How to Move Data from Samsung to Xiaomi: A Complete 2026 Guide

The transition from Samsung to Xiaomi is not just about brand change, but also about migrating all the important data: contacts, photos, messages, and even app settings. Many users fear this process for fear of losing valuable information or spending hours on manual transfer. In fact, modern smartphones offer several convenient ways to automatically transfer data, from built-in MIUI features to universal cloud services.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods of portability, including official tools Xiaomi and Samsung, third-party applications and manual methods for those who prefer full control. You will learn which method is the fastest, which saves more data, and how to avoid typical errors (for example, transmission interruption or format incompatibility).

If you've tried to migrate data and you've had problems, at the end of this article, there's an FAQ that solves 90 percent of the common errors, and for those of you who are just planning a transition, we've compiled a method table for speed, reliability and volume.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is an integrated application in Xiaomi, specifically designed to transfer data from other smartphones (including Samsung, iPhone, Huawei, etc.) and works on a point-to-point basis via Wi-Fi Direct, eliminating the need for cloud services or cables, the main advantage of which is the support for most types of data:

• 📞 Contacts (including groups and tags)
• 📷 Photos and videos (folder structure is maintained)
• 💬 Communications (SMS/MMS, but not messengers)
• 📅 Calendars and reminders
• 🎵 Music and documents (if stored in the phone's memory)

To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:

1. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select the Data Portability option (or find the Mi Mover app in the menu after setting up).
2. On Samsung, install the Mi Mover app from Google Play (if it’s not by default).
3. On both phones, connect to the same Wi-Fi network (or create an access point on Xiaomi).
4. On Samsung, select the role of “Sender”, on Xiaomi – “Receiver”.

Charge both phones at least to the 50%|Release. 10-15% memory|Connect to a stable Wi-Fi network|Shut down. VPN firewalls|Close background applications on both devices-->

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ Application data (e.g., saves to games or Instagram settings) are not transferred.
• ❌ WhatsApp and other messengers require separate porting (see Section 4).
• ❌ Some Samsung models (e.g., the Galaxy S22+ with One UI 5.1) may require manual permission settings for the Mi Mover.

💡

If the Mi Mover is stuck in the connection phase, restart both phones and repeat the process. Often the problem is solved by changing the Wi-Fi network to 2.4 GHz (5 GHz may not be supported).

2. Smart Switch Transfer (from Samsung)

Samsung Smart Switch is a mirror tool from the Korean brand that is originally designed to back up and restore data on Samsung devices, but it can also be used to export data to other Android devices, including Xiaomi.

• 📱 System settings (wallpaper, sounds, screen brightness)
• 🔑 Wi-Fi passwords
• 📊 Data from certain applications (e.g. Samsung Notes or Samsung Health)
• 🎮 Game saving (if games support Smart Switch)

Instructions for transfer:

1. Install Smart Switch on Xiaomi from Google Play.
2. On Samsung, open the Smart Switch (usually preinstalled) and select Send Data.
3. Connect your phones with a USB-C → USB-C cable (or via an adapter if the ports are different).
4. On Xiaomi, select “Get Data” and confirm the connection.
5. Select data categories to transfer and wait for completion.

Important: Smart Switch may not port data to Xiaomi with MIUI 14 or later due to changes in security policy, in which case use alternative methods (sections 3 or 5).

3. Cloud Transfer via Google Account

If you use Google services, most of your data is already synced to the cloud, a method that is universal because it doesn’t depend on phone models and works even when you change operating systems (like Android to iOS), but it requires you to pre-set up sync on Samsung.

What can be transferred through Google Account:

• 📞 Contacts (if saved in Google Contacts)
• 📅 Calendars (Google Calendar)
• 💬 Messages (only if you use Google Messages)
• 📷 Photos and videos (if uploaded to Google Photos)
• 🔑 Passwords (via Google Password Manager)
• 📍 Location History (Google Maps)

Step-by-step:

1. On Samsung, open Settings → Accounts and Archiving → Google Accounts.
2. Make sure that synchronization is enabled for all the categories you need (contacts, calendars, etc.).
3. On Xiaomi, when you first turn on, log in to the same Google Account or add it to Settings → Accounts.
4. Wait for automatic synchronization (can take from a few minutes to an hour).
5. For photos and videos, open Google Photos on Xiaomi and wait for the media files to download.

⚠️ Warning: If your contacts are stored in Samsung Account (not Google) on Samsung, they must be exported manually.

1. Open Contacts → Settings → Contact Management → Import / Export.
2. Select "Export to File" (.vcf format).
3. Transfer the file to Xiaomi and import through Google Contacts.

4. Transfer of WhatsApp, Telegram and other messengers

One of the most painful things about changing phones is losing your messaging history. Fortunately, WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber provide tools for backing up and restoring chats. However, the process is different for each app.

WhatsApp

To transfer WhatsApp chats from Samsung to Xiaomi:

1. On Samsung, open WhatsApp → ⋮ → Settings → chat → Backup copy.
2. Back up your Google Drive (make sure your Google account is the same as your Xiaomi account).
3. On Xiaomi, install WhatsApp, log in to the same account and restore chats from backup.

⚠️ Warning: If Xiaomi is running MIUI 13/14 with background activity restrictions, before recovery:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management → WhatsApp.
2. Enable "Shoot", "Background Activity" and "Show notifications".
3. Restart the phone and repeat the recovery.

Telegram

Telegram syncs chats through the cloud, so it is enough:

1. Samsung to export media files (if necessary): Settings → Data and memory → Storage → Media Export.
2. On Xiaomi, log into the same Telegram account – the chat history will automatically pull up.

Viber

For Viber:

1. On Samsung, back up: More → Settings → Account → Backup (save to Google Drive or memory card).
2. Transfer the backup file to Xiaomi (if saved to the card).
3. On Xiaomi, install Viber, log in to your account and recover your data.

WhatsApp|Telegram|Viber|Another |Not using messengers-->

5. Manual transfer via OTG cable or computer

If the automatic methods didn't work (for example, because of firmware incompatibility), you can transfer data manually, which is the most reliable method, but it takes longer.

• 🔌 Cable USB OTG (or adapter for connecting a flash drive to a phone).
• 💻 Computer (optional, for large amounts of data).
• 📁 A flash drive or external drive (if you carry more than 32 GB).

Instructions:

1. Connect the USB drive to Samsung via OTG and copy the desired files (photos, videos, documents) to the folder on the drive.
2. Turn off the flash drive and connect it to Xiaomi.
3. Copy files into internal memory or microSD card.
4. For contacts, export them to a.vcf file (as described in Section 3) and import them to Xiaomi.

⚠️ Warning: When you manually transfer photos and videos, you may lose metadata (date of shooting, geolocation).

• Use a file manager with metadata support (e.g. Solid Explorer).
• Do not change file names or folder structure (e.g. DCIM/Camera).

💡

Manual portability is the only way to guarantee that all files are saved without limiting size or format, but it does not tolerate application settings and messenger data (they must be saved separately).

6. Transfer through third-party applications (e.g. CLONEit)

If built-in tools don’t fit, you can use third-party apps like CLONEit, Send Anywhere, or Xender, which are P2P (device-to-device) and often support more data types than official solutions.

Example of transfer via CLONEit:

1. Install CLONEit on both phones from Google Play.
2. On Samsung, select “Sender” and on Xiaomi, “Receiver”.
3. Connect your phones to a single Wi-Fi network or via hotspot.
4. Scan the QR- code on Xiaomi from the Samsung screen.
5. Select the data to transfer and wait for completion.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party apps, turn off battery optimization for them in Xiaomi settings (Settings) → Annexes → Permits → Auto-start, otherwise the transmission may be interrupted.

7. Checking data after transfer and correcting errors

After the transfer is completed, be sure to check the integrity of the data:

• 🔍 Open the Gallery and make sure all photos/video are in place (check folders DCIM, Pictures, Downloads).
• 📞 View contacts in Google Contacts or the standard Contacts app.
• 💬 Open messengers and check the history of chats.
• 🎵 Run music or videos to make sure there are no corrupted files.

Typical problems and their solutions:

If the data is not fully transferred, try:

1. Repeat the transfer by another method (for example, if Mi Mover does not work, use Smart Switch).
2. Check the free space on Xiaomi (should be at least 10% of the volume of data transferred).
3. Turn off VPN and Firewall – they can block the transmission.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions