How to Transfer All Data From Your Old Xiaomi to Your New Phone: A Step-by-Step Guide

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but transferring data from an old device often turns into a headache. Even if both phones run on MIUI, users face problems: some contacts are lost, photos are duplicated, and applications refuse to recover. In this article, we will analyze 5 proven ways to transfer data — from the official Mi Mover tool to manual copying via PC — and also reveal nuances that even Xiaomi instructions do not mention.

Xiaomi phones are a feature of deep integration with the Mi Account ecosystem and MIUI, which makes syncing easier but also adds limitations. For example, a Google Account transfer may not save your call history, and Mi Mover sometimes forgets to hand over Wi-Fi settings. We tested each method on models from Redmi Note 12 to Xiaomi 14 Ultra — and we are ready to share the results.

1.Official method: Mi Mover (Mi Transfer)

Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary solution for wirelessly transferring data between devices on MIUI. The tool is pre-installed on all modern smartphones of the brand and supports the transfer of contacts, messages, photos, videos, applications (including their data) and even some system settings. The main advantage is that you do not need the Internet or a computer: data is transmitted directly over Wi-Fi Direct.

To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:

• 📱 On your old phone, open Settings. → The phone. → Data Transfer (Mi Mover).
• 🔄 On the new device, select Settings → Additionally. → Data portability (or watch for clues when you first turn on).
• 📶 Connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network or activate the hotspot on your old smartphone.
• 🔗 On your new phone, select the option “I am a new user” and scan. QR-code from the old device.
• 📋 Select data types to transfer (you can mark everything or select selectively).

It takes 5 to 30 minutes depending on the amount of data.

• 🔒 Wi-Fi passwords (connection settings only).
• 🎵 Music and audio files (unless stored in Mi Music).
• 📁 Files from the root folder of internal memory (only media from the gallery).

Charge both phones to at least 50%|Turn it off. VPN and energy-saving regimes|Make sure that the new phone has enough memory.|Do not interrupt the process until it is completed.-->

⚠️ Note: If your old phone has custom firmware installed (like LineageOS), Mi Mover may not work.

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

If you use Google services, most of the data is already synchronized automatically, and this is a good way to transfer:

• 📇 Contacts (from Google Contacts).
• 📅 Calendars (Google Calendar).
• 📧 Letters and notes (Gmail, Google Keep).
• 📍 Location History (Google Maps).

To activate synchronization:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync.
2. Make sure all the items you need (contacts, calendar, etc.) are included.
3. On the new phone, add the same Google Account and wait for the sync to complete.

The advantage of this method is that the data is available on any device with your Google Account, but there are limitations:

• 🚫 Not tolerated. SMS/MMS call history.
• 📸 Photos are synced only if Google Photos are enabled with backup.
• 🎮 Game states and application settings are not saved.

Mi Mover (official tool)|Google Account| USB|Cable Backup on PC|Other way-->

3. Cable connection (USB OTG or adapter)

If wireless methods seem unreliable, you can transfer data over a USB cable.

• 🔌 USB-C/USB-A cable (depending on the phone ports).
• 🔄 OTG-Adapter (if the new phone does not have a full size) USB-port).
• 💻 Computer (optional, for intermediate copying).

Option 1: Direct phone connection

1. Connect your old phone to your new one OTG-adapter.
2. On your old phone, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
3. On the new device, open Explorer and copy the desired folders (DCIM, Downloads, Pictures, etc.).

Option 2: Copying through PC

1. Connect your old phone to your computer and copy the data to your hard drive.
2. Disable the old phone, connect the new one and transfer the files back.

⚠️ Note: When copying via PC, avoid paths with Cyrillic characters (e.g., Cyrillic characters, C:\This can lead to read errors on Xiaomi with MIUI.

4. Backup through Mi Cloud

Mi Cloud is a cloud storage from Xiaomi, which offers 5 GB for free (for Russia and CIS service may be limited).

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Enable backup for the desired categories (contacts, notes, SMS, etc.).
3. Wait until the download is complete (it may take time with slow internet).
4. On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account and recover data from the Mi Cloud.

Advantages of Mi Cloud:

• 🔄 Automatic synchronization (can be set to schedule).
• 📱 Access to data from any Xiaomi device.
• 🔒 Encryption of backup copies.

Disadvantages:

• 📉 The 5GB limit may not be enough for photos and videos).
• 🌍 In some regions, the service is unstable.
• 🚫 Not all apps support recovery from Mi Cloud.

5. Transfer of applications and their data

Even if you have migrated.apk files to your apps, their data (such as saving in games or settings for messengers) may not be restored.

Method 1: Built-in MIUI function

Mi Mover has the option to port apps with their data, but it doesn't work with all apps, like WhatsApp or Viber, which require separate backups:

1. On WhatsApp, go to Settings → Chat → Backup and save your history to Google Drive.
2. On the new phone, install WhatsApp, log in to the same account and restore chats.

Method 2: Titanum Backup (root required)

If you have root rights, Titanium Backup allows you to create a full backup of all applications and their data.

1. Install Titanium Backup from your old phone.
2. Create a backup (Backage Action → Backup of all custom applications).
3. Transfer the Titanium Backup folder to your new phone (via cable or cloud).
4. Install Titanium Backup on your new device and recover the data.

⚠️ Note: Using Titanium Backup on phones with MIUI 14+ may cause errors due to changes in security policy. MIUI developer-setting.

💡

Before migrating apps, check if they support cross-platform recovery, for example, Telegram syncs chats through the cloud, and VK requires separate data export.

6. Transfer of multimedia (photo, video, music)

Photos and videos usually take up the lion's share of memory, so you can transfer them without losing them:

Method 1: Google Photo

• 📸 On your old phone, install Google Photos and enable Backup and Sync.
• 🖥️ Wait for all files to download (check in Settings) → Storage management).
• 📱 On the new phone, log in to the same account and download media files.

Method 2: Local copying

If the internet is slow or you don’t want to upload files to the cloud:

1. Connect your old phone to your PC and copy the DCIM and Pictures folders.
2. Use USB 3.0 to speed up (a folder with 10,000 photos weighs ~50 GB!).
3. Transfer files to a new phone, keeping the folder structure.

Method 3: SD-card (if supported)

Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 11 Pro+) support microSD.

1. Copy media files to a memory card on an old phone.
2. Insert the card into the new phone and transfer the files to internal memory.

💡

Google Photos compresses your photo for free storage (“High Quality”). To save the original resolution, select the option “Source Quality” (requires a fee of over 15 GB).

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

Even when following instructions, users face problems.

Problem 1: Mi Mover can't see an old phone

• 🔄 Reboot both devices.
• 📶 Make sure they are connected to the same Wi-Fi network (or turn on the mobile hotspot on your old phone).
• 🛠️ Update. MIUI Up to the latest version on both devices.

Problem 2: SMS cannot be transferred

If Google or Mi Mover fails to do so:

• 📱 Use third-party applications, for example, SMS Backup & Restore.
• 🔄 Export. SMS To the.xml file and import it on your new phone.

Problem 3: Applications are not restored

If the applications are not opened after the transfer:

• 🔄 Reinstall them from Google Play.
• 📋 Check the permissions in Settings → Annexes → Permit management.
• 🔒 If you are using Mi Account from another region, some applications may be blocked.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions