How to transfer data from one Xiaomi phone to another: the complete guide

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but data porting often becomes a headache. Contacts, photos, messages, apps, and even screen settings all need to be saved to keep from starting from scratch. Fortunately, Xiaomi has a few built-in tools that make it easier to migrate, but not everyone knows how to use them properly.

In this article, we’ll look at 7 working ways to transfer data between Xiaomi phones (including Redmi, POCO and Mi models), from standard features to little-known life hacks. You’ll learn how to transfer not only media files, but also SMS, call log, application data and even MIUI settings.

Important: If you are switching from another brand’s Android (such as Samsung or Huawei), some of the methods in this article will also work, but it’s best to read our cross-platform migration guide further.

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

Mi Mover is a Xiaomi-branded tool that automatically installs on all smartphones with MIUI 9 and later. It allows you to transfer almost all data over Wi-Fi Direct without using a cable or cloud.

How it works:

• 📱 On your old phone: Open Settings → The phone. → Data Transfer (Mi Mover).
• 🆕 On a new phone: when you first turn on, select Data Portability or find Mi Mover in the settings.
• 🔄 Pair: Click "I am the sender" on the old phone and "I am the receiver" on the new one, then scan. QR-code.
• 📤 Data selection: tick what you want to transfer (contacts, messages, photos, applications).

⚠️ Note: If the new phone already has a Mi Account, log out of it in the settings before transferring. Otherwise, Mi Mover may block some of the functions due to a synchronization conflict.

Battery charge >50% on both phones|Both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network (or use an access point)|There is plenty of free space on the new phone.|Disabled. VPN firewalls-->

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If the Mi Mover is stuck in the connection phase, restart both phones and try again. Role change often helps: make the new phone the sender and the old one the recipient.

The speed of the transfer depends on the amount of data:

2.Move over Mi Account (Xiaomi Cloud)

If you have a Mi Account, you can sync data over the cloud, which is convenient when phones are in different places or you don't have access to Wi-Fi Direct. But Xiaomi's cloud has a 5GB limit for free accounts, so you have to use other ways to do big data.

Step-by-step:

1. On an old phone: 🔧 Go to Settings. → Accounts. → Mi Account → Synchronization. 🔄 Enable synchronization for Contacts, Notes, Call Log and Photos (if necessary). ☁️ Wait until the download is complete (progress is displayed in the same menu).

new phone

• 📱 Sign in to the same Mi Account when you first enable or through settings.
• 🔄 Enable synchronization of the same data.
• ⏳ Wait for the download to be completed (may take minutes to an hour).

⚠️ Note: If you use two-factor authentication in Mi Account, check before perenosom that you have access to a backup email or phone.

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ No need to physically connect your phone.
• ✅ Data is available on any device with Mi Account.
• ✅ Automatic update when changing data on one of the devices.

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Limitation on the volume (5 GB for a free account).
• ❌ Not all types of data are supported.
• ❌ Requires a stable Internet connection.

3. Use of Google Account (universal method)

If you prefer Google Ecosystem, you can transfer data through Google Account, which works on any Android device, including Xiaomi, and allows you to sync:

• 📇 Contacts
• 📅 Calendar
• 📝 Notes (via Google Keep)
• 📷 Photos and videos (via Google Photos)
• 🎮 Data from some games (via Google Play Games)

Instructions:

1. On an old phone: 🔧 Go to Settings. → Accounts. → Google → Synchronization of the account. 🔄 Enable synchronization for the desired categories. ☁️ Wait for the download to be completed (you can check in Settings) → Google → Google services → Backup).

new phone

• 📱 Sign in to the same Google Account when setting up or through the account menu.
• 🔄 Turn on the sync.
• 📲 Install apps from Google Play – many of them will automatically recover data (like WhatsApp or Telegram).

⚠️ Note: If you use Google Photos to transfer media files, check your quality settings. By default, photos are uploaded in High Quality (compressed) rather than in Original Quality (lossless). To transfer photos without compression, change the settings in the Google Photo app:

Google Photos → Settings → Backup and Synchronization → Download quality → Original

Mi Mover (Wi-Fi Direct)|Mi Account (Xiaomi Cloud)|Google Account|Cable OTG/computer|Another way.-->

4. Transfer via OTG cable or computer

If you don't have access to Wi-Fi or cloud services, you can use a physical connection via an OTG cable or a computer, which is suitable for carrying large amounts of data (tens of gigabytes) and guarantees 100% file security without compression.

Option 1: OTG cable (direct connection)

You'll need it. OTG-adapter (or cable) USB-C to USB-C, If both phones have type C).

• 🔌 Connect your old phone to your new one OTG.
• 📁 On the new phone, select File Transfer Mode (may be called File Transfer Mode). MTP or File Manager).
• 📂 Open Explorer on your new phone and copy the folders you need (DCIM, Downloads, Pictures, etc.).

Option 2: Through a computer (Windows/Mac)

1. 🖥️ Connect your old phone to your computer through USB and select the File Transfer Mode.
2. 📂 Copy the data to your computer (for example, in a folder on your desktop).
3. 🔄 Disable the old phone, connect the new one and transfer the files back.

⚠️ Note: When copying through a computer, avoid paths with Cyrillic characters (e.g., Cyrillic characters, C:\My documents, some versions MIUI They may not display these files correctly. Use Latin or shortcuts like C:\Xiaomi_Backup\.

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Cable OTG — The most reliable way to transfer large files (video) 4K, RAW-Photos, backups of applications, but requires additional accessories.

5. Transfer of applications and their data

Standard methods (Mi Mover or cloud) carry only the list of installed applications, not their data. For example, WhatsApp will come empty chats, and in games you will have to start from scratch.

Method 1: Built-in MIUI backup

• 📱 On an old phone: Settings → System and device → Backup → Local backups.
• 💾 Select the Applications and their data, then click Create a backup.
• 📁 The backup file will be saved in the folder MIUI/backup/AllBackup.
• 🔄 Transfer this file to a new phone (via the OTG, cloud).
• 📲 On the new phone: Settings → System and device → Backup → Restore.

Method 2: Third-party applications (for specific services)

• 💬 WhatsApp: Use built-in backup in Google Drive (Settings) → chat → Backup copy).
• 🎮 Games: Check if the game supports sync via Google Play Games or Facebook.
• 🏦 Banking apps: most of them prohibit backups for security reasons.

⚠️ Attention: backups MIUI They may not recover from a new firmware version, such as a backup from the MIUI 12 may not open on MIUI 14.Pre-restore check compatibility in the official compatibility table.

6. Transfer of SMS and call log

Messages and call history are often lost when changing phones, but they can be saved:

Method 1: Through Mi Mover

If you use Mi Mover, simply tick "Messages" and "Call log" at the data selection stage, and these will be transferred in their original form, including attachments (photos, videos) to SMS/MMS.

Method 2: Export to file

For manual backup:

1. 📱 Install the app SMS Backup & Restore.
2. 💾 Create a backup copy (XML-file and save it to the cloud or computer.
3. 🔄 On a new phone, install the same app and restore data from the file.

Method 3: Through Google Account

If you use Google Messages (the app for the SMS Google's message automatically syncs with your account, and you just need to log in to the same account on your new phone and install Google Messages.

7. Transfer system settings and personalization

Screen settings, sound profiles, gestures, and other MIUI settings can be transferred through the backup of the themes:

1. 🎨 On an old phone: Settings → Topics → My subjects. → Exports.
2. 📁 The theme file will be saved in the folder MIUI/theme.
3. 🔄 Transfer it to a new phone and import it from the same menu.

To move other settings (such as Always On Display, Read Mode, or Camera Settings):

• 📝 Write them down manually (take pictures of screens with settings).
• 🔧 Restore manually on a new phone – many options depend on the model and version MIUI.

⚠️ Note: Fingerprint and Face Recognition settings cannot be transferred - they will have to be configured again on a new device.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even when using official tools, users are facing problems, and here are the most common ones:

If none of these methods worked, try alternative solutions:

• 🔧 Transfer through ADB (power-user).
• ☁️ Third-party cloud services: Dropbox, Yandex Drive or Mega.
• 📦 Physical Transfer Through SD-Card (if both phones support).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions