How to Transfer Data from Honor Phone to Xiaomi: A Complete Guide to Comparing Methods

Moving from Honor to Xiaomi is not just about changing your brand, it's also about migrating all your data, from contacts and photos to your message history and app settings, and many users fear this process, fearing losing important information or spending hours manually restarting files, and actually, it can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour to transfer data between these two ecosystems, depending on the method and amount of information you choose.

In this article, we will look at 5 proven migration methods, including official tools (Mi Mover, Huawei Backup), cloud services (Google Drive, Huawei Cloud), and physical cable connection. Particular attention will be paid to transferring data from Honor phones to Xiaomi models with MIUI 14/15, where standard methods may not work properly due to differences in firmware, and you will learn how to avoid typical errors – for example, why some files are not copied or why applications are not restored after transfer.

Preparation for transfer: what to do before the start

Before you start migrating, take a few critical steps to save time and prevent data loss.

Mandatory conditions:

• 🔋 Both phones charge at least 50% (with cable, 70%), and it can take up to 40 minutes, and discharging in the middle of the transfer will interrupt the operation.
• 📶 Stable Internet connection (for cloud methods). If you use mobile Internet, make sure that the tariff allows you to transfer 2-10 GB of data (depending on the file size).
• 🔐 Turn off the screen lock (PIN, a pattern lock) on both devices. Some tools (such as the Mi Mover) require an unlocked screen while running.
• 📂 Free up space on Xiaomi. The transfer will create temporary files, so the new phone should have at least 10-15% of the memory available.

If you are migrating data from Honor to Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 or a newer model, check firmware compatibility. For example, Mi Mover does not work with Honor on Magic UI 7.0+ – in this case, use alternative methods (cloud or OTG cable).

⚠️ Warning: Don't update your firmware to Honor before porting! New versions of Magic UI can block access to system files, making it harder to copy data over the cable.

Charge both phones to 70%+

Connect to Wi-Fi (for cloud-based methods)

Disable screen lock

Free up 10-15% of memory on Xiaomi

Check model compatibility-->

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

Mi Mover is an embedded application on Xiaomi designed to transfer data from other Android devices, it supports the transfer of contacts, messages, photos, video, audio and even some of the app settings.

How to use:

1. On Xiaomi, open Settings → About Phone → Mi Mover (or find the app through search).
2. Select a new user and follow the instructions.
3. Download Mi Mover from Google Play (if it’s not in AppGallery) on Honor.
4. Connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network or use an access point.
5. On Honor, select data to transfer and confirm the transfer.

The speed of transmission depends on the amount of data:

• 📷 5GB of photos – ~15-20 minutes
• 📱 1000 contacts + SMS – ~5 minutes
• 🎵 2GB of music - ~10 minutes

⚠️ Warning: If the Mi Mover is stuck in the Prep phase, restart both phones and try again. A common cause is conflict with background processes on Honor (e.g., battery optimizer).

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Before using Mi Mover, turn off the Power Saving function in the battery settings on Honor – this will speed up the transfer process.

Method 2: Transfer through Google Account (for contacts, calendar, notes)

If you only need to migrate contacts, calendar events and notes, syncing through a Google Account is the fastest and most reliable way, and it works even if the phones are not connected to the same network.

Step-by-step:

1. On Honor, open Settings → Accounts → Google.
2. Select your account and enable sync for Contacts, Calendar, and Google Keep (if you use notes).
3. Wait for the sync to complete (check in Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync).
4. On Xiaomi, add the same Google Account and enable sync.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔄 Automatically update data whenever a device changes.
• 🌐 Access contacts from any device (including PCs via contacts.google.com).
• ⚡ Instant transfer (depending on internet speed).

Limitations:

• 🚫 No SMS photos, videos and applications are transferred.
• 🔒 If your contacts are stored in your phone’s memory (not Google’s), you must first export them to your account.

4 Method 3: Using a OTG cable or adapter (for large data volumes)

If you have more than 20 GB of data (like a 4K photo collection or video), cloud services and Mi Mover can run slowly or with errors, in which case a physical connection via an OTG cable or a USB-C adapter → USB-C is the optimal solution.

What you need:

• 🔌 Cable OTG (if the USB-C connector is on Xiaomi and the USB-C microUSB is on Honor).
• 💾 A flash drive or external SSD (formatted in FAT32 or exFAT).
• 📱 File management application (e.g. Files by Google or standard Explorer on MIUI).

Instructions:

1. Connect the flash drive to Honor via the adapter.
2. Copy all the necessary files (DCIM folders, Downloads, WhatsApp, etc.) to the flash drive.
3. Disable the flash drive from Honor and connect to Xiaomi.
4. Transfer files to internal memory or to the SD- card (if supported).

Advantages of the method:

• 🚀 Transfer speeds up to 40MB/s (5-10 times faster than Wi-Fi).
• 🔒 No risk of data loss due to connection breakdown.
• 📁 You can selectively copy only the right folders.

⚠️ Warning: If the flash drive is formatted in NTFS, Xiaomi may not see it. Use exFAT for files larger than 4GB.

Mi Mover|Google Account|Cable OTG/flash-drive|Cloud services (Google Drive, Huawei Cloud)|Other-->

5. Method 4: Cloud services (Google Drive, Huawei Cloud, Yandex Disk)

Cloud storage is convenient if you want to keep a backup before transferring, or if the phones are in different locations.

Comparison of cloud services:

How to transfer data via Google Drive:

1. On Honor, open Google Drive and click + → Download.
2. Select files or folders (for example, DCIM/Camera for photos).
3. Wait until the download is complete.
4. On Xiaomi, log in to the same Google account and download files through the Drive app.

Features of Huawei Cloud:

• 🔄 You can create a full Honor backup (including apps and settings).
• 📱 Xiaomi will have to download data manually via the browser (there is no official Huawei Cloud client for MIUI).
• ⏳ Free 5GB is only enough for contacts and some photos.

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To move more than 15 GB of data through the cloud, use archiving (ZIP/RAR) – this will reduce the volume by 20-30%.

6. Method 5: Transfer of applications and their data (WhatsApp, Telegram, games)

Standard methods like Mi Mover don’t carry app data — like WhatsApp chat history or game progress — but they need specialized tools.

How to transfer WhatsApp from Honor to Xiaomi:

1. On Honor, open WhatsApp and back up: ⋮ → Settings → Chat → Backup.
2. Connect Honor to your PC and copy /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases to your computer.
3. Install WhatsApp on Xiaomi and sign in to the same account.
4. Connect Xiaomi to your PC and replace the msgstore.db.crypt14 file in /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases with the one copied from Honor.
5. Remove and reinstall WhatsApp on Xiaomi – when you first start it will offer to restore chats.

Portability of games and other applications:

• 🎮 For games, use Google Play Games (if the game supports cloud-based saves).
• 📱 For other applications, try Titanium Backup (root rights required) or Swift Backup.
• 🔄 If the app syncs to an account (e.g., Spotify, Netflix), just sign in to it on Xiaomi.

⚠️ Warning: When you move WhatsApp, don't change your phone number, it will cause you to lose your chat history, and if you do change your number, you won't be able to recover your messages.

7.Typical mistakes and how to avoid them

Even when following instructions, users face problems, and here are the most common mistakes and solutions:

Problem 1: Mi Mover doesn't see Honor

• 🔄 Reboot both phones.
• 📶 Connect to another Wi-Fi network (sometimes the router blocks P2P- connections).
• 🔧 On Honor, enable Settings → Wireless Networks → Wi-Fi Direct Data Transfer.

Problem 2: No photos or videos are tolerated

• 📁 Check if files are hidden (on Honor, open Explorer → ⋮ → Show hidden files).
• 🗃️ If files are on a SD- card, move them to internal memory before transferring them.
• 🔄 Try another method (e.g. cable OTG).

Issue 3: Apps are not restored after the transfer

• 📱 On Xiaomi, open Google Play → Library → Installed and Update Apps.
• 🔧 If the app doesn't install, check compatibility with the Android version on Xiaomi.
• 🔄 System applications (e.g., Topics or Security) may require manual installation APK.

Problem 4: There is not enough space for Xiaomi

• 🗑️ Remove unnecessary files through Settings → Memory. → Cleanup.
• 💾 Move some of the data to the SD- card (if supported).
• ☁️ Upload rarely used files to the cloud (e.g. old photos).

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If the Mi Mover is 99% frozen, don’t interrupt the process – sometimes it ends after 5-10 minutes of waiting.

8 What to do after data transfer

Data portability is only half the battle, and after you complete the process, follow a few steps to make sure that everything is working correctly.

Verification and adjustment:

• 📞 Check contacts: Open Contacts and make sure all numbers are in place (especially pay attention to groups and favorite contacts).
• 📷 Open the Gallery and check that all photos and videos are displayed (sometimes folders may not sync).
• 💬 Run messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) and make sure your message history is restored.
• 🎵 Check the music and downloads: sometimes files are copied but not displayed in standard apps (use Files by Google for search).
• 🔒 Set up the screen lock and fingerprint again (they are not portable).

Optimizing the new phone:

• 🔋 Enable Settings → Battery → Optimize the battery to save charge.
• 📶 Set up Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Access Point (APN) if the internet is down.
• 🎨 Set theme and wallpaper through Themes (on MIUI this is done in Settings → Screen → Wallpaper).
• 🔊 Personalize notification sounds in Settings → Sound and vibration.

If something goes wrong, don’t panic: most data can be re-retrieved, but don’t format Honor immediately after the transfer, but wait 1-2 days to make sure everything is stable.

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After transferring the data, perform a factory reset on Honor if you plan to sell or transfer it to another person, which will delete all personal files.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability from Honor to Xiaomi