How to transfer contacts from one Xiaomi Redmi smartphone to another: all working ways

The transition to a new Xiaomi Redmi smartphone is always exciting, especially when it comes to preserving important data. Contacts accumulated over the years are not just phone numbers, but connections with loved ones, colleagues and partners. Losing them when moving to a new device is like losing a part of your social life. Fortunately, transferring contacts between Xiaomi smartphones can be done in several ways, and most of them take no more than 5-10 minutes.

In this article, we will discuss all the current methods – from classic synchronization through Mi Account to little-known tricks with exporting to.vcf. You will learn which method is the fastest, which is suitable for devices without the Internet, and how to avoid typical errors (for example, duplicate contacts or loss of profile photos).

Important: Instructions are valid for all Redmi models (including Redmi Note) 12/13, Redmi 10/11, Redmi K50/K60 and others, as well as other Xiaomi lines (POCO, The main thing is that both devices are installed MIUI 12 and newer (or HyperOS for fresh models).

1. Transfer contacts via Mi Account (the easiest way)

If both of your Xiaomi smartphones are tied to the same Mi Account, it takes 2-3 clicks to move contacts, which works automatically and does not require manual export/import.

1. On an old phone: 📱 Open the Contacts app. 🔄 Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → Settings → Import/Export of contacts. ☁️ Choose Synchronize with MI Cloud and turn on the slider if it is disabled. ✅ Wait for synchronization to complete (the cloud icon in the status bar should disappear).

On the new phone:

• 📱 Sign in to the same Mi Account when you first enable or through Settings → Accounts. → Mi Account.
• ☁️ Open Contacts. → three-point → Settings → Synchronization with MI Cloud.
• 🔄 Enable contact synchronization and wait for data to load.

The advantage of this method is that you don't have to connect the cables, the contacts are transferred along with profile photos and notes, and the disadvantage is that if the old phone has been disabled, the contacts may not be saved in the cloud.

Sign in to the same Mi Account on both phones|

Check your Internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data) |

Make sure your old phone has contact sync enabled |

Charge both devices at least 30% |

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⚠️ Note: If you are using HyperOS (on the new Redmi Note 13 or Xiaomi 14 models), the path to sync settings may be different: → Memory. → Backup → MI Cloud.

2. Export and import contacts via VCF file (universal method)

The.vcf (vCard) format is the standard way to store contacts that all smartphones, including iPhones and Android devices, support.

• 📵 You don't have access to your Mi Account;
• 🔄 You need to transfer contacts to a device of another brand;
• 📂 Want to keep a backup of your contacts on your computer.

Instructions:

1. Exports on old phone: Open Contacts → three-point → Settings → Import/Export. Select Export in file → Check all contacts (or select the ones you want) and click Export and save the file (usually called contacts.vcf) to Downloads or on the site. SD-map.

Transfer the file to a new phone:

• 📎 Use Bluetooth, email, Telegram or USB-file-transfer.
• 📲 On the new phone, open the contacts.vcf file (it will open in the Contacts app).
• ✅ Confirm the import.

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If the contacts.vcf file doesn’t open on a new phone, try renaming it contacts.vcf.txt and then removing the.txt extension. MIUI.

3. Sync through Google Account (for Android users)

If you use Google Contacts as your primary storage, it takes a couple of minutes to migrate to the new Xiaomi Redmi, a universal approach that works even when you switch from Samsung, Huawei or other brands.

Step-by-step:

• 📱 On your old phone, open Settings. → Accounts. → Google.
• ☑️ Make sure that the contact sync is enabled (the slider must be active).
• ☁️ Wait for sync to complete (check in Google Contacts via browser).
• 📲 On the new Xiaomi Redmi, add the same Google Account to Settings → Accounts.
• 🔄 Enable contact synchronization and wait for data to load.

Important: If your contacts were stored in the device’s memory instead of Google, you should first export them to your Google Account. Open Contacts → Settings → Import / Export → Export to Google.

MI Account|

Google Account|

File VCF|

SIM-map|

Another option-->

4. Transfer of contacts through SIM-card (if there is no internet)

The good old method of SIM-The card still works, although it has limitations: no more than 250-300 contacts are placed on the card (depending on the operator), and fields for additional information (for example, email or address) are often cut off, but this method does not require the Internet and is suitable for any phone, including buttons.

How to move:

1. 📱 On your old phone, open your contacts. → three-point → Settings → Imports/Exports.
2. 📇 Select Export on Export SIM-map → Make sure you have the right contacts (or all of them).
3. ✅ Confirm the export. Contacts will remain on SIM-map.
4. 🔄 Replace it. SIM-map to the new Xiaomi Redmi.
5. 📲 On the new phone, open contact → three-point → Settings → Import with SIM-map.

⚠️ Note: When exporting to SIM-The card is lost profile photos, notes and additional fields (for example, dates of birth.

5. Contacts over Bluetooth (without internet or cables)

If you do not have a cable on hand, or SIM-And the maps, and the Internet is off, Bluetooth is a lifeline, and it works between any Android device (including Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei), but it can take time to transfer a lot of contacts.

Instructions:

• 📱 On both phones, turn on Bluetooth (Settings) → Connections → Bluetooth).
• 🔗 Pair devices (click on the name of the new phone in the list of available and confirm the code).
• 📇 On your old phone, open Contacts, select the right ones (or click "Select all of them").
• 📤 Press "Share" → Choose Bluetooth → Select a new phone from the list.
• ✅ On the new phone, confirm the file acceptance and import contacts.

The transmission speed depends on the Bluetooth version:

• 🐢 Bluetooth 4.0 (Older Redmi models 4/5): ~10 minutely;
• 🚀 Bluetooth 5.0 (New Redmi Notes 12/13): before 50 minutely.

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Bluetooth is suitable for transferring a small number of contacts (up to 100-150). For large bases, it is better to use Mi Account or a VCF file.

6.Moving contacts from iPhone to Xiaomi Redmi (and vice versa)

Switching from iPhone to Xiaomi (or back) is often accompanied by data portability issues, and it is better to transfer contacts via iCloud or Google Account.

Method 1: Through iCloud (from iPhone to Xiaomi)

1. 📱 On iPhone, open Settings → [Your name] → iCloud and Enable Contacts.
2. 🌐 On your computer, go to iCloud.com, log in and export contacts to.vcf file.
3. 📎 Transfer the file to Xiaomi Redmi (via email, Telegram or cable) and import it.

Method 2: Through Google Account (from Xiaomi to iPhone)

• ☁️ On Xiaomi, export your contacts to Google Account (as described in Section 3).
• 📱 On iPhone, add the same Google Account to Settings → Passwords and accounts.
• 🔄 Turn on contact synchronization.

Method 3: Move to iOS app (new iPhone only)

If you’re setting up your iPhone from scratch, use Apple’s official Move to iOS app, which brings contacts, messages, and even photos from Android to iOS over direct Wi-Fi.

7. Problems in the transfer of contacts and their solutions

Even if you follow instructions correctly, you sometimes fail, and here are the most common problems and ways to fix them:

If nothing helps:

• 🔄 Reboot both phones.
• 📱 Update the Contacts app via Google Play.
• 🛠️ Reset the Contacts app settings (Settings) → Annexes → Contacts → Warehouse → Drop it).

8 How to keep a backup of contacts for the future

To keep your contacts in check the next time you switch to a new phone, backup your phone regularly.

• ☁️ MI Cloud: Enable automatic synchronization in Settings → Mi Account → MI Cloud → Contacts.
• ☁️ Google Contacts: Export your contacts to your Google Account and check them at contacts.google.com.
• 💾 Local Copy: Once a month, export contacts to a.vcf file and save it to a computer or flash drive.
• 📱 Backup apps: Use Super Backup or Contacts Backup to backup automatically.

Tip: If you change phones frequently, keep your contacts in two cloud services (e.g. MI Cloud and Google Contacts) to prevent data loss if one of your accounts crashes.

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Backup of contacts in VCF format can be opened even after 10 years – this format is supported by all modern OSes.

FAQ: Frequent questions about moving contacts to Xiaomi Redmi