How to Transfer Contacts to Xiaomi on iPhone: A Complete Guide to 2026

Why is it difficult to move contacts between Xiaomi and iPhone?

The transition from Xiaomi (including Redmi and POCO models) to iPhone is not just a change of gadget, but a transition between two fundamentally different ecosystems: Android and iOS. The main problem is that these systems use different formats of contact storage and do not have built-in tools for direct synchronization.

Additional difficulties are created by:

• 🔒 Apple Data Protection – iOS restricts third-party apps from accessing contacts without explicit user permission.
• 📱 Different versions MIUI — on the old firmware Xiaomi (up to) MIUI (12) there may be no function of exporting to universal formats.
• 📶 Restrictions of operators - some SIM-Cards block the recording of contacts on the card (especially important for virtual operators).

In this article, we’ll look at 5 working ways to move contacts, including methods using cloud services, physical media and specialized applications. Each option is tested on current Xiaomi 14, Redmi Note 13 Pro and iPhone 15 models, but is suitable for older devices (starting with MIUI 10 and iOS 12).

Method 1: Transfer through a Google account (most reliable)

This method works if your contacts on Xiaomi are already synced with your Google account. If not, sync first:

1. Open the Contacts app on Xiaomi.
2. Tap on three points (⋮) → Settings → Contact management.
3. Select Import/Export Contacts → Sync with Google.
4. Sign in to your Google account (if not authorized) and wait for the sync to complete.

Now, let’s move the contacts to the iPhone:

1. On iPhone, go to Settings → Contacts → Accounts.
2. Click Add Add Accounts → Choose Google.
3. Enter the same account as Xiaomi.
4. Activate the Contacts switch and wait for synchronization (it can take up to 10 minutes).

Are your contacts synchronized with Google on Xiaomi?|Is there access to the same Google account on iPhone?|Internet connection is enabled on both devices?|Is there enough space in the iPhone memory for new contacts?-->

Advantages of the method:

• 🔄 Automatically update contacts on both devices when changing.
• 📁 All fields are saved: phones, email, addresses, birthdays.
• 🛡️ Data protected by Google backups.

⚠️ Note: If your iPhone already has contacts, they may be duplicated. Before syncing, back up via Settings. → [Your name] → iCloud → Backup copy.

Method 2: Export contacts to VCF file and import to iPhone

If you don’t want to use Google or have local contacts on Xiaomi, export them to a.vcf (vCard) file, which is a format that all modern smartphones support.

Step 1. Export to Xiaomi:

1. Open Contacts. → ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports.
2. Select Export to file (or Export to memory card).
3. Specify a folder to save (for example, Downloads) and confirm export.

Step 2. Transfer the file to the iPhone:

• 📎 Send the.vcf file to your email and open the letter on your iPhone → tap on → Add all contacts.
• ☁️ Through the Cloud: Upload the file to Google Drive/Dropbox, Open on iPhone and select Export to Contacts.
• 🔌 Connect Xiaomi to your computer, copy the file, then send it to your iPhone via AirDrop or iTunes.

If some contacts don't show up when you import them on your iPhone, check the encoding of the VCF file -- some Chinese Xiaomi models save it to UTF-16, which can cause errors. Corrected by saving the file through your computer in UTF-8 encoding.

Method 3: Use SIM-Cards (for small number of contacts)

This method is suitable if you have few contacts (up to 250) and no access to the Internet, but it has significant limitations:

• 🚫 No photos, emails and additional fields (names and phones only).
• 📵 SIM-Nano-SIM cards (used on iPhones) often don’t support recording contacts.
• ⏳ Manual and long process with a large number of records.

Instructions:

1. On Xiaomi: Contacts → ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Exports to SIM-Select your contacts and confirm.
2. Extract. SIM-Map from Xiaomi and paste it into your iPhone (use an adapter if you need different formats).
3. On iPhone: Settings → Contacts → Imports SIM-contact.

⚠️ Attention: If yours SIM-card from Tele2, Yota or SberMobil, check the support for contact recording – many virtual operators block this function.

💡

Before exporting to SIM, sort your contacts alphabetically to Xiaomi – this will make it easier to check the completeness of the port on the iPhone.

Method 4: Move to iOS (official solution from Apple)

Move to iOS is a free app from Apple designed to transfer data from Android to iPhone, and it copies not only contacts, but also messages, photos, email accounts and even some settings.

Important conditions:

• 📱 iPhone must be new or reset to factory settings (otherwise the transfer will not start).
• 🔋 Both devices must have at least 50% charge.
• 📶 Requires a stable Wi-Fi connection (the application creates a local network).

Step-by-step:

1. On iPhone, when you first turn on, select Set up manually → Transfer data from Android.
2. On Xiaomi, download Move to iOS from Google Play and open it.
3. On the iPhone will appear code of 6-10 digits – enter it on Xiaomi.
4. Select the data for transfer (be sure to check Contacts) and wait for completion.

Challenges and solutions:

• 🐢 Slow transfer: If the process is stalled in Preparation, restart Wi-Fi on both devices.
• ❌ Connection Error: Make sure that Xiaomi has Modem Modem disabled (Settings) → Access Point and modem).
• 🔄 Not all contacts moved: Check if the Move to iOS app has switched off from battery optimization (Settings) → Annexes → Special rights → Optimizing the battery).

Method 5: Sync through Xiaomi account (for Mi Account holders)

If you use Mi Account for backup, you can transfer contacts through export from the Xiaomi cloud, which is suitable for models with MIUI 12 and later.

Step 1. Export contacts from Mi Cloud:

1. On your computer, go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. Select Contacts → Management → Exports.
3. Download the contacts.vcf file.

Step 2. Import to iPhone:

• 📧 Send the file to the mail and open it on your iPhone (as in Method 2).
• ☁️ Upload the file to iCloud Drive via your browser on your computer, then open it on your iPhone.

Limitations of the method:

• 🔒 Identity verification is required through SMS when logging into Mi Account.
• 🌐 Mi Cloud is available in Chinese and English only.
• ⏳ Exports can take up to 30 minutes if contacts are more than 5,000.

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Syncing with Mi Account is the only way to transfer contacts from older Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi 4X or Mi A1), where there is no export to VCF.

What to do if the contacts are incorrectly transferred

Even if you successfully transfer, you can have problems, duplicates, missing photos, or miscoding names, and here's how to fix them:

Issue 1: Duplicate contacts

• On iPhone: Settings → Contacts → Accounts → Turn off sync with unnecessary accounts.
• Use the Contacts Cleanup app (App Store) to automatically combine duplicates.

Problem 2: Cracosabre instead of Cyrillic

• Export your contacts to Xiaomi in UTF-8 encoding (in export settings).
• If the problem persists, open the.vcf file in a text editor (like Notepad++) and resave with the correct encoding.

Problem 3: No contact photos

• Photos are not transferred via.vcf or SIM-Use Move to iOS or manually save photos via Google Photos.
• On the iPhone, you can add a photo later: open contact → Change → Add a photo.

⚠️ Note: If your WhatsApp or Telegram contacts are missing after transfer, don’t panic – these messengers store their databases separately. Reinstall the apps on your iPhone and log in: contacts will be automatically pulled up.

FAQ: Frequent questions about contact transfer