Moving from Honor to Xiaomi is not just about changing the brand, it’s also about migrating all the data you’ve accumulated, from contacts and messages to photos, videos, and even app settings, which many users fear is difficult or risky, but in practice, it’s much easier if you know the proven methods.
In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to migrate data, from standard Xiaomi tools to universal cloud services and manual methods. You will learn how to avoid file loss, why some data may not be transferred, and what to do if Mi Mover (the official migration application) refuses to work. And also a unique life hack for transferring passwords from Wi-Fi without manual input, which few people know about.
1.Official way: Mi Mover app from Xiaomi
Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary tool for painlessly transferring data from Android devices (including Honor), which supports contact, message, photo, video, audio, calendars, and even some app settings, with the main advantage of not requiring root rights and running on most models.
To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:
- 📱 Install the Mi Mover app on both phones: download it from Google Play for Honor and find it in Settings → The phone. → Data migration to Xiaomi.
- 🔗 Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network (or create an access point on Xiaomi).
- 🔄 On Honor, select the role "Sender", on Xiaomi - "Receiver". Scan. QR-code from the Xiaomi screen on Honor.
- 📁 Select data types for transfer (contacts, SMS, multimedia, etc.) and confirm the beginning of transfer.
It can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes depending on the amount of data you have, and it's important that you don't interrupt the connection or block the screens of your devices, and if you're going to freeze 99%, try restarting the app on both phones.
2.Move over Google Account: Universal Method
If Mi Mover doesn’t work for some reason (for example, because of an outdated version of Android on Honor), the most reliable way is to sync through a Google account, which is suitable for transferring contacts, calendars, notes, mail and some applications.
Instructions:
- On Honor, go to Settings → Accounts → Google and make sure that sync is enabled for the data you need (contacts, calendar, etc.).
- On Xiaomi, add the same Google account to Settings → Accounts and Sync.
- Wait for automatic synchronization (can take up to 10 minutes).
To transfer photos and videos, use Google Photos:
- 📸 On Honor, install the Google Photos app and enable autoload in the settings.
- 🖼️ Wait for all media files to be uploaded to the cloud.
- 📱 On Xiaomi, log in to the same Google Photos account and download files to your device.
💡
If you have a slow Internet connection, before syncing through Google Photos, enable the option “Download only over Wi-Fi” in the application settings to avoid spending mobile traffic.
Method limitations: SMS, call logs, and app settings are not portable through a Google account, and you have to use other methods to do so.
3. Computer Transfer: For Large Data
If you have hundreds of gigabytes of photos, videos or music files, the fastest way is to manually transfer over a PC, which is also useful if Honor has little free space for temporary files that are created in cloud sync.
You'll need:
- 💻 Computer with Windows, macOS or Linux.
- 🔌 USB-cables for both phones (preferably original).
- 📂 Enough free space on the hard drive (at least 50 GB is recommended).
Step-by-step:
- Connect Honor to your computer and select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
- Copy all the folders you need (DCIM for photos, Downloads for downloads, etc.) to your computer.
- Disable Honor, connect Xiaomi and transfer files to the appropriate folders.
Create a backup of data on Honor
Check the free space on the computer
Use the original ones USB-cable
Disable screen lock on both phones-->
Advantages of the method: full control over the transferred files, no limits on the scope, the ability to selectively copy. Disadvantages: it takes time and a computer, does not tolerate SMS / contacts / applications.
4. Transfer of SMS, call logs and applications
Standard methods (such as Mi Mover or Google accounts) don’t always correctly transfer SMS, call logs, and application data.
For SMS and call logs:
- 📲 Use the app. SMS Backup & Restore: Install it on Honor, back up and save the file to Google Drive or computer. Install the same app on Xiaomi, download backup and restore data.
SMS Sync
For these annexes:
- 🎮 If you need to move save games, use built-in cloud-saving features (e.g. Google Play Games or accounts in the game itself).
- 📱 To transfer data messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) use their built-in backup functions: WhatsApp: Settings → chat → Backup (save to Google Drive) In Telegram: data synced automatically through the cloud. How to transfer passwords from Wi-Fi? On Android, Wi-Fi passwords are stored in a file wpa_supplicant.conf, But it requires root rights: 1. On Honor, install the WiFi Password Viewer app (requires root or Android) 10 below). 2. Copy the list of networks and passwords manually or export to a file. 3. On Xiaomi, connect manually. Attention! Some applications (e.g. banking) may block access when migrating to a new device. 5. Mi Cloud Transfer: Xiaomi Mi Cloud Owners Alternative is a cloud storage from Xiaomi that allows you to back up data and restore it to new devices. This method is suitable if you have already used Xiaomi smartphones before or are ready to register a new account. How to transfer data through Mi Cloud: On Honor, install the Mi Cloud app and log in to an account (or create a new one). Enable backup in Settings → Mi Cloud → Backup and wait for the process to be completed. On Xiaomi, log in to the same Mi Cloud account and restore data from the backup in Settings → Mi Cloud → Recover. Notes Contacts ✅ Yes synchronized with the Mi-account SMS and MMS ✅ Yes, only with a full backup of Photos and Videos ✅ Yes Limitation – 5GB free Applications and their data ⚠️ Not all applications are supported by system settings ✅ Yes Including wallpaper, sounds, shortcuts Note: the free Mi Cloud tariff only provides 5 GB of space. If you have more data, you'll either have to clear the cloud or buy extra space. 6. Even when following instructions, users often encounter difficulties. Here are the most common problems and ways to solve them: 1. Mi Mover does not find the device. 🔌 Check that both phones are connected to the same Wi-Fi network (not mobile data!). 📶 Turn it off. VPN or proxy on both devices. 🔄 Restart the Mi Mover app on both phones. 📱 Make sure that Xiaomi has “Recipient” mode enabled (Settings) → The phone. → Data migration). 2. Photos or videos are not transferred 📁 Check if there is enough space on Xiaomi to receive files. 🚫 Remove the Mi Mover app cache on both devices and try again. 💾 If files are corrupted, try transferring them via your computer or Google Photos. 3 SMS or duplicate contacts 🔍 Before transferring, clear duplicates to Honor with apps like Duplicate Contacts. 📵 After the transfer, turn off sync contacts with Google for 10 minutes, then turn it on again. 💡If neither method worked, try resetting the network settings on both phones (Settings). → System system → Reset → Resetting network settings. This often solves connection problems in Mi Mover. 4. Applications are not restored from backup ⚠️ Note: Some applications (especially banking or with DRM-They're not backed up, they're going to have to be manually installed from Google Play and logged in again. FAQ: Can you transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi without a computer: 📱 Mi Mover (Official Xiaomi App). ☁️ Google account (for contacts, calendars, photos via Google Photos). 🌐 Mi Cloud (cloud from Xiaomi, but requires registration) The computer is only needed to manually transfer large volumes of files (for example, tens of gigabytes of video). Why does Mi Mover freeze at 99% and does not complete the transfer? This is a common problem associated with the transfer of the computer: 📶 Unstable Wi-Fi connection (try connecting to another network). 📱 Memory overload on Xiaomi (free up space). 🔄 Mi Mover version conflict (update the app on both phones) Solution: restart the app on both devices. If it doesn't work, use an alternative method (e.g. Google Photos) + SMS Backup & Restore. How to transfer Wi-Fi passwords from Honor to Xiaomi? Without root rights, it's hard to do, but there's a workaround: On Honor, connect to all the networks you need. Create a Wi-Fi hotspot on Honor and connect Xiaomi to it. On Xiaomi, open a list of saved networks (Settings) → Wi-Fi: Some networks can be displayed automatically, if it doesn't work, you'll have to enter passwords manually or use specialized applications (root required), and whether data from applications (like games or instant messengers) will migrate)? It depends on the app: 🎮 Games: Most modern games (for example, PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact synchronize progress through Google Play accounts, Facebook or their own servers. After installing the game on Xiaomi, you just need to log into the same account. 💬 Messengers: WhatsApp: transferred via backup to Google Drive. Telegram: synced automatically through the cloud. Viber: backup in account settings. 📊 Other Annexes: if the application has a data export/import function (e.g, 1Password, Evernote, use it. Otherwise, you'll have to manually transfer data. Can you transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi over Bluetooth? Technically, but it's extremely inconvenient: 🐢 Transmission speed is very low (about 1-2 MB / s). 📁 You can only send individual files, not folders. 🚫 No contacts, SMS or application settings are transferred. Recommendation: use Bluetooth only to transfer 1-2 files. For full data transfer, choose another method.