How to Transfer Data from Old Android to New Xiaomi Phone: Full Guide 2026

Contents

• Introduction: Why Data Transfers to Xiaomi Need a Special Approach
• Preparing an old phone: what to do before transferring
• Method 1: Mi Mover – Xiaomi’s official solution without a computer
• Method 2: Transferring your Google Account and Cloud Services
• Method 3: Using a PC for full backup and recovery
• Method 4: Third-party applications for advanced users
• Method 5: Manual transfer of important data without software
• Frequent questions and problems when migrating to Xiaomi

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but many users face the same challenge: how to transfer all the data from an old Android device without losing anything. Contacts, photos, messages, apps and even settings need to be carefully moved to a new device. Unlike the iPhone, which has a single ecosystem, migrating data to Xiaomi can seem more difficult due to the variety of models (Redmi Note 13, POCO X6, Mi 14) and versions of MIUI.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven ways to migrate data, including official tools from Xiaomi, cloud services and manual methods, and pay special attention to nuances that are often overlooked: for example, why Mi Mover may not see some files on older versions of Android or how to circumvent Google’s restriction on SMS backup.

Preparing an old phone: what to do before transferring

Before you start moving, you need to properly prepare the old device, which is a step that is often ignored, but it depends on how smoothly the process goes.

First, check the space available on both phones. If the old device has less than 10% of the free memory, some methods of transfer (for example, through Mi Mover) may not work stable. Delete unnecessary files or transfer them to a memory card. The new Xiaomi should have at least 20-30% of the free space - this ensures that all data will fit without failure.

Second, update the software on both devices, and on the old phone, check the Android version, and on the new Xiaomi, update MIUI to the latest stable firmware, which is important because:

• 🔄 Mi Mover may not work on older versions of Android (below 8.0)
• 🔒 New versions MIUI Better optimized for receiving large amounts of data
• 📱 Some features (such as app portability) are only available in recent updates.

⚠️ Note: If your old phone is from Samsung, Huawei or other custom-shell brands, disable branded backup services (such as Samsung Cloud or Huawei Backup.

Finally, get your chargers ready and make sure both phones are at least 50 percent charged, and data transfer is a power-intensive process, and if the battery runs out in the middle of the operation, it can cause some files to be lost.

Method 1: Mi Mover – Xiaomi’s official solution without a computer

Mi Mover is a proprietary tool from Xiaomi designed to quickly transfer data between devices. It works without a computer, using a direct connection over Wi-Fi (Hotspot) or OTG cable. The main advantage is the support for most data:

• 📞 Contacts, call log, SMS/MMS
• 📷 Photos and videos (including Google Photos albums)
• 🎵 Music and audio files
• 📱 Annexes (APK-Files and their data (not for all applications)
• 📅 Calendar and notes

To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:

1. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select Data Transfer. If your phone is already configured, find the Mi Mover app on the menu or download it from Google Play.
2. On your old phone, install Mi Mover (available for all Android devices).
3. Run the app on both phones and choose who is the sender (old phone) and who is the receiver (new Xiaomi).
4. Connect devices through QR-code (wi-fi) or cable OTG (if maintained).
5. Select the data types to transfer and wait for the process to be completed.

The transfer speed depends on the amount of data and the way you connect, and the cable is faster (up to 50 MB/s), and Wi-Fi is slower (10-20 MB/s), but without wire. Note that some data may not be transferred:

⚠️ Note: If your old phone has encryption enabled (e.g., Samsung with Knox), Mi Mover may not see some files.

Install Mi Mover on both phones|Charge devices to at least 50%|Shut down. VPN firewalls|Connect to a stable Wi-Fi network (if airborne)|Make room for the new Xiaomi-->

Method 2: Transferring your Google Account and Cloud Services

If you prefer not to depend on Xiaomi’s branded tools, you can use a universal way – backup through Google Account, which is suitable for most data, but has limitations on the volume (15 GB free) and file type.

To transfer data via Google:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → System → Backup.
2. Enable Backup in Google Drive and select an account.
3. Click Create a backup now and wait until it is completed.
4. On the new Xiaomi, when setting up, select Restore from backup and log in to the same Google account.

Through Google Account transfer:

• 📞 Contacts, calendar, tasks
• 📱 System settings (Wi-Fi, wallpaper, languages)
• 📲 Data from some applications (if they support backup)
• 📁 Files from Download and Documents folder

There are, however, downsides:

• ❌ Photos and videos are only transferred if they were uploaded to Google Photos separately.
• ❌ SMS and call logs are not automatically backed up (you need to use third-party apps).
• ❌ Apps are only restored from Google Play, but without their data.

For photos, it is better to use a separate backup in Google Photos:

1. Open the Google Photos app on your old phone.
2. Go to Settings → Backup and Synchronization.
3. Enable the function and select quality (Original or High).
4. Once sync is complete, set up Google Photos on the new Xiaomi and log in to the same account.

💡

If you have a lot of photos, connect your phone to Wi-Fi and charging before uploading to Google Photos. Loading a lot of data over the mobile network can take a lot of time and traffic.

Method 3: Using a PC for full backup and recovery

If you need to migrate all the data, including system files or rare formats, the best way is to use a computer, which takes longer, but gives you complete control over the process.

You'll need:

• 💻 Computer with Windows, macOS or Linux
• 🔌 USB-cables for both phones (preferably original)
• 📂 Enough free space on the hard disk (minimum on the 10-20% more than the data on the phone)

Instructions for porting via PC:

1. Create an old phone backup: Connect your old device to your PC via USB. Enable File Transfer (MTP) mode in the phone's notification curtain. Copy all important folders (DCIM, Downloads, Documents) onto your computer. Use programs like SMS Backup & Restore to back up SMS and call.

Transfer the data to the new Xiaomi:

• Connect the new Xiaomi to your PC.
• Copy the saved folders into the appropriate directories on the phone.
• To recover SMS, use the same SMS Backup & Restore program on your new device.

Advantages of third-party applications:

• 🚀 They often work faster than standard tools.
• 🔄 Support cross-platform transfer (for example, from iPhone to Xiaomi).
• 📂 Only the necessary files can be selectively transferred.

Disadvantages:

• ⚠️ Risk of installing malware (download only from official sources).
• 📴 Some applications require a lot of permissions.
• 💰 Free versions may have a limit on the amount of data.

💡

Third-party applications are convenient for one-time transfer of a small amount of data, and for a complete migration, it is better to combine them with other methods (for example, Google Account + SHAREit for photos).

Method 5: Manual transfer of important data without software

If you don't trust automated tools, or you want to migrate only individual data, you can do it manually, and it takes longer, but gives you complete control.

Contact:

• 📱 Export them to.vcf via the Contacts app (Import/Export menu).
• 📧 Send the file to your mail or save it to a memory card.
• 📥 On the new Xiaomi, import contacts from the.vcf file.

Photos and videos:

• 📁 Connect your old phone to your PC and copy folders DCIM and Pictures.
• 💾 Save them to a flash drive or to the cloud (Google Drive, Yandex Drive).
• 📲 Transfer files to the new Xiaomi via cable or download from the cloud.

3. Communications (SMS/MMS):

• 📲 Use the app. SMS Backup & Restore to create backup.
• 📧 Save the file to your PC or cloud.
• 🔄 On a new phone, restore messages from the file.

Annexes:

• 📥 Download them from Google Play on the new Xiaomi.
• 🔧 To transfer application data (for example, saves in games), use Helium or root access.

5. Wi-Fi settings:

• 📡 Connect to each network manually on a new phone.
• 🔑 If there are many networks, write down passwords in advance or use them. QR-codes (in Wi-Fi settings on an old phone).

⚠️ Note: It is easy to miss data when manually transferring, make a list of everything important (e.g. saved passwords in your browser, notes, files from specific folders) and check each item after you transfer it.

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To transfer passwords from your browser (Chrome, Firefox), sync them through your Google account or export them manually through your browser settings.

Frequent questions and problems when migrating to Xiaomi