How to Transfer Data from Samsung to Xiaomi: 5 Verified Ways (2026)

The transition from Samsung Galaxy to Xiaomi Redmi/POCO is not just a brand change, but a migration between two different ecosystems. Even if both devices run on Android, manufacturers are adding their own shells (One UI from Samsung and MIUI/HyperOS from Xiaomi), which complicates direct data portability. In this article, the current ways of 2026 that are guaranteed to work for models from Galaxy S21 to Xiaomi 14 Ultra, including the budget series Redmi Note and Galaxy A.

Many users lose messages from Samsung Messages, call history or app settings when they switch, and that's because of proprietary storage formats, like Samsung Health not exporting data directly to Mi Fitness, and Samsung Notes notes don't sync with Mi Notes without additional action, and we'll figure out how to get around these restrictions without losing information or using paid services.

Spoiler: The most reliable method is a combination of Google services + local backup via adb. But if you only need to transfer photos and contacts, 5 minutes with Mi Mover will suffice.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary application for transferring data from Android to Android. It is pre-installed on all smartphones of the brand (starting with MIUI 9) and supports transfer over Wi-Fi Direct without an Internet connection. The main advantage is the preservation of the structure of folders and metadata photos (dates of shooting, geotags).

How it works:

• 📱 Install Mi Mover on Samsung from Google Play (if it is not default).
• 🔗 Connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network or activate the hotspot on Xiaomi.
• 📤 On Samsung, select the role of “Sender”, on Xiaomi – “Recipient".
• 📋 Check the data types: contacts, messages (SMS/MMS), photo/video, audio, documents.
• ⚡ Click "Transfer" and wait until the end (time depends on the amount of data).

Important: Mi Mover does not transfer installed applications and their data (for example, save in games or setup messengers).

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If Mi Mover is “hanging” during the connection stage, turn off the VPN and check that both phones are enabled with Wi-Fi Direct in the wireless network settings.

2. Transfer through Google account (for contacts, calendar, mail)

If you've used Google services on Samsung, most of the data is already synced to the cloud.

• 📇 Contacts (from Google Contacts or Samsung Contacts with sync enabled).
• 📅 Calendar (events from Google Calendar or Samsung Calendar).
• ✉️ Letters and notes from Gmail and Google Keep.
• 📁 Photos and videos uploaded to Google Photos (if autoload is enabled).

Instructions:

1. On Samsung, open Settings → Accounts and Archiving → Account Management.
2. Select your Google account and make sure that sync is enabled for the data you want.
3. On Xiaomi, add the same Google account to Settings → Accounts → Add an account.
4. Wait for automatic synchronization (can take up to 10 minutes).

⚠️ Note: If your contacts were stored only in your phone’s memory (not Google’s), you must export them first:

Open Contacts. → ⋮ (Menus) → Contact management → Exports/imports → Export to.vcf. Then transfer the file to Xiaomi and import it through the same path.

Contact synchronization enabled|Autoload in Google Photos is active|Calendar synchronized|Notes from Keep are available on the new phone-->

3. Local transfer via OTG cable or computer

If the data is larger than 10GB (like a large photo gallery or 4K video), you should use a direct cable connection.

• 🔌 USB-type-c cable → Type-C (or adapter) OTG, if the ports are different).
• 💻 Computer (optional, but convenient for file sorting).
• 📂 File Manager (e.g. Solid Explorer or standard Mi File Manager).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Samsung to your computer via USB and select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Copy the desired folders (DCIM for photos, Downloads for downloads, WhatsApp/Media for media from instant messengers) to your computer.
3. Disable Samsung, connect Xiaomi and transfer files to the appropriate folders.
4. For music, use the Music folder, for documents, Documents.

🔹 The advantage of the method: full control over files, there are no limits on the volume (unlike cloud services).

🔹 Disadvantage: the application settings are not carried over and SMS.

Google Drive (Mi Cloud) and Mi Drive (Google Drive)|Locally (cable, OTG)|Special applications (Mi Mover, Smart Switch)|Manual transfer (by folder)|Another option-->

4. Transportation of messages (SMS/MMS) and call logs

Messages and call history are stored in the Android database and can not be simply copied as files.

We recommend SMS Backup & Restore - it does not require root rights and retains MMS attachments (photos, videos, voice).

1. Install the app on Samsung and create a backup (Backup → select SMS/MMS/calls).
2. Save the backup file (.xml) to Google Drive or your computer.
3. Install the same app on Xiaomi, download the backup and recover the data (Restore).

5. Transfer of applications and their data (without root)

Android does not allow you to simply copy installed apps from one phone to another due to differences in architecture and APK signatures.

• 📥 List of installed apps (so you don’t search for them manually in the Play Market).
• 🎮 Game saving (if the game supports sync through Google Play Games or your account).
• ⚙️ Settings of some applications (for example, WhatsApp or Telegram).

For this:

1. On Samsung, open Settings → Accounts → Google → App Sync and enable the option.
2. On Xiaomi, log in to the same Google account – some apps will install automatically.
3. For games, check if they support cloud-based saves (e.g. Genshin Impact, Clash of Clans).
4. For WhatsApp, back up chats in Settings → Chat → Backup, then restore to Xiaomi the first time you run.

⚠️ Note: Some applications (e.g. banking) require re-authorization on the new device for security reasons:

• 🔒 Application data from DRM (Netflix, Disney+).
• 🎵 Offline music from Spotify or Yandex Music (you need to download again).
• 📊 System application settings (such as Samsung DeX or Mi Share).

6. Transfer of specific data (Samsung Health, Notes, Knox)

Samsung’s branded services have no direct counterparts in MIUI, but their data can be exported:

Samsung Health → Mi Fitness/Google Fit:

1. Open Samsung Health on your old phone.
2. Go to More → Settings → Export data and save the file to the device.
3. Send the file to Xiaomi (for example, via Telegram or cable).
4. Import data to Google Fit or Mi Fitness (if the format is supported).

Samsung Notes → Mi Notes/Google Keep:

• Export notes one at a time to.sbn or.pdf format via Share → Export.
• Import to Google Keep or Mi Notes (the latter supports text notes only).

Samsung Knox (working data):

Data from Samsung Knox (Secure folder, working profile) cannot be transferred to Xiaomi due to hardware binding to the Samsung processor. Copy important files manually before you switch.

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Always use their built-in export features to migrate data from proprietary Samsung applications, and universal backup managers (such as Titanium Backup) will not be able to extract data from secure Knox containers.

7. Post-transfer validation and optimization

After the transfer is completed:

1. Check the storage on Xiaomi: go to Settings → Storage and make sure that the data has taken up the expected amount.
2. Open the gallery and wait for the photo indexing (it can take up to 30 minutes).
3. Run key applications (messengers, banks, social networks) and log in again.
4. Set up notifications and permissions for applications in Settings → Apps → Permissions Management.

🔧 Optimization for MIUI:

• Turn off auto-clean memory for important applications: Settings → Battery → Memory Cleanup in the background.
• Activate adaptive brightness in Settings → Display to save battery.
• Set up gestures in Settings → Additional → Gestures (they are different from One UI).

Frequent mistakes and their solutions