How to transfer data from Huawei to Xiaomi: 5 proven ways

Moving from Huawei to Xiaomi is not just about changing the brand, but also the need to transfer all the important data: contacts, photos, messages, and even app settings. Many users have difficulty trying to synchronize between the two ecosystems, especially if they used Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) proprietary services before. Unlike moving within the same line (for example, from Mi 11 to Mi 13), this requires considering the characteristics of both manufacturers.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to migrate data, from official Xiaomi tools to universal solutions that work on any Android device. You’ll learn how to avoid file loss, why some methods may not work on new Huawei models without Google services, and what hidden settings will speed up the process. And if you’re afraid of losing something important, at the end of this article there’s a checklist for checking before you migrate.

Preparation for transfer: what to do before the start

Before you start the transfer, make sure that both devices are ready for the procedure, which will eliminate errors such as interrupted transfers or file incompatibility.

On Huawei, check:

• 🔋 Battery charge at least 50%, data transfer can take up to an hour, and discharging in the process will lead to failure.
• 📶 Free space – Xiaomi should have at least 20% more space than portable files (for example, for 30 GB photos you need 36 GB of free space).
• 🔄 Version EMUI. On Huawei with EMUI 10.1 and may not support Google Mobile Services (GMS), What is blocking some methods.

On Xiaomi:

• 📱 Update. MIUI Up to the latest version through Settings → The phone. → System updates. Older versions (below) MIUI 12) may not support modern transmission protocols.
• 🔌 Use the original cable (preferably from Xiaomi's kit) and cheap cables often don't transmit data, only charge.
• 🚫 Turn off battery optimization for portability applications: go to Settings → Annexes → Permits → Autostart and enable Autostart for Mi Mover or Phone Clone.

⚠️ Note: If your Huawei is running HarmonyOS (not Android), standard transfer methods through Google Account will not work, in which case use a physical cable or cloud services like Huawei Cloud for export.

2.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is an integrated application on all Xiaomi smartphones designed to transfer data from other Android devices. It supports the transfer of contacts, messages, photos, video, audio, notes and even some of the application settings. The main advantage is that it does not require root rights and works without an Internet connection.

Instructions for use:

1. On Xiaomi, open the Mi Mover app (if not, download from the App Gallery or APKMirror).
2. Select the option “I am a new user” (or “Receive” in English).
3. On Huawei, install Mi Mover from Huawei AppGallery (if available) or download APK from Xiaomi's official website.
4. Run Mi Mover on Huawei and select “I’m an old user” (Send).
5. Connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network or use a direct connection via an OTG cable (recommended for large amounts of data).
6. On Huawei, tick the data types to transfer and click "Send".

The transmission speed depends on the method:

⚠️ Warning: If Mi Mover can't see Huawei via Wi-Fi, check if the firewall is blocking EMUI Transfer data. Turn it off in Settings. → Security → firewall.

Install Mi Mover on both phones | Check battery power (>50%) | Connect to one Wi-Fi network or use cable | Turn off battery optimization for Mi Mover | Close background apps-->

3.Alternative: Huawei's Phone Clone

The Phone Clone is Huawei’s answer to migration tools, but it works the other way around: from Huawei to other brands, including Xiaomi, which has the advantage of being better at migrating data from proprietary Huawei apps (like Huawei Health or Huawei Notes).

How to transfer data:

1. Download Phone Clone to both devices from AppGallery (for Huawei) or Google Play (for Xiaomi).
2. On Xiaomi, select “This is a new phone” and on Huawei, “This is an old phone.”
3. Scan it. QR-code from the Xiaomi screen with a Huawei camera or connect via a direct Wi-Fi connection.
4. Select data to transfer. Phone Clone supports: 📞 Contacts and call log 💬 Communications (SMS and MMS) 📷 Photos and videos (including Huawei Gallery albums) 🎵 Music and audio recordings 📝 Notes and calendar

Confirm the transfer and wait until it's done.

Features of the Phone Clone:

• ✅ Transfers data from Huawei-specific applications (like Huawei Wallet) that Mi Mover ignores.
• ❌ Does not support the transfer of installed applications (APK) — only their data (for example, saves in games).
• ⚡ Faster than Mi Mover when transmitted via cable (up to 40 MB/s).

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If the Phone Clone is 99% getting stuck, restart both phones and try again, often due to a conflict of background EMUI processes.

4.Move over Google Account (if Huawei supports GMS)

If your Huawei is released before 2019 or runs on EMUI 9.0 or lower, it probably has Google Services (GMS) installed on it, which makes it easier to port, as you can use Google Account to sync contacts, calendar, photos and even some settings.

Step-by-step:

1. On Huawei, open Settings → Accounts. → Google and enable synchronization for: 📇 Contacts 📅 calendar 📎 Google Drive (for photos and documents) 🎮 Game data (if you use Google Play Games)

Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Synchronization

Xiaomi

Google Account

Settings → Accounts and synchronization → Add an account

Enable synchronization for the same data categories.

Google Photo

Xiaomi

Limitations of the method:

• 🚫 Not tolerated. SMS/MMS — They need a separate backup (see section). 5).
• 📱 Apps are not automatically portable, but their data (such as game progress) will be restored if they are linked to a Google Account.
• 🔒 Huawei without. GMS (For example, the Mate 40 Pro or later, this method does not work.

5. Manual transfer: contacts, SMS and media files

If the automatic methods didn't work, or you want to migrate only certain types of data, you can do it manually, and it takes longer, but gives you complete control over the process.

Transfer of contacts:

1. On Huawei, export contacts to.vcf: Open the Contacts app. ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Export to storage. Select a VCard file (.vcf) and save to a memory card or internal memory.

.vcf

Xiaomi

Xiaomi

Contacts → ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Import from the device

SMS portability:

Use the SMS Backup & Restore app to transfer messages:

1. Install it on both phones from Google Play (or download the APK for Huawei without GMS).
2. On Huawei, create a backup: Backup → Select Everything → Back → Create a backup.
3. Transfer the backup file (usually in the SMSBackupRestore folder) to Xiaomi.
4. On Xiaomi, restore messages: Restore → Select file → Restore.

Portability of photos and videos:

• 📁 Connect Huawei to your computer via cable and copy folders DCIM, Pictures and Movies on PC.
• 🔄 Connect Xiaomi and transfer files to the same folders.
• ☁️ Alternative: Upload media files to Google Photos, Yandex Drive or Huawei Cloud, and then download to Xiaomi.

⚠️ Note: When manually transferring photos through the cable, Xiaomi may not display them in the gallery right away.Reboot your phone or use the Files by Google app to scan the storage.

6. Transfer of applications and their data

Transfer of the applications themselves (APK-The task between Huawei and Xiaomi is not trivial due to differences in architecture and services, but you can transfer application data (save games, setup messengers, etc.) and then install the applications again.

Method 1: Titanium Backup (requires root)

If both phones have root access, use Titanium Backup:

1. Install Titanium Backup on Huawei.
2. Create a backup of application data: Backup → Packet Action → Backup of all user applications.
3. Move the Titanium Backup folder to Xiaomi.
4. Install the same apps on Xiaomi (from Google Play or APKMirror).
5. Recover data via Titanium Backup on Xiaomi.

Method 2: Through cloud-based application services

Many apps support syncing through their own accounts:

• 🎮 Use Google Play Games or accounts in games (e.g. Facebook for Candy Crush).
• 💬 Messengers: WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber data are tied to the phone number – just install the application on Xiaomi and log in under the same number.
• 📊 Social Media: Instagram, TikTok and Facebook save data in the cloud – just log in to a new device.

Method 3: Transfer APK-files (without data)

If you only need to transfer the applications themselves (without saving):

1. Use it on Huawei. APK Extractor (from Google Play or APKMirror) for extraction APK-file.
2. Move the APK to Xiaomi and install manually (allow installation from unknown sources in Settings → Applications → Special Access → Install unknown applications).

⚠️ Attention: Installation APK Huawei on Xiaomi may cause errors due to differences in Android version or processor architecture (ARM/x86). Before installing, check compatibility on the developer’s website.

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The only way to port these applications without root is for programs that support cloud sync, and the rest will require manual backup or specialized tools like Titanium Backup.

7. Frequent errors and their solutions

Even when following instructions, users often encounter problems, and here are the most common errors and ways to correct them:

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

• 📲 Shareit – works without the Internet, but slower than Mi Mover.
• 🔗 Xender – Supports Wi-Fi Direct transmission.
• ☁️ Send Anywhere – Easy to transfer large files (up to 10 GB at a time).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions