How to Transfer Data from Honor to Xiaomi: The Complete 2026 Guide

Why Data Transfers Between Honor and Xiaomi Need a Special Approach

The transition from Honor to Xiaomi is not just a brand change, but a transition between two different ecosystems with unique branded services. → Poco X5) You can use standard tools like Mi Mover, and there are nuances with Honor, because since separating from Huawei in 2020, the brand has been developing its own Honor MagicOS ecosystem, which is not always compatible with the Honor. MIUI Xiaomi.

The main difficulties arise from:

• 🔒 Private Honor Services – some data (such as notes or cloud backups) is stored in proprietary formats and is not exported directly.
• 📱 Enterprise applications – Honor uses its own galleries, calendars and file managers that have no analogues in the world. MIUI.
• 🔄 Android versions – new Honor models (for example, Magic5 Pros) run on Android 13/14 magicos-shelled 8.0, But Xiaomi can use it. MIUI 14/15 with other permission settings.

Fortunately, there are at least 5 working ways to transfer, and we’ll break down each one from the simplest (via Google Account) to the most advanced (using Google Account). ADB Important: If your Honor has Chinese firmware installed (e.g., on domestic models), some methods may not work due to manufacturer restrictions.

Method 1: Mi Mover is the official tool of Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a Xiaomi-branded app designed to migrate data between devices, and it supports transferring contacts, messages, photos, videos, audio, calendars, and even some system settings. However, there is an important limitation: Honor is not on the list of officially supported brands, so when you connect, you may experience a “Device not supported” error.

To get around this limitation, follow the algorithm:

1. Download Mi Mover on both phones: 📱 On Xiaomi: the app is preinstalled (find through the menu search). 📱 On Honor: download APK from the official website of the Xiaomi App Store (version for third-party devices).

Xiaomi

"I'm a new user."

Honor

"I'm an old user."

Xiaomi

Honor

"Annexes"

Make sure that Xiaomi has enough space (the transfer takes up to 20% of memory)|Turn it off. VPN firewalls|Charging both phones >50%|Use stable Wi-Fi (not mobile internet)-->

If Mi Mover can’t see the device, try:

• 🔄 Reboot both phones and reconnect.
• 📶 Connect to another Wi-Fi network (e.g., an access point from your phone).
• 🛠️ Enable the developer mode on Honor and allow "Debugging by" USB" (see next section).

💡

If Mi Mover is stuck in the Preparing stage, try transferring data in parts: first contacts and messages, then multimedia.

Method 2: Transfer through Google Account (most reliable)

Syncing through Google Account is a universal method that works on all Android devices, including Honor and Xiaomi, the main advantage is that the data is automatically updated when you change on one of the devices.

• ⚠️ Not all data types are synchronized (e.g, SMS and call logs are not portable).
• 📁 Photos and videos are synced only if the “Backup and Sync” function in Google Photos is enabled.
• 🔄 Applications are only transferred to their lists (without data inside them).

Step-by-step:

1. On Honor: Go to Settings → Accounts. → Google. Select your account and enable sync for Contacts, Calendar, Gmail, Notes (if you use Google Keep). Open Google Photos and enable Backup (select High Quality for free storage).
2. On Xiaomi: When you first turn on, select "Restore from backup" and log in to the same Google Account. If the phone is already set up, go to Settings → Accounts. → Google → Synchronize and turn on all switches.

Mi Mover|Google Account|Cable OTG|Cloud services (Yandex Disk, Dropbox)|Other-->

Important: If Honor used proprietary applications (such as Honor Notes or Honor Cloud), their data is not synced with Google, in which case you will have to use manual export (see Method 4).

⚠️ Note: If the function "Optimization" is enabled on Xiaomi MIUI" (In the battery settings, synchronization can be slow.

Method 3: Direct Cable Transfer (OTG or USB-C)

Cable use USB OTG or direct connection USB-C — USB-C — It's one of the fastest ways to transfer large amounts of data -- photos, videos, music -- without needing any additional applications, but it's going to take a lot of time:

• 🔌 Cable USB OTG (If Honor has a Type-C connector and Xiaomi has a Micro-USB, which is unlikely for new models).
• 📂 File Manager (e.g. Mi File Manager on Xiaomi or Files by Google).

Instructions:

1. Connect Honor to Xiaomi via cable. On Honor, select File Transfer Mode" (MTP).
2. On Xiaomi, open the file manager and go to the section "USB-device (or "Honor").
3. Copy the right folders: 📷 Photos and videos: /DCIM/Camera and /Pictures. 🎵 Music: /Music or /Download. 📄 Documents: /Documents.

To transfer contacts and SMS via cable:

1. On Honor, export contacts to.vcf (open Contacts) → Settings → Exports/imports).
2. Install an app on both phones SMS Backup & Restore (available on Google Play) and create a backup on Honor.
3. Copy.vcf and.xml files (backup) SMS) Xiaomi and import them.

⚠️ Note: When copying a WhatsApp folder through a cable, chat recovery may fail. For WhatsApp, it is better to use a built-in backup in Google Drive (see Method 5).

Method 4: Manual export of important data (contacts, notes, SMS)

If the automatic methods don't work, you'll have to export the data manually, and this is a good way to:

• 📇 Contacts (if stored on your phone, not Google).
• 📝 Notes from Honor’s branded apps (e.g. Huawei Notes or Honor Notes).
• 💬 SMS call-book.
• 📅 Calendar (if not synced to Google).

Step-by-step action:

1. Export of contacts

Open Contacts on Honor, click on three dots (menu) → "Contact management" → "Imports/Exports" → "Export to file. Save the contacts.vcf file to your phone memory, then transfer it to Xiaomi in any convenient way (cable, cloud) and import through Contacts → Settings → Imports.

2.Exports SMS and call magazine

Install an app on both phones SMS Backup & Restore:

1. On Honor, open the app and click "Create a Backup" (select "SMS" and "Call magazine").
2. Save the backup file to the cloud (Google Drive, Dropbox) or to a memory card.
3. On Xiaomi, download the file and click "Restore".

3.Export of notes from Honor Notes

The Honor Notes app does not have direct export, but you can:

• 📧 Send each note to your own mail via "Share".
• 🖼️ Take screenshots of notes and save them as images.
• 🔄 Use third-party apps like Note Export (available from APKMirror, as removed from Google Play).

Method 5: Cloud Services (Yandex Drive, Dropbox, Telegram)

If you have slow Internet or no cable, you can use cloud storage, which is a good way to transfer:

• 📂 Large files (video, backup copies).
• 📎 Documents and archives.
• 🔄 Backups of applications (such as WhatsApp or Viber).

The best services for transfer:

Instructions for WhatsApp:

1. On Honor, open WhatsApp. → "Settings → chat → Backup".
2. Select Save to Google Drive (make sure your Google account is the same as your Xiaomi account).
3. On Xiaomi, install WhatsApp, log in to the same account and restore chats when requested.

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To move data through the cloud, always check if there is enough storage space. For example, a WhatsApp backup with 10,000 messages can weigh 1-2 GB.

Method 6: Advanced Transfer through ADB (power-user)

If you need to migrate system settings, application data, or hidden files, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB). This method requires command line skills and is suitable for:

• 🔧 Reservations for games (e.g. Genshin Impact or Honor of Kings).
• 📱 Cloning of Wi-Fi settings, Bluetooth devices.
• 🗃️ Backup of application data that is not available on Google Play (e.g. banking).

What you need:

• 💻 Computer with installed ADB Fastboot (download from the official Android website).
• 🔌 Cable USB-C — USB-A (or USB-C — USB-C).
• 🛠️ Developer mode on both phones.

Steps:

1. Enable Developer Mode on both phones: Go to Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI/Honor UI. Press. 7 once on "Assembly Number." Go back to Settings. → Additionally. → For developers and include "Debugging by" USB".

Honor

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

(A confirmation request will appear on the phone – allow backup.)

Honor

Xiaomi

adb restore honor_backup.ab

⚠️ Note: Not all data can be recovered through ADB. For example, SMS Call logs may not be portable due to differences in Honor and Xiaomi database structure.

An alternative is to extract specific files:

• Copying the database SMS: adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db (Root rights required!)

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you move data between Honor and Xiaomi, users are faced with typical problems.

1 Mi Mover doesn't see the device

Causes and solutions:

• 🔌 Incompatible cable – use original Xiaomi cable or certified cable USB-C — USB-C.
• 📶 Different Wi-Fi networks – connect both phones to the same network (preferably to the access point from the phone).
• 🛡️ firewall VPN — Turn them off on both devices.
• 🔄 Older version of Mi Mover – Update the app via Google Play or APKMirror.

2. no contact is transferred or SMS

This is most often due to:

• 📵 Lack of permissions – check that the app has Contacts or SMS Backup & Restore has access to memory and SMS.
• 🔒 Private Honor Services – If contacts are synced to Honor Cloud, export them manually (see Method 4).
• 📱 Different Google Accounts – Make sure that both phones share the same account.

3. Photos and videos are not copied via cable

Challenges and solutions:

• 📁 Hidden folders – enable the display of hidden files in the file manager (Settings) → Show hidden files).
• 🔍 Damaged files – try copying folders one at a time (e.g., first) DCIM, then Pictures).
• 🛠️ Mistake. MTP — Restart both phones or use a different file manager (e.g. Solid Explorer).

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If you are not able to get your photos to Google Photos, check your backup settings and select “Original Quality” (paid) instead of “High Quality” (down to 16 MP).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions