How to Transfer Contacts from One Xiaomi Phone to Another: A Complete Guide

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting event, but the transfer of contacts can be a real headache if you do not know the nuances. MIUI They offer unique tools for data synchronization, but their effectiveness depends on the firmware version, phone model and even regional settings. POCO X5 They have different menu interfaces, and users of older versions have different menus. MIUI (14th may not find the usual options.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to transfer contacts between Xiaomi phones, from standard solutions through a Google account to little-known features like Mi Mover and export via vCard. We’ll focus on the problems that arise when you switch from Android 11 to Android 13, and explain why some contacts can disappear after synchronization. If you’ve already tried to transfer data and encountered an error like “failed to import contacts” – here you will find a solution.

Before you start the transfer, check two key things:

1. Both phones should have the same version. MIUI (or the difference is not greater than 1st version. MIUI 14.0.5 at MIUI 14.0.8. the transfer will go smoothly, and with MIUI 12 on MIUI 14 There may be conflicts.
2. Make sure your old phone has disabled battery optimization for Contacts and Mi Account apps (you can find the settings in Settings). → Battery → Optimizing the battery).

1. Transfer contacts via Mi Account (the most reliable way)

Mi Account sync is a proprietary solution from Xiaomi that works even without an internet connection (if the phones are nearby), and the main advantage of the method is to save all contact fields, including photos, notes and additional numbers. If you have not previously used Mi Account, you will have to create an account and wait for confirmation. SMS.

How it works:

• 📱 On your old phone, open Settings. → Mi Account and log in to your profile (or register). Make sure that the Contacts option is enabled in the Sync section.
• 🔄 Wait until synchronization is complete (the indicator will appear in the notification bar). 13T, Redmi Note 12 Pro+) The process takes 2-5 minutes, on the old (Redmi) 9A) — 15 minutes.
• 📱 On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account and enable contact sync. Data will appear automatically.

⚠️ Note: If the new phone already has contacts, they will overwrite the data from the Mi Account. To avoid losses, pre-export existing contacts to the.vcf file (instruction in section 4).

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ All contact fields are saved (including user tags like “Work” or “Home").
• ✅ It works without the Internet if the phones are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
• ✅ Automatically updates contacts when you change (for example, if you add a number on your old phone).

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Requires Mi Account (some users prefer to avoid brand attachment).
• ❌ On phones with custom firmware (such as Xiaomi.eu), synchronization can work unstable.

Sign in to Mi Account on your old phone

Enable contact synchronization

Connect a new phone to Wi-Fi

Sign in to the same Mi Account on a new phone

Wait for the synchronization to be completed-->

2. Transfer through Google Account (universal method)

If you use Google services, this is the easiest way to do this, and it's not just for Xiaomi phones, but also for other brands (e.g. Xiaomi on Samsung), but also for the old phone, which requires you to have a Google account linked to it with sync enabled.

Step-by-step:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings. → Google accounts → Sync your account and make sure the slider opposite Contact is active.
2. Click Sync Now (in some versions) MIUI This button is hidden – just wait 5-10 minutes).
3. On your new phone, add the same Google account to Settings → Accounts and enable contact synchronization.
4. Open the Contacts app and wait for all the records to appear (it can take up to 30 minutes).

Important: If the new phone does not show contacts, check if the sync in the battery settings is disabled. → Battery → Optimizing the battery → All apps and find Google Contacts – Set up No Limits.

Challenges and solutions:

💡

If you use two Google accounts (for example, personal and work), check which one is linked to before transferring. → Settings → Contact management and see which account is marked as the main one.

3.Move over Mi Mover (official Xiaomi app)

Mi Mover is a Xiaomi-branded app designed to transfer data between brand devices, allowing you to transfer not only contacts, but also photos, messages, apps and even system settings.

• ⚠️ It only works between phones. Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO.
• ⚠️ Requires physical cable connection (new models support Wi-Fi Direct).
• ⚠️ On Android 13 phones and MIUI 14 additional data transfer authorization may be required.

How to use Mi Mover:

1. Download the Mi Mover app from Google Play on both phones (it is preinstalled on the new models).
2. On the old phone, choose I am the sender, on the new phone, I am the receiver.
3. Connect your phones through the cable OTG (For older models, or Wi-Fi Direct for newer models, it'll appear on the screen. QR-Code - scan it from your new phone.
4. Select data to transfer (mark Contacts) and click Start.

⚠️ Warning: If the transfer is interrupted during the transfer phase, do not turn off the cable or close the application. Wait 2-3 minutes - Mi Mover will automatically resume the process. If this does not happen, restart the application on both phones.

Advantages of Mi Mover:

• 🔹 Transfers all types of data (including call history and SMS).
• 🔹 Keeps folder structure and contact tags.
• 🔹 It works even on phones with a broken screen (if the touchscreen is partially functional).

Disadvantages:

• 🔸 Slower than cloud synchronization (transferring 1000 contacts takes a lot of time) ~10 minutes).
• 🔸 On Android phones 12 and older, you may need to disable Data Protection in the developer settings.

4. Export and import contacts via vCard file (.vcf)

The.vcf (or vCard) method is a one-stop solution that works on any phone, including Xiaomi, and its main advantage is that you get a backup of contacts that you can store on your computer or flash drive. if non-standard fields were used in the contacts (for example, "Birthday" in the format) MIUI), They may not be displayed correctly after importation.

Export instructions:

1. Open the Contacts app on your old phone.
2. Press three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Contact Management → Imports/Exports → Export to file.
3. Choose where to save the file (e.g., Internal Memory → Download).
4. Confirm the export – the contact.vcf file will be created.

Instructions for importing a new phone:

1. Transfer the contacts.vcf file to your new phone (via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, or cable).
2. Open Contacts. → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Import from the file.
3. Select the contacts.vcf file and confirm the import.

If you have an error when importing "File corrupted", try:

• 🔧 Open a file on your computer via Microsoft Outlook or Google Contacts and re-export.
• 🔧 Break up a large.vcf file into parts (e.g. 500 contacts) using online services such as VCF Splitter.
• 🔧 Check the file encoding (should be) UTF-8).

💡

The vCard file (.vcf) is the only way to transfer contacts that works even without the Internet and does not require any account attachment, but it does not store your call history and messages.

5. Transfer through SIM-map (obsolete but working method)

way SIM-The card is considered outdated, but it is still relevant for owners of older Xiaomi models (for example, Redmi). 4X or Mi A1). The main minus — SIM-The card stores a limited number of contacts (usually up to 250) and does not support additional fields such as photos or notes.

How to transfer contacts:

1. On your old phone, open Contacts → Settings → Import / Export → Export to SIM.
2. Select contacts for export (or click Select All).
3. Confirm the export – contacts will remain in place SIM-map.
4. Move it. SIM-card.
5. On your new phone, go to Contacts → Settings → Import / Export → Import with SIM.

⚠️ Note: When exporting to SIM-The card phone numbers are saved without formatting. +7 (999) 123-45-67 may be displayed as 79991234567. Before transfer, check the correctness of the numbers manually.

Limitations of the method:

• 📵 Contact photos and additional fields are not transferred.
• 📵 Contact names may be cut off (for example, "Ivan Ivanov" becomes "Ivan Iv").
• 📵 On some Xiaomi models, for example, POCO F5) export option SIM missing.

If there is no slot on the new phone for the second SIM-card, use a microSD adapter or transfer contacts via Bluetooth:

1. On your old phone, export your contacts to SIM.
2. Put it in. SIM in the adapter and connect to the computer through the card reader.
3. Copy contacts to.vcf file using the program SIM Card Reader.
4. Transfer the file to a new phone and import through Contacts.

6. Bluetooth Transfer (for a small number of contacts)

Bluetooth contact transfer is suitable if you only need to transfer a few records, which does not require Internet access and works even on phones with damaged screens (if Voice Mode is on), but it is extremely inconvenient for a large number of contacts, transferring 100 records can take more than an hour.

Step-by-step:

1. On both phones, turn on Bluetooth and make them visible (in Bluetooth settings, activate Detectable).
2. On your old phone, open Contacts, select the entries you want (or click Select All).
3. Click Share (arrow icon) and select Bluetooth.
4. Select a new phone from the list of devices and confirm the transfer on both phones.

Tips for speeding up the process:

• 🚀 Transfer contacts in packs of 10-20 pieces – this reduces the risk of errors.
• 🚀 If Bluetooth is permanently disabled, check the battery settings: → Battery → Battery Optimization Disable Optimization for Bluetooth.
• 🚀 On the phones with MIUI 14 to speed up transfer, turn on High Speed Mode in Bluetooth settings.

If no contact is transmitted:

• 🔌 Make sure that both phones are power-saving.
• 🔌 Check if the transmission is blocked by an antivirus (e.g. Avast or 360 Security).
• 🔌 Try rebooting both phones - this resets the cache of the Bluetooth module.

7. Transfer through third-party applications (alternative solutions)

If standard methods don’t work (for example, due to custom firmware or a corrupted system), you can use third-party applications, which offer additional features like merging duplicates or backing up to the cloud, but beware: some applications (especially from unverified sources) can steal data.

Top.-3 tested applications:

How to use My Contacts Backup:

1. Download the app from Google Play.
2. Click Backup and you will create a contact.vcf file.
3. Send the file to your email or save it to Google Drive.
4. On the new phone, download the file and import through Contacts.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party apps, turn off autocomplete passwords in your browser. Some apps (such as Super Backup) request access to Notices – this is not necessary for work, please waive this permission.

8. Frequent errors and their solutions

Even when following instructions, users often encounter problems, and here are the most common errors and ways to correct them:

Error 1: “Contacts are not synced through Google”

• 🔹 Check if synchronization is included in Settings → Google accounts → Synchronization.
• 🔹 Delete your Google account and add it again.
• 🔹 Clear the cache of the Google Contacts app in Settings → Annexes.

Error 2: "Mi Mover is getting stuck at 0%"

• 🔹 Restart the app on both phones.
• 🔹 Turn it off. VPN and Energy saving regime.
• 🔹 If you use Wi-Fi Direct, try connecting via cable.

Error 3: "The.vcf file is not imported"

• 🔹 Check the file on your computer via Notepad++ — If it is empty, export your contacts again.
• 🔹 Try importing a file through Google Contacts on the web version.
• 🔹 If the file is too big, break it down into pieces.

Error 4: “Contacts are duplicated after transfer”

• 🔹 Use the built-in merge function in Contacts → Settings → Contact management → Combine the takes.
• 🔹 Remove duplicates manually or using the Duplicate Contacts app.

Error 5: I don't see the option of exporting SIM"

• 🔹 In some models (POCO X4, Redmi 10) option hidden. Try using the app SIM Contacts from Google Play.
• 🔹 Check if it's inserted. SIM-card to the first slot (on some phones, export works only with the main slot) SIM).

💡

If none of the methods worked, try resetting the Contacts app to factory settings. → Annexes → Contacts → Memory. → Reset. Pre-export contacts to.vcf!

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions