How to transfer data from iPhone to Xiaomi via Google Drive: the complete guide

Moving from iPhone to Xiaomi smartphone is not only about changing the ecosystem, but also the need to transfer personal data: photos, contacts, notes and documents. Many users are afraid of losing important information or spending hours manually copying files. Fortunately, Google Drive offers a convenient and free way to migrate that works even for beginners.

In this article, you will find a step-by-step guide to highlighting key points, comparing alternative methods and solving problems, and how to migrate different types of data (from contacts to media), what iOS settings and how to use them. MIUI You need to check in advance, and you need to know how to avoid common mistakes, and if you've tried it yourself and you've had a hard time, at the end of the article, you can find some. FAQ frequent-question.

Important: the process of transferring over Google Drive does not require cables or additional software, but the speed depends on the amount of data and the speed of your Internet connection.+ GB photo: it is better to use Wi-Fi, not a mobile network.

Why is Google Drive the Best Choice for Data Transfer?

Among all the ways to migrate from iPhone to Xiaomi (via iCloud, Mi Mover, cable) OTG Google Drive is a great place to have several advantages:

• 🔄 Cross-platform: works on iOS and Android without restrictions.
• 🆓 Free for most users (15 GB of storage is included in your Google account).
• 📁 Keeping folder structure: photos, contacts and documents are transferred in their original form.
• 🔒 Security: Data is encrypted during transmission and storage.
• 📱 No Brand Link: Suitable for any Smartphone, Not Just Xiaomi.

By comparison, Mi Mover (a Xiaomi-branded solution) doesn’t support all iPhone models, and porting over iCloud can take longer because of download speed limits. Google Drive is the only service that is guaranteed to carry vCard contacts without losing groups and tags, which is critical for business users.

Another plus is that if you already use Google services (like Gmail or Google Photos), the data is automatically synced to the new device, eliminating the need to reconfigure.

Preparing iPhone for data transfer

Before you upload files to Google Drive, you need to configure your iPhone to export seamlessly.

1. Update iOS to the latest version (check in Settings) → Mainstream → Update of Software: Older versions may not support current synchronization protocols.
2. Connect to Wi-Fi: Downloading large files via the mobile internet can lead to additional costs.
3. Free up space: If your iPhone has less than 10% free space, iOS can block background processes.
4. Turn off photo optimization (if enabled): go to Settings → Photo Photo → Optimize iPhone storage and select Save Originals.

Pay special attention to contacts, which can be stored in iCloud instead of in your phone's memory by default, to export:

1. Open the Settings. → [Your name] → iCloud.
2. Make sure the contact switch is active (green).
3. If the contacts are not synchronized, click Sync.

⚠️ Note: If you use iCloud to store notes, they too need to be exported manually through Mail or third-party apps. Google Drive does not transfer notes from iOS automatically.

Installation and configuration of Google Drive on iPhone

If you don’t already have Google Drive, download it from the App Store. After installing it, follow the following steps:

1. Sign in to your Google account (preferably use the same one you use on Xiaomi).

To speed up the process, it is recommended to create a separate folder for transfer:

1. Press. + → folder.
2. Name her, for example, Migration_to_Xiaomi.
3. Open the folder and click Download.

Now we can start uploading files, and let's start with the most important thing, contacts.

Transfer contacts from iPhone to Xiaomi

Contacts are the only type of data that can't be downloaded directly to Google Drive as a file. They need to be exported to.vcf first and then imported to Xiaomi. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Exporting contacts with iPhone

1. Open Contacts on your iPhone.
2. Click on any contact, then Groups (top of the screen).
3. Select All iCloud contacts (or another group if the contacts are stored locally).
4. Return to the contact list, click Share (in iOS 16)+ It's an icon of a square with an arrow).
5. Select Export vCard and save the file to Files.

Step 2: Upload contacts to Google Drive

1. Open Google Drive and go to the folder Migration_to_Xiaomi.
2. Press. + → Download and select the saved.vcf file.

Step 3: Import contacts to Xiaomi

1. On Xiaomi, open Google Drive and download the.vcf file.
2. Open the file – the system will prompt you to import contacts to Google Contacts.
3. After import, check synchronization in Settings → Accounts. → Google → Synchronization of contacts.

⚠️ Attention: If you have more 3000 ● Break them down into several.vcf files (by contact) 1000-1500 Large files may not be imported correctly on Android.

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Before exporting contacts, check them for duplicates with apps like Contacts Cleanup (App Store), which will save time on import.

Transfer of photos, videos and documents

Multimedia files are the easiest to transfer, and you can upload them directly to Google Drive without converting them first.

Method 1: Download through Google Drive

1. Open Google Drive on your iPhone.
2. Go to the file. Migration_to_Xiaomi.
3. Press + → Download.
4. Select Photos and Videos (or Review for Documents).
5. Mark the desired files and click Download.

To speed up the process:

• 📂 Upload files in folders, not one at a time (e.g. the entire Camera Roll album).
• 🔄 Use Background Boot (includes in Google Drive settings).
• 📶 If you have a lot of files, do it at night when internet traffic is minimal.

Method 2: Automatic sync with Google Photos

If you have Google Photos enabled, all media files will automatically appear on Xiaomi after you log in to the same account.

1. Open Google Photos on your iPhone.
2. Click on the avatar → Photo settings → Backup and synchronization.
3. Make sure the switch is active and the original quality is selected (if quality preservation is important).

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To transfer Live Photos from your iPhone, use Google Photos, which saves animations. When you upload Live Photos from Google Drive, they turn into static images.

Transfer of other data: notes, calendars, passwords

Not all types of data can be transferred directly to Google Drive, but here are alternative ways to do so:

Notes (Apple Notes) → Google Keep)

The standard Notes app on the iPhone does not export data to a compatible format.

• 📝 Use third-party apps like Notion or Evernote to sync.
• 📧 Send notes to your Gmail and save them to Google Keep.

Calendars (Apple Calendar) → Google Calendar)

1. On iPhone, open Settings → Calendar → Accounts.
2. Add a Google account and enable calendar sync.
3. On Xiaomi, log in to the same account – calendars will automatically pull up.

Passwords (iCloud Keychain) → Google Password Manager)

Note: Apple does not allow you to export passwords from iCloud Keychain directly.

• 🔑 Use password managers like this. 1Password or Bitwarden for migration.
• 🌐 Manually transfer critical passwords (banks, social networks) through Settings → Passwords on iPhone.

⚠️ Warning: Don't store passwords in a text file on Google Drive - it's not secure. Use specialized services with encryption.

Completion of the transfer: setting up Xiaomi

Once all the data is uploaded to Google Drive, you have to configure Xiaomi to import correctly.

1. Log in to Google account: Go to Settings → Accounts. → Add an account → Google. Please provide the same address you used on your iPhone.
2. Turn on sync: In your Google account settings, activate the switches for Contacts, Calendar, and Google Drive.
3. Download files: Open Google Drive, find a folder Migration_to_Xiaomi. Select the files → Download (they will be saved in downloads).

Move the media to the gallery

• Use the Files. → Downloads to move the photo/video to the folder DCIM/Camera.

For convenience, you can install the application "Google Files" (Files by Google), which makes it easier to manage uploaded data, it automatically categorizes files and offers to clear duplicates.

If some files are not displayed in the Xiaomi Gallery after the transfer, check:

• 🔍 File format (e.g,.HEIC Not supported by default on Android).
• 📂 Destination folder (photos should be in the DCIM or Pictures).
• 🔄 Gallery display settings (enable hidden files display).

Common Problems and Their Solutions

Even when following the instructions, users face difficulties, and here are the most common ones and ways to fix them:

If none of the solutions worked, try alternative transfer methods:

• 🖥️ Using a computer (plug both phones and copy files manually).
• 📡 Mi Mover (if Xiaomi model supports this feature).
• ☁️ Using iCloud (download data to your PC, then upload it to Xiaomi).

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If Google Drive is constantly interrupting the download, try using the browser version (drive.google.com) instead of the mobile app.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions