How to Transfer Data from Samsung Phone to Xiaomi Redmi: A Complete 2026 Guide

The transition from Samsung to Xiaomi Redmi is not just about changing the brand, but also the need to migrate all the important data: contacts, photos, messages, even app settings, which many users fear will take hours or lead to loss of information, in fact, with the right approach, migration takes between 15 and 40 minutes depending on the amount of data and the method chosen.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to transfer data – from official Mi Mover and Samsung Smart Switch utilities to cloud services and manual copying. You will learn which method is right for your case, how to avoid common mistakes (like losing your WhatsApp chat history), and what to do if devices can’t see each other. We will pay special attention to the nuances of working with the Redmi Note 12/13 and Samsung Galaxy flagships S23/S24, where there may be problems with the compatibility of transmission protocols.

If you've tried to migrate data and you've encountered errors, at the end of this article, there's an FAQ that solves 90 percent of the problems that are common, and for those who want to save time, we've compiled a comparative chart of methods on speed, reliability, and supported data types.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a proprietary solution from Xiaomi, optimized for data transfer from devices to Android (including Samsung) and even iOS. The utility is pre-installed on all Redmi and POCO smartphones, but it can also be downloaded from Google Play to an old phone.

• 📞 Contacts (including groups and notes)
• 📷 Photo and video (with preservation) EXIF-data)
• 💬 Messages (SMS/MMS + the history of some messengers)
• 📁 Applications (APK-files + data for part of programs)
• 🎵 Music and documents
• 📍 System settings (Wi-Fi passwords, wallpaper, audio profiles)

How does it work? It creates a local Wi-Fi network between devices and transfers data directly, without downloading to the cloud, which guarantees top speeds (up to 20 MB/s) and privacy — your files don't leave your phones.

⚠️ Warning: Samsung phones with Android 12+ may need to temporarily disable Knox Data Protection in the developer settings, otherwise Mi Mover will not be able to access some system folders.

Step-by-step:

1. On Xiaomi Redmi, open Settings → About Phone → Mi Mover (or find the utility through search).
2. On Samsung, install Mi Mover from Google Play and launch it.
3. Select on both phones the option “I am the sender” (on Samsung) and “I am the recipient” (on Redmi).
4. Scan the QR- code from the Redmi screen with the Samsung camera for pairing.
5. Select data types to transfer and confirm the transfer.

Charging both phones > 50%|Shut down. VPN firewalls|Connect to a single Wi-Fi network (or use a mobile hotspot)|Release. ≥ 2GB of storage on the Redmi|Make sure that Samsung has power saving disabled-->

Average transport time:

• 10-15 GB of data: ~20 minutes
• 30–50 GB: ~40–50 minutes
• 100+GB: Cable is recommended (see Section 3)

2.Alternative: Samsung Smart Switch

If Mi Mover doesn’t work for some reason (e.g., doesn’t see the device or gives an error called “Incompatible version of Android”), you can try the reverse approach – using Samsung Smart Switch.

An important difference from Mi Mover: Smart Switch does not tolerate system settings and application data (only APK- files).

• 📞 Contacts and calendar (including reminder events)
• 📷 Photo/video in original quality (no compression)
• 💬 SMS/MMS (but not the history of messengers)
• 🎵 Music and call recordings

Instructions:

1. Install Samsung Smart Switch on Xiaomi Redmi from Google Play.
2. Connect your phones with a USB-C → USB-C cable (or via an adapter if the ports are different).
3. On Samsung, select Send Data, on Redmi, Receive Data.
4. Select file types and wait for completion (a report on the transferred data will appear on the screen).

Mi Mover|Samsung Smart Switch|Google Drive, Mi Cloud |Manual transfer via computer |Never transferred data-->

⚠️ Warning: When using Smart Switch on Redmi Note 12 Pro+ and later, there may be an error "USB- connection unstable." Solution: use the original Xiaomi cable and disable Debugging from USB in the developer settings.

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ Works even on older Samsung models (up to the Galaxy S7)
• ✅ Save folder structure (e.g., DCIM/Camera will remain unchanged)
• ✅ Supports browser bookmarking transfer (if Samsung used the Samsung Internet)

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Does not transfer application data (e.g. saves to games)
• ❌ Slower than Mi Mover when transmitted over Wi-Fi (~10 MB/s)
• ❌ Can "hang" during the preparation stage if Samsung has encryption enabled

3.Transfer via OTG cable: maximum speed

If you have an OTG cable (or USB-C → USB-A adapter), you can connect Samsung to the Xiaomi Redmi as an external drive and copy files manually.This method is the fastest (up to 40 MB/s) and reliable, but requires additional actions to transfer contacts and messages.

