How to quickly and safely transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi: from contacts to apps

Switching from Honor to Xiaomi is not just about changing your brand, it's also about migrating all your data — photos, contacts, messages, even app settings — and many users fear this process, thinking it will take hours or lead to loss of important information, and actually transferring data between Android devices can be done in 10 to 30 minutes if you choose the right method.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to transfer data — from official Xiaomi tools (Mi Mover) to universal solutions like Google Account or OTG cable. You will learn what method is suitable for your case, how to avoid typical errors (for example, loss of photo quality) and what to do if standard tools do not work.

———

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover

Xiaomi

No computer or cloud storage required

To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:

Install Mi Mover on both phones (available on Google Play for Honor)

Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network

Charge your phones to at least 50% (the process can take up to 30 minutes)

Make room for Xiaomi (should be at least 1.5).× portable)-->

On Honor, select the role of the sender, and on Xiaomi - the receiver. Next, follow the instructions on the screen: the application will generate QR-The code you need to scan with Honor, and then you start analyzing and transferring the data, and the speed depends on the size of the files and the stability of the Wi-Fi.

⚠️ Note: Mi Mover does not tolerate installed apps (only their data if they support backup), and there may be problems with transferring WhatsApp or Viber history – it is better to use specialized tools of messengers for this.

If Mi Mover doesn’t see the Honor device, try:

• 🔄 Reboot both phones and reconnect.
• 📶 Connect to another Wi-Fi network (sometimes routers block) P2P-linkage).
• 🛠️ Update Mi Mover to the latest version (old versions had compatibility bugs).

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

If you've used a Google Honor Account, most of the data is already synced to the cloud, which is a good way to migrate:

• 📇 Contacts (from Google Contacts).
• 📅 Calendars and reminders.
• 📎 Notes from Google Keep.
• 📷 Photo and video (if sync with Google Photos was enabled).
• 🎮 Data from some games (via Google Play Games).

To complete the transfer:

1. On Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select Restore Data from a backup and log in to the same Google Account that was used on Honor.
2. If the phone is already set up, go to Settings → Google → Backup and start recovery.
3. Select the most recent backup (the date of creation can be seen in the list).

The advantage of this method is that data is not lost even if the phone runs out or the connection is interrupted.

• 🚫 Not tolerated. SMS (Unless you have a third party software like SMS Backup & Restore).
• 🚫 Apps are not automatically restored (only listings on Google Play).
• 🚫 Photos in original quality are restored only if there is enough space on Google Photos.

💡

Before you restore, check if Xiaomi has enough space for all the data, and if not, temporarily transfer some of the files to a memory card or to the cloud.

3.Using OTG cable and file manager

If you don’t have stable Wi-Fi or want to transfer data without cloud services, you can use an OTG cable (or USB-C to USB-C adapter if both phones have a Type-C port).

• 📸 Photos and videos in original quality.
• 🎵 Music and audio files.
• 📄 Documents (PDF, Word, Excel).
• 📁 Download folders.

Instructions:

1. Connect Honor to Xiaomi via OTG-cable.
2. On Xiaomi, open a File Manager (e.g. Files by Google or the standard Mi File Manager).
3. In the section USB-Select the folders you want to copy (usually DCIM For photo, Downloads for downloads).
4. Click Copy and select your target folder on Xiaomi (e.g., Internal Memory → Pictures).

The transfer speed depends on the USB version:

⚠️ Note: When copying through OTG Do not remove the cable before the process is complete – this can cause file damage. Also make sure that Xiaomi has enough space: if the internal memory is full, the files are not copied.

4. Computer Transfer (for large amounts of data)

If you need to move tens of gigabytes (for example, a video collection or a video collection) RAW-It's more convenient to use a computer as an intermediary, and it's also useful if you want to use a computer as an intermediary:

• 🔌 Different connectors are available on phones (for example, Micro-USB on Honor and Type-C on Xiaomi).
• 🖥️ You want to back up your PC before transferring.
• 🔄 You need to sort files before copying.

Procedure:

1. Connect Honor to your computer via USB-cable and select File Transfer Mode (MTP).
2. Copy the folders you want (e.g. DCIM, Pictures, Music) to your PC hard drive.
3. Disable Honor, connect Xiaomi and transfer files back.

To speed up the process, you can use archivers (such as 7-Zip or WinRAR) to compress data before copying, and it’s also helpful to check files for viruses — especially if you’ve downloaded something from unverified sources on Honor.

5. Transfer of chat history (WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram)

One of the most difficult aspects of migration is to keep the messaging history in messengers, and standard methods like Mi Mover often fail to do that. Here's what to do for every popular messaging app:

WhatsApp:

• 📱 Backup Chats on Honor: Settings → chat → Backup copy.
• 🔄 Install WhatsApp on Xiaomi and sign in to the same account.
• 📥 When a request appears, restore chats from Google Drive (if a copy was made) or from a local file (if a copy is on a memory card).

Viber:

• 📱 In Viber settings on Honor, select an Account → Backup copy.
• 📧 A copy will be saved to Google Drive or memory card.
• 🔄 On Xiaomi after installing Viber, select Restore from backup.

Telegram:

Telegram has chat history stored in the cloud, so just log in to your Xiaomi account. However, local files (downloaded photos, videos, documents) need to be transferred separately through Telegram → Settings → Data and memory → Telegram folder.

⚠️ Note: If you have used Double Authentication on WhatsApp, disable it in the security settings before transferring. Otherwise, you may need to restore it to Xiaomi. SMS-code.

6. Alternative methods: cloud services and third-party applications

If standard methods do not fit, you can use third-party solutions:

Cloud storage:

• 🌥️ Google Drive – 15 GB free, easy to use for documents and photos.
• 🌥️ Yandex Disk – 10 GB free, fast download in Russia.
• 🌥️ Mi Cloud – 5GB free, optimized for Xiaomi.

Upload Honor files to the cloud and then download them to Xiaomi.

Third-party annexes:

• 📲 Smart Switch (from Samsung) – works with other brands.
• 📲 Clone Phone – Supports the transfer of applications and data.
• 📲 Send Anywhere – transfer files over Wi-Fi Direct without size restrictions.

When selecting third-party software, pay attention to reviews and rankings on Google Play. Some applications may contain ads or request unnecessary permissions (for example, access to SMS or calls).

💡

To port data-saving applications (such as game progress), use Google Account or specialized backup tools like Titanium Backup (requires root rights).

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability from Honor to Xiaomi