How to transfer data from old Android to Xiaomi Redmi Note: Full Guide 2026

Moving to the new Xiaomi Redmi Note is always exciting, but the process of data transfer often turns into a headache. Are you afraid of losing precious photos, important contacts or saves in games? We have collected all the current ways of 2026 to make the migration smooth – from the standard Mi Mover to little-known life hacks with ADB. In this article you will find not only step-by-step instructions, but also a comparison table of methods, warnings about typical errors and answers to frequent questions.

We focused on the nuances of the Redmi Note line: why some models (for example, Note 12 Pro+) may not work wireless transfer via Mi Mover, how to circumvent the data limit when using Google Account, and what to do if the new phone “can’t see” the old one through cable. All solutions are tested on MIUI 14/15 firmware and are relevant for Android 13/14.

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1.Preparation for transfer: what to do before the beginning

Transferring data is like moving: if you don't prepare in advance, chaos will ensue. Start by cleaning your old phone: delete unnecessary files, duplicate photos and app cache. This will speed up the process and save space on the new Redmi Note. Be sure to check the free space on both devices - some methods (such as Mi Mover) require up to 20% free space on the internal drive.

An important step is to sync your accounts, and make sure that the old phone has:

• 📧 Google Account (for contacts, calendar, Chrome bookmarks)
• 🔄 Mi Account (if you used Xiaomi before – will transfer notes, themes, cloud backups)
• ☁️ Cloud services (Google Photos, Dropbox, Yandex Drive) for media files)

If you haven’t logged in to Mi Account in years, restore access in advance: Redmi Note will require it to unlock some features after the transfer.

⚠️ Note: On Redmi Note models 11/12 s MIUI 14+ When you first turn on, the system can offer to transfer data through Mi Mover — don't skip this step if you want to save time. If you refuse now, later you will have to reset the new phone to the factory settings for a resumption.

2. Method 1: Mi Mover – the official solution from Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a MIUI-built application for wireless data transfer between Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices. It supports transfer of:

• 📱 Contacts, SMS, call-book
• 📷 Photos and videos (including Google Photos albums)
• 🎵 Music and documents
• 🎮 Data from certain games (e.g, PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty)
• ⚙️ System settings (wallpaper, sound circuits, Wi-Fi passwords)

How to use Mi Mover:

1. On the new Redmi Note, when you first turn on, select Data Portability. If your phone is already configured, open Settings → About Phone → Mi Mover.
2. On an old phone, install Mi Mover from Google Play (if it’s not there) and run it.
3. Scan it. QR-code from your new phone or select “Connect Manually” via Wi-Fi Direct.
4. Select data types to transfer and confirm the beginning.

⚠️ Note: On the Redmi Note 10 Pro and older, when transferring more than 10 GB of data, there may be a “Not enough memory” error.Solution: break the transfer into parts (media first, then applications) or use a cable OTG.

Method 2: Transfer through Google Account (for contacts, apps, settings)

If you've used Android before Redmi Note, your Google Account already contains some of the data: contacts, calendars, Chrome bookmarks, some app settings, the most universal, but it has limitations:

• ✅ Transferring: Contacts, SMS (Android 8 only+), Apps from Play Market, Wi-Fi passwords, wallpaper.
• ❌ Cannot tolerate: photo / video (you need to sync separately through Google Photos), music, documents.
• ⚠️ Restriction: Google’s free account only gives 15GB of cloud storage.

Step-by-step:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync and turn on all the switches.
2. Wait for the sync to complete (check in Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Management → Data and Personalization → Synchronization).
3. On the new Redmi Note, when setting up, select “Restore from Backup” and log in to the same Google Account.
4. Select the latest backup (check the date of creation!).

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If the new phone doesn’t offer to restore data when it’s first turned on, reset it to factory settings (Settings → About Phone → Reset) and start settings again. This is the only way to run the recovery wizard.

Method 3: Transfer via OTG cable or adapter (for large volumes)

If you have more than 50GB of data or weak Wi-Fi, an OTG cable (or USB-C to USB-A adapter) is the answer, which is 10 times faster than wireless options and is independent of cloud constraints.

• 🔌 Cable OTG (For the Redmi Note 12/13 — USB-C to USB-C)
• 📱 Old phone with support USB Mass Storage (or File Manager)
• 🔋 Charging for a new phone (transfer drains the battery)

Instructions:

1. Connect the OTG cable to the new Redmi Note.
2. Connect your old phone to the cable (if the connectors don’t match, use an adapter).
3. On the new phone, open Files by Google or the standard Mi File Manager.
4. In the section «USB-Device: Select the internal memory of your old phone.
5. Copy the folders you want (DCIM for photos, Download for downloads, etc.) to your new phone.

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To speed up copying, turn off Battery Optimization for the Explorer app on both phones (Settings → Apps → Permissions → Battery Optimization).

⚠️ Note: Redmi Note 11 and newer when connected via OTG There may be an error «USB-Solution: reboot both phones and use the original Xiaomi cable (cheap) OTG-Cables often do not support data transmission).

5. Method 4: Cloud services (Google Photos, Yandex Drive, Telegram)

If you have slow Internet, but you have a lot of time, cloud services can help you move data without cables, and the main advantage is that you can access files from any device.

Google Photos:

• 📸 Automatic upload of photo/video in High quality (unlimited) or Original quality (from 15 GB of account counted).
• 🔄 On your new phone, install Google Photos and wait for sync.
• ⚠️ Cons: quality compression in free tariff.

Yandex Disk / Mail.ru Cloud:

• ☁️ Give 10–100 GB free of charge when registering.
• 📁 Supports automatic photo uploading (like Google Photos).
• 🔗 You can share folders by link (convenient for transfer to PC).

Telegram (Saved Messages):

• 📎 Suitable for transfer of documents, APK-files, small archives.
• 🔒 Data is encrypted, but the limit is 2 GB per file.
• ⚡ Faster clouds as files are loaded into chat instantly.

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To speed up the loading to the cloud, connect your phone to 5GHz Wi-Fi and turn off background synchronization of other applications (Settings → Special Opportunities → Background Limitation).

Method 5: Transfer over PC (for full control)

If you need to selectively transfer files, edit them before copying them, or back up your hard drive, use a computer, which is the most reliable method, but it takes time.

What you need:

• 💻 PC Windows/macOS/Linux
• 🔌 Cables. USB for both phones
• 📂 Programs: Mi PC Suite (official), Android File Transfer (for Mac), or any file manager

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your PC and copy all the folders you need (DCIM, Pictures, Download, etc.) to the drive.
2. Turn off your old phone and connect a new Redmi Note.
3. Transfer files from your PC to your new phone to the appropriate folders.
4. To transfer SMS and call logs, use programs like SMS Backup & Restore (save the backup on your PC, then restore it on your new phone).

7 Problem Solving: Typical Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Even if you follow the instructions, you can get into trouble, and we've collected the most common problems and solutions.

Problem 1: Mi Mover can't find an old phone.

• 🔄 Reboot both devices.
• 📶 Disconnect mobile data and connect to a single Wi-Fi network.
• 🔧 On your old phone, turn on Developer Mode (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Tap 7 times and activate the "Debugging by" USB».

Problem 2: When you transfer through Google Account, applications are not restored.

Problem 3: The photos are moved but not displayed in the gallery.

• 🔍 Use Explorer to find files in the folder DCIM or Pictures.
• 🔄 Restart your phone – sometimes the media scanner doesn’t update the database right away.
• 📁 Install an alternative gallery (e.g. Simple Gallery).

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If none of these methods work, try resetting the new Redmi Note to the factory and repeat the transfer from scratch, which solves synchronization problems in 80% of cases.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability on Xiaomi Redmi Note