How to Transfer All Data from the Old Xiaomi to the New: The Complete 2026 Guide

Introduction: why and how to transfer data between Xiaomi smartphones

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but transferring data from an old device can become a real headache if approached unprepared. Many users lose contacts, photos or settings simply because they trust automated systems without first checking. Meanwhile, Xiaomi has several built-in tools that make it easier to migrate data — from the proprietary Mi Mover app to the Mi Cloud and Google Drive cloud services.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to transfer data between Xiaomi devices, including new models from 2023 to 2026 (for example, Xiaomi 14, Redmi Note 13 Pro+, POCO F6). You will learn which method is the fastest, which stores the most information, and how to avoid errors that cause users to lose chats on WhatsApp or progress in games.

1.Official method: Mi Mover - fast and lossless

Mi Mover is a proprietary tool from Xiaomi, which is designed specifically for data migration between the brand’s devices. It is pre-installed on all new Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones, and supports transferring almost everything from contacts and messages to call history and Wi-Fi settings. The main advantage is that you do not need Internet (data is transmitted over a local Wi-Fi Direct network).

To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:

• 📱 Open Mi Mover on your old smartphone (if you don’t have one, download it from Google Play).
• 🆕 On the new device, launch the app during initial setup (or find it in the Settings menu). → Additionally).
• 🔄 Select a role: on the old phone, click “I am the sender”, on the new one – “I am the recipient».
• 📶 Connect to a single Wi-Fi network or use Wi-Fi Direct (automatically generated password will appear on the screen of the new phone).
• ✅ Select data to transfer (contacts, messages, photos, apps) and confirm the start of the process.

Battery charge for both phones >50%

Disable VPNs and Firewalls

Make sure there is enough memory on your new phone

Do not interrupt the process until it is completed-->

The speed of the transfer depends on the amount of data: for example, 10 GB of photos and videos are transferred in about 15-20 minutes. Importantly, if the new smartphone already has data, Mi Mover will suggest replacing or combining it. Choose the second one so you do not lose fresh files.

⚠️ Note: If you have an old phone MIUI 12 and below, and on the new one — MIUI 14+, Some settings (such as design themes) may not be moved due to changes in the system architecture.

2. Cloud Transfer via Mi Cloud: Reliable but with limitations

Mi Cloud is a cloud storage from Xiaomi that is integrated into the MIUI ecosystem, which allows you to back up your old phone and restore it to a new one, and the main advantage of the method is that you don't need to connect devices to each other, a fairly stable Internet, but there are also disadvantages: only 5 GB is available for free (for photos in original quality, this is not enough), and some data (for example, Wi-Fi passwords) are not backed up.

Instructions for transfer via Mi Cloud:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn on synchronization for the desired categories (contacts, notes, photos, call recordings).
3. Click Backup and create a new copy (the process will take 10 minutes to an hour depending on the volume).
4. On the new phone, log in to the same Xiaomi account and restore data from the backup to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Recovery.

If you have a lot of photos, we recommend you upload them to Google Photos in original quality before backing up (free until June 2026 for Pixel owners, for the rest - compression after 15 GB). Alternatively, you should temporarily buy additional space in the Mi Cloud (from 100 GB for ~ 300 rubles per year).

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Before recovering from Mi Cloud, disable two-factor authentication in your Xiaomi account for 10 minutes, which will speed up the sign-in process on your new device.

3.Move over Google Account: Universal, but not for everything

If you used Google on the old Xiaomi, most of the data is already synced to the cloud, a method that is suitable for transferring contacts, calendars, email, Google Keep notes and parts of apps, but photos, messages and MIUI settings are not portable through Google.

How to recover data via Google:

• 🔑 On the new phone, when you first turn on, select “Copy Data” and log in to the same Google account.
• 📱 Select a backup from your old device (if any).
• ☁️ Wait for the synchronization to be completed (may take up to 30 minutes).

Note that apps will recover, but their data (such as game progress or settings) will only be restored if they support cloud sync. Messengers (WhatsApp, Viber) will require separate backups.

⚠️ Note: If your old phone had Google Autosynchronization enabled, but you haven’t checked your settings in a while, some data may not have been updated. → Accounts. → Google and make sure all categories (contacts, calendar) are ticked.

4. OTG Cable Transfer: For Large Volumes Without Internet

If you have a lot of data (e.g. 50+GB of photos and videos) and the internet is slow or expensive, you can use an OTG cable (or USB-C to USB-C adapter) to transfer files directly. This method does not require a network connection, but takes longer than the Mi Mover.

Step-by-step:

1. Buy an OTG cable with a USB-C connector (for new Xiaomi models) or an adapter if you have an old Micro-USB phone.
2. Connect the old phone to the new one via cable. The new device will be notified «USB-plug-in».
3. Click on the notification and select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
4. Open Explorer on your new phone, find the Internal Storage folder of the old device and copy the necessary files (photo in DCIM, video in Movies, music in Music).

Advantages of the method: full control over which files to copy, and there are no limits on the scope. Disadvantages: applications, settings and system data (only media files and documents) are not portable. Also, some folders (for example, with data messengers) can be hidden, they will require root access or a file manager with superuser rights to copy them.

5. Manual transfer: for advanced users

If you need to migrate specific data (like saving games, settings for apps, or files with root access), you have to use manual methods. This is the most time-consuming way, but it gives you maximum control over the process.

What can be transferred manually:

• 🎮 Save Games: Copy folders /Android/obb/ and /Android/data/ (need root or ADB).
• 💬 WhatsApp chats: backup to the /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases (file msgstore.db.crypt14).
• 📁 Application settings: export through ADB (adb backup -apk -all -f backup.ab).
• 🔐 Wi-Fi passwords: file /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml (root-only).

To work with ADB, you will need a computer and installed Xiaomi drivers.

adb devices # Checking the connection


adb backup -apk -all -f backup.ab # Backup of all applications




adb restore backup.ab # Restore on the new phone

⚠️ Note: Manual transfer of system files (e.g, WifiConfigStore.xml) This can cause the network to be unstable on the new phone if the models are using different versions. MIUI Or chipsets. Before you experiment, back up your entire computer. TWRP.

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To port these games and applications with root access, use Titanium Backup or Swift Backup – they allow you to selectively save and restore applications along with their data.

Comparison of methods: which one to choose?

Each way of transferring data has its pros and cons. To choose the best one, focus on the amount of data, the availability of the Internet and the types of files that need to be transferred.

Our advice:

• 🔄 For most users, the Mi Mover is optimal - it combines speed and completeness of the transfer.
• ☁️ If you have a lot of photos, combine Mi Cloud (for contacts) and Google Photos (for media).
• 🎮 For gamers or users with root, manual transfer through ADB Titanium Backup.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions