How to transfer data to the new Xiaomi smartphone from the old: 5 proven ways

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but the process of data transfer is often a real test. Even experienced users face problems: lost contacts, photos are duplicated, and applications refuse to sync. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways of migration from the official Mi Mover to manual transfer via computer, taking into account the nuances of the latest versions of MIUI 14/15 and HyperOS.

We'll focus on the common bugs that interrupt the transfer, from incompatible firmware versions to authorization issues in Mi Accounts, how to save SMS/MMS, call history, Wi-Fi settings, and even game data without losing progress, and for those who are afraid of cloud services, we'll give you a step-by-step guide to local porting over an OTG or PC cable.

Important: if you move from Android to Xiaomi (for example, from Samsung or Google Pixel), some of the methods will be different – we noted these points separately. MIUI, Which you will not find in the official documentation.

1.Preparation for transfer: what to do before the beginning

Before you start migrating, follow the mandatory preparatory steps, which will save hours to correct errors later. Start by checking the free space on both devices: an old smartphone must have at least 10-15% free memory, otherwise transfer systems (such as Mi Mover) can end with an error "Not enough memory".

Update the firmware on both devices to the latest stable version. This is critical: if the old Xiaomi has a MIUI 12 and the new one has HyperOS, some portability features will be blocked. Check the version in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version. Also make sure that both smartphones have power saving turned off - it can interrupt the process.

• 🔋 Battery charge on both devices is at least 50%, better connect them to charge during transfer.
• 📶 Stable Internet connection (for cloud methods). If you use mobile Internet, disable background restriction in Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Transfer of data.
• 🔑 If you forget your password, restore it in advance, without it you will not be able to sync contacts and emails.
• 📁 Backup of critical data (photos, documents) to a computer or external drive. Even official methods sometimes fail.

⚠️ Note: If the old phone was enabled Safe Mode or Developer Mode debugging USB, Transfer over the cable may not start. Disable these functions in Settings → Additionally. → For developers.

2. Method 1: Mi Mover is the official tool from Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a built-in migration app that is installed by default on all Xiaomi smartphones (starting with MIUI 9), allowing you to transfer almost all data without loss: contacts, messages, photos, videos, music, apps (including their data), system settings and even desktop wallpaper, the main advantage is that you do not need Internet (transfer is over the local Wi-Fi Direct network).

However, there are limitations:

1. It only works between Xiaomi devices (not suitable for porting from Samsung, iPhone, etc.).
2. The old phone should have a MIUI version not lower than 9.0, the new one - not lower than the one on the old one.
3. Some system settings (such as fingerprints or Mi Pay data) are not portable.

Step-by-step:

1. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select Data Portability. If your phone is already configured, open Settings → About Phone → Mi Mover.
2. On your old phone, run Mi Mover (find through app search).
3. Click "I am the sender" on the old phone and "I am the receiver" on the new one.
4. Scan it. QR-code from a new phone old (or select the device manually if the scan doesn't work).
5. Select data types to transfer (you can mark everything or select selectively).
6. Confirm the transfer on both devices, and it takes 10 to 60 minutes depending on the amount of data.

⚠️ Warning: If you see a “failed to connect” error during the transfer, check that both phones are disabled. VPN and Wi-Fi is turned on (even if you don't have a network connection), and try restarting the Mi Mover and repeating the scan. QR-code.

Update MIUI both phones|Shut down. VPN and energy-saving regimes|Charge both devices >50%|Free up 10% of memory on your old phone|Connect to a single Wi-Fi network (not necessary, but speeds up the process)-->

Method 3: Transfer over Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud)

Mi Cloud is a cloud service from Xiaomi that allows you to back up data on an old phone and restore it to a new one, and the main advantage of the method is that you can transfer data remotely (for example, if the phones are in different places).

• 📉 Volume limit: only 5GB is available for free (you need to buy a subscription to increase the amount).
• ⏳ Long carry: uploading 10GB of photos can take hours.
• 🔒 Account Linking: If you don’t remember Mi Account data, it’s hard to restore backup access.

How to transfer data through Mi Cloud:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Enable synchronization for all the necessary data types (contacts, notes, photos, etc.).
3. Create a backup: go to Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset → Local Backup and select “Reserve in Mi Cloud”.
4. On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account and recover data from the cloud: Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Restore from backup.

If the backup doesn’t show up on the new phone, check:

1. That you are logged in to the same account (sometimes users confuse multiple Mi Accounts).
2. That the backup is fully loaded into the cloud (check in Mi Cloud → Backup Management).
3. That the new phone has enough memory to recover.

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If there are a lot of photos and there is not enough space in the Mi Cloud, upload them to Google Photos (free 15 GB) or Yandex.Disk (free 10 GB), and then download them to a new phone.

4. Method 3: Transfer through Google Account (for contacts, mail, calendar)

If you use Google, this method allows you to migrate contacts, mail, calendar, Chrome bookmarks and some app settings, even for switching from an iPhone or other Android device, the main advantage is that it does not depend on the version of MIUI and works on any smartphone.

What's transferable:

• 📇 Contacts (including groups and tags)
• 📅 Calendar (events and reminders)
• ✉️ Gmail (letters, tags, folders)
• 🌐 Bookmarks and Chrome history
• 📱 Some app settings (e.g., game progression if linked to Google Play Games)

Instructions:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Accounts → Google and make sure that sync is enabled for all the data you need.
2. Manually start synchronization by pressing "Sync Now".
3. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select Restore from Google Account and log in to the same account. If your phone is already set up, add an account to Settings → Accounts → Add an account → Google.
4. Wait until the synchronization is complete (it can take up to 30 minutes).

If contacts are not moved:

1. Check that they are stored in your Google account on your old phone, not in your device memory or in your phone’s memory. SIM-map.
2. Open Google Contacts in your browser (contacts.google.com) and make sure the contacts are displayed there.
3. On the new phone, manually update contacts: open the Contacts app → Settings → Import/Export → Sync.

5. Method 4: Manual transfer via computer (for large amounts of data)

If you have tens of gigabytes of photos, videos or documents, cloud services will be too slow, and Mi Mover may end up with an error, in which case it is safer to copy files to your computer and then transfer them to a new phone, which is also a good method if you are switching from an iPhone or other Android device.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows, Mac or Linux.
• 🔌 USB-Type C cables (or Lightning if ported from iPhone).
• 📁 External drive (optional, if there is little space on the computer).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your computer via cable. Select File Transfer Mode (on Xiaomi it's called File Manager).
2. Copy the right folders: DCIM — Photos and videos. Downloads are downloaded files. Pictures, Music, Documents are other media files. Android/data — Data from some applications (but not all!).

new

Transfer the copied files to the corresponding folders on the new phone.

applications

APK-extractor

APK Extractor

If the computer can't see the phone:

1. Check that the phone allows access to files (when connecting, a notification should appear).
2. Install Mi PC Suite drivers (you can download on the official website).
3. Try a different cable or USB port (sometimes USB 3.0 ports aren't compatible with older phones).

Step-by-step instructions for transferring from the iPhone:

1. Contacts: On iPhone, open Settings → [Your name] → iCloud and enable Contact Sync. On your computer, go to icloud.com, select Contacts → All Contacts → Export vCard. Copy the resulting.vcf file to the new Xiaomi and import through the Contacts app.
2. Photo and video: Connect your iPhone to your computer and copy the DCIM folder. Move files to Xiaomi via cable or cloud.
3. Messages (SMS/iMessage): Use iMazing or PhoneView to export SMS to.csv or.txt. Import them to Xiaomi via the SMS Backup & Restore app.

⚠️ Note: When transferring photos from iPhone to Xiaomi may lose information about the shooting date (EXIF). To avoid this, use ExifTool to recover metadata after copying.

7.Typical mistakes and how to avoid them

Even when using official tools, users are faced with problems, and here are the most common mistakes and ways to solve them:

If none of these methods worked, try alternative solutions:

• 📲 Clone Phone app (from Xiaomi) is an analogue of Mi Mover, but with support for some third-party brands.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions