How to transfer data from the old Xiaomi to the new phone: 5 proven ways

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting event, but many users face the same problem: how to transfer all the important data from an old device without losing contact, photos, or save in games? In 2026, owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi have at least five working ways of migration - from the official Mi Mover tool to cloud services and manual copying via computer.

In this article, we will discuss each method in detail, from preparing phones to solving possible errors, you will learn what is the fastest way (hint: this is not always Mi Cloud), how to transfer even data from some applications, and why using a USB-C-USB-C cable, the transfer speed can drop by 30% due to the limitations of the MTP protocol in Android 14.

1. Preparation of telephones before data transfer

Before migrating, there are several critical steps to follow on both devices, and neglecting them can lead to data loss, slow transmission, or even a new phone hanging.

On an old Xiaomi phone:

• 🔋 Charge the battery to minimum. 50% — When transmitting via cable, the energy consumption increases by 20-25%.
• 📶 Connect to a stable Wi-Fi network (if you plan to use the cloud) – mobile Internet may not withstand the load.
• 🧹 Clear the cache in Settings → Warehouse → Cleaning – This will speed up the scanning of files.
• 🔐 Make sure there is no bootloader lock on the device (relevant for rooted phones).

On the new phone:

• 📱 Pass the initial setting to the Data Transfer screen – don’t miss this step, otherwise Mi Mover won’t start.
• 🔄 Update your firmware to the latest version through Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🚫 Turn off the energy saving mode in Settings → Battery – It limits background activity.

Charging both phones >50%|Updated firmware|Power saving mode is off.|Free 10.+ GB on a new phone|Connected to a single Wi-Fi network-->

Pay special attention to the space on the new device, if the old phone is 64 GB and the new one is only 50 GB free, the transfer will end in error, in which case you will first have to archive the data to the computer or external drive.

Mi Mover|Google Account|Cable + Computer |Cloud Services (Yandex Disk, Dropbox) |Never carried-->

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

Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary solution that allows you to transfer almost all data directly over Wi-Fi or cable.The tool is built into MIUI firmware (starting with version 9) and even supports switching between devices on different versions of Android.

How it works:

1. On the new phone, select Data Transfer → From another Android device at the setup stage.
2. On your old phone, open the Mi Mover app (if you don’t have one, download from Google Play).
3. Select a role: new phone - "Recipient", old - "Sender".
4. Connect to a single Wi-Fi network or use it QR-direct-connection.
5. Select data types to transfer (contacts, messages, photos, etc.) and confirm the beginning.

Advantages of the method:

• ⚡ Maximum speed to 50 MB/s when using cable (against 5-10 MB/s on Wi-Fi).
• 📁 Transfer system settings (wallpaper, sounds, screen brightness).
• 🔄 Even some game data is supported (e.g. save in Genshin Impact or save in Genshin Impact). PUBG Mobile).

The transfer time depends on the amount of data:

⚠️ Warning: If a message “Connection Error (code 1040)” appears on the screen during the transfer via Mi Mover, try turning off the message “Connection Error (code 1040)” VPN This error often occurs due to conflict with Xiaomi servers in some regions.

3. Method 2: Transfer through Google Account

If you already had a Google Account linked to an old phone, this method will be the easiest - but also the most limited - data synced through the Google cloud, so speed depends on your Internet connection.

What can be transferred:

• 📇 Contacts (if saved in Google, not in your phone’s memory).
• 📅 Calendars and reminders.
• 📎 Notes from Google Keep.
• 📷 Photos and videos (if you have autoloaded in Google Photos).
• 🎮 Game data if the games support Google Play Games).

How to move:

1. On your old phone, check that sync is enabled: Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync.
2. On your new phone, when you set up, select Copy Data → From another device → Google Account.
3. Enter the same account details as on your old phone.
4. Choose which data to restore (contacts, applications, etc.).

⚠️ Note: If encryption was enabled on the old phone (in Settings) → Security, some data (e.g, SMS) In this case, use Mi Mover or manual export.

The main disadvantage of the method is not tolerated:

• 📁 Files from internal memory (music, documents).
• 📱 System settings (MIUI).
• 🔧 Save most games (except those that support Google Play Games).

💡

If you use Google Photos to transfer media files, check the quality settings in advance: Settings → Backup and Sync → Download quality. Select “Original Quality”, otherwise photos and videos will be compressed to 16 MP and 1080p respectively.

Method 3: Transfer via cable and computer

This method is suitable if you do not have access to Wi-Fi or want full control over the files being ported, you will need a computer (Windows, macOS or Linux) and a USB-C-USB-A cable (or USB-C-USB-C if both phones are modern).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your computer and select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Copy the folders you need (DCIM for photos, Download for downloads, etc.) to your computer.
3. Turn off your old phone and connect a new one, also in MTP mode.
4. Transfer files from your computer to your new phone.
5. For contacts and SMS, export to.vcf (contacts) and.xml (SMS) via applications like Super Backup.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔍 Selective transfer – only the necessary files can be copied.
• 🛡️ Security – data is not transmitted via the Internet.
• 🔄 It is suitable for any device, not even for MIUI.

Disadvantages:

• ⏳ Longer than Mi Mover or the cloud.
• 🔌 Computer and cables required.
• 📂 Application settings and system data are not transferred.

5. Method 4: Cloud Services (Mi Cloud, Yandex Disk, Dropbox)

If you have slow internet or little free space on your phones, cloud services are a good alternative. Xiaomi offers its own Mi Cloud (5GB for free), but there are others to use - Yandex Disk (10GB), Dropbox (2GB) or Google Drive (15GB).

How to transfer data through Mi Cloud:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Enable backup for the data you need (contacts, notes, SMS, etc.).
3. Wait until the synchronization is complete (it can take anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours).
4. On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account and recover data from the cloud.

Comparison of cloud services:

Important nuances:

• 📶 For large files (video) 4K, Archives are better to use Yandex Disk or Google Drive – they have higher limits.
• 🔒 If two-factor authentication is enabled in Mi Account, a code from the new phone will be required when you log in. SMS.
• ⏱️ Download time depends on the speed of the Internet. For example, 20 GB of photos on the Mi Cloud at a speed of 5 MB / s will be downloaded. ~1.5 hours.

💡

If you are using Mi Cloud, check to see if your backups have expired before transferring. Xiaomi stores them for only 30 days by default, after which they are automatically deleted.

Method 5: Transfer over a memory card (microSD)

If your old and new phones support microSD cards, this method may be the easiest to use — especially for transferring media files, documents, and some applications.

How it works:

1. Put the memory card in your old phone.
2. Move the necessary files to it (you can use the Explorer or Gallery for photo / video).
3. Remove the card and insert it into a new phone.
4. Copy files into internal memory or leave them on a map.

What can be transferred:

• 📷 Photo and video (folder) DCIM).
• 🎵 Music and podcasts (Music folder or Podcasts).
• 📄 Documents (PDF, Word, Excel).
• 🎮 Some game saves (if stored on a map).

Limitations:

• 🚫 Not carried forward: contacts, SMS, system settings, data from most applications.
• 🔄 If the card is formatted as internal memory (in Settings) → The storage, you can't just pull it out -- you need to transfer the data to the computer first.
• 🛠️ On new Xiaomi phones (like Redmi Note 13 Pro)+) There may not be a microSD slot – check the model specifications.

⚠️ Note: If you use an exFAT memory card (for files) >4GB) and the new phone runs Android 10 or older, you may have trouble reading. FAT32 (But remember, this format does not support files larger than 4 GB).

7. Solving problems in data transfer

Even if you follow the instructions correctly, you can get errors, and here are the most common problems and solutions.

If none of these methods work, try alternative tools:

• 📲 CLONEit is a third-party data portability app (works even between different brands).
• 🖥️ Xiaomi PC Suite - the official program for controlling the phone through the computer.
• 🔄 ADB Pull/Push — for experienced users (requires the inclusion of debugging by USB).

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability with Xiaomi