How to Transfer Data from Honor to Xiaomi: The Complete 2026 Guide

Moving from Honor to Xiaomi is not just about changing your brand, but also the need to migrate all the important data: contacts, photos, messages, and even app settings. Many users face difficulties with this migration, especially if they used the Huawei ecosystem (which includes Honor until 2020), In this article, we will examine all the current ways of data transfer, from standard tools to advanced methods for power users.

The peculiarity of the transfer between these brands is that Xiaomi uses its own Mi Account ecosystem, and Honor (especially new models) – Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) or Google Mobile Services (GMS), depending on the region. This means that universal solutions like Google Drive or Samsung Smart Switch do not always work here. We tested all methods on the current firmware MagicOS 8.0 (for Honor) and HyperOS 1.0 (for Xiaomi) and selected only those that are guaranteed to work in 2026.

Important: If you are moving from Honor to 2020 (such as the Honor 9X or Honor 20 Pro), note that these devices may not support Google services, in which case the methods using local backup or third-party utilities will be prioritised.

1. Transfer data via Mi Mover (official method from Xiaomi)

Mi Mover is a proprietary application from Xiaomi that allows you to transfer data from Android devices of other brands. It is pre-installed on all smartphones. Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO It supports portability with Honor, but with some nuances.

To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:

• 📱 Make sure that Data Mode is enabled on Honor (usually in Settings). → Connections → In some models, this item may be called Transmit data to another device.
• 🔗 On Xiaomi, open the Mi Mover app (if not, download from Google Play or Mi App Store).
• 📶 Connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network (required! Bluetooth won't work).
• 🔄 On Honor, select the role of “Sender”, on Xiaomi – “Receiver” and scan QR-code.

Once connected, you can choose which data to transfer: contacts, messages, photos, videos, audio, calendars and even some application settings. APK-Application files – only their data (for example, saves in games or chats in messengers).

⚠️ Note: If Honor has firmware without Google services (e.g. Honor) 8X s EMUI 9), Mi Mover may not recognize the device. In this case, use the method with a local backup (section 3).

Charging both phones > 50%|The same Wi-Fi network (2.4 GHz)|Shut down. VPN firewalls|Free space on Xiaomi (at least 20% of the volume of data transferred)|Update Mi Mover to the latest version-->

2. Transfer through Google Account (for models with GMS)

If your Honor supports Google services (most models released after 2019), the easiest way to transfer is to sync through Google Account.This method is suitable for contacts, calendars, notes, photos (via Google Photos) and some application settings.

Instructions:

1. On Honor, go to Settings → Accounts → Google and make sure that sync is enabled for all the data you need.
2. Wait for the sync to complete (check in Google Drive → Backups).
3. On Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select “Restore from backup” and log in to the same Google Account.
4. Select the last backup and wait for the recovery to be completed.

Advantages of this method:

• ⚡ Fast – Data is automatically restored when you set up a new phone.
• 🔒 Security – All data is encrypted and stored in the Google cloud.
• 📱 Support for most types of data (except for SMS call).

Disadvantages:

• 🚫 Installed applications (only their data) are not portable).
• 📶 Requires a stable internet connection to download the backup.
• 📁 Restriction on free storage in Google (15 GB).

Google Account|Local backup|Third-party applications (SHAREit, Xender)|Physical transfer (cable) OTG, memory-card)|Other-->

3. Local backup and recovery

If your Honor doesn’t support Google services or you want to migrate all data without exception (including SMS, call log and system settings), the best option is to create a local backup and restore it to Xiaomi.

Step 1: Create a backup on Honor:

• 📁 Connect your phone to your PC through USB-cable and select File Transfer Mode (MTP).
• 🖥️ Download and install HiSuite (official utility from the Huawei/Honor) from Honor's support website.
• 🔄 In HiSuite, select Backup and tick all the necessary data (contacts, messages, applications, etc.).
• 💾 Save the backup to your computer (recommended in a separate folder).

Step 2: Recovery on Xiaomi:

• 📂 Copy the folder with a backup on Xiaomi (to the root directory or on the site) SD-map).
• 🔧 Install Backup & Restore on Xiaomi (available on Google Play).
• 🔄 In the app, select Restore and specify the path to the backup file (usually with the.hbk or.ab extension).

⚠️ Note: Local backups created through HiSuite may not fully recover on Xiaomi due to differences in firmware. SMS, and other data (photos, videos) copy manually.

4. transfer via memory card or OTG-cable

The most versatile, but time-consuming way is manually transferring files through a memory card or OTG-It is suitable for photos, videos, music and documents, but not for system data (contacts, SMS).

Instructions:

1. Insert a memory card in Honor (or plug in) OTG-flash-drive).
2. Open the File Manager and copy the folders you need: DCIM — Photos and video from the camera. Downloads - downloaded files. Music, Movies - media files. WhatsApp/Media — messenger.

Xiaomi

Copy the files into the appropriate folders on the new phone.

For manually transferring contacts:

1. On Honor, open Contacts → Settings → Import / Export → Export to the VCF file.
2. Copy the resulting contact.vcf file on Xiaomi.
3. On Xiaomi, import contacts through Contacts → Settings → Import.

How to transfer data via SHAREit:

1. Install SHAREit on both phones (download from Google Play or official website).
2. On Honor, select “Send” and on Xiaomi, “Get”.
3. Scan it. QR-code or connect to the created access point.
4. Select the files to transfer and wait for completion.

⚠️ Note: When transferring via third-party applications, do not interrupt the process, even if the speed drops. 4K) It can be transmitted for up to 10-15 minutes, and avoid using mobile Internet — only Wi-Fi.

6. Transfer of applications and their data (for power users)

If you need to migrate not only files, but also installed applications with their data (for example, save in games, setting messengers), additional tools will be required. Note: this method requires root rights or an unlocked bootloader on both devices.

Methods of transferring applications:

• 📦 Titanium Backup: Creates full backups of applications and their data, supports recovery on another device.
• 🔧 ADB Backup (no root) is a standard Android backup tool for creating backups through a computer. -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab adb restore backup.ab
• 📱 App Cloner – Clones applications with data (not working on all models).

Important: When porting applications, consider the bitwiseness of the processor. If the Honor was a 32-bit processor and Xiaomi was a 64-bit processor, some applications may not work. Check compatibility in Settings → About Phone → Android version and kernel.

💡

Moving apps between different brands often leads to crashes, recommending that you reinstall programs from Google Play or Mi App Store, and then restore only their data (for example, chats in Telegram or save in games).

7. Transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi via computer (advanced method)

If you have access to a computer, you can use advanced tools like Android Debug Bridge (ADB) or Fastboot to fully transfer data, a technique that is suitable for power users and allows you to transfer even data that is not normally copied (such as Wi-Fi settings or sensor data).

Instructions via ADB:

1. Install ADB and Fastboot on your computer (download Google’s Platform Tools).
2. On both phones, turn on Developer Mode (7 times click on Settings → About Phone Build Number) and activate Debugging over USB.
3. Connect Honor to your PC and execute the command to create a backup: adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f honor_backup.ab
4. Disable Honor, connect Xiaomi and recover data: adb restore honor_backup.ab

Advantages of the method:

• 🔧 Full control over the data transferred.
• 📊 Selective recovery capability.
• 🛠️ It even works on custom firmware.

Disadvantages:

• 💻 Requires command line skills.
• ⚠️ Risk of data loss in case of incorrect recovery.
• 🔌 Not all data is restored correctly due to differences in firmware.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability from Honor to Xiaomi