How to Transfer Data from One Xiaomi Phone to Another: 2026

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but data porting often becomes a headache. Contacts, photos, messages, apps all need to be saved and moved correctly. Fortunately, Xiaomi devices have several built-in migration tools, as well as universal methods that work on any Android device.

In this article, we'll look at 7 proven ways to move information between Xiaomi phones, from the official Mi Mover to cloud services to manual copying via PCs. You'll learn which method is the fastest, which saves more data, and how to avoid typical migration errors. And if you have devices of different brands, you'll find a solution for this case.

Important: Check the battery power on both devices before transferring data (at least 50%) and make sure that the new phone has enough free space. Some methods require a Wi-Fi connection, so prepare a stable network in advance.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a Xiaomi-branded app designed to quickly transfer data between the brand’s devices, pre-installed on all modern Redmi, POCO and Xiaomi smartphones (starting with MIUI 9), and if it doesn’t, it can be downloaded from Google Play or App Gallery (for models without Google services).

How Mi Mover works:

• 🔄 Transferring contacts, SMS, Photos, video, audio, documents, applications and their data (not all applications are supported).
• 📶 Uses direct Wi-Fi connection between phones (does not require internet connection).
• ⚡ The speed of the transfer depends on the amount of data, but usually takes 10–30 minutes.
• 🚫 Does not tolerate system settings, Wi-Fi passwords, data of some banking applications.

Step-by-step:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Data Transfer (Mi Mover).
2. On the new phone, run Mi Mover through Settings → Additional → Data Transfer or find it in the app menu.
3. Select a role: on the old phone, “I am the sender,” on the new phone, “I am the receiver.”
4. Scan it. QR-code from the screen of the new phone with the old device (or enter PIN-manually).
5. Select data types to transfer and confirm the start of the process.
6. Wait until the connection is complete (don't interrupt!) and the new phone will be notified of the successful transfer.

⚠️ Warning: If the new phone already has data, Mi Mover will prompt you to erase it before transferring!

Make sure both phones have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled

Battery charge ≥ 50% on both devices

Free up ≥ 20% of memory on a new phone

Disable VPN and energy saving modes

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2. Transfer through MIUI backup

If Mi Mover doesn’t work for some reason (for example, on very old models), you can use the built-in MIUI backup function. This method saves almost all data, including system settings, but takes longer.

What is stored in the backup copy:

• 📱 Contacts, call log, SMS/MMS.
• 📸 Photos, video, audio, documents (except for DRM-secure files).
• ⚙️ System settings (wallpaper, sounds, brightness, gestures).
• 📱 Application data (not all, depending on the developer).
• 🔐 Wi-Fi passwords (if option is enabled).

Instructions for creating and restoring a backup copy:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Local Backup.
2. Select the data to save (it is recommended to note everything) and click "Create a backup".
3. Wait until it is completed (it can take up to 1 hour depending on the amount of data) and the file will be saved in the MIUI/backup/AllBackup folder.
4. Copy the backup file (with the.mbk extension) to your new phone (via cable, Bluetooth, or the cloud).
5. On your new phone, go to Settings → Additional → Recovery and Reset → Local Recovery.
6. Select the copied file and confirm the recovery.

⚠️ Attention: Backup copy MIUI does not restore data in applications that use their own cloud (for example, WhatsApp, Viber, banking applications!

3. Cloud Transfer via Xiaomi Cloud

If you have a Xiaomi account, you can use Xiaomi Cloud, which is a proprietary cloud storage solution that is convenient if the phones are in different places or you don't have a direct cable, but the free rate is limited to 5 GB (for some regions, 10 GB), so you have to buy extra space for a lot of data.

How to transfer data through Xiaomi Cloud:

• 📱 On an old phone: Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → Synchronization: Enable synchronization for the data you want (contacts, notes, photos, etc.).
• ☁️ Wait for the download to be completed (you can check in Mi Cloud) → Storage management).
• 📱 On the new phone, log in to the same Xiaomi account and enable sync in Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud.
• 🔄 The data will start to load automatically. For photos and files, you may need to manually select folders to sync.

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ No need to physically connect your phone.
• ✅ Data is available from any device.
• ✅ Automatic update when changing data on old phone.

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Volume limit (5-10 GB free).
• ❌ Not all data types are synchronized (e.g, SMS And the call log might not be moving).
• ❌ Requires a stable Internet connection.