What you need:

• 🔌 OTG Cable (or adapter + conventional USB- Cable)
• 📱 File Manager on Redmi (e.g. Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer)
• 🔧 Access to Samsung Developer Settings (to enable USB- debugging)

Step-by-step:

1. On Samsung, turn on Developer Mode (7 times click on the Build Number in Settings → About Phone).
2. In the developer settings, activate USB- debugging.
3. Connect Samsung to Redmi via OTG- cable.
4. On Redmi, open the file manager and select the connected device (Samsung will appear as an external drive).
5. Copy the folders you need: DCIM - Photos and Video Download - Music downloads - audio files WhatsApp/Databases - Chat backups (additional configuration required)

For the transfer of contacts and SMS:

1. On Samsung, export your contacts to the.vcf file (Contacts → Settings → Export).
2. Copy the file to Redmi and import through Contacts → Settings → Import.
3. For SMS, use the SMS Backup & Restore app (create a backup on Samsung and restore to Redmi).

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If Redmi doesn’t see Samsung through OTG, try plugging the phone into your computer and copying the files to a flash drive, and then from a flash drive to Xiaomi. This will take longer, but guarantee 100% success.

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ Maximum transmission speed (2-3 times faster than Wi-Fi)
• ✅ Complete control of the files being transferred
• ✅ It works even without the internet.

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Requires manual import of contacts and messages
• ❌ Does not tolerate application and system settings
• ❌ You must buy OTG- cable (if not available)

4. Cloud services: Google Drive, Mi Cloud, Samsung Cloud

If you have slow internet or little space on your devices, cloud services are a good alternative, and the main advantage is that you don't have to connect your phones to each other, but there are also downsides: a capacity limit (like 15 GB on Google Drive) and download/download time.

Comparison of services:

How to transfer data via Google Drive:

1. On Samsung, open Google Drive and click "+" → Download.
2. Select files to transfer (you can download entire folders).
3. On Redmi, log in to the same Google account and download files via Google Drive or Google Photos.
4. For contacts: sync them with Google Contacts on Samsung, then on Redmi enable sync in Settings → Accounts.

⚠️ Warning: When using Mi Cloud, photos and videos are compressed to 1920×1080 resolution, even if the originals were in 4K. If it is important to maintain quality, use Google Photos in the "Original Quality" mode (requires a paid tariff).

5. Transfer of applications and their data

One of the most difficult aspects of migration is saving these applications: progress in games, settings of messengers, browser history, etc. Most methods (including Mi Mover) only transfer APK- files, but not saves. Here is how to solve this problem:

Method 1: Backups through accounts

Many apps support synchronization through accounts:

• 🎮 Games: Google Play Games (for Android games) or developer accounts (for example, Supercell ID for Clash of Clans)
• 💬 Messengers: WhatsApp (via Google Drive), Telegram (cloud sync), Viber (backup in settings)
• 🌐 Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge sync bookmarks and history through an account

Method 2: Manual copying of folders

Some applications store data in folders on the device, such as:

• /Android/data/com.supercell.clashofclans/ - save Clash of Clans
• /Android/obb/ – additional game files (cache, graphics)
• /Android/data/com.whatsapp/ – WhatsApp media files

Copy these folders to Redmi in the same location, and the apps will pick up the data automatically.

Method 3: Backup applications

Utilities like Titanium Backup (requires root) or Swift Backup (works on some firmware without root) allow you to create a full backup of applications and their data, but this method is only suitable for advanced users.

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For most applications, just log in to the same account on a new phone — the data is synchronized automatically, except for games and some messengers, where you need to manually set up.

6. Frequent errors and their solutions

Even if you follow the instructions, you can have problems. Here are the TOP-5 errors and how to fix them:

1. Mi Mover does not see Samsung Solution: Check that both phones are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled. Turn off Power Saving Mode on Samsung. Reboot both devices and try again. If you are using Android 13+, allow Mi Mover to access All files in the app settings.
2. Transfer interrupts 99% Solution: Free up ≥1GB of memory on Redmi (even if it seems like there's enough space); turn off Auto-Update apps on Google Play while you're porting; try another method (e.g., OTG cable instead of Wi-Fi).
3. Contacts from SIM- Cards are not transferred Solution: Import contacts from SIM to phone memory on Samsung (Contacts → Settings → Import / Export). Use Google Contacts for sync.
4. WhatsApp does not restore chats Solution: Detailed instructions for restoring WhatsApp 1. Make sure Redmi has the same version of WhatsApp installed as Samsung. 2. Copy the WhatsApp folder (with the file msgstore.db.crypt14) to the Redmi root directory. 3. Install WhatsApp on Redmi, confirm your phone number and wait for the suggestion to restore the chats. 4. If the recovery does not begin, delete WhatsApp, restart your phone and install again. ⚠️ Important: Do not open WhatsApp on Redmi before copying files!
5. Redmi does not see Samsung through OTG Solution: Try another cable (preferably original from Xiaomi). On Samsung, in the USB- Connection settings, select File Transfer (MTP). Disable USB- debugging in the developer settings on Samsung.

If none of these methods worked, try a combination approach:

1. Move your photos/video through Google Photos.
2. Contacts sync through Google Account.
3. Port the applications and their data manually (as described in Section 5).
4. SMS export via SMS Backup & Restore.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions