How to Transfer Data From One Xiaomi to Another: From Contacts to Wi-Fi Passwords

Contents

• Introduction: Why Standard Copying Doesn't Work
• Preparation of telephones before transfer
• Method 1: MIUI Clone – Official Method from Xiaomi
• Method 2: Mi Mover for Wi-Fi transmission
• Method 3: Sync through Google Account
• Method 4: Direct cable transfer (for large volumes)
• Method 5: Third-party applications (SHAREit, Xender)
• Problem Solving: Transfer errors and data loss
• Frequent questions about data portability to Xiaomi

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but data porting often becomes a headache. Even if you use two devices of the same brand, standard copying via Bluetooth or Share leaves gaps: Wi-Fi settings, call history, data from some applications are lost, and trying to transfer everything manually takes hours.

In this article, we have 5 proven ways to transfer all data without loss, including hidden files and system settings. We tested each method on the pairs Redmi Note 12→Xiaomi 13T and POCO X5→Redmi K60 to identify limitations and nuances. For example, it turned out that MIUI Clone does not transfer passwords from social networks, and Mi Mover can “hang” on files > 2 GB. These details go further.

Preparation of telephones before transfer

Before you start transferring, follow 4 mandatory steps to eliminate 90% of potential errors:

Update MIUI on both phones to the latest version |Free ≥15% of memory on both devices |Plug both phones into the same Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) |Disable VPNs and firewalls (including MIUI Security)

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Pay special attention to the MIUI version. If the old phone has firmware older than MIUI 12, some features (such as MIUI Clone) may not be available. Check the version in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version.

⚠️ Warning: If the new phone already has data (for example, after partial setup), reset it to factory via Settings. → Additionally. → Recovery and reset, otherwise, account conflicts may occur when you transfer.

We also recommend:

• 🔋 Charge both phones ≥50% (in cable transfer, the discharge may interrupt the process).
• 📶 Use stable Wi-Fi (mobile internet is not suitable due to speed limits).
• 🔐 Make sure both devices have the same Mi Account (or none at all).

Method 1: MIUI Clone – Official Method from Xiaomi

MIUI Clone is a built-in solution for cloning data between Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices. It works on all phones with MIUI 11 and later, supports transferring:

• 📱 Contacts, SMS/MMS, call-up
• 📷 Photos, video, audio (including hidden folders)
• 📁 Documents (.pdf,.docx,.xlsx)
• 🔧 System settings (wallpaper, sounds, brightness)
• 🌐 Wi-Fi passwords and access points

But there are critical limitations:

• ❌ Does not transfer application data (for example, save in games or chat Telegram).
• ❌ It doesn’t work with other brands’ phones (even if they’re on Android).
• ❌ Can skip files in non-Latin characters folders (for example, "My documents").

Step-by-step:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Features → MIUI Clone (or search by settings).
2. Select I am an old phone and press Next.
3. On the new phone, run the same app and select I am the new phone.
4. Scan it. QR-code from the new phone old (or connect via Wi-Fi Direct).
5. Select the data to transfer and confirm the start of the process.

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If MIUI Clone is 99% frozen, don’t interrupt the process – wait for the success message (it can take up to 10 minutes).

Method 2: Mi Mover for Wi-Fi transmission

Mi Mover is an alternative to MIUI Clone, which works over a local area network, and the main advantage is that it supports the transfer of data applications (for example, progress in games or WhatsApp settings), but the transfer speed depends on the quality of Wi-Fi.

How to use:

1. Install Mi Mover from Google Play on both phones (if it is not in the firmware).
2. On the old phone, select Send, on the new phone, Receive.
3. Connect to a single Wi-Fi network (or create an access point on a new phone).
4. Select files to transfer and wait for completion.

⚠️ Attention: If the amount of data >20GB, use cable connection (see Method 4). Mi Mover can break the connection when large files are used.

Comparison of MIUI Clone and Mi Mover:

• 🔄 MIUI Clone is faster for system data (settings, contacts).
• 🎮 Mi Mover is better for apps and games.
• 📶 Both methods require stable Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz is more reliable than 5 GHz).

MIUI Clone|Mi Mover|Google-account|OTG|Cable Third-party apps

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Method 3: Sync through Google Account

If you use Google services, some of the data can be moved over the cloud, a method that works even between Xiaomi and Samsung, but has a limited volume (15 GB at a free rate).

What is synchronized automatically:

• 📇 Contacts (via Google Contacts)
• 📅 Calendars (Google Calendar)
• 📧 Letters (Gmail)
• 📍 Bookmarks and Chrome history
• 📱 Some Android settings (language, date/time)

What to do manually:

1. Photo/video: upload to Google Photos (settings → Backup).
2. Applications: The list of installed programs will be restored from Google Play on the first login.
3. SMS: Use Google Messages with synchronization enabled.

To enable synchronization:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
2. Select your account and activate switches for the data you need.
3. On the new phone, log in to the same account – the data will be downloaded automatically.

Method 4: Direct cable transfer (for large volumes)

If you need to move >50 GB of data (e.g., video collection or video collection) RAW-The most reliable way is to connect cable through OTG-Adapter: This is 3-5 times faster than Wi-Fi and eliminates communication disruptions.

What you need:

• 🔌 Cable USB-C → USB-C (or microUSB → USB-C old-model).
• 🔄 OTG-Adapter (if the new phone does not have a port) USB-A).
• 📱 File management application (e.g. Mi File Manager).

Instructions:

1. Connect the old phone to the new one via cable (on the old screen, select File Transfer mode).
2. On your new phone, open Mi File Manager and select a partition. USB-device.
3. Copy the right folders (DCIM, Downloads, Pictures, etc.) to internal memory or SD-map.
4. To transfer applications, use Backup to Settings → Applications.

⚠️ Warning: Don’t copy the entire Android folder, which can disrupt the system applications on the new phone).

Transmission speed:

• 📥 USB 2.0 (old models): ~20-30 MB/s.
• 📥 USB 3.0 (Xiaomi 12/13 series): ~100–150 MB/s.

Method 5: Third-party applications (SHAREit, Xender)

If the built-in methods don't work (for example, on custom firmware), you can use third-party utilities.

• 📲 SHAREit (speed up to 20 MB/s, no volume restrictions).
• ⚡ Xender (supports application transfer without root).
• 🔗 Send Anywhere (Credit 6-digit code for connection).

Pros:

• ✅ It works on all Android devices (including non-Android devices).-Xiaomi).
• ✅ Transfer files without compression (unlike cloud services).

Cons:

• ❌ Can slow down with a large number of small files.
• ❌ Some apps (such as Shareit) show ads.

How to transfer data through Xender:

1. Install Xender on both phones from Google Play.
2. On the old phone, click Send, on the new one, Receive.
3. Connect via Wi-Fi Direct or scan QR-code.
4. Select the files and confirm the transfer.

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Third-party applications are convenient for one-time transfer, but do not replace full backup, for example, they do not save system settings or data of some applications (for example, BankID).

Problem Solving: Transfer errors and data loss

Even with proper preparation, there can be failures. Consider typical errors and their solutions:

What to do if the data is not transferred:

1. Contacts: Export to.vcf via Contacts → Management → Export.
2. Photo/Video: Use Google Photos or physically copy the DCIM folder.
3. Apps: Restore from backup via Settings → Apps → Restore.

If nothing works, reset the new phone completely and re-shoot it from scratch, which solves data conflicts 80 percent of the time.

Frequent questions about data portability to Xiaomi