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If you are frequently switching to new Xiaomi devices, subscribe to Xiaomi Cloud (from 100 GB for ~300 rubles / year), this will eliminate the need to manually transfer data each time.

4. Transfer through Google Account (universal method)

If you use Google services, most data can be transferred through a Google account, which works not only between Xiaomi phones, but also between devices of different brands (e.g. Xiaomi → Samsung).

What is carried through Google Account:

• 📇 Contacts (full).
• 📅 Calendar and reminders.
• 📧 Gmail emails and email settings.
• 📸 Photos and videos (via Google Photos if sync is enabled).
• 📱 Some system settings (language, date/time, Wi-Fi network).
• 🎮 Game data if the games support Google Play Games).

How to transfer data:

1. On your old phone, check that sync is enabled: Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync. Enable all the necessary items.
2. Wait for the sync to complete (check in Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Management).
3. On the new phone, when you first turn on, select the option “Copy data from your old device” and log in to the same Google account.
4. If your phone is already set up, go to Settings → Accounts → Add an account → Google and log in to your profile.
5. The data will start loading automatically. Google Photos may need to run the app separately and enable synchronization.

⚠️ Note: If your old phone had two-factor authentication for your Google account, prepare backup codes or access to your Google account. SMS — You will need them when you enter a new device.

5. Manual transfer via computer (for full control)

If you need to migrate sample files or data that are not supported by other methods (e.g. game saves, application specific settings), manual copying through the computer is a better option, which takes longer, but gives you complete control over the process.

What you need:

• 💻 Computer with Windows, macOS or Linux.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original for fast transmission).
• 📂 There is enough space on the PC (if the data takes up a lot of space).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your computer via USB. Select File Transfer (MTP) mode in the notification on your phone.
2. Open the Explorer (This Windows PC or Finder on macOS) and copy the folders you want: DCIM for photos and videos. Downloads for downloaded files. Documents for documents. Android/data for some (not all!) applications. MIUI/backup for MIUI backups (if any).

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Insert the copied files into the corresponding folders on the new phone.

contact SMS

.vcf

SMS Backup & Restore

Advantages of manual transfer:

• ✅ Complete control over which data to copy.
• ✅ It works even if other methods are not available.
• ✅ You can edit files before transferring (e.g. delete unnecessary photos).

6. Transfer through third-party applications (for advanced users)

If standard methods don’t work, you can use third-party migration apps, which often offer additional features, such as transferring data between Android and iOS or backing up encrypted.

Popular applications for data transfer:

• 📱 Clone Phone (from Xiaomi) – an alternative to Mi Mover for older models.
• 🔄 SHAREit – transferring files over Wi-Fi Direct (without the Internet).
• ☁️ Send Anywhere – Transfer files via a temporary link.
• 📂 Titanium Backup (requires root) – Full backup of applications and data.
• 🍎 Move to iOS – if you switch from Xiaomi to iPhone.

Example of transfer via SHAREit:

1. Install SHAREit on both phones from Google Play or App Gallery.
2. On your old phone, select “Send” and mark the files you want.
3. On the new phone, select "Get".
4. Connect to the access point created by SHAREit and confirm the transfer.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party apps, check the permissions they request!

7.Transfer data from Xiaomi to another brand’s device

If you are switching from Xiaomi to a smartphone from another manufacturer (for example, Samsung, Huawei, iPhone), the standard Mi Mover will not work.

Ways for different brands:

• 📱 On Android (Samsung, Realme, etc.): Use Google Account for Contacts, Calendar, Mail. Move files via Smart Switch (for Samsung) or Phone Clone (for Huawei.
• 🍎 On iPhone: Install Move to iOS on the old Xiaomi and follow the instructions when setting up your iPhone. Move photos via Google Photos or iCloud (upload to PC, then to iPhone). Contacts sync through Google Account or export to.vcf.

Features of transfer to the iPhone:

• ✅ Move to iOS carries: contacts, messages, photos, videos, bookmarks, email accounts, calendars.
• ❌ Does not tolerate: apps (only offer to download analogues from the App Store), music (except purchases in Google Play Music), some settings.
• ⚠️ It only works when you first set up your iPhone! If you're already configured, you'll have to reset it.

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When switching to iPhone, use Move to iOS immediately when setting up your device – later transferring data will be impossible without resetting.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability to Xiaomi