How to transfer numbers from SIM-Xiaomi phone cards: all ways 2026

The switch to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, especially when it comes to keeping your contacts safe. SIM-But today's devices offer much more convenient and secure ways to manage your contacts: sync with your Google account, backup to Mi Cloud, integration with messengers. How to transfer numbers from SIM to Xiaomi if you have been saving them on a small chip for years?

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven ways, from standard MIUI features to workarounds for old or custom SIM cards, how to avoid data loss, why some contacts may not be copied, and what to do if the phone doesn’t see a number on SIM, and a compatibility table for different Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models.

If your SIM card is released before 2010, it can only support 128-256 contacts with limited characters in the name. Modern nano-SIM from MTS, Beeline or MegaFon usually allows you to store up to 500 numbers, but even this seems archaic against the background of cloud storage, so moving contacts is not just copying, but a step towards more reliable management of your phone book.

1. Standard import through the “Contacts” to MIUI

The most obvious and quick way is to use the built-in import function in the Contacts app, which works on all Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 10 and later (including Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T, etc.).

Step instructions:

1. Open the Contacts app (a icon with a person's silhouette).
2. Tap it on three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Contact Management.
3. Go to the Import/Export Contacts section.
4. Select Import with SIM-map.
5. Check the necessary contacts (or click Allocate) and confirm the import.

⚠️ Note: If after importation, the contact names are displayed as +79XXXXXXXXX (Just numbers, check the encoding of the SIM card. Old Beeline cards or MTS Sometimes they keep names in format. UCS-2, which MIUI It doesn't always read correctly. The solution is to use alternative methods in the following sections.

What to do if the item “Import with SIM” is not on the menu?

• 🔄 Restart your phone – sometimes the system menu is not fully loaded.
• 📱 Check Slot SIM: If you use two SIMs, try moving the card to the first slot (it is usually better supported).
• 🔧 Update the Contacts app via Google Play (if it is updated separately from the firmware).

2.Export via VCF file (for older Xiaomi models)

If your Xiaomi is released before 2019 (e.g. Redmi 5, Mi A2), standard import may not work due to the outdated version of MIUI. In this case, export contacts to the VCF file (virtual business card) and then import into the phone will help.

Algorithm of action:

1. Insert the SIM card into an old phone (like Nokia or Samsung on Android 7-8).
2. Export contacts from the SIM to the.vcf file via the old device’s contact menu.
3. Flip the file to Xiaomi via Bluetooth, email or cloud.
4. On Xiaomi, open the.vcf file and automatically prompt you to import contacts.

💡 If you don’t have a second phone, you can use it. USB-A modem or card reader for reading a SIM card on a PC. SIM Card Reader or PhoneBook allow you to export numbers to the Internet CSV/VCF directly from the computer.

⚠️ Note: Some operators (e.g, Tele2) They block the SIM card from reading through the card reader for security reasons, and then there's only the option of using another phone temporarily.

3. sync with your Google account (the most reliable way)

If you plan to use Xiaomi for a long time, moving contacts to Google Account is the best solution, and this method not only copies numbers from the SIM, but also provides automatic backup, access from any device and protection from loss.

How to transfer your SIM contacts to Google:

1. Import contacts from the SIM to your phone in any of the ways described above.
2. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
3. Enable the slider opposite Contacts (if no account is added, add it).
4. Wait until the synchronization is complete (it can take up to 5 minutes).

Advantages of this method:

• ☁️ Cloud storage: Contacts are available even when your phone is lost.
• 🔄 Auto Update: Changes to one device apply to all other devices.
• 🛡️ Reset protection: when resetting Xiaomi contacts will recover after logging in to the account.

⚠️ Note: If you previously synced contacts with another account (such as Mi Account), there may be a duplicate conflict:

Settings → Applications → Contacts → Contact Storage

Make sure that Google chooses the primary storage and not the Device or Mi Cloud.

💡

Syncing with a Google Account is the only way to protect your contacts even when your phone is stolen or broken. All other methods store data locally.

4.Use of Mi Cloud (for Xiaomi account holders)

If you’re a big user of the Xiaomi ecosystem (like you have a Mi Band, a Yeelight smart lamp, or a Mi Notebook), moving contacts over the Mi Cloud may be more convenient than Google, a technique that’s especially relevant for Chinese firmware (MIUI China), where Google’s services are limited.

Step-by-step:

1. Import SIM contacts into your phone’s local memory (Section 1 of this article).
2. Open your Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud
3. Turn on Contact Sync (the slider should turn blue).
4. Wait until the download is complete (progress is displayed in the same menu).

Features of Mi Cloud:

⚠️ Note: When you reset your phone to factory settings, contacts from the Mi Cloud will only be restored if you log in to the same Mi Account. If you forget your password or lose access, it will be impossible to restore numbers - Xiaomi support does not help in such cases.

5. Manual copying for non-standard SIM cards

If your SIM card is not recognized by the system (for example, corporate SIM from MTS Connect or virtual eSIM), and the contacts on it are critical, manual input remains, this method is long, but reliable - especially if the numbers are few (up to 50).

How to speed up the process:

• 📋 Take a picture of the contact list screen on the old SIM (if the phone supports the display).
• 🖥️ Use the keyboard: connect to Xiaomi a physical keyboard through OTG-Adapter – This will speed up the input to 2-3 once.
• 🤖 Voice input: in the Contacts app, click on the microphone next to the name field and dictate the data.

💡 If there are many contacts but they are structured (for example, all clients marked “Work”), use prefixes when entering them:

[Client] Ivan Ivanov +79123456789


[Supplier] Chamomile LLC +79876543210

You can then easily filter your contacts by keywords.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even when you follow the instructions, you have a problem.-5 errors and ways of correcting them:

Problem 1: The phone doesn’t see the contacts on SIM.

• 🔌 Check the slot: move the SIM to another connector (if there are two of them).
• 📶 Update the firmware: in MIUI 12 and newer bugs with reading old SIM cards fixed.
• 🛠️ Clear the SIM contacts: sometimes it helps to delete all numbers and re-enter 1-2 test-point.

Problem 2: Only numbers without names were imported.

• 🌍 Change the system language to English: sometimes the encoding of names works correctly only in Language: English (US).
• 📄 Export in VCF (Section 2 - This format must retain names.

Problem 3: Contacts are duplicated after importation.

Settings → Applications → Contacts → Storage → Combine Contacts

Problem 4: You can't edit imported contacts.

• 🔒 Remove the protection: open contact → ⋮ → Remove from the group "Reading only".
• 📲 Copy to another account: export to Google Contacts and edit there.

Problem 5: Some of the numbers are missing after importation.

• 🔍 Check the filters: in the Contacts app tap on the magnifying glass and select All contacts (not just Phone).
• 🗑️ Restore from the Recycle Bin: Remote contacts are stored for 30 days in Settings → Google → Account management → Data and personalization → Contacts → Basket.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions