How to transfer data from Xiaomi to Xiaomi over the Internet: a complete guide

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment, especially when it comes to protecting personal data. Photos over the past 5 years, messaging, saved passwords and app settings all need to be transferred without loss. Fortunately, Xiaomi devices have built-in tools for wireless data migration that work even without a computer.

Many users mistakenly believe that transferring files requires a cable or third-party cloud services. In fact, transferring over the Internet (via Wi-Fi or mobile network) is often faster and more reliable. In this article, we will analyze all the available methods, from the standard Mi Mover function to backup in the Mi Cloud, and also explain how to avoid typical synchronization errors.

Important: If you have devices on different versions of MIUI (e.g. Xiaomi 11T on MIUI 13 and Redmi Note 12 on MIUI 14), some features may work differently.

1. Method: Mi Mover is the official tool of Xiaomi

Mi Mover is an integrated data migration app that automatically installs on all Xiaomi smartphones, and allows you to migrate almost everything from contacts to call history, without loss of quality and without volume restrictions (unlike cloud services).

To use Mi Mover, both phones must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network (or one of them must give away an access point).

• 📱 On an old smartphone: open Settings → The phone. → Backup and reset → Data portability (or find the Mi Mover app in the menu).
• 🔄 Select the role "Sender" (or "Old Phone").
• 📶 On the new phone, select “Recipient” and scan. QR-screencode.
• ✅ Confirm the connection and select data types to transfer (contacts, messages, photos, apps, etc.).

Importantly, if the new phone doesn't have a Mi Account yet, the system will suggest you create it before you start transferring, and without this step, migration is impossible.

⚠️ Note: If the old phone has data encryption enabled (in Settings) → Security → Encryption, before transferring it must be disabled, otherwise Mi Mover will not be able to read part of the files.

Disable VPN on both devices | Charge phones at least 50% | Connect to one Wi-Fi network | Remove the screen lock for the duration of the transfer | Free up space on the new phone (at least 10% of the volume of data transferred)

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2. Method: Backup to Mi Cloud

The Mi Cloud cloud storage is another reliable way to transfer, especially if the phones are in different places, the main advantage is that the data is stored on Xiaomi servers, and you can restore it to the new device at any time.

How it works:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn on sync for the desired categories (contacts, notes, photos, etc.).
3. Click on "Backup" and wait for the process to be completed.
4. On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account and restore the data from the backup.

Limitations of the method:

• 📸 Photos in Mi Cloud are compressed to resolution 2048×2048 (If you do not have a subscription to Mi Cloud+).
• 📱 Applications are only transferred as a list for installation (themselves) APK-files are not copied).
• ⏳ Recovery can take hours with a lot of data.

Mi Mover (Direct) |Mi Cloud (cloud) |Google Account | Application Party (SHAREit et al.) | OTG/USB Cable

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3. Method: Google Account (for contacts, calendar and mail)

If you are actively using Google services, you can transfer some of the data through your Gmail account, which is suitable for:

• 📇 Contacts (synchronization with Google Contacts).
• 📅 Calendar (Google Calendar).
• 📧 Letters and Notes (Gmail, Keep).
• 📍 Map data (Google Maps: selected places, history of visits).

Instructions:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Accounts → Google.
2. Make sure that synchronization is enabled for the right categories.
3. Add the same Google account on your new phone, and the data will be automatically pulled up.

Advantage: you don't have to keep your phones close, and the data is always available from any device, and the disadvantage is that you can't transfer photos, videos, apps and MIUI settings.

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If contacts don't show up after syncing, check if they're duplicated in the Contacts app. Sometimes Xiaomi creates separate contact groups from Google and Mi Account, and you can manually combine them in the Contact Management menu.

4. Method: Third-party applications (SHAREit, Xender, Send Anywhere)

If Xiaomi’s built-in tools don’t work for some reason, you can use popular file transfer apps, which create a local network between devices and transfer data without cloud intermediaries.

Top.-3 apps:

• 📲 SHAREit supports file transfer at up to 20 MB / s, there is a cloning function of the phone.
• 🔄 Xender is a simple interface, there are no limits on the amount of data.
• 🌐 Send Anywhere – allows you to send files even over the Internet (without a shared Wi-Fi network).

How to transfer data via SHAREit:

1. Install the app on both phones (you can download it from APKPure if you don’t have access to Google Play).
2. On your old phone, select “Send” and mark the files you want.
3. On the new phone, click "Get" and scan. QR-code.
4. Confirm the transfer, the process will begin automatically.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party apps, disable battery optimization for them in Settings → Annexes → Permits → Auto-start, otherwise the transmission may be interrupted by half.

5. Method: Transfer over a computer (alternative)

If wireless methods are not suitable (for example, because of slow Internet), you can use the computer as an intermediary, and this method is universal and works even with devices on different OSes.

Procedure:

1. Connect the old Xiaomi to your PC via USB and copy all the files you need to the folder on the drive.
2. Turn off the old phone and connect the new one.
3. Move the files back to the new smartphone.

For convenience, use:

• 🖥️ Mi PC Suite – official software from Xiaomi for file management.
• 📁 Total Commander – for quick copying of large amounts of data.

Warning: When you copy through USB, some system files (such as application settings) may not be transferred. For these, it is better to use Mi Mover or backup to Mi Cloud.

Possible errors and their solutions

Even with official tools, there are sometimes failures, and let's look at the most common problems and how to fix them.

Error 1: Mi Mover is suspended during the connection stage.

• 🔌 Reboot both phones.
• 📶 Reconnect to Wi-Fi or create a new hotspot.
• 🛠️ Update. MIUI Up to the latest version (in Settings) → Updating the system).

Mistake 2: There is not enough space in the Mi Cloud.

• 🗑️ Remove old backups in Mi Cloud → Storage management.
• 💳 Get a free trial subscription for Mi Cloud+ (Gives 200 GB for 30 days).
• 📤 Move photos to Google Photos and the rest of the data to Mi Mover.

Error 3: Applications are not restored after the transfer.

• 🔄 Check if application sync is enabled in Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → Annexes.
• 📥 Install the missing apps manually from Google Play.
• 🔧 Reset the settings of the Google Play Store (Settings) → Annexes → Google Play Store → Warehouse → Clear the data).

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If neither of these methods worked, try resetting the network settings on both phones (Settings → Wi-Fi → Additional → Network Resets).This often solves the connection problems in Mi Mover and Mi Cloud.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data transfer