How to Transfer Contacts from Huawei to Xiaomi: A Detailed Guide to 5 Working Methods

Why the transfer of contacts between Huawei and Xiaomi is difficult

The switch from Huawei to Xiaomi is a popular choice among users, but the transfer of contacts between these brands often becomes a headache, because both companies use their own cloud services (Huawei Mobile Cloud and Mi Cloud), which do not sync automatically with each other, and after the sanctions of 2019, new Huawei models lost Google services, which complicates standard methods of data migration.

In this article, we will discuss all the current methods of transferring contacts, taking into account the features of the firmware EMUI (Huawei) and MIUI (Xiaomi), including bypassing restrictions for devices without Google Mobile Services (GMS), you will learn how to save not only numbers, but also additional information – email, birthdays, photos of contacts and tied accounts.

Important: If you’re using Huawei with HarmonyOS (like the Mate 50 or P60), some methods may require additional steps – we’ll mark them separately. For Xiaomi owners on HyperOS (like the Xiaomi 14 or Redmi Note 13), the instructions are also tailored.

Method 1: Transferring contacts through a Google account (for GMS devices)

This is the most reliable way if your Huawei supports Google services (released before May 2019 or has root access with GMS installed). Synchronization through Google Contacts ensures that all data is safe and easy to transfer to any Xiaomi, even without additional applications.

Instructions:

• 📱 On Huawei go to Settings → Accounts. → Google and make sure that your contacts sync is enabled. If you don't, activate it and wait until it's done.
• ☁️ Go to your computer or other device at Google Contacts and check if all records have been displayed. If necessary, export a backup in.vcf format.
• 🔄 On Xiaomi, add the same Google account to Settings → Accounts and enable contact synchronization. Data will appear in the phone book automatically.

⚠️ Note: If your Huawei is running on HarmonyOS 3.0+ without GMS, This method will not work. In this case, use the alternative methods below.

Method 2: Export contacts to VCF file (universal method)

The.vcf (vCard) format is a standard for storing contacts that all modern smartphones support, which works even on Huawei without Google, but requires manual file transfer to Xiaomi.

Step-by-step:

1. On Huawei, open the Contacts app, click on three dots (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Contact Management → Imports/Exports → Export to file.
2. Select a storage location (internal memory or storage). SD-map) and confirm export. The file is usually called contacts.vcf.
3. Transfer the file to Xiaomi in any convenient way: 📎 Bluetooth (slowly but without internet) 🖥️ Cable. USB-C file transfer mode ☁️ Through the Cloud (Yandex.Disk, Mail.ru)

Xiaomi

contacts.vcf

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If the.vcf file does not open on Xiaomi, install the Google Contacts app from the Play Market and import through it.

⚠️ Note: Some Huawei models (e.g., Mate Xs 2) may be exported with multiple.vcf files – check the folder for duplicates so you don’t lose some contacts.

Method 3: Transfer through SIM-Card (for a small number of contacts)

This is a good way to do it if you have fewer than 200 contacts and you don't have access to the Internet: SIM-The card only stores the basic data (name) + number), without photos, email and additional fields.

How to move:

• 📇 On Huawei, open contacts → Settings (⋮) → Imports/Exports → Exports to SIM-Select contacts for export (all possible) and confirm.
• 🔄 Extract. SIM-Map and paste it into Xiaomi.
• 📱 On Xiaomi go to Contacts → Settings (⋮) → Imports/Exports → Import with SIM-maps and select your target account (such as Mi Cloud or local storage).

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi (e.g. Redmi 12) import from the SIM You may not work because of firmware limitations. In that case, use Mi Mover.

Method 4: Using Mi Mover (Official Xiaomi App)

Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary tool for transferring data from other Android devices, including Huawei, and it copies not only contacts, but also SMS, photos, videos, and even some settings.

• 🔌 Both phones must be charged at least 50 times%.
• 📶 Connecting to a single Wi-Fi network (or creating an access point on Xiaomi).
• 📦 Xiaomi should have enough free space (contacts take up little, but with other data may be required). 1-5 GB).

Instructions:

1. Install the Mi Mover on both devices: Xiaomi preinstalled it (search). On Huawei, download APK from APKCombo (official source).

Xiaomi

"I'm the new phone."

Huawei

"I'm an old phone."

Xiaomi

Huawei

"Contacts"

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Mi Mover is the only official way to transfer contacts along with call history and SMS. However, it may not work on Huawei with HarmonyOS 4.0+ due to changes in data protocols.

Method 5: Third-party applications (for complex cases)

If standard methods don’t work (for example, on the Huawei Mate 60 with HarmonyOS or Xiaomi 14 Ultra with HyperOS), use specialized applications. We tested 3 reliable options:

⚠️ Note: When using CLONEit on Huawei with HarmonyOS, you may need to enable developer mode and allow debugging USB (Settings → The phone. → Assembly number (press 7 times) → For developers → Debugging by USB).

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even when following instructions, users face problems, and here are the most common mistakes and solutions:

• 🚫 Contacts are duplicated on Xiaomi: Reason: Sync is enabled simultaneously in Google and Mi Cloud.Solution: Disable sync in one of the accounts (Settings) → Accounts. → Select an account → Synchronization of contacts).
• 🔄 Not all contacts were transferred: Reason: Export to.vcf or through SIM Solution: Check the contacts.vcf file on Huawei - if it weighs less than 100 KB, the export is not completed.
• 📵 Mi Mover doesn't see Huawei: Reason: Huawei has power saving mode enabled for Wi-Fi. Solution: Turn off battery optimization for Mi Mover (Settings) → Annexes → Mi Mover → Battery → No restrictions).

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If after the transfer to Xiaomi lost photos of contacts, check the settings of the application “Contacts”: Settings → Display contacts → Show photos.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions