Transferring data from Honor to Xiaomi: a complete guide to comparing all methods

Why Data Transfers Between Honor and Xiaomi Need a Special Approach

Changing your smartphone from Honor (or Huawei) to a Xiaomi device isn’t just a replacement for a gadget, it’s a transition between two ecosystems with fundamentally different synchronization approaches. Unlike moving within the same brand (like the Redmi Note 12 to Xiaomi 14), there are nuances here, from the lack of a native Mi Mover tool for Honor to problems with Huawei Backup backups, which Xiaomi can’t read directly.

The main difficulty lies in different data protocols. Honor uses proprietary solutions Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), while Xiaomi is focused on Google Mobile Services (GMS) and its own MIUI ecosystem. This means that even standard functions like transfer via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct can work unstable. For example, when you try to send 500 photos through Xiaomi File Manager, you run the risk of getting an error “failed to connect to the device” – a typical problem in cross-brand exchange.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods for data transfer, taking into account:

• 📱 Device models: relevant for Honor 70/90/Magic5 Xiaomi 13/14/Redmi Note 12/Poco F5 (2022–2026 garland.).
• 🔄 Data types: contacts, SMS, Photos, videos, applications (+ settings), notes, calendar.
• ⚡ Speed and reliability: 10 minutes (cable) OTG) Up to 2 hours (cloud synchronization).

Method 1: Mi Mover – official Xiaomi tool (with Honor restrictions)

Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary data migration solution preinstalled on all devices with MIUI 10+. It theoretically supports transfers from Android devices of other brands, but in practice, Honor often has problems.

To make the attempt successful, follow the mandatory conditions:

Install Mi Mover on Honor (download APK from [apkmirror.com](https://apkmirror.com) | Turn off power saving on both devices | Connect both phones to the same 5GHz Wi-Fi network | Battery charge >50% on both gadgets |Remove unnecessary files (Mi Mover does not carry data >10 GB at a time)

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Step-by-step:

1. On Xiaomi, open Settings → About Phone → Mi Mover (or find the app in the menu).
2. Select “I am a new user” on Xiaomi and “I am an old user” on Honor.
3. Scan it. QR-code from the screen Xiaomi camera Honor.
4. Select data types to transfer (priority: contacts → SMS → photos).
5. Confirm transmission. It'll take 5 to 40 minutes depending on the volume.

⚠️ Warning: If the Mi Mover is stuck in the Prep phase, restart both phones and try again. Most often the error occurs due to a conflict of Android versions (for example, Honor). Magic5 Android 13 and Xiaomi 14 on Android 14).

What you can’t do with Mi Mover:

• 🚫 Data apps (such as saving in games or WhatsApp settings).
• 🚫 Notes from Huawei Notes (they are tied to the HMS).
• 🚫 Files from Honor protected folders (e.g., PrivateSpace).

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If Mi Mover doesn't see your Honor, try connecting via hotspot: on Xiaomi, turn on the hotspot, and on Honor, connect to that network.

Method 2: Google Account is universal, but not perfect

Google Account sync is the most reliable way to transfer contacts, calendars and apps, but it has critical limitations for Honor, because Huawei/Honor smartphones are no longer standard firmware on Google Play Services after 2019 (due to US sanctions), which means:

• 📌 On Honor. 8X Google Accounts or older Google Accounts are working normally.
• 📌 On Honor. 30/50/70/Magic4 newer GMS No default (must be installed manually).

If your Honor supports Google Services, follow these steps:

1. On Honor, go to Settings → Accounts → Google and enable sync for Contacts, Calendar and Chrome (for bookmarks).
2. Wait for the synchronization to be completed (check in Google Contacts via browser).
3. On Xiaomi, add the same Google Account to Settings → Accounts.
4. Turn on synchronization and wait for data to load (may take up to 1 hour).

To transfer photos and videos, use Google Photos:

• 📸 On Honor, install Google Photos (if not in AppGallery, download it). APK s [APKMirror](https://apkmirror.com)).
• 📸 Enable "Backup and Synchronization" in the application settings.
• 📸 On Xiaomi, log in to the same Google Photos account and download files.

⚠️ Attention: Google Photos free cloud compresses images up to 16 MP (if High quality is selected). To transfer in the original resolution, you will need a Google One tariff (from 139 MT) ₽/month).

Method 3: OTG + File Manager Cable for Big Data

If you need to move tens of gigabytes of photos, videos or music, the fastest way is to use an OTG cable (or USB-C to USB-C adapter) and manually copy files. This method bypasses all the limitations of cloud services and works even on Honor without Google Services.

