How to transfer a photo from the old phone to the new Xiaomi: all ways + expert advice

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but moving photos can become a real headache if you don’t know the proven ways, especially when it comes to thousands of images accumulated over the years: family archives, travel, important documents in photo format. Many users lose hours experimenting with cables, clouds and messengers, risking losing data or experiencing synchronization errors.

5 proven methods of transferring photos to Xiaomi (including Redmi Note 12 models, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T And so on, sorted by speed, reliability and convenience, and we're going to go through the nuances for different scenarios, where you're just at hand. USB-cable, when both phones are on Android, and also how to act if the old device is an iPhone. Separately, we will focus on the typical errors that lead to loss of image quality or incomplete transmission, and give a checklist for preparing devices.

Spoiler: The fastest way is not always the most reliable way, and cloud services, which seem like a universal solution, can fail because of the limitations of the volume or speed of the Internet. Read on to choose the best option for your situation.

1. Preparation of devices: what to do before transferring photos

Before rushing to throw files, make sure both smartphones are ready for the procedure.Missing this stage is the main cause of failures when photos are not fully transmitted or with artifacts.

On an old phone:

• 📁 Clean up the trash: remove duplicates, blurred images, and screenshots (use apps like Google Files or Gallery Doctor) and reduce data and speed up the transfer.
• 🔋 Charge the battery to at least 50%. interruption of the process due to discharge can lead to loss of some files.
• 🔒 Unlock the screen: if you use a pattern lock or PIN, Turn it off for the transfer time (or add a fingerprint for convenience).

On the new Xiaomi:

• 📱 Update. MIUI Up to the latest version through Settings → The phone. → System Update: New firmware fixes Wi-Fi Direct file transfer bugs.
• 💾 Check the space: photos in their original quality take up a lot of space. For example, 1,000 shots in the format.ARW (RAW) They can weigh up to 20 GB.
• 🌐 Connect to stable Wi-Fi (if you plan to use the cloud or local area network) Mobile Internet is not suitable due to traffic restrictions.

Remove unnecessary photos from your old phone | Charge both devices to 50%+| Update MIUI on the new Xiaomi| Connect to Wi-Fi (if necessary) | Disable screen locking during transfer-->

⚠️ Note: If the old phone has photos stored on the SD-Remove it and paste it directly into the new Xiaomi (if supported) to save time, but make sure the map is formatted in the new Xiaomi. FAT32 ExFAT or files larger than 4GB will not be transferred.

2. Method 1: Cable transmission (USB OTG or computer)

The most reliable method if you have a USB Type-C cable is USB Type-C (or OTG adapter for older models), suitable for any combination of devices: Android → Xiaomi, iPhone → Xiaomi, and also if the photo volume exceeds 100 GB.

Step-by-step instructions for Android → Xiaomi:

1. Connect your old phone to your new Xiaomi via cable. On the screen of your old device, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. On Xiaomi, open the Files by Google or Mi File Manager app and go to the section USB-device.
3. Find the DCIM → Camera (or Pictures) folder, highlight the photos you need, and click Copy.
4. Return to the root directory of the new phone, select the destination folder (e.g. Internal Storage → DCIM) and click Insert.

To transfer from iPhone to Xiaomi will require a computer (Windows/Mac):

1. Connect your iPhone to your PC, open iTunes (or Finder on Mac), and sync your photos to a folder on your computer.
2. Disable your iPhone, connect Xiaomi, and copy files manually through the Explorer.

⚠️ Note: When you copy through a computer, photos may lose metadata (date of shooting, geotagged) to avoid this, use specialized programs like iMazing or Syncios.

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Cable transmission is the only method that guarantees 100% preservation of the original quality of the photo (including the quality of the photo). RAW-file).

Method 2: Wireless transmission via Mi Mover (Xiaomi→Xiaomi only)

Xiaomi’s proprietary solution is the Mi Mover app, which is pre-installed on all MIUI smartphones, which allows you to transfer not only photos, but also contacts, messages, apps, the main condition: both phones must be from Xiaomi (including Redmi and POCO).

How to use Mi Mover:

1. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select Data Transfer. If your phone is already configured, download Mi Mover from Google Play.
2. On an old phone, open Mi Mover, select I give and scan. QR-code from the new device.
3. Select the Photos category (you can also transfer videos, music, documents).
4. Confirm transmission and wait until completion. Phones must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Advantages of the method:

• ⚡ Speed: up to 200 MB/s over Wi-Fi Direct (2-4 times faster than cable).
• 🔄 Keeps folder structure: photos remain in the same albums as on the old phone.
• 📱 No PC: Everything happens directly between devices.

⚠️ Note: Mi Mover may not transfer photos stored on the SD-You can copy them to internal memory before you start, and sometimes the app freezes when you connect, in which case you can restart it on both devices.

Cable.|Through the Cloud (Google Photos, Mi Cloud)|Wi-Fi (Mi Mover, ShareIt)|Through the computer|Other-->

4. Method 3: Cloud Services (Google Photos, Mi Cloud, Yandex Drive)

Cloud storage is convenient if you have slow internet or no cable at hand, but there are limitations to every service that you should know about.

Comparison of popular clouds for photo transfer:

Instructions for Google Photos (universal version):

1. On your old phone, set up Google Photos and log in to your account.
2. In the settings, select Backup and Synchronization → Download Quality → Original.
3. Wait until the loading is complete (may take hours with a large volume).
4. On the new Xiaomi, install Google Photos, log in to the same account and download the photo through Photo → Library → Devices.

⚠️ Note: If you have photos in format HEIC (From iPhone, Google Photos Converts to JPG When downloading, which can degrade quality. To avoid this, convert before downloading HEIC into PNG through applications like iMazing HEIC Converter.

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If you have a lot of photos (over 5,000), break them down into 1,000-1,500 pieces, which will speed up up uploading to the cloud and reduce the risk of errors.

5. Method 4: Local area network (Wi-Fi Direct, FTP, or applications like Send Anywhere)

If the clouds seem slow and the cable doesn’t, you can use local Wi-Fi transmission, which works between any device (including iPhone) and doesn’t require internet.

Option 1: Send Anywhere (recommended for cross-platform transmission):

1. Install Send Anywhere on both phones (available from the App Store and Google Play).
2. On an old phone, select files, click Send and generate a 6-digit code.
3. On the new Xiaomi, enter this code in the Get field.
4. Wait for the transfer to be completed (speed up to 10-15 MB/s).

Option 2: FTP-server (for advanced users):

1. On an old phone, install FTP Server (such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Start the server, write it down. IP-address and port (e.g, ftp://192.168.1.10:2221).
3. On the new Xiaomi, open Files, select FTP and connect to the specified address.
4. Copy the right folders with the photo.

Advantages of local network:

• 🌐 No Internet: Transfers are Direct between Devices.
• 🔒 Security: Files are not uploaded to third-party servers.
• 📶 High speed: up to 20-30MB/s (faster than the cloud).

⚠️ Note: When transferring over Wi-Fi Direct, photos may be lost EXIF-data (camera information, shooting settings) If it is critical, use a cable or cloud setting "Original Quality".

6. Method 5: MicroSD or external storage

If your old phone supports microSD cards and the new Xiaomi has a slot for it (like the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ or POCO X5 Pro), this method is the easiest one to use.

1. Remove the card from the old phone and paste it into the new one.
2. Open Files on Xiaomi, go to SD-map → DCIM.
3. Select the folders with the photo and click Copy, then paste them into the internal memory.

For phones without a microSD slot (for example, Xiaomi 13 or Xiaomi 13 Ultra) you can use it. USB-adapter-drive OTG:

1. Connect the flash drive to an old phone and copy the photo to it.
2. Disable the flash drive, connect to the new Xiaomi and transfer files.

⚠️ Note: ExFAT memory cards (usually 64GB or more) may not be readable on some Xiaomi phones. FAT32 (But remember that FAT32 Does not support files more than 4GB).

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MicroSD transfer is the only method that works without internet, cables, or extra apps, but only for phones with memory card slots.

7.Typical mistakes and how to avoid them

Even with proven methods, users are facing challenges. TOP-5 mistakes and their solutions:

1. Photos moved but not displayed in the gallery: Reason: Xiaomi Gallery didn't have time to scan new files. Solution: Open Settings → Apps → Gallery → Memory and click Clear Data, then restart the application.
2. Transmission interrupted at half: The reason: unstable Wi-Fi connection or battery discharge. Solution: use the cable or connect the phones to charge.
3. Photos lost quality: Reason: Cloud service compressed images. Solution: In the download settings, select Original Quality (even if it takes up more space).
4. No albums and folders: The reason: the folder structure is only retained by Mi Mover and cable. Solution: manually create albums on the new phone after the transfer.
5. Xiaomi doesn't see iPhone through cable: Reason: iTunes isn't installed on PC or drivers aren't updated. Solution: install the latest version of iTunes (even if you're not using it).

If none of the methods worked, check:

• 🔌 Cable: Try another one (preferably original from Xiaomi).
• 📶 Wi-Fi network: reconnect to another network or use a mobile access point.
• 📱 Memory: The new phone should have at least 10% of the volume of photos transferred.

8. FAQ: Answers to frequent questions