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

The transition from Xiaomi to Huawei is not just a smartphone change, but a migration of all digital life: photos, correspondence, notes and even app settings, which many users fear because of the risk of losing data or spending hours manually restarting, but modern tools allow you to perform the transfer in 15-40 minutes, depending on the amount of information and the method chosen.

The main problem is that Xiaomi and Huawei use different ecosystems: MIUI against EMUI/HarmonyOS. This means that standard backups (e.g., through a Google Account) may not recover all data correctly. MIUI-The Messages app won't automatically migrate to Huawei unless you use specialized utilities. 5 working methods, from official tools to workarounds for rare cases.

If you have a Huawei model without Google services (for example, Mate 50 or Google). P60), Some methods (such as moving over Google Drive) will not work, and these devices will require alternative solutions, as described below.

Before you start, check:

• 🔋 Charge of both phones at least 50% (transfer can take up to an hour).
• 📶 A stable internet connection (for cloud methods) or original cable USB-C/Type-C (wire-transfer).
• 📱 Huawei should have enough free space (at least 20% more than the data on Xiaomi).

1.Official way: utility Huawei Phone Clone

The most reliable and quickest method is to use the Huawei Phone Clone app, which is pre-installed on all new Huawei smartphones, but can be downloaded from AppGallery or APKMirror (for Xiaomi) if necessary.

• 📞 Contacts (including groups and contact notes).
• 📸 Photo and video (in original resolution).
• 💬 Communications (SMS and MMS, But not messenger messages!).
• 📅 Calendars and reminders.
• 🎵 Music and documents.
• 📱 Some system settings (wallpaper, brightness, sound profiles).

How to use the Phone Clone:

1. Install the app on both phones (Huawei already has it in the Tools folder).
2. On Huawei, select This is a new phone, on Xiaomi, This is an old phone.
3. Scan it. QR-code from the Huawei screen with Xiaomi camera or connect via Wi-Fi Direct.
4. Select data types to transfer and confirm the start of the process.

⚠️ Note: If Xiaomi has enabled storage encryption (for example, through Settings) → Security → Phone encryption, Phone Clone may not see some files, in which case decrypt the device first or use alternative methods.

The speed of the transfer depends on the amount of data:

Turn off VPN on both phones

Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network (if you use Wi-Fi Direct)

Close all background apps (especially messengers)

Make sure there is enough space on Huawei.-->

2. Transfer via Google Account (for Huawei with the GMS)

If your Huawei supports Google services (e.g. Huawei models) P40 Lite, Nova 9 SE Or older, you can use standard sync through Google Account, which is suitable for basic data, but has limitations:

• ✅ Transferred: contacts, calendars, notes (from Google Keep), photos (if synced in Google Photos is enabled).
• ❌ Not portable: messages, call history, app settings, files outside of Google folders.

Step-by-step:

1. On Xiaomi go to Settings → Google accounts → Synchronize and enable synchronization for all the data you need.
2. Wait for the sync to complete (check in Google Drive → Backups).
3. On Huawei, add the same Google account and enable sync in Settings. → Users and accounts.
4. Install apps from Google Play manually (lists of installed apps are not portable!).

Features of the method:

• 📸 Photos and videos in Google Photos will be transferred in original quality if you have enough space in the cloud.
• 📱 Applications are not automatically portable, but they can be quickly restored through the Play Store. → Library.
• ⚙️ Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings are not synchronized – they will have to be reconfigured.

⚠️ Note: If Xiaomi has used the Mi Cloud app for backup, data from it will not appear in Google Account).

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Before transferring, check if the storage limit in your Google Account is exceeded. If there is not enough space, buy extra space temporarily or clear unnecessary backups.

3. Wireless transfer via cable OTG (bulky)

If you have tens of gigabytes of photos, videos or music, the most reliable way is to connect directly via cable. USB-C OTG. This works even without the Internet, and it doesn't depend on ecosystems:

• 🔌 Cable USB-C to USB-C OTG (Adapters, if the ports are different).
• 📱 File Manager (e.g. Files by Google or Mi File Manager).

Instructions:

1. Connect Xiaomi to Huawei via OTG-cable.
2. On Huawei, in the notification bar, select File Transfer Mode (MTP).
3. Open the file manager on Huawei and go to the section USB-Storage (this is internal memory of Xiaomi).
4. Copy the right folders (DCIM for photos, downloads, etc.) to internal memory or SD-Huawei card.

What data can be transferred in this way:

• 📁 All user files (photos, videos, documents, APK).
• 🎵 Music and podcasts.
• 📄 Downloads from the browser.

What will not transfer: contacts, messages, application settings, instant messenger data.

Tips for acceleration:

• 🗃️ Pre-archive folders (for example, DCIM) into ZIP To Xiaomi, to transfer a single file.
• 🔌 Use a support cable USB 3.1 – this will speed up the transmission by 2-3 times.
• 📴 Turn off automatic uploading of photos to the cloud during the transfer so as not to waste traffic.

4. Transfer of messages and contacts through specialized applications

Standard methods do not always cope with the transfer SMS/MMS And we're going to need third-party tools to do that:

1. SMS Backup & Restore (for Backup & Restore) SMS call history)

• 📥 Install the app on Xiaomi from Google Play.
• 📤 Create a backup and save the file to a memory card or cloud.
• 📥 Transfer the file to Huawei and restore the data (Restore).

2. Super Backup & Restore (for contacts, SMS, applications)

• 🔄 Supports.vcf contact transfer, which can be imported into the standard Huawei Contacts app.
• 📦 Can save APK-Installation files (but not their data!).

Important nuances:

• 🔐 Backup applications SMS Require permission to read SMS — Provide it in the settings.
• 📱 Huawei without. GMS (Mate 50, P60) These applications must be installed through AppGallery or APK.
• ⚠️ Some messengers (such as WhatsApp) block backups with third-party utilities – they need a separate method (see section 5).

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To carry messages from MIUI-Huawei's Messages apps make sure to use specialized utilities. Standard Google or Huawei backups won't carry them!

5. data transfer messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber)

Social media and instant messengers store data on their servers, but local backups (like WhatsApp chat history) don’t automatically sync between Xiaomi and Huawei.

WhatsApp:

• 📱 On Xiaomi, create a backup: WhatsApp settings → chat → Backup copy.
• 📁 Copy the folder. /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases on Huawei (through the OTG cloud).
• 📥 Install WhatsApp on Huawei, log in to the same account and restore chats from local copy.

Telegram:

• ☁️ All chats and media files are stored in the Telegram cloud – just log into your account on Huawei.
• 📁 Local files (downloaded to the device) must be transferred manually through the Telegram folder.

Viber:

• 🔄 In Viber settings on Xiaomi, enable Backup in Google Drive.
• 📥 On Huawei, install Viber, log in to your account and recover data from the cloud.

⚠️ Note: If you use Huawei without Google services, WhatsApp backups in Google Drive will not be available. OTG-cable.

Challenges and solutions:

• 🚫 WhatsApp Recovery Error? Make sure your phone number and Google account are the same as on Xiaomi.
• ⏳ Long copying of media files? Archive folder WhatsApp/Media into ZIP before transfer.
• 🔒 Do you have to transfer the stickers separately through the folder? WhatsApp/Stickers.

6. Transfer of applications and their data (Titanium, ADB)

If you need to migrate not only the apps themselves, but also their settings, game saves or cache, standard methods will not help.

1. Titanium Backup (requires root rights)

• 🛠️ Install the app on Xiaomi (you need root).
• 📦 Create a backup copy of the necessary applications and data (Backup/Restore).
• 📤 Move the Titanium Backup folder to Huawei.
• 📥 Install Titanium Backup on Huawei (root is also needed) and recover data.

2. ADB Backup (without root but with limitations)

adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f /sdcard/backup.ab

This team creates a full backup on Xiaomi, which can then be restored to Huawei:

adb restore /sdcard/backup.ab

Limitations of methods:

• 🔐 Titanium Backup requires root rights on both devices.
• 🚫 ADB Backup does not copy data from some system applications (e.g. Google Play Services).
• ⚠️ Huawei without. GMS recovery ADB may work unstablely.

Alternatives for games:

• 🎮 If the game supports syncing through Google Play Games or Facebook, just sign in to your Huawei account.
• 📁 For offline games, copy folders Android/obb and Android/data manually.

7. Transfer of passwords, notes and other data

Many users forget about hidden data, which also need to be transferred:

• 🔑 Passwords from Google Smart Lock or Mi Browser.
• 📝 Notes from Mi Notes or Google Keep.
• 📍 Save places in Google Maps or Petal Maps.
• 🎧 Uniformity settings (EQ) music-applicant.

How to move:

• 🔑 Passwords: Export them from Google Password Manager (to Xiaomi) to CSV Import to Huawei via Huawei Password Vault.
• 📝 Notes from Mi Notes: Open a note → Exports → keep in PDF or TXT, Then move the file.
• 📍 Google Maps locations: sync automatically when you log in to the same Google account.

⚠️ Note: If you used Mi Cloud to store notes or passwords, export them before switching to Huawei – after deleting the device from your Xiaomi account, access to them may be lost.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data transfer