How to transfer a photo from an old phone to the new Xiaomi: a complete guide

Buying a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment, overshadowed by one inevitable thought: how to move the entire photo gallery accumulated over the years? Modern Mi and Redmi devices have powerful processors and screens that allow you to take a new look at old images, but first they need to be delivered. Fortunately, the Android ecosystem and specialized Xiaomi developers tools offer many ways to solve this problem, from cloud services to direct cable connection.

The choice of method often depends on the technical condition of the old device and the amount of data you need to move. Data transfer can take from a few minutes to several hours if you copy hundreds of gigabytes of media in high resolution. It is important not only to copy the files, but also to save their folder structure, shooting dates and geolocation, so that everything looks neat in the Gallery app.

In this article, we will take a closer look at all the current ways to migrate content, with a focus on the Mi Mover tool, which will help you learn about the nuances of working with cloud storage and how to avoid common mistakes, such as losing metadata or interrupting a connection halfway.

Using the Mi Mover app for quick migration

The most effective and recommended way is to use the proprietary utility Mi Mover. This application is created specifically for owners of Xiaomi equipment and allows you to transfer not only photos, but also contacts, messages, system settings and even home screen layout. The program works by creating a local Wi-Fi access point, which provides high transfer speed without the consumption of mobile traffic.

The process starts with installing the app on both devices. On the new Xiaomi smartphone, it is often already built into the Tools section or available in Settings → About Phone → Mi Mover. On an old phone (whether it is Android or iPhone), you need to download the APK installation file from the official website or find the app on Google Play. Once launched, you will see two options: "I am sending" and "I am receiving."

To start the work, perform the following actions:

• 📱 Run the app on both phones and select the appropriate role (new Receiving, old Sending").
• 🔗 The new device will appear QR-code that you need to scan with the camera of the old phone through the Mi Mover interface.
• 📂 After connecting, select the category "Images" or "Photos" so as not to overload the channel with unnecessary system files.
• 🚀 Click the “Send” button and wait for the process to be completed without turning off the device screens.

It’s worth noting that when transferring from iOS to Android via Mi Mover, there may be restrictions on some file types due to Apple’s closed system. However, major image formats such as JPG and HEIC (with automatic conversion) are portable without problems. If the connection is interrupted, try bringing the devices closer to each other or turning off the power saving on the old gadget.

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If the process is 99 percent dead, don't panic or close the app. Often, the system will just finalize the recording of the latest files to the gallery database. Wait 5-10 minutes.

Sync through Google Photos and Cloud Services

Cloud technology has become the de facto standard for storing personal data, and ignoring it when changing phones would be a mistake. Google Photos is pre-installed on all Xiaomi smartphones with global firmware and offers unlimited (compression-free) or limited (originally) storage. This method is ideal if the old phone has already been linked to your Google account.

To make sure that all the photos are saved, open the Google Photos app on your old device and click on the profile avatar. It will indicate the backup status. If you say "Done", then your photos are already in the cloud. On the new Xiaomi, it is enough to simply log into the same Google account, and after a while the thumbnails will appear in the gallery.

The main advantages of using the cloud:

• ☁️ Automatic synchronization of new images immediately after data transfer.
• 🔍 Powerful search by images (recognizes faces, objects, text in the photo).
• 📱 Access to photos from any device, even if your phone is lost.
• 🗑️ The ability to free up space on the device with one button "Clear".

⚠️ Note: When choosing Save Space mode, Google compresses photos. If you are a professional photographer or plan to print large-format photos, choose Original mode, but remember that it consumes your Google drive quota (15 GB free).

An alternative is the Mi Cloud, which is deeply integrated into the shell. MIUI It allows you to create full backups of the system, but the amount of free storage there is often limited to 5 GB, which can be small for a media library. + Mi Mover.

Direct connection via cable and OTG

When it comes to carrying tens of gigabytes of heavy" 4K-video RAW-And in these cases, the old cable comes to the rescue, and modern Xiaomi smartphones support the technology. USB OTG (On-The-Go), which allows you to connect flash drives, hard drives and other phones directly to them.

If you have a cable. USB Type-C – Type-C (or adapter), you can connect two smartphones directly. When you connect to the screen of the new Xiaomi will appear notification of the connection. USB-Select the "File Transfer" mode" (MTP). After that, a new external device will appear in the File Explorer.

Procedure for actions during wired connection:

1. Connect the old and new phones with a cable.
2. On the old device, select the File Transfer mode in the notification.
3. On the new Xiaomi, open Explorer → USB.
4. Copy the DCIM folder (which stores photos from the camera) and Pictures into the internal memory of the new device.

This method guarantees maximum speed, which is limited only by the bandwidth of USB 2.0 or 3.0 ports on your devices, and also eliminates the risk of out-of-synchronization or loss of data packets, which sometimes happens with a poor Wi-Fi signal.

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A wired connection is the only way to quickly and reliably transfer more than 100 GB of data without the risk of communication interruption and without using the Internet.

Computer Transmission and Manual Copying

A classic method that doesn't lose relevance, especially if you have a very old Android smartphone or an iPhone that's not friendly with new transmission protocols. Using a PC as an intermediary gives you complete control over files: you can sort out the unnecessary immediately, rename folders and check the integrity of the data.

Connect your old phone to your computer through USB-Cable. Select Windows mode USB as “File transfers" (MTP). Open My Computer, find the device, and copy the media folders to your PC hard drive. Then plug in the new Xiaomi, wait for the drivers to install (usually automatically), and copy the files back.

The folder structure that is important to keep:

⚠️ Note: When copying via PC on Macintosh computers, there may be problems with the visibility of Android files. Use the Android File Transfer or OpenMTP app for macOS, as Finder does not always correctly display the file structure MTP.

The main advantage of the method is the ability to create a full archive copy on an external hard drive before erasing data from the old device, which creates an additional layer of security for your memories.

Nuances of transfer from iPhone (iOS) to Xiaomi

The transition from the Apple ecosystem to Android requires a special focus on file formats. With the release of iOS 11, Apple introduced the HEIC format, which provides better quality at a smaller size, but does not always show correctly in older versions of Android or third-party applications. Xiaomi has learned to work with this format, but better make sure that compatibility.

When using Mi Mover from iPhone, the app will suggest converting the photo to a compatible format during transfer. If you are using the cloud, make sure that in iCloud settings on iPhone, in Settings → Photo → Transfer to Mac and PC, the "Automatic" option is selected so that when uploading files are converted to JPG.

Features of migration from iOS:

• 🍏 "Live Photos when transferred to Android often turn into static pictures, losing the video part.
• 📷 Albums and folder structures can go, as iOS and Android use different logic of the organization of the media library.
• 🔒 Access to iOS system folders is closed, so only user content can be copied through file managers.

If you see black squares instead of photos or files with the.HEIC extension do not open, install any lightweight image player or converter from GetApps or Play Market, or use the built-in MIUI editor for batch saving in JPG.

Problem Solving and Frequent Transfer Errors

Even with automated tools, there can be disruptions. The most common problem is the Wi-Fi Direct connection breaking in Mi Mover. This often happens when an old phone has aggressive energy savings that kills background processes. Solution: add Mi Mover to battery exceptions or select No Limits mode.

Another common situation is a lack of space. Always check the space available on your new device before starting the procedure. If the photos take up 60 GB and only 55 GB are free, the process will either stand up or some of the files will not be recorded, in which case you transfer the most important things first, and the rest can be downloaded later through the cloud or cable.

If the photos were moved, but the shooting dates were lost (all photos became the date of transfer), then they did not survive. EXIF-This can happen when you use some third-party cleaning apps on your old phone that erase metadata, and you can only restore dates manually or through special editing programs. EXIF PC-only.

⚠️ Warning: Never interrupt the process of writing files by forced reboot. If the phone freezes, try a soft reboot (clamping the power button on the phone). 10-15 seconds), but only if the progress bar does not move more 30 minute.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)