How to quickly and safely transfer all data from the old Xiaomi to the new

Contents of the article

1. Introduction: Why Data Transfers to Xiaomi Need a Special Approach
2. Preparing phones for data transfer: 7 mandatory steps
3. Method 1: Mi Mover – official solution from Xiaomi with limitations
4. Method 2: Mi Cloud – Cloud transfer for users with a Mi Account
5. Method 3: Google Account – a universal method for Android devices
6. Method 4: Direct cable connection for large data
7. Method 5: Third-party applications – when standard methods don’t work
8. Typical problems and errors when transferring data to Xiaomi
9. Frequent questions about data transfer between Xiaomi smartphones

Transferring data between Xiaomi smartphones only seems like a simple task, and users face limitations in the amount of information they transmit, compatibility issues between different generations of devices (such as the Redmi Note 10 and Xiaomi 13 Ultra), and the peculiarities of the company’s branded services. Unlike other brands, it is important to consider the version of MIUI firmware, the presence of a tied Mi Account, and even the region of the phone purchase – all of which can affect the available methods of transfer.

This article will help you choose the best portability method depending on your situation: whether you need to save your system settings, transfer only photos and videos, or it is important to transfer messages and call logs. We tested all the current methods on devices with MIUI 14 and HyperOS to provide proven instructions without general phrases.

Preparing phones for data transfer: 7 mandatory steps

Before you start the transfer, you need to pre-configure both devices, and skipping at least one of these steps can cause the process to crash or lose some data.

• 📱 Update. MIUI Up to the latest version through Settings → The phone. → System Update. On HyperOS devices, path: Settings → The phone. → HyperOS Update: Differences in firmware versions are a common cause of transmission errors.
• 🔋 Charge both phones to a minimum of 50%.When using Mi Mover or cable connection, the process can take up to 1 hour, and discharging during transmission will interrupt the operation.
• 📶 Connect to a single Wi-Fi network (for wireless methods) Mobile internet is not recommended due to traffic restrictions and stability.
• 🔒 Turn off the screen lock (PIN, I'm going to use a pattern lock, a fingerprint on both devices.

Now preparing a new phone:

• 🆕 Go through the initial setup before the screen comes up and asks you to move the data. If the phone is already set up, reset it through Settings. → Additionally. → Resetting settings.
• 📦 Free up space on the new device. Transferring data requires a free space that exceeds the amount of information transmitted by at least 20 times%.
• 🔄 Sign in to the same Mi Account as your old phone (if you use Mi Cloud or Mi Mover!

⚠️ Note: If the old phone has data encryption enabled (Settings) → Additionally. → Encryption and accounts, disable it 12 hours before transfer. Otherwise, Mi Mover will not be able to read some files, and the decryption process will take several hours.

Method 1: Mi Mover – official solution from Xiaomi with limitations

Mi Mover is a proprietary application from Xiaomi, pre-installed on all devices with MIUI 9 and later, it allows you to transfer data wirelessly or via an OTG cable, but has a number of hidden limitations:

• 🚫 Does not work between devices with different regional firmware (e.g. Global and China).
• 📉 Maximum amount of data transmitted is 40 GB (if exceeded, alternative methods will have to be used).
• ⏳ Wi-Fi transmission speeds are about 5-8 MB/s (transfer) 20 GB will take ~40 minute).
• 🔄 Does not support porting some system settings (e.g., application permissions or Always On Display settings).

Instructions for using Mi Mover:

1. On the new phone, when you first set up, select Data Transfer → Mi Mover.
2. On your old phone, open the Mi Mover app (if you don’t have one, download from Google Play).
3. Select the role: I am the sender (old phone) and I am the receiver (new phone).
4. Scan it. QR-code from a new phone or connect via a Direct Wi-Fi connection.
5. Select data for transfer: contacts, messages, photos, videos, audio, applications (without their data!).
6. Confirm the transmission. Don't interrupt the process or block the screens!

Both phones are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.|Power saving mode is disabled on new phones|Old phones have enough free space (at least 10% of the volume of data transmitted)|Mi accounts on both devices are the same.|Disabled. VPN and proxy servers-->

⚠️ Warning: If you have a "Disconnected to the device" error when connecting via Mi Mover, check if the old phone has Do Not Disturb or Energy Saving on. These features block background data transmission.

Method 2: Mi Cloud – Cloud transfer for users with a Mi Account

Mi Cloud is a cloud storage solution from Xiaomi that is integrated into the MIUI ecosystem, and it allows you to back up your data on your old phone and restore it to your new phone.

• 🌐 Data is available from any device via i.mi.com web interface.
• 🔄 Supports automatic synchronization of contacts, notes and photos.
• 📱 It works even if the phones are on different networks.

However, there are serious limitations:

• 💾 Free tariff provides only 5 GB (for transferring photos and videos this is not enough).
• ⏱️ Download/download speed depends on Xiaomi servers (at peak hours can drop to 1 MB/s).
• 🔐 Some data (such as Wi-Fi passwords or application settings) are not backed up.

Step-by-step instructions for transferring through Mi Cloud:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Mi → Mi Cloud Account.
2. Turn on synchronization for the desired types of data (contacts, photos, notes, etc.).
3. Press Backup and select the data to save. Wait for the process to be completed.
4. On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account.
5. Go to Settings → Mi → Mi Cloud → Restore and select the latest backup.

💡

If you only need to transfer photos, use the Photos → Albums → Cloud Album feature in the Gallery app. It allows you to upload photos to Mi Cloud without creating a full backup, saving space.

Method 3: Google Account – a universal method for Android devices

Using a Google Account is the most versatile way, as it works on all Android devices, including Xiaomi.

• 🌍 Cross-platform: Data can be recovered even on phones from other brands.
• 📁 Free storage 15 GB (vs. 5 GB in Mi Cloud).
• 🔄 Automatic synchronization of contacts, calendar and mail.

However, there are some important things for Xiaomi users:

• 📱 In some models (for example, POCO F5 or Redmi K60) Google Photos is disabled by default. Turn it on manually in the app settings.
• 🔒 Message and call log data is not backed up through Google (use Mi Cloud for this purpose).
• 📱 When recovering on a new phone, some system settings MIUI may be reset (for example, themes or control gestures).

How to transfer data through Google Account:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Google → Backup.
2. Enable Backup in Google Drive and click Create Backup Now.
3. On a new phone, when you set up, select Copy Data from your old device → From the Cloud.
4. Log in to the same Google account and select the latest backup.

Method 4: Direct cable connection for large data

If you need to transfer tens of gigabytes of photos, videos or music, wireless methods will be too slow, in which case a direct cable connection via USB-OTG or Type-C cable will help, while transferring speeds up to 40-60 MB / s (5-10 times faster than Wi-Fi).

You'll need:

• 🔌 USB-OTG Adapter (if the old phone has a microUSB connector, and the new one has a Type-C).
• 🔗 Type-C Cable – Type-C (for modern Xiaomi models).
• 📱 File management application (e.g., Google Files or standard Explorer in the file management system) MIUI).

Instructions for transfer:

1. Connect your phones with a cable. On your old phone, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. On a new phone, open Explorer and find an old phone in the list of devices.
3. Copy the folders you want (DCIM for photos, Downloads for downloads, etc.) to your new phone.
4. To transfer applications, use APK Extractor (remove the APK from your old phone and install it on a new one).

💡

Cable connection is the only way to transfer data over 100 GB without loss of quality, and wireless methods will either fail or significantly compress files (especially video).

⚠️ Note: When copying files via cable, do not remove them. SD-A card from an old phone during the process, which can cause file system damage and data loss, and if the memory card is used as an internal storage device, it cannot be removed without first unmounting in the settings.

Method 5: Third-party applications – when standard methods don’t work

If none of these methods works (for example, phones of different brands or an outdated version of MIUI), you can use third-party applications. We tested 5 popular solutions and selected the best ones:

Recommendations for the use of third-party applications:

• 🛡️ Before installing, check the permissions of the application. SMS or call logs for no reason - it's suspicious.
• 📡 To speed up transfers, connect your phones to a single 5GHz Wi-Fi network (if supported).
• 🔄 If the transfer is interrupted, try to reduce the size of the data packets in the application settings.

Example of LocalSend transfer:

1. Install the app on both phones from the official website or Google Play.
2. On the old phone, select files and click Send.
3. On the new phone, click Get and scan. QR-code.
4. Confirm the transfer. The files will be saved to the Download/LocalSend folder.

Typical problems and errors when transferring data to Xiaomi

Even if you follow all the instructions, users are faced with errors, and we have collected the most common problems and their solutions:

• 🔌 Mi Mover "Cannot Connect" Error Reason: Different Versions MIUI Solution: Update the firmware on both phones to the latest version or use an alternative method (e.g. Mi Cloud).
• 📱 Data is not recovered from backup Reason: Mi or Google accounts mismatch Solution: Make sure the new phone uses the same account as when you created the backup.
• ⏳ Slow Wi-Fi Transfer Reason: Network overload or 2.4GHz band usage Solution: Switch to 5GHz or use a cable connection.
• 🔒 Wi-Fi Passwords Are Not Portable Reason: Android Security Limitation Solution: Use the WiFi Password Viewer app (root rights required) or write down passwords manually.

Frequent questions about data transfer between Xiaomi smartphones