The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, especially when it comes to keeping important data safe. Contacts from the phone book are often the main headache: how to move them quickly and without loss to a new device? In 2026, owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi have at least 5 reliable ways to do this, from cloud services to manual export.
In this article, we will analyze all the current methods of transferring contacts between Xiaomi phones, including nuances for different versions. MIUI (You will learn how to avoid duplication of records, why some contacts may not be transferred, and what to do if the new phone does not see the old one. SIM-And then we'll compare the speed and reliability of each method in the table so you don't have to test them all yourself.
1. Transfer contacts via Mi Account (the fastest way)
If both of your Xiaomi phones are tied to the same Mi Account, it takes no more than 5 minutes to sync, and the main advantage is that sync works automatically, so you don't have to export anything manually, but here's the caveat: if you haven't enabled contact sync before, some of the records may not be in the cloud.
How to check and enable synchronization:
- 🔄 Open the Settings. → Accounts and synchronization → Mi Account on an old phone.
- 📱 Make sure the switch opposite Contact is active (green). If not, turn it on and wait until the sync is complete (the cloud icon in the status bar should disappear).
- 🆕 On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account and enable contact sync. Data will be downloaded automatically within 1-2 minutes.
Is there Wi-Fi or mobile internet on both phones?
Is there enough space in the cloud (contacts take up little space, but it’s better to make sure)
The same Mi Account is used on both devices.
Synchronization is enabled for the "Contact" application-->
⚠️ Note: If you have used duality SIM-cards on the old phone, contact with the second SIM They may not sync. In this case, first transfer them to the main. SIM or in the memory of the phone through the Contacts app → Contact management → Imports/Exports.
2.Export and import through Google Account (universal method)
This is a good way to do it if you use Google Contacts as your primary storage or want to transfer data to a device of another brand (e.g. Xiaomi to Samsung), with the advantage of reliability and cross-platform, the disadvantage of requiring a stable Internet connection.
Step-by-step:
- On your old phone, open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
- Select your account and make sure that the sync of "Contacts" is enabled. If not, activate it and wait until it is completed (it can take up to 10 minutes with a large number of records).
- On the new phone, add the same Google account and enable contact sync. Data will be downloaded automatically.
What to do if your contacts are not synchronized?
Important: If you previously edited contacts in a phone book, rather than through Google Contacts, they could only be saved locally. VCF or reschedule SIM-map.
3. Contacts over Bluetooth (without the Internet)
If you don’t have access to Wi-Fi or mobile network and need to move contacts urgently, Bluetooth will help, which works even between phones of different brands, but has a limitation: you can transfer only one contact or group at a time (depending on the version of MIUI).
How to transfer contacts over Bluetooth:
- 📲 On your old phone, open the Contacts app, click on three dots (⋮) in the upper right corner and select "Import/Export".
- 📤 Select "Send Contacts" → Check the required entries (or click "Select all") → press "Share".
- 🔵 In the list of methods of transfer, select Bluetooth and connect to a new phone.
- 📥 On the new device, confirm the file acceptance (usually a file with the.vcf extension) and import contacts.
Through Mi Account.
Through Google Account
Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct
Through SIM-map
Export to VCF file
Another way.-->
⚠️ Note: If you transfer a large number of contacts (more than 100), Bluetooth can “hang”, in which case break the list into parts of 20-30 records or use alternative methods.
4. Transfer of contacts through SIM-map (for older models)
This is a good idea for Xiaomi owners. MIUI 10-12 or those who use phones without cloud support (e.g. Redmi Go) SIM-The card is reliable but has limitations: the contact memory card is small (usually up to 250 records), and the fields for additional information (email, address) can be cut off.
Instructions:
- Put it in. SIM-card.
- Open Contacts → Contact Management → Import / Export → Export to SIM-card.
- Select contacts for export (or click "Select All") and confirm the action.
- Move it. SIM-Card to new phone and import contacts via Contacts → Management → Import with SIM-map.
| Mode of transfer | Speed. | Reliability | Limitations | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MI Account | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (1-2 minutes) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (95%) | Requires Internet, binding to Xiaomi | Transition between Xiaomi phones |
| Google Account | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3-5 minutes) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (99%) | Internet needs, possible duplicates | Any Android devices |
| Bluetooth | ⭐⭐ (10–30 min) | ⭐⭐⭐ (80%) | Slowly, limiting the number of | Without the Internet, little data. |
| SIM-map | ⭐⭐⭐ (5-10 minutes) | ⭐⭐ (70%) | Limited number of records, data cropping | Old models, no clouds |
| VCF file | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 minutes) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (90%) | Requires manual importation | Backup, port to PC |
5.Export and import via VCF file (for backup)
The.vcf (vCard) format is the universal standard for storing contacts that all modern smartphones support, and it is suitable if you want to back up or transfer contacts to your computer for editing.
How to export contacts to VCF:
- 📄 Open Contacts. → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Export to file.
- 📁 Select a storage location (internal memory or storage). SD-map) and confirm export. The file is usually called contacts.vcf.
- 📎 Transfer the file to a new phone (via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, cable) USB cloud-storage).
- 📥 On the new device, open the.vcf file and import contacts (the system will prompt you to do this automatically).
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If you're transferring contacts to your iPhone, send a VCF file to your email and open it on your Apple device. iOS will automatically prompt you to add contacts to your phone book.
⚠️ Note: When importing a large file VCF (More than 1,000 contacts) MIUI In this case, wait until the process is complete and check if all the records have been transferred (sometimes the last 10-20 contacts are lost").
Frequent problems and their solutions
Even if the instructions are followed correctly, Xiaomi users sometimes encounter errors when transferring contacts, and here are the most common ones and ways to fix them:
Problem 1: Contacts are duplicated after the transfer.
Solution: MIUI 13/14 has a built-in take merge feature: Contacts → Contact Management → Combine Duties. If the option is not available, use third-party apps like Contacts Optimizer.
Problem 2: Some contacts have not been transferred (especially from Chinese firmware).
Solution: It's encoding. Export contacts to VCF, open the file on your PC via Notepad++ and save it to UTF-8 encoding, then import it again.
Problem 3: The new phone doesn’t see the contacts on the phone SIM-map.
Solution: Check if your model supports Xiaomi format SIM-Cards (e.g. Redmi Note 12 doesn't work with legacy Mini-SIMs) Also try inserting the card into another slot (if the phone supports Dual) SIM).
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If you use MIUI Global, you don't usually have any problems with moving contacts, but MIUI China may be restricted by the lack of Google services, in which case you use Mi Account or a VCF file.