How to Transfer Data from Android to Xiaomi: A Complete Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but it can be tricky to migrate data from an old Android device, especially if you’re talking about tens of gigabytes of photos, hundreds of contacts, and important messages. In this article, we’ll look at all the current migration methods, from the official Mi Mover tool to manual methods using OTG cable or cloud services.

The main problem with transferring data between Android devices is different firmware and shells. For example, if you move from Samsung One UI to MIUI, standard backup features may not work properly. We tested each method on real devices (including Redmi Note 12 and POCO X5) and highlighted their pros, cons and hidden nuances that are not covered in the official instructions.

Important: Check the free space on the new Xiaomi before you start transferring – some methods (such as Mi Mover) require up to 50% free space for temporary files. Also prepare chargers: the process can take from 10 minutes to several hours depending on the amount of data.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a proprietary application from Xiaomi, designed for wireless data transfer between devices. It is pre-installed on all new smartphones of the brand and supports the transfer of contacts, messages, photos, video, audio, applications and even some system settings.

How it works:

1. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select the option “Data Transfer” (or find Mi Mover in the Settings menu → About Phone → Data Transfer).
2. On an old Android device, download Mi Mover from Google Play.
3. Scan it. QR-code from the screen of a new smartphone or connect via Wi-Fi Direct.
4. Select the data types to transfer and wait for the process to be completed.

• ✅ Pros: does not require cables, maintains folder structure, supports most Android devices.
• ⚠️ Cons: Does not carry passwords from Wi-Fi, some applications may not install (for example, banking).
• 🔄 Nuance: if the old phone is not enough space, Mi Mover can “hang” during the preparation stage – in this case, free up 1-2 GB memory.

An important limitation: Mi Mover does not work with iOS devices (you need Apple’s Move to iOS for them), and the app may not recognize some Chinese Xiaomi firmware (such as China ROM) – in this case, use alternative methods.

2. Transfer through Google Account (the most universal method)

If you've been using Google services on your old phone, it's the easiest way to do this, and syncing through your Google account allows you to transfer:

• 📇 Contacts (including groups and notes)
• 📅 Calendars and events
• 📎 Notes from Google Keep
• 📷 Photos and videos (if you have autoloaded in Google Photos)
• 🎵 Music and podcasts (via YouTube Music or Google Play Music)

Step-by-step:

1. On your old phone, check that sync is enabled: Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync.
2. On the new Xiaomi, when you set up, select “Restore from backup” and log in to the same Google account.
3. Select the latest backup (the date of creation can be seen in the Settings menu → Google → Backup).

Check Wi-Fi connection on both devices|

Make sure your account has enough space in Google Drive (15GB free)|

Turn off battery optimization for Google Services (Settings → Apps → Google Play Services → Battery)|

Sync your data manually before transferring (Settings → Accounts → Google → Sync Now)

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The speed of the transfer depends on the amount of data and Internet speed. For example, 10 GB of photos in Google Photos can sync from 30 minutes to several hours. If the process is delayed, check whether the energy saving mode blocks background activity (on Xiaomi this is the setting settings → Battery → Power saving mode).

⚠️ Note: If your old phone used a different Google account (e.g., a work account), the data will not be automatically transferred from it, you will have to manually export the contacts to the.vcf file and import them on the new device.

3. Use of an OTG cable or adapter (for large data volumes)

If you have tens of gigabytes of files (for example, video recordings in the file). 4K or RAW-And if you're looking at this, wireless methods can take too long, and you can use a direct cable connection to do that. OTG (adapter USB-C → USB-A, if the ports are different).

What you need:

• 🔌 Cable OTG (Adapter if you have an old microUSB phone and a new one — USB-C).
• 📱 File Manager (e.g. Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
• ⚡ Charging for a new phone (the process can drain the battery on the phone) 20-30%).

Instructions:

1. Connect your old phone to your new one OTG-cable.
2. On the new Xiaomi, open Mi File Manager and select a partition "USB-device".
3. Copy the right folders (DCIM for photo, download, etc.) to internal memory or SD-map.

Warning: Not all files can be simply copied, such as messages from messengers (such as WhatsApp or Telegram) stored in encrypted databases, and their transfer requires separate instructions (see section 5).

4. Cloud services: Google Drive, Mi Cloud and others

If you don't have a cable on hand, or if you prefer remote file access, cloud storage is a good alternative.

• 🌐 Google Drive: 15GB free, Android integration, suited for documents, photos and archives, minus slow download of large files.
• ☁️ Mi Cloud: 5GB free, optimized for Xiaomi. Automatically syncs contacts, notes and photos. Minus - little space for free users.
• 📦 Yandex Disk / Mail.ru Cloud: 10-20 GB is free, high speed in Russia. MIUI.

How to transfer data via Google Drive:

1. On your old phone, upload files to Google Drive (you can archive folders to.zip for speed).
2. On the new Xiaomi, download files via the Drive app or browser.
3. Unblock your data with Mi File Manager or RAR.

💡

If you are transferring photos, use the HEIC format (it takes up 2 times less space than JPEG). To do this, select the "High Efficiency" option (HEIF/HEIC) in the camera settings of the old phone.

Important: When uploading to the cloud, Google Photos compresses images if you select High (free) quality. To save the original resolution, select Original Quality (but it is included in the 15 GB limit).

5. Transfer of messages and data applications (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.)

Messages from instant messengers are one of the most difficult categories to transfer, and most apps (including WhatsApp, Viber, and Telegram) don’t allow you to simply copy a database to a new device.

• 💬 WhatsApp: Backup on your old phone: Settings → chat → Backup. Install WhatsApp on the new Xiaomi and log in to the same account. Restore chats from Google Drive (if the copy is fresh) or from local storage (file) msgstore.db.crypt14 file WhatsApp/Databases).

Telegram:

SMS/MMS:

SMS Backup & Restore

.xml

Root rights problem: Some applications (e.g. Titanium Backup) require root access to fully transfer data. New Xiaomis are hard to root because of bootloader lock. Alternatively, use ADB (see section 6).

Advanced Method: Transfer via ADB (for power users)

If standard methods don’t work (for example, because of firmware incompatibility), you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a low-level system access tool, which is suitable for porting:

• 📁 Data applications (including save games).
• 🔧 System settings (Wi-Fi, APN etc.).
• 📄 Logs and configuration files.