export → Export to File.
2. Select your contact source (such as your Xiaomi Account or Phone).
3. Specify the folder to save (we recommend selecting Downloads or Documents).
4. Click Export and you will create a contact.vcf file.

How to import VCF to a new phone:

• 📱 On Android: Copy the file to your new phone (via Bluetooth, Telegram or Google Drive), open it and confirm the import.
• 🍎 On iPhone: Send the file to the mail, open the letter on the iPhone and click on the attachment – contacts will be added automatically.
• 💻 On your computer: Import the file to Google Contacts or Outlook for further sync.

A VCF file can weigh several megabytes if photos are stored in the contacts. To speed up the transfer, archive it to ZIP before sending it.

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5. Transfer contacts via Bluetooth (without the Internet)

If you don’t have access to the Internet or cloud services, Bluetooth will be an easy solution for transferring contacts between two phones, a method that works between any Android device, but is not supported by an iPhone.

Instructions:

1. On both phones, turn on Bluetooth in the Quick Settings panel.
2. Make your devices visible to everyone (in Bluetooth settings, select Visibility or Detection).
3. On the old Xiaomi, open Contacts → Management → Send Contacts.
4. Select the contacts to transfer (you can mark everything) and click Send via Bluetooth.
5. Confirm the file reception on the new phone.
6. After transfer, open the received.vcf file and import the contacts.

Limitations of the method:

• 🐢 Slow transmission speed (especially with a large number of contacts).
• 📵 There may be errors in the transfer of Cyrillic names.
• 🔋 High battery consumption on both devices.

⚠️ Attention: Some firmware MIUI Limit your contacts to 100 records at a time via Bluetooth. If you have more contacts, break them up or use another method.

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6. Transfer of contacts from Xiaomi to iPhone (specific nuances)

The transition from Xiaomi to iPhone requires a special approach due to the differences in the ecosystems of Android and iOS.

• 🔄 Google Account (synchronization with iCloud).
• 📤 Exports to.vcf and imports to iPhone.
• 📱 Intermediate Apps (Move to iOS, My Contacts Backup).

Method 1: Google Account and iCloud

1. On Xiaomi, sync your contacts with Google (see section 2).
2. On iPhone, go to Settings → Contacts → Accounts → Add an account → Google.
3. Enter your Google account details and enable contact sync.
4. Open Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud and enable Contacts.
5. Wait for the synchronization to be completed (contacts will appear in the Phone app).

Method 2: Move to iOS App

1. On iPhone, during the initial setup, select Data Transfer from Android.
2. On Xiaomi, install the Move to iOS app from Google Play.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen – the program will transfer contacts, messages and photos.

If the iPhone is already configured, reset it to factory settings and repeat the procedure.

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When transferring to an iPhone via Google Account, do contacts duplicate? disable sync with iCloud before adding a Google account, then turn it back on after importing.

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7. Contact backup on Xiaomi (loss prevention)

To avoid losing contacts when changing your phone, backups regularly. At Xiaomi, you can do this in a number of ways:

Method 1: Through the Mi Cloud

1. Open Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Backup.
2. Select Contacts and click Backup.
3. Wait until the process is complete (time depends on the number of contacts).

Method 2: Local backup

1. Open Contacts → Management → Import / Export → Backup.
2. Select a storage location (internal memory or storage). SD-map).
3. The copy file will be saved in.vcb format (can only be restored on Xiaomi).

Method 3: Export to Google Contacts

1. Go to contacts.google.com.
2. Click Import → File and download the previously exported.vcf.
3. Contacts will be available on any device through Google Account.

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FAQ: Frequent questions about moving contacts with Xiaomi