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

The transition from Huawei Honor to Xiaomi is not just about changing your brand, but also migrating all your data: contacts, photos, messages, and even app settings. Many users fear this process, fearing losing important information or spending hours manually carrying files. In fact, transferring data between these two ecosystems can be done quickly and without loss — if you know the right tools and sequence of actions.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi: from the official Mi Mover tool to manually copying through cloud services, pay special attention to the nuances of compatibility between EMUI (Honor firmware) and MIUI (Xiaomi firmware), and also explain how to avoid common errors, such as loss of call history or incorrect synchronization of accounts.

Whether you’re upgrading from the Honor 8X to the Redmi Note 13 or from the Honor Magic 5 to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, this guide will help keep all the data intact. And if you have any questions about a particular model, at the end of the article you’ll find an FAQ with answers to typical problems.

Preparation for transfer: what to do before the start

Before you start transferring data, check three key points:

• 📱 The battery charge on both smartphones should be at least 50%, the data transfer can take from 10 minutes to an hour, and the discharge in the process will lead to a failure.
• 📶 Stable Internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile network) 4G/5G). Cloud-based transfers will require data uploading/uploading.
• 🔌 Cable OTG or USB-C (If you plan to use a wired connection, make sure that the cable supports data transmission (not all charging cables are suitable!).

Also update the firmware on both devices to the latest version. On Xiaomi, you can do this from Settings → About Phone → System Update, and on Honor, to Settings → Software Update. Outdated versions of MIUI (below 12) or EMUI (below 10) may not support some portability options, such as Mi Mover.

If you use a microSD card in the old Honor, remove it and paste it into the new Xiaomi only after the transfer is complete, otherwise the system may duplicate files or create conflicts in the media database.

⚠️ Note: If your Honor has enabled Application Protection (in EMUI), Temporarily turn it off in Settings → Security → Application protection: It can block data access for portability tools.

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

Mi Mover is an integrated app on all Xiaomi smartphones designed to transfer data from other devices. It supports most Honor models, but there are nuances:

• ✅ Working with Honor on EMUI 8.0 and newer (released after 2018).
• ✅ Transferring: Contacts, messages (SMS/MMS), Photos, videos, music, calendars, notes.
• ❌ Does not tolerate: application data (for example, save in games), Wi-Fi passwords, system settings.

Step-by-step:

1. On the new Xiaomi, open the Mi Mover app (usually in the Tools folder or on the home screen).
2. Select I am a new user → Android.
3. On the old Honor, download Mi Mover from Google Play (if it’s not in AppGallery).
4. Run the app on both devices and select Send Data to Honor and Receive Data to Xiaomi.
5. Scan it. QR-code from Xiaomi screen to Honor or connect via the Wi-Fi hotspot created by Xiaomi.
6. Select the data types to transfer and wait for the process to be completed.

The speed of transfer depends on the amount of data. For example, 10 GB of photos and videos can be transmitted for up to 30-40 minutes. Do not interrupt the process even if the screen is out, just unlock the device.

Make sure there is enough space on Xiaomi|Shut down. VPN both-device|Connect to a single Wi-Fi network (if not in use) QR-code)|Close background apps that consume the internet (e.g. YouTube)|Check that Honor is enabled by debugging USB (if you use a cable)-->

⚠️ Warning: If the Mi Mover is stuck in the Prep phase, try restarting the app on both devices and reconnecting. Sometimes changing the connection type (from Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi) helps. QR-code).

3. Method 2: Transfer through a Google account (for contacts, calendars, mail)

If you only need to transfer contacts, calendars, notes and email, the most reliable way is to sync through a Google account, which works on 100% of devices, regardless of the model and version of the firmware.

How to do this:

1. On old Honor, go to Settings → Accounts → Google.
2. Select your account and enable sync for all the data you need (contacts, calendar, Gmail, etc.).
3. Wait for the synchronization to complete (check in the top notification bar).
4. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, log in to the same Google account or add it to Settings → Accounts → Add an account.
5. Turn on synchronization and wait for the data to load.

The advantage of this method is that it automatically updates contacts and calendars when you add new entries, but photos and videos are synced through Google only if they were uploaded to Google Photos in advance.

If you’ve used Huawei Cloud on Honor, export your data manually from there: go to Settings → Cloud → Backup and save the archive to a memory card or local storage.

Method 3: Wired connection via OTG cable or adapter

If you don't have Wi-Fi or prefer direct data, you can use a USB OTG cable (or a USB-C to USB-C adapter if models support it), a method that is suitable for carrying large amounts of files (photos, videos, music) without compression.

What you need:

• 🔌 Cable USB OTG (for Honor with Micro-USB, or USB-C to USB-C (new-model).
• 📁 File Manager (e.g. Mi File Manager on Xiaomi or Files by Google).
• ⚡ Enough free space on Xiaomi (check Settings) → Warehouse).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Honor to Xiaomi via cable. On the Honor screen, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. On Xiaomi, open the file manager and go to the section USB-storage or external device.
3. Copy the folders you want: DCIM - photos and videos. Download - uploaded files. Pictures, Music - media files.

Xiaomi

DCIM/Camera

To transfer contacts and SMS over the cable, use apps like Super Backup & Restore (available on Google Play), which allow you to back up to Honor and restore it to Xiaomi.

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If Xiaomi doesn’t see the Honor connected, try rebooting both devices and using the original Honor cable, sometimes helping to turn on the developer mode and activate debugging over USB on both smartphones.

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

If you have a slow Internet connection or are afraid of losing data when you connect wired, cloud storage is a good alternative, and the main advantage is access to files from any device and the ability to selectively transfer.

Comparison of services:

How to transfer data via Google Drive:

1. On Honor, install Google Drive from Google Play (if not).
2. Upload files to the cloud: Open Drive → Press + → Download. Select files or folders (e.g. DCIM for photo).

Xiaomi

Drive

Files by Google

To automatically upload photos, turn on the function of Backup in Google Photos on Honor. All new photos will be available on Xiaomi immediately after syncing.

Method 5: Manual transfer via computer (for full control)

If you want full control of the data you are carrying, or if you have outdated models (such as the Honor 7A or Xiaomi Redmi 4X), manual porting over a PC will be the most reliable option.

• 💻 Computer with Windows, macOS or Linux.
• 🔌 Two. USB-cable (or hub if there is one port on the PC).
• 📁 File Manager (Finder, Total Commander, or Finder).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Honor to your PC and select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Copy the folders you need (DCIM, Download, WhatsApp, etc.) to your computer’s hard drive.
3. Disable Honor and connect Xiaomi, also in MTP mode.
4. Move files from your PC to Xiaomi to the appropriate folders.
5. To transfer contacts, export them to.vcf: To Honor: Contacts → Settings → Export/Import → Export to your device. Copy the contacts.vcf file to Xiaomi and import it through Contacts → Import.

This method takes longer, but guarantees 100% data security and allows you to filter out unnecessary files (for example, app cache or duplicate photos).

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Manual transfer over PC is the only way to save application data (such as saving in games or setting up instant messengers) if it is not synced with the cloud.

7. data transfer of specific applications (WhatsApp, Telegram, games)

Some applications require special attention because their data is not carried in standard ways.

WhatsApp:

• 📱 Use the built-in Backup function in Settings → chat → Backup copy.
• 🔄 Move your WhatsApp folder (with backup) to Xiaomi via cable or cloud.
• 📥 Install WhatsApp on Xiaomi, log in to the same account and restore chats from local copy.

Telegram:

• ☁️ All chats and media files are synced automatically through the Telegram cloud (if you used one account).
• 📁 To transfer local files (manually downloaded) copy the Telegram folder from internal memory.