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 challenges when trying to sync through cloud services or face the limitations of proprietary tools like the Huawei Mobile Clone, which doesn’t always work correctly with Xiaomi devices. In this article, we’ll discuss 5 working methods — from standard MIUI features to manual copying via PC — so you can choose the best option depending on the amount of data and technical capabilities.
The portability between Honor (which is now independent of Huawei but retains some of their ecosystem) and Xiaomi is different: EMUI/Magic UI vs MIUI/HyperOS. This means that universal solutions like Google Account or Samsung Smart Switch are not always stable here. We tested each method on current models (for example, Honor 90 and Xiaomi 14 Pro) and indicated critical nuances that manufacturers do not keep silent in the official instructions.
1.Move over Mi Mover (official decision from Xiaomi)
Mi Mover is an integrated application in Xiaomi that is designed to migrate data from other Android devices.It supports the transfer of contacts, messages, photos, videos, audio, documents and even some of the application settings. However, there is an important limitation: Honor must run on Android 5.0+, and Xiaomi must have MIUI 10+ or HyperOS installed.
To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:
- 📱 On Xiaomi go to Settings → The phone. → Mi Mover (or find the app through search).
- 🔄 Download Mi Mover from Google Play (if it’s not in the store, use it) APK from the official Xiaomi website).
- 📶 Connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network (or create an access point on Xiaomi).
- 🔗 On Honor, select the role "Sender", on Xiaomi - "Receiver". Scan. QR-pairing.
- 📁 Select data types for transfer and confirm the transfer.
It can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour depending on the amount of data, and it's important that you don't interrupt the connection or block the screens of your devices, and if the transmission freezes during Preparation, try restarting the app on both phones.
Charge of both phones >50%|Similar Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz)|Switched off VPN and firewalls |Free space on Xiaomi (minimum 20% of the data portable) |Saving modes are turned off-->
2. Synchronization through Google Account (universal method)
If you use Google services, this way you can move contacts, calendars, notes, mail and some apps without additional tools, the main advantage of which is that data is synchronized in the background and available on any device after authorization.
Instructions:
- On Honor, go to Settings → Accounts → Google and make sure that sync is enabled for the right categories (contacts, calendar, etc.).
- On Xiaomi, add the same Google Account to Settings → Accounts and wait for the sync to complete.
- To transfer photos and videos, use Google Photos: enable autoload to Honor, then download files to Xiaomi via the app.
Limitations of the method:
- ⚠️ Not all. SMS and call log synced (depending on the Android version).
- ⚠️ Apps are only transferred as lists on Google Play (they will have to be installed again).
- ⚠️ Original quality photos take up space in the cloud (only 15GB is free).
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If you have Google Photo compression enabled on Honor, change the setting to “Original Quality” in the Settings → Backup menu before the perenosom.
3. Use of OTG cable and file manager (for large volumes)
If you don’t have access to Wi-Fi or cloud services, the most reliable way is to copy directly through the cloud. OTG-This is a method that's good for carrying photos, videos, music and documents, but it's not good for contacts or messages:
- 🔌 OTG-adapter (Type-C) → Type-C or Micro-USB → Type-C depending on the phone connectors).
- 📂 File Manager (e.g. Mi File Manager on Xiaomi or Files by Google).
Step-by-step:
- Connect Honor to Xiaomi via OTG-Adapter: Xiaomi will receive a notification about the connection USB-storage.
- Open the file manager on Xiaomi and go to the section USB-storage device (this is the memory of Honor).
- Copy the right folders (DCIM for photos, downloads, etc.) to internal memory or SD-Xiaomi.
- To speed up the process, use the “Select All” and “Copy” function in the file manager.
Advantages of the method:
- ✅ There are no data limits (except free space on Xiaomi).
- ✅ The original quality of the files is preserved (without compression, as in cloud services).
- ✅ It works even without the internet.
What if Xiaomi doesn’t see Honor through OTG?
4. Computer transfer (for full control)
If you need to migrate all data without exception, including hidden application files or backups, the best way is to use a Windows/macOS PC. This method takes longer, but guarantees 100% control over the process.
What you need:
- 💻 Computer with USB-port.
- 🔌 Two. USB-cable (for Honor and Xiaomi).
- 📂 Backup software (optional: Titanium Backup for root users or Syncios for regular users).
Instructions:
- Connect Honor to your PC in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
- Copy all the folders you need (DCIM, Pictures, Music, etc.) to your computer’s hard drive.
- Disable Honor, connect Xiaomi and transfer files to the appropriate folders.
- To transfer contacts, export them to the.vcf file via the Contacts app on Honor, then import them to Xiaomi.
For advanced users:
How to transfer SMS and call log via PC?
5. Alternative apps: Clone Phone and SHAREit
If the standard methods don't work, you can use third-party applications, and we tested two of the most popular ones:
| Annex | Speed. | Data types | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clone Phone (from Xiaomi) | ⚡ Quickly (Wi-Fi Direct) | Contacts, SMS, photos, videos, applications | Does not support the transfer of notes and some settings |
| SHAREit | 🐢 Slowly (depends on Wi-Fi) | Photos, videos, music, documents | No contact transfer and SMS, lots of advertising |
| Send Anywhere | ⚡ Very quickly (P2P) | Any files. | No automatic contact transfer |
Selection recommendations:
- 📲 For full transfer (including: SMS) Choose Clone Phone.
- 📎 Send Anywhere is suitable for transferring only media files.
- ⚠️ Avoid Sharet if you care about speed and lack of advertising.
Google Drive (Mi Cloud) and Mi Drive (Google Drive)|Cable (OTG PC)|Special applications (Clone Phone, SHAREit)|Manual transfer (photo on memory card)|I didn't transfer the data.-->
Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Even when following instructions, users often encounter problems.-5 mistakes and their solutions:
⚠️ Note: If you have an error when transferring via Mi Mover, check if Honor is blocking the connection via Settings. → Security → Data access: Some models (Honor 80 Pro, Honor Magic 5) need to manually allow data transfer over the LAN.
Other typical problems:
- 🔋 Lack of battery power: Connect both phones to charge before transfer.Some methods (such as Wi-Fi Direct) consume up to 30% of the charge per hour.
- 📶 Slow Wi-Fi Transfer: Switch to 5GHz (if the router supports) or use a cable OTG.
- 📁 Lack of space on Xiaomi: Before perenosom clear the app cache (Settings) → Warehouse → Clear the cache) or use it SD-map.
- 🔒 File Access Blocked: On Honor, in memory settings, allow access to files for the application you are transferring through.
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Before perenosom data, always check the compatibility of Android versions: on Honor with Magic UI 7.0+ and Xiaomi with HyperOS, some Mi Mover features may not work properly.