You'll need:

• 🔌 Cable USB-C to USB-C (adapter OTG + USB-flash-drive).
• 📂 File Manager on both devices (we recommend Xiaomi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
• ⚡ Charge. >70% (copying large files consumes a lot of energy).

Instructions:

1. Connect Honor to Xiaomi cable. On Honor, select File Transfer Mode (not Charge!).
2. On Xiaomi, open File Manager and go to the section "USB-device".
3. Copy the right folders: DCIM → photos and videos from the Download camera → uploaded Pictures files → images from WhatsApp messengers → backups of chats (if necessary)
4. Insert files into the corresponding folders on Xiaomi (e.g. Internal Storage/DCIM/Camera).

A critical nuance: if you transfer photos from the DCIM folder, they may not appear in the gallery after copying to Xiaomi. To fix this, restart the Gallery app or use the command in ADB:

adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE -d file:///storage/emulated/0/DCIM/

⚠️ Warning: Do not copy the entire Android folder, this will lead to conflicts with the application data on Xiaomi.

Method 4: Cloud Services (Huawei Cloud) → Google Drive/Xiaomi Cloud)

If you don't have an OTG cable or you prefer wireless portability, you can use an intermediate cloud, and the scheme is simple: upload data from Honor to the cloud, and then download it to Xiaomi, and the main thing is to choose a service that is supported on both devices.

Options for cloud services:

• 🌥️ Huawei Cloud → Google Drive: Suitable for contacts, notes and photos (but requires manual export).

The following is a step-by-step guide for Huawei Cloud → Google Drive:

1. On Honor, open Huawei Cloud and export data: Contacts: Contacts → Settings → Export (.vcf format). Photo: Gallery → Highlight everything → Share → Save to Huawei Cloud.

Huawei Cloud

Google Drive

Xiaomi

Google Drive

• Contacts: Open a.vcf file and select "Import".
• Photo: Move to DCIM/Camera folder.

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ It works even without cable and on devices without Google Services.
• ✅ You can transfer data gradually (for example, today contacts, tomorrow photos).

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Slower than cable. OTG (speed depends on the Internet).
• ❌ Free space in the cloud is limited (5-15 GB).

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Cloud services are the only way to transfer data if you have a broken USB connector on Honor or Xiaomi, in which case use Yandex Drive (gives 10 GB free) or Degoo (100 GB free, but slow download).

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

Wireless data applications (SHAREit, Xender, Send Anywhere) are touted as a one-stop solution, but in practice they often fail when migrating between Honor and Xiaomi.

• 🐢 Low speed (3-5 times slower than cable) OTG).
• 🛑 Breakdowns in file transfer >2GB.
• 📱 Overheating devices (especially relevant for Xiaomi with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processors).

If you still decide to use such an application, follow the algorithm:

1. Install the same app on both phones (e.g. Send Anywhere from AppGallery on Honor and from Google Play on Xiaomi).
2. On Honor, select files to send and generate a 6-digit key or QR-code.
3. On Xiaomi, enter the key or scan. QR-code.
4. Wait until the transfer is complete (don’t block the screen!).

Comparison of popular applications:

⚠️ Note: Applications like SHAREit and Xender often install additional modules (like Clean Master) that consume the battery.

What to do after data transfer: verification and optimization

Data portability is only half the battle. To keep the new Xiaomi running smoothly, follow the following steps:

1. File integrity check:

• 📸 Open the Gallery and make sure all photos and videos are displayed (if not, restart the app or use the adb media scan).
• 📞 Check contacts: sometimes duplicated or lost avatars.
• 🎵 Run music or video – if files are not played, download the codec MX Player Codec.

Storage optimization:

• 🗑️ Remove duplicate photos using Google Photos (Settings) → Make room).
• 📁 Transfer the rarely used files to SD-card (if supported).
• 🔄 Clear the app cache in Settings → Warehouse → Cleanup.

Synchronization setting:

• ☁️ Enable autosynchronization of Google Photos and Google Contacts.
• 🔄 Set up backup in Xiaomi Cloud (Settings) → Xiaomi account → Cloud).

Portability of annexes:

• 📱 Install missing apps from Google Play or APKMirror.
• 🔑 Recover your application data (if you have backups) via Swift Backup or Titanium Backup.
• 🎮 For games, use Google Play Games to sync saves.

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If Xiaomi is slowing down after the transfer, check the background activity of the applications in Settings → Battery → Performance Mode. Turn off optimization for frequently used programs.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability from Honor to Xiaomi