How to transfer data from iPhone to Xiaomi without a computer: the full guide 2026

Moving from iPhone to Xiaomi smartphone is not only about changing the ecosystem, but also the need to transfer all the accumulated data: photos, contacts, messages and applications. Many users mistakenly believe that this procedure requires a computer or sophisticated technical skills. In fact, you can transfer data from iOS to Android completely free and without a PC – just use built-in tools and proven cloud services.

In this article, we’ll break down 5 working ways to migrate data that are suitable even for beginners: you’ll learn how to save contacts via iCloud, sync photos with Google Photos, transfer files over Wi-Fi Direct and use Xiaomi’s proprietary Mi Mover app. Particular attention will be paid to transferring data between devices with different operating systems without losing quality and file structure – a problem that 78% of users face when switching from iOS to Android.

All methods tested on the current models Xiaomi 14, Redmi Note 13 Pro+ and POCO F6 If you have an older version of Android (below 12), some features may work differently — we will warn you about this separately.

1.Preparing iPhone for data transfer

Before migrating, there are several critical steps to follow on your iPhone, and skipping any of them can cause data loss or synchronization errors.

First, update iOS to the latest version. To do this, go to Settings. → Mainstream → Update: The current version of the system guarantees compatibility with cloud services and eliminates bugs associated with data export. For example, iOS 17.4 fixed the error with iCloud freezing when uploading large photo archives.

Second, check the space on your iPhone. To create a backup in iCloud requires at least 10% of the free space from the amount of data transferred. If memory is not enough, delete unnecessary applications or transfer some of the files to an external drive (for example, a flash drive with a Lightning connector).

• 📱 Update iOS: Settings → Mainstream → Update of the PO → Install
• 🔄 Sync Contacts with iCloud: Settings → [Your name] → iCloud → Contacts (on.)
• 📸 Activate iCloud Photos: Settings → Photo Photo → iCloud Photo (only.)
• 🔋 Charge both phones to at least 50% – transfer data can take up to 2 hours

⚠️ Note: If you use two-factor authentication for Apple ID, Before you log in, make sure you have access to a trusted device or phone number. Without that, confirming your iCloud exit on your old iPhone will be impossible.

2.Moving contacts from iPhone to Xiaomi via iCloud

Contacts are the most critical information you can't lose when you change your smartphone, and fortunately, Apple and Google provide reliable tools to sync them, and we'll look at two options: iCloud and Google Account.

Method 1: Export contacts from iCloud in vCard format

1. On your iPhone, open the Safari browser and go to iCloud.com.
2. Sign up for your Apple. ID and select the Contact section.
3. Click on the gear icon in the lower left corner and select Choose All.
4. Click on the gear again and click Export vCard. Contacts.vcf will download to your iPhone.

Now you have to transfer this file to Xiaomi, and the easiest way is to send it to yourself by email or messenger (Telegram, WhatsApp), and after you download it to Xiaomi, open it, and the system will automatically prompt you to import contacts into the phone book.

Method 2: Synchronize your contacts with Google Account

This method is suitable if you plan to actively use Google services on the new Xiaomi:

1. On iPhone, go to Settings → Contacts → Accounts → Add an account → Google.
2. Enter your Google Account (or create a new one).
3. Activate the Contact switch and wait for the synchronization to be completed.
4. On Xiaomi, add the same Google Account to Settings → Accounts and synchronization.

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If contacts are not displayed correctly after import (for example, Cyrillic is replaced with question marks), check the encoding of the vCard file. Open it in the text editor and make sure that the file is indicated at the beginning of the file. CHARSET=UTF-8.

3. Transfer photos and videos using Google Photos

Photos and videos typically take up the lion’s share of memory on a smartphone, and you can transfer them from your iPhone to Xiaomi in several ways, but the most reliable is using Google Photos, which not only preserves the original quality of files (when you choose the appropriate setting), but also automatically sorts the media library by date and event.

Step-by-step:

1. Download the Google Photos app from the App Store to your iPhone.
2. Open the app and sign in to your Google Account (preferably the same as Xiaomi).
3. Click on the profile avatar in the upper right corner and select Photo Settings → Backup and synchronization.
4. Activate the switch and select the download quality → Original (if it is important to maintain the original resolution).
5. Wait until the download is complete. The speed depends on the amount of data and the speed of the Internet.

On Xiaomi, the library will automatically appear in the Google Photos app after logging in to the same account.

1. Open Google Photos on Xiaomi.
2. Select an album or individual files.
3. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Download.

⚠️ Attention: Free storage in Google Photos is limited to 15 GB per account (together with Gmail and Google Drive).If your media library is larger, consider options: 💳 Buy an additional seat (from 139) ₽/month). 📁 Use Xiaomi’s Mi Cloud (5GB for free, up to 200GB for 299) ₽/year). 🔄 Transfer files in batches, removing uploaded photos from Google after downloading to Xiaomi.

Make sure that the iPhone has enough charge (minimum 30%)|Connect to a stable Wi-Fi network|Free up your Google Account (if necessary)|Disable Storage Optimization in iPhone Settings (Settings) → Photo Photo → Optimizing iPhone Storage → Off.)

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4.Using Mi Mover for wireless transfer

Mi Mover is a proprietary application from Xiaomi that allows you to transfer data directly between devices over Wi-Fi Direct. The main advantage of this method is that there is no need for the Internet or cloud services, and the transfer speed reaches 10-15 MB / s (2-3 times faster than via Bluetooth).

But there's a caveat: Mi Mover officially supports only Android data porting to Android. iPhones will require a workaround through backup creation in iCloud and subsequent importation.

Step 1: Create a backup on your iPhone

1. Connect your iPhone to charging and Wi-Fi.
2. Go to Settings. → [Your name] → iCloud → Backup copy in iCloud.
3. Click Create a backup and wait for the process to complete.

Step 2: Move your data to Xiaomi

1. On Xiaomi, download Mi Mover from Google Play (if it is not in the default firmware).
2. Open the app and select I am a new user.
3. Import from iPhone enter your Apple data ID.
4. Select a backup from iCloud and specify what data to transfer (contacts, photos, notes).
5. Confirm the beginning of the process and wait for it to be completed.

Average transport time:

• 📞 Contacts (1000 units) – 1-2 minutes
• 📸 Photo (5 GB) - 15-25 minutes
• 🎵 Music (1 GB) – 5-10 minutes

⚠️ Note: If Mi Mover is not able to connect to iCloud, check: 🔒 Two-factor authentication is enabled on iPhone (if yes, confirm login on a trusted device). 🌐 You use a stable internet connection (preferably Wi-Fi, not mobile data). 📱 Xiaomi has the latest version of Mi Mover (update via Google Play).

5. File transfer via Wi-Fi Direct or via instant messengers

If you need to transfer individual files (documents, music, archives) rather than the entire media library, it is more convenient to use Wi-Fi Direct or instant messengers, which is suitable for transferring data up to 1-2 GB.

Method 1: Wi-Fi Direct (direct transmission over Wi-Fi)

1. On Xiaomi, activate Wi-Fi Direct: Go to Settings → Connection and sharing → Wi-Fi Direct.
2. On your iPhone, download an app to transfer files over Wi-Fi, such as Send Anywhere or Feem.
3. In the iPhone app, select files to send and generate QR-code.
4. On Xiaomi, open the same app, scan it. QR-code or enter the key.
5. Confirm receipt of files.

Method 2: Messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp)

For small files (up to 2 GB in Telegram):

1. Open the messenger on your iPhone and create a chat "Saved messages" (in Telegram) or send files to yourself.
2. On Xiaomi, log in to the same messenger account and download files from the chat.

Method 3: Cloud storage (Yandex Disk, Mail.ru Cloud)

If your files are over 2GB, upload them to the cloud from your iPhone and then download them to Xiaomi:

• 📁 Yandex Disk – up to 10 GB free, download speed up to 50 MB / s.
• ☁️ Cloud - up to 8 GB free, there is a function "Photo albums".
• 🟢 Mega – 20GB free, but requires app installation.

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To transfer files larger than 5 GB, you can use a combination of methods: transfer some data via Google Photos, some via Wi-Fi Direct, and upload the remaining files to the cloud.

6. Transfer of applications and their data

Unfortunately, it is not possible to directly migrate installed applications from iOS to Android due to differences in operating system architecture.

• 📥 Download analogues of applications from Google Play on Xiaomi.
• 🔄 Recover app data if they support cross-platform synchronization (e.g. WhatsApp, Telegram, account-based games).
• 💾 Transfer game saves through services like Google Play Games or Facebook Gaming.

How to transfer WhatsApp chats from iPhone to Xiaomi

This is one of the most challenging tasks, as WhatsApp does not support direct export of chats between iOS and Android.

1. On iPhone, back up your iCloud chats: WhatsApp Settings → chat → Backup.
2. Install iMazing or Backuptrans (paid, but there is a trial period) on your computer.
3. Connect your iPhone to your PC and export the chats to the file.
4. Connect Xiaomi and import chats through the same program.

⚠️ Important: This method requires a computer, but it is the only one that is guaranteed to store the history of messages, media files and stickers. Free online services (like WhatsApp Web) are not suitable for transferring the archive of chats.

List of applications with cross-platform synchronization

7. Transfer of notes, calendars and other data

Notes, calendar events, and reminders are often overlooked when changing smartphones, although they are just as important as contacts or photos. Let's look at how to move that data without losing it.

Notes (Apple Notes) → Google Keep/Mi Notes)

1. On your iPhone, open the Notes app and select a note.
2. Press "Share" →"Export and select the format PDF text.
3. Send the file to your mail or messenger.
4. On Xiaomi, open a file and copy the text to Google Keep or the standard Mi Notes app.

Calendar and reminders

Sync through Google Account:

1. On iPhone go to Settings → Calendar → Accounts. → Add an account → Google.
2. Enter your account details and activate Calendar and Reminder Synchronization.
3. On Xiaomi, add the same account to Settings → Accounts and synchronization.

Passwords and autocomplete data

If you’ve used iCloud Keychain, export your passwords to Google Password Manager:

1. On iPhone go to Settings → Passwords. → Password settings.
2. Select Export Passwords (you will need to enter a lock code).
3. Send the.csv file to Xiaomi and import it to Google Chrome (in your browser settings).

⚠️ Note: Password file contains confidential information. After importing it to Xiaomi, be sure to delete it from the device's memory and clear the cart.

8. Check of transferred data and final settings

Once the data transfer is complete, you need to make sure that all the information is transferred correctly and nothing is lost.

Compare the number of contacts on iPhone and Xiaomi|Check the display of photos in the Gallery (if there are any broken files)|Make sure your notes and calendars are synchronized|Check the work of messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram)|Set up notifications for important applications-->

What to do if the data is not fully transferred?

• 🔍 Contacts: Check if they are duplicated. In Xiaomi, go to Contacts → Settings → Combine the takes.
• 📸 Photo/Video: If some files are missing, repeat sync via Google Photos or check folder DCIM Xiaomi.
• 🎵 Music: Files in format.m4a (iTunes standard may not play. Use a converter (e.g. MediaHuman Audio Converter) to convert to.mp3.

Final settings on Xiaomi

To make the new smartphone work as efficiently as possible:

1. Activate autosynchronization for Google Account: Settings → Accounts and synchronization → Autosynchronization of data.
2. Set up battery optimization for frequently used applications: Settings → Battery → Optimizing the battery.
3. Set a dark theme to save charge (especially on the AMOLED-screens: Settings → Display. → Dark subject matter.
4. Activate Mi Gestures for easy navigation: Settings → Display. → Full screen mode.

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After transferring data, it is recommended to reset to factory settings on the old iPhone (Settings) → Mainstream → Transfer or discharge → Erase content and settings. This will protect your data in the event of a sale or transfer of a device.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data transfer from iPhone to Xiaomi