How to Flip Contacts from Android to Xiaomi: A Complete Guide with Expert Tips

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always accompanied by the question: how to save all the important contacts from the previous Android device? Even if you are a power user, the transfer process can be difficult - especially when it comes to hundreds of records with photos, additional fields and attachments to accounts. In this article, we will discuss 5 current ways of migrating contacts, including hidden MIUI functions, cloud services and local methods without the Internet.

Xiaomi’s unique feature is its deep integration with the Mi Account ecosystem, which makes synchronization easier but requires proper configuration, and we analyzed each method for speed, security and compatibility with different versions of Android (from 7.0 Nougat to 14). Learn how to avoid duplication of records, why transferring through SIM-The card is limited to 250 contacts on most Xiaomi, and how to recover deleted numbers if something goes wrong.

1.Move over Mi Account: The Official Way from Xiaomi

The most reliable method for owners of Xiaomi/Redmi/Poco is the use of the branded Mi Cloud service. It not only saves contacts, but also synchronizes them between all devices on MIUI. The main advantage is that data is encrypted during transfer and stored on Xiaomi servers in accordance with the GDPR.

To move contacts:

• 📱 On your old phone: Open Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud, enable contact synchronization and wait for the process to complete (the indicator will appear in the status bar).
• 🔄 On the new Xiaomi: log in to the same Mi Account when you first turn on or through settings. Contacts will be downloaded automatically during the first time. 5-10 minute.
• ⚡ Check: open the Contact app, swipe down for updates. If there are no records, go to Settings. → Accounts → Mi Account and Forced Synchronization Update.

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If you have two Xiaomi accounts, export your contacts to a VCF file before transferring (see Section 3) to prevent data conflict during the merger.

An important nuance: Mi Cloud only stores standard contact fields (name, phone, email) and advanced data such as notes or user tags may not be transferred. VCF-file (section 3).

2. Sync through Google Account: a universal solution

If you’ve used Google Contacts on an old phone, it takes less than 5 minutes to migrate to Xiaomi, which works even between different brands and doesn’t require additional apps, and the main condition is that both phones must be synced with the same Google Account.

Instructions:

1. On an old phone: 🔗 Open the Settings. → Accounts. → Google → Synchronization of the account. 📋 Make sure the slider opposite Contact is on. If not, turn on and wait for the synchronization to complete (check in the box). google.com/contacts).

Xiaomi

• 📱 When you first start, select Sign in via Google or add your account manually through Settings. → Accounts and synchronization.
• ⚙️ Enable contact synchronization in account settings.

The advantage of this method is that Google Contacts retains the entire history of changes (you can roll back deletion in 30 days) and supports contact groups, tags, and user fields. However, there is a limitation: if the old phone only stored contacts in the device memory (not in Google), they will have to be exported first.

3.Export/import through VCF-File: Local Method without Internet

If you prefer not to use cloud services or do not have a stable Internet, VCF-The file (virtual business card) is the perfect solution, and this format is supported by all Xiaomi, including models on the Internet. MIUI 12/13/14. The main plus: you get a backup of contacts that can be stored on a PC or flash drive.

Step-by-step:

• 📤 Export on old phone: Open the Contacts app → ⋮ (Menus) → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Export to file. Select Memory of the phone or SD-The file will be enclosed with the.vcf extension.
• 📥 File transfer to Xiaomi: Connect both phones to your PC and copy.vcf to the Download folder on a new device. or send the file via Bluetooth, Email or messenger (for example, Telegram without compression).
• 📱 Import to Xiaomi: Open Contacts → ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Import from file. Select copied.vcf and confirm import.

Please note: if there is more in the file 1000 Break it up into pieces (you can use it) google.com/contacts, single out 500 On some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note) 10 Pro) when importing a large file, there may be a “Insufficient Memory” error – in this case, use Google Contacts to import.

4. Transfer through SIM-map: limitations and nuances

Method SIM-The card seems simple, but it is only suitable for basic phone number transfer – no photos, email or additional fields. Moreover, Xiaomi (as with most modern Android) has a strict restriction: SIM-The card supports no more than 250 contacts, and the name and surname fields are trimmed to 14 characters.

If you want to use this method:

• 📶 On your old phone: Open your contacts → ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Exports to SIM. Select the contacts to transfer (usually only numbers with the "Mobile" tag are available").
• 🔄 Move it. SIM new Xiaomi.
• 📱 On the new phone: Open Contacts → ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Import with SIM. Choose where to save contacts (Google or Mi Account is recommended).

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SIM-The card is only suitable for emergency transfer of a small number of numbers.

Important warning:

⚠️ On some Xiaomi models (e.g. Poco) X3 Pro) when imported with SIM Contacts can be duplicated if they already exist on the phone. delete old records before transferring them or use them. VCF-file.

5. Transfer applications: when standard methods do not work

If none of the above methods are suitable (for example, you have custom firmware or damaged the system contact database), third-party applications will come to the rescue. We tested 7 popular utilities and selected the two most reliable ones:

We recommend Copy My Data for Xiaomi, as it uses Wi-Fi Direct and does not require an Internet connection.

1. Install the app on both phones from Google Play.
2. On the old phone, select Send Data, and on the new phone, select Receive Data.
3. Connect via Wi-Fi Direct (password is generated automatically).
4. Select "Contacts" and confirm the transfer.

Warning:

⚠️ Some applications (such as CLONEit) request permission to access the Internet. SMS If you don't need to, refuse access to your Android settings after installation.

Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

To make the choice easier, we have compiled a comparative table taking into account the specifics of Xiaomi:

For most Xiaomi users, Mi Account or Google Contacts is the best choice. If you need to transfer contacts one-time without linking to accounts, use the same. VCF-file. SIM-Leave the card for an emergency.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even with the right transfer, errors can occur, and we've collected typical situations and ways to correct them:

• 🔄 Contacts are not synced with Mi Account: Check if sync is enabled in Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Contacts, update. MIUI Up to the latest version (older versions have cloud bugs) Delete your account and log in again.
• 📵 After importing, photos of contacts are missing: Contact photos are stored separately. Use Google Contacts or Copy My Data to transfer them. VK, Install the appropriate applications and update the contacts.
• 🔢 Duplicate contacts: Open google.com/contacts On your PC, use the Find and Combine Duplicates tool. On your phone, install Simpler Merge (available on Google Play).

If after the transfer contacts are displayed incorrectly (for example, Cyrillic is replaced by question marks), the problem is encoding. VCF-The file:

1. Open the file in a text editor (e.g. Notepad++).
2. Make sure the encoding is UTF-8 (if not, convert).
3. Save the file and import it again.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions