How to Shift Everything From One Xiaomi Phone to Another: The Complete 2026 Guide

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment: how to save all the important data, settings and familiar interface? Many users lose hours manually transferring files, unaware that the process can be automated in 10-15 minutes. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways of migration, from proprietary MIUI tools to universal solutions that work even on older models.

The Xiaomi ecosystem is very different, because the brand offers multiple built-in synchronization mechanisms, but not all of them are equally effective: for example, a transfer through Mi Account may not save SMS, and Bluetooth transmission is delayed for hours with large amounts of data. We tested each method on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+, POCO X5 Pro and Xiaomi 13T models to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Importantly, if you are switching from an Android device from another brand (such as Samsung or Huawei), some of the features may be limited, and this instruction is optimized for transfer between Xiaomi phones, so you are guaranteed to save even specific settings like the themes of the design or control gestures.

Before you start, check:

• 🔋 Charge of both phones above 50% (process can take up to 1 hour)
• 📶 Stable Internet connection (for cloud-based methods)
• 📱 Both devices are working MIUI 12 and above (for uninterrupted synchronization)

1. Official method: Mi Mover (built-in application)

Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary migration tool, which is installed by default on all modern models. It copies not only files, but also system settings, eliminating the need to configure a new phone from scratch.

How it works:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Data Transfer (Mi Mover).
2. On the new phone, run the same sequence, but select "I am a new user."
3. Scan the scanner on the new device QR-code that will appear on the old.
4. Select data types to transfer (contacts, messages, photos, apps) and confirm the start of the process.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔄 Stores system settings (wallpaper, sounds, gestures)
• 📱 It works without a computer or additional programs.
• 🔒 Encrypts data during transmission

⚠️ Warning: If the new phone already has data, Mi Mover will prompt you to erase it before transferring!

Mi Mover does not carry Wi-Fi passwords and some application data (such as WhatsApp call history) and will require separate backups.

Update. MIUI on both phones until the latest version|Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network|Close all background applications|Turn it off. VPN and proxy servers-->

2.Move over Mi Account (Xiaomi Cloud)

If you have a Mi Account, you can sync data over the cloud, which is convenient when the phones are in different places or you don't have physical access to the old device.

Instructions:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn on synchronization for the desired categories (contacts, notes, photos).
3. On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account and wait for the automatic download.

Limitations of the method:

• 🚫 Not tolerated: SMS, call log, application settings
• 📁 The cloud provides only 5 GB for free (for photos and videos, this is not enough)
• ⏳ Synchronization can take hours with a large amount of data

💡

Before using Mi Cloud, clear unnecessary files from your old phone – this will speed up sync and save you cloud space.

3.Fast transfer via OTG cable

If you don't have time to cloud sync and you have more than 10GB of data, OTG cable is the best solution, and it works 3-5 times faster than Bluetooth and doesn't require an Internet connection.

What you need:

• 🔌 OTG-adapter (or cable) USB-C → USB-C new-model)
• 📱 Both phones with support OTG (Check in the settings → Connected devices)

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your new one OTG-cable.
2. A notification will appear on the new device "USB-Device connected. Select "Transfer files".
3. In the Explorer (Files), open the folder of the old phone and copy the necessary data to the memory of the new one.

Transmission speed:

• 📁 10 GB — ~15-20 minute
• 📁 50 GB — ~1,5-2 hour

⚠️ Note: Not all Xiaomi models support host mode OTG. If the new phone doesn’t recognize the old one as a drive, try changing their roles: OTG to the old device and copy the data to the flash drive, and then to the new phone.

4.Move over Google Account (alternative to non-Xiaomi data)

If you only need to transfer contacts, calendar and email, as well as data from some applications (such as Google Photos or Chrome), you can use sync through Google Account. This method is universal and works on any Android device.

How to set up:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Accounts → Google.
2. Turn on synchronization for the desired categories.
3. Add the same Google account on your new phone and wait for the sync to complete.

What's transferable:

• 📇 Contacts (including groups and tags)
• 📅 Calendar and reminders
• 🌐 Bookmarks and Chrome history
• 📷 Photos (if Autoboot is enabled in Google Photos)

Limitations:

• 🚫 Not tolerated: SMS, call log, system settings
• 📁 Google Photos Free Cloud Compresses Images Over 16 MP

💡

Google Account is the best choice for moving contacts and email, but is useless for system settings and SMS. Combine it with other methods for a full migration.

5. Manual transfer via computer (for full control)

If you need to selectively transfer files or save backups to your hard drive, use your computer as an intermediary, a method that takes longer, but gives you complete control over the process.

Equipment required:

• 💻 Computer with Windows, macOS or Linux
• 🔌 Two. USB-cables (preferably original)
• 📁 Free space on the PC (recommended) ≥30GB)

Instructions:

1. Connect your old phone to your computer in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Copy all the necessary folders (DCIM for photos, Download for downloads, etc.) to the hard drive.
3. Disable the old phone, connect the new one and transfer the files back.
4. To transfer SMS and call logs, use applications like SMS Backup & Restore.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔍 Complete control over what is copied and where
• 📁 Ability to create an archived copy on PC
• 🛠️ It works even with damaged or locked phones (when the bootloader is unlocked)

⚠️ Note: When you copy an Android folder (with application data) to a new phone, access rights may get lost, which will lead to errors in some programs. ADB For backup: adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab

6. Transfer applications and their data (without loss of progress)

Conventional transfer methods like Mi Mover or Google Account only copy lists of installed applications, but do not store data inside them, for example, in games you have to start from scratch, and in messengers the history of correspondence will not be restored. To avoid this, use specialized tools.

Methods of transferring data applications:

• 🎮 For games: Enable sync via Google Play Games or Mi Game Center (not available for all games).
• 💬 For messengers: WhatsApp: Backup in Settings → chat → Backup (save to Google Drive). Telegram: Cloud sync enabled by default. Viber: Backup to Settings → Account. → Backup copy.
• 📱 For all applications: Use Titanium Backup (requires root) or Swift Backup (works on some firmware without root).

Example of WhatsApp portability:

1. On an old phone, back up to Settings → Chat → Backup → Create a copy.
2. Install WhatsApp on your new phone and sign in to the same account.
3. When they suggest restoring the story, confirm the action.

💡

If a game or app doesn’t support cloud backup, try manually copying /Android/obb/ and /Android/data/ to a new phone, which will work for most offline games.

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

Even when following instructions, users face problems, and here are the most common ones and ways to fix them:

Problem 1: Mi Mover doesn’t see the old device.

• 🔹 Check that both phones are connected to the same Wi-Fi network (not mobile data!).
• 🔹 Turn it off. VPN AdGuard – they can block the connection.
• 🔹 Reboot both devices and try again.

Problem 2: When transferred over OTG, the phone is not recognized as a drive.

• 🔹 Try another cable – unoriginal cables often don’t support data transfers.
• 🔹 Enable Developer Mode and activate Debugging by USB.
• 🔹 On some models, you need to manually select the mode of File Transfer in the notification curtain.

Problem 3: After the transfer, the photos are lost or they do not open.

• 🔹 Check if the folders have been copied DCIM and Pictures in full.
• 🔹 If photos are “broken”, try to open them through Google Photos – sometimes it helps to recreate thumbnails.
• 🔹 New Xiaomi phones may work content protection. Go to Settings → Annexes → Permits → Manage files and give access to the application "Gallery".

Problem 4: SMS or call logs are not transferred.

• 🔹 Use specialized applications: SMS Backup & Restore or Super Backup.
• 🔹 For MIUI There is a hidden function: export SMS to.xml file via Settings → Annexes → SMS → Export (not available on all firmware).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions