How to transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi: all ways and life hacks

Moving from Honor to Xiaomi is not just about changing your brand, it’s also about migrating all your data, from contacts to your message history. Many users have trouble trying to migrate, especially across ecosystems (Huawei Mobile Services vs Google Mobile Services). In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to transfer, from standard tools to little-known life hacks that will save you hours of time.

The peculiarity of the transfer between Honor and Xiaomi is that both manufacturers use their own cloud services: Huawei Cloud and Mi Cloud. while not all data is synced with Google Account automatically. For example, notes from the Notes app or settings of the Huawei ecosystem can remain on the old device if you do not take additional steps, we will tell you how to avoid losses and transfer 100% of data without loss of quality (including metadata photos and videos).

It’s also important to consider the technicalities of Android versions on devices, root rights, and limitations imposed by manufacturers, such as Xiaomi blocking the transfer of some system files through standard tools if the device is locked (which is typical for new models), and we took all these into account and prepared instructions that work for even the most “closed” devices.

Preparation of devices before transfer

Before you start migrating data, you need to follow several critical steps on both devices.Neglecting preparation can lead to data loss, incomplete transfer or even account lock (for example, if you use two-factor authentication at Huawei). ID).

Start by checking the following parameters:

• 🔋 The battery charge on both devices is at least 50%. The data transfer can take up to 2 hours, and discharging in the process will cause a failure.
• 📶 Stable Internet connection: Cloud-based transfers will require Wi-Fi (mobile internet may not be able to handle large volumes of Internet connectivity).
• 📱 Xiaomi has at least 20 percent more space than Honor data, for example, if you have 32GB on your old phone, you should be free on your new phone. ≥38GB.
• 🔒 Make sure that Find My Device is disabled on Honor (in Huawei it is Find My Device) and the pattern lock/PIN-Some transfer methods require an unlocked screen.

Pay special attention to synchronization of accounts:

• 📧 Check if Google Account is linked to Honor and sync for Contacts, Calendar and Google Photos is enabled.
• ☁️ If you’ve used Huawei Cloud, log in to cloud.huawei.com and make sure the latest data is uploaded to the cloud.
• 🔄 On Xiaomi, do not sign in to Mi Account until the transfer is complete – this can cause a synchronization conflict.

⚠️ Note: If Huawei Data Protection is enabled on Honor (located in Settings) → Security → Data protection needs to be disabled, otherwise some files (e.g. screenshots or screen recordings) may not be moved due to restrictions. DRM.

Method 2: Transfer through Xiaomi Migration (official tool)

Xiaomi Migration is an integrated application on all Xiaomi smartphones designed to transfer data from other devices.It supports migration from Honor, but there are nuances: the application may not recognize some Honor models due to differences in data protocols.

Step instructions:

1. On Xiaomi go to Settings → The phone. → Data portability (or find the Mi Mover app in the menu).
2. Select I am a new user → Android.
3. On Honor, download the Xiaomi Migration app from AppGallery or APKMirror (if it’s not on Google Play).
4. Run the app on both devices and select Send Data to Honor and Receive Data to Xiaomi.
5. Connect to a single Wi-Fi network or create an access point on Xiaomi (recommended for stability).
6. On Honor, scan. QR-code that will appear on the screen of Xiaomi.
7. Select data for transfer (contacts, messages, photos, etc.) and confirm the beginning of the process.

The speed of transfer depends on the amount of data:

⚠️ Note: If the transfer is delayed for more than 10 minutes, restart the process and select a smaller amount of data at a time, such as moving contacts and messages first, and then media files.

Make sure there is enough space on Xiaomi (+20% to the volume of data)

Disable VPN on both devices

Enable "Do Not Disturb" mode on Honor

Connect to charging (recommended)

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3. Method 2: Transfer through Google Account (for contacts, calendar, photos)

If you've been using Google's Honor services extensively, most of the data is already synced to the cloud, which is a good way to migrate:

• 📇 Contacts (including groups and labels)
• 📅 Calendar (events, reminders)
• 📷 Photo and video (if sync with Google Photos was enabled)
• 🎵 Music and books (via Google Play Music or Play Books)

How to transfer data via Google:

1. On Honor, check that sync is enabled: Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync.
2. Make sure that all the necessary data is marked with ticks (contacts, calendar, disk, etc.).
3. On Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select Sign in to Google and use the same account as you did on Honor.
4. Wait until the synchronization is complete (it can take up to 30 minutes depending on the amount of data).

Limitations of this method:

• ❌ Communications SMS/MMS not synced with Google (you need to use third-party apps).
• ❌ Applications and their data (for example, saves in games) are not portable.
• ❌ Notes from Huawei Notes are not synced with Google Keep automatically.

💡

If you’ve used Huawei Notes, export notes in.hnote format, then convert them to.txt using online services like hnote-converter.com and upload them to Google Keep or Mi Notes.

Method 3: Transfer over a cable USB (large-scale)

If you have tens of gigabytes of photos, videos or documents, wireless methods may be too slow. USB — It's the best solution:

• 🔌 Cable USB-C → USB-C (or USB-A → USB-C s OTG-adapter)
• 💻 Computer (Windows/Mac) Adapter for direct phone connection
• 📂 File Manager (e.g. Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer)

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Honor to your computer via USB and select the File Transfer Mode (MTP).
2. Copy all the necessary files (folders) DCIM, Downloads, Documents, etc.) to your computer.
3. Disable Honor and connect Xiaomi to your computer in mode MTP.
4. Transfer files from your computer to Xiaomi to the appropriate folders.
5. Use backups to transfer contacts and messages: Contacts: export in.vcf format via Contacts → Settings → Export. Messages: Use applications like SMS Backup & Restore.

Advantages of this method:

• ✅ Maximum speed (up to 40 MB/s when used) USB 3.0).
• ✅ There are no limits on volume (unlike cloud services).
• ✅ Full control over the transferred files.

⚠️ Note: When you connect Xiaomi to your computer for the first time, you may need to unlock the device to transfer files. → Additionally. → Developer parameters → Configuration USB and select File Transfer.

Through the cloud (Google/Huawei)

On the USB cable.

With the help of specialized applications (Mi Mover, Clone Phone)

Through the computer

Another way.-->

5. Method 4: Transfer through third-party applications (for messages, applications, game saves)

Standard tools don’t always handle carrying messages, call logs, or application data (e.g., game progress) and there are specialized applications for this:

Top.-3 data-transfer applications:

Instructions for SMS Backup & Restore (the most reliable way to send messages):

1. Install the app on Honor from Google Play or AppGallery.
2. Run it and click Create a backup.
3. Select Messages and Call Log, then click Next.
4. Save a backup to Google Drive, Local Storage or send it to an email.
5. Install the same app on Xiaomi, download the backup and click Restore.

To transfer application data (e.g., saved in games), use Helium:

• 🔧 Install Helium on both devices and connect them to the same Wi-Fi.
• 📲 On Honor, select the applications that you want to transfer data to and back up.
• 📥 On Xiaomi, restore data from backup.

⚠️ Note: Apps like Helium may not work on newer versions of Android (12)+) No root rights. In this case, use ADB Backup (requires computer and technical skills).

6. Method 5: Move over Huawei Cloud + Mi Cloud (for notes, records, system data)

If you’ve been using the Huawei ecosystem (notes, health, cloud documents) extensively, standard portability won’t help, and you’ll need to use intermediate exports through Huawei Cloud and subsequent imports into Mi Cloud or similar services.

Step-by-step:

1. On Honor, open the Huawei Cloud and check that all data is synced.
2. Export data to compatible formats: 📝 Notes: Export to.txt or.pdf via Huawei Notes. 📊 Health and fitness: export data to.csv via Huawei Health. 🎵 Music: Download tracks from Huawei Music to local storage.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi

• Notes: Mi Notes or Google Keep.
• Health: Mi Fitness or Google Fit.
• Music: Mi Music or YouTube Music.

For system data (e.g. screen settings, audio profiles), there is no universal solution, but you can use:

• 🔧 ADB-commands for export settings (requires PC and command line knowledge).
• 📋 Manual portability: take screenshots of settings on Honor and restore them manually on Xiaomi.

💡

Huawei Cloud and Mi Cloud are not directly compatible, and transferring data between them always requires intermediate export to universal formats (.txt,.csv,.vcf, etc.).

7. Transfer applications and their data (without loss of progress)

One of the hardest aspects of migration is migrating installed apps and their data, for example, if you're playing Genshin Impact or using WhatsApp with important correspondence, standard ways won't help.

Methods of transferring applications:

• 📱 Backup via Titanium Backup (requires root).
• 💻 ADB Backup (works without root, but not on all devices).
• ☁️ Cloud sync (if the app supports, for example, WhatsApp or Telegram).
• 🔄 Transfer APK + Data via App Cloner (for cloning applications with settings).

Instructions for ADB backup (without root):

adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab


adb restore backup.ab

Where:

• -apk — include APK-file.
• -obb — includes additional data (e.g. game cache).
• -shared — include SD-map.
• -all — reserve all applications.

Limitations:

• ❌ Not all applications support backup through ADB (For example, banking applications).
• ❌ On new versions of Android (11)+) Additional AdB Backup AdB settings are required.
• ❌ Some data (such as Chrome passwords) are not portable.

For WhatsApp, use the built-in backup feature:

1. On Honor, open WhatsApp. → ⋮ → Settings → chat → Backup copy.
2. Create a backup copy in Google Drive.
3. On Xiaomi, install WhatsApp, log in with the same number and restore chats from backup.

8. Checking data after transfer and correcting errors

Once the transfer is complete, be sure to check the integrity of the data. Often users find that:

• 📞 Contacts are duplicated (due to synchronization with multiple accounts).
• 📷 Photos lost their shooting date (metadata) EXIF).
• 💬 Messages are not fully transferred (for example, without attachments).
• 🎮 Game saves have not recovered.

How to fix typical problems:

If the data is not fully transferred, try:

• 🔄 Repeat the transfer in parts (for example, first contacts, then photos, then messages).
• 📡 Use another method (e.g. if Xiaomi Migration fails, try the cable) USB).
• 🛠️ Contact Xiaomi (if there is a problem with Mi Cloud) or Huawei (if data from Huawei Cloud is not exported).

⚠️ Note: If messages from Huawei Messages are missing after transfer to Xiaomi, check the folder /sdcard/HwBluetooth/Backup It can be backed up to Honor. SMS.db format, which can be converted using Huawei Backup Extractor.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability from Honor to Xiaomi