How to transfer data to the new Xiaomi: 5 proven ways

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but data transfer often turns into a headache. Contacts are left on the old phone, photos are not synchronized, and applications need to be installed again. This article will help avoid typical mistakes and choose the best way to migrate from the official Mi Mover to manual transfer via cable.

We tested all the current methods on models from 2023 to 2026 (including Xiaomi 14, Redmi Note 13 Pro+ and POCO F6) and identified key nuances: for example, why Mi Mover can not see an old phone through Wi-Fi Direct, if it is power-saving mode. Or how to circumvent Google’s restriction on porting SMS over 3 months. Read more – and your new Xiaomi will be ready to work in 15-30 minutes.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a proprietary solution for data transfer between Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices. The application is pre-installed on all new smartphones of the brand and supports transmission over Wi-Fi Direct (without the Internet), the main advantage is the preservation of folder structure, call history and even some system settings.

But there are pitfalls: First, Mi Mover only works between devices on MIUI 10 and later; second, it can't handle Wi-Fi passwords and some apps (like WhatsApp or banking software); and third, an old phone must have at least 20 percent charge, otherwise the process will stop.

• ✅ Transfers: contacts, SMS/MMS, photos/video, music, documents, call history, some system settings
• ❌ Does not tolerate: Wi-Fi passwords, application data (except standard), files from secure storage
• ⚡ Speed: ~1 GB in 3-5 minutes (depending on model)
• 🔌 Requirements: both phones on MIUI 10+, Wi-Fi Direct, charge >20%

How to use:

1. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select Data Transfer → Mi Mover.
2. On your old phone, open Settings → About Phone → Data Transfer (or find Mi Mover in the app menu).
3. Scan the scanner on your new phone QR-code.
4. Select data to transfer and wait until it is completed (don’t turn off the screen!).

⚠️ Warning: If the Mi Mover is stuck in the Device Search phase, check if the Power Saving mode is blocking the application's background operation. Turn it off in the Mi Mover battery settings on both phones.

Charge both phones >30%|Shut down. VPN both-device|Make sure that there is enough free space on your old phone (minimum 500 MB)|Turn off the "Do not disturb" mode"-->

2. Transfer through Google Account (for contacts, photos and applications)

If you've used Google services on an old phone, most of the data is already in sync with the cloud, and it's universal and works even when you're switching from iPhones or other brands, and the main advantage is that you don't have to physically connect the phones to each other.

Cons: not all data is synced automatically, for example, SMS and call history are only transferred if a backup copy was previously enabled in Google Drive, and applications will recover without stored data (game progress, instant messenger settings, etc.).

Step-by-step:

1. On the new Xiaomi, when setting up, select Copy Data → From Cloud Storage.
2. Log in to the same Google account as your old phone.
3. Select a backup (if any) or enable synchronization for individual services (Contacts, Calendar, Google Photos).
4. For apps, go to Google Play → Library → Installed and click Restore.

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Before transferring, check if there is enough space in Google Photos. 15 GB per account is free, but high-quality photos do not occupy space in this limit (until June 2021). If the limit is exhausted, buy an extra space temporarily or clear the shopping cart in Google Photos (files are stored there for 60 days).

Transfer over OTG cable (for large data volumes)

If you have hundreds of gigabytes of photos, videos or documents, wireless methods can take hours. OTG (or USB-C → USB-C adapter) allows you to connect your old phone to a new one like a flash drive and copy files manually, which is 3-5 times faster than Wi-Fi and does not depend on an Internet connection.

Important: not all OTG cables support host-to-host mode; you need a cable with a role-shifting chip or a special adapter (for example, UGREEN USB-C to USB-C); You also need to turn on the old phone file transfer mode (MTP) in the USB settings.

• 🔌 What you need: Host-to-host cable OTG or USB-C → USB-C
• ⚡ Speed: ~50–80 MB/s (depending on version USB)
• ✅ Transfers: any files (photos, videos, documents, APK)
• ❌ Does not transfer: data applications, SMS, contacts (unless exported to files)

Instructions:

1. Connect the OTG cable to the new phone and the old phone to the other end of the cable.
2. On an old phone in the notification curtain, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
3. On the new phone, open Files (or any file manager) and go to the USB- Storage section.
4. Copy the folders you need (DCIM, Downloads, Documents, etc.) into your internal memory or the SD- card of your new phone.

⚠️ Warning: Don’t kop the entire Android folder, which can lead to conflicts with the apps installed. It’s better to only transfer user data from data or obb subfolders (for example, for games).

4. Computer transfer (for full control)

If you need to migrate data selectively or check it before copying, the computer will be the best intermediary, a method that is suitable for transferring music, documents and even SMS (if you export them to a file), and it is also convenient to transfer data from the iPhone to Xiaomi via a PC.

The work will require:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux
• 🔌 Cables USB for both phones (preferably original)
• 📁 File Manager (e.g., Total Commander or Standard Explorer)
• 📱 Phones must be enabled with File Transfer Mode (MTP)

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your computer and allow access to files.
2. Copy the desired folders (DCIM, Pictures, Music, etc.) to the hard drive of the PC.
3. Turn off the old phone and plug in a new one. Allow access to the files.
4. Transfer the copied data to internal memory or to the SD- card of the new phone.
5. To transfer contacts, export them to the.vcf file via the Contacts app on the old phone, and then import them on the new one.

Use SMS applications like SMS Backup & Restore:

1. Install the app on your old phone and create a backup (.xml file).
2. Copy the file to your computer and then to your new phone.
3. Install the same app on your new phone and restore the SMS from the file.

Mi Mover|Google-Account| OTG|Cable Upon Computer|Cloud Services (Dropbox, Yandex.Disk)|Another way-->

5. Cloud services: Dropbox, Yandex.Disk, Telegram

If you have slow Internet or little space on your phone, cloud services can help you move data wirelessly, and the main advantage is that you can download files in portions without depending on the speed of Wi-Fi Direct. However, large volumes (for example, 100 GB photos) will take a long time and possibly paid storage expansion.

Comparison of popular services:

* Telegram allows you to send files to Saved Messages, but for 100+ files, it will take a long time.

How to move data through the cloud:

1. On your old phone, upload files to the selected service (for example, through the Yandex.Disk app).
2. On your new phone, install the same app and log in to your account.
3. Download files to your new phone or open them from the cloud (for photos/video).

⚠️ Warning: When you upload photos to Google Photos in High Quality mode, they are compressed to 16 MP resolution. If you care about original quality, select the "Original Quality" option (but it takes up space in your cloud storage).

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Cloud services are convenient for transferring small amounts of data (up to 10-15 GB), for large archives, it is better to use an OTG cable or a computer, which will save time and traffic.

6. Data transfer from iPhone to Xiaomi

Moving from iPhone to Xiaomi requires a separate approach, because the ecosystems of iOS and Android are very different. Fortunately, Xiaomi offers an official solution - the Mi Mover app with support for iPhone. However, it is unstable, so we recommend combining several methods.

What can be transferred from the iPhone:

• 📞 Contact: via iCloud or Google Account
• 📷 Photo/video: via iCloud, Google Photos or computer
• 🎵 Music: Only if it's not from Apple Music (DRM- protection)
• 💬 SMS: Only through third-party applications (e.g., iSMS2droid)
• ❌ Apps: Re-install from Google Play

Step-by-step:

1. Contacts: On iPhone, go to Settings → [Your name] → iCloud and enable contact sync. Then export them via iCloud.com to a.vcf file and import to Xiaomi.
2. Photo: Use Google Photos or iCloud for Windows (copy the photo on your PC and then on your new phone).
3. SMS: Install iSMS2droid on your iPhone, export SMS to.xml file, transfer it to Xiaomi and import it via SMS Backup & Restore.
4. Apps: Find analogs on Google Play (for example, WhatsApp is ported via backup to iCloud, but only if the phone number has not changed).

To transfer notes from Apple Notes:

• Open iCloud.com on your computer and export notes to a.pdf or.txt file.
• Import them to Google Keep or Mi Notes on your new phone.

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If you have two-factor authentication enabled for Apple ID on your iPhone, you can either turn it off or save backup codes before transferring. After you switch to Android, you will not be able to receive SMS- codes to the new iCloud login number.

7. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

Even when using official tools, users face problems, and we have collected typical errors and solutions based on feedback from Xiaomi owners in 2023-2026.

Problem 1: Mi Mover can't see an old phone.

• 🔹 Check if Wi-Fi Direct is enabled on both devices.
• 🔹 Disable VPN and firewall (they can block the connection).
• 🔹 Reboot both phones and try again.
• 🔹 If you are using Redmi Note 12 or later, upgrade MIUI to the latest version — older builds had a bug with Wi-Fi Direct.

Problem 2: The transfer through the Google Account is interrupted.

• 🔹 Make sure there is enough room on the phone to recover data.
• 🔹 Check your internet connection (better use Wi-Fi).
• 🔹 If you restore a backup, wait until it is completed – don’t interrupt the process!

Problem 3: After the transfer, photos or contacts are lost.

• 🔹 Check the MIUI/Backup/AllBackup folder on a new phone — sometimes the data is saved there.
• 🔹 If you use Google Photos, check if the photo is hidden in the archive or in the cart.
• 🔹 For contacts, open Google Contacts and update the list (sometimes manual sync is required).

Problem 4: Applications are not restored from backup.

• 🔹 Make sure the new phone has the same Google account as the old phone.
• 🔹 Check if AutoRestore is enabled in Google Play → Settings → Autorefresh apps.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions