How to transfer data from an old phone to Xiaomi: a complete guide with pictures

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment, especially when it comes to the safety of personal data. Photos over the past 5 years, correspondence in messengers, saved passwords and application settings – all this must be carefully transferred to avoid losing a single byte of information. Fortunately, the manufacturer has provided several official ways of migration, and we added to them verified life hacks from experienced users.

In this article, you will find step-by-step instructions for all popular scenarios: transfer from Android to Xiaomi, migration from iPhone, recovery from backup and even manual copying of files. 80% Users in the first transfer – from incompatibility of versions MIUI before the Mi Account authorization problems, all methods tested on current models 2023-2026 Years: from budget Redmi Note 13 before the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra.

Before you start, check two key points: battery charge of both devices (should be ≥50%) and free space on the new Xiaomi (recommended to leave it ≥15GB for temporary files. If you are transferring data from your iPhone, install the Move to iOS app from the App Store in advance – you’ll need it for most methods.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a proprietary solution from Xiaomi for painless data transfer between devices. It is pre-installed on all smartphones with a mobile device. MIUI 9 and later, supports Wi-Fi Direct (without the Internet) and works even with devices of other brands.

How to use:

• 📱 Turn on Mi Mover on the new Xiaomi: Go to Settings → The phone. → Data portability (or use search by settings).
• 🔄 On your old phone, select Send Data mode (on Android you will need to install the Mi Mover app from the Play Market).
• 📶 Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network or activate Wi-Fi Direct (automatically offer the new Xiaomi).
• 📁 Select data types to transfer: contacts, messages, photos, videos, audio, documents, applications (not all supported).
• ⏳ Wait until it is completed – the process can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours depending on the amount of data.

Important nuance: Mi Mover does not tolerate:

• 🚫 System application settings (e.g. Mi Home or Mi Fit configuration)
• 🚫 Data from some third-party messengers (WhatsApp, Viber – require a separate backup)
• 🚫 Accounts in games and social networks (you will have to log in again)

Battery charge ≥50% on both devices

Free space on the new Xiaomi (volume of data) ×1.5)

Unplugged. VPN/proxy on both phones

Same version MIUI (or new on the receiving device)

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⚠️ Warning: If the Mi Mover transfer process is stuck in the Preparation phase, restart both devices and try again. A common cause is a conflict with antivirus (disable Google Play Protect and third-party scanners).

2.Moving from iPhone to Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions

iPhone owners face additional challenges due to Apple’s closed ecosystem, but Xiaomi offers two working solutions: Move to iOS (yes, it works the other way around!) or cloud services, and we recommend the former as more reliable.

Instructions for Move to iOS:

1. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select “Data Transfer from iOS” (if the phone is already configured, reset it to the factory via Settings). → Reset).
2. On your iPhone, install Move to iOS from the App Store and follow the instructions.
3. Enter the 6-digit code that will appear on Xiaomi in the iPhone app.
4. Select data for transfer: contacts, photos, videos, Safari bookmarks, email accounts.
5. Wait until it’s finished – the iPhone will create an archive that will be downloaded to Xiaomi.

Alternative method through iCloud:

• 📱 On iPhone, enable sync with iCloud (Settings) → [Your name] → iCloud).
• 🌐 On Xiaomi, open your browser and go to iCloud.com, log in.
• 📁 Select data to download (photos, contacts, notes) and save it to the device.
• 📱 Import contacts through Google Contacts, photos in the folder DCIM/Camera.

Move to iOS

iCloud + hand-carry

Third-party programs (iMazing, Dr.Fone)

I didn’t transfer the data, I reconfigured it.-->

⚠️ Note: When migrating through iCloud, photos may lose their creation date.To avoid this, use the Google Photos app for pre-backup with your iPhone, then sync it to Xiaomi.

Manual transfer via cable OTG computer

If wireless methods are incredulous or you have slow internet, physical cable connectivity is the most reliable option.

• 🔌 USB-cable OTG (for direct telephone connection) or USB-C/USB-A plug-in
• 💻 Computer with Windows/macOS (optionally, if you use OTG)
• 📁 Flash drive or external disk (if the amount of data) >32GB)

Instructions for connecting via PC:

1. Connect your old phone to your computer in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Copy the right folders (DCIM, Downloads, Pictures, etc.) to the hard drive.
3. Turn off your old phone, connect a new Xiaomi.
4. Transfer the data to the appropriate folders on the new device.
5. For contacts, export them to the.vcf file via the Contacts app and import them to Xiaomi.

For direct connection through OTG:

1. Connect the cable. OTG The new Xiaomi, and the old phone to it.
2. A notification will appear on the new device "USB-The device is connected – click on it.
3. Select File Transfer and use any file manager (Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
4. Copy data directly between devices (speed) ~20-40 MB/s).

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If you are connected through OTG old phone is not identified, try using a cable with support USB 3.1 – It provides a more stable connection.

Advantages of the manual method:

• ⚡ Maximum speed (up to 100 MB / s when connecting to a PC via the Internet) USB 3.0)
• 🔒 Control over data – you choose what to copy
• 🛠️ Ability to convert formats (e.g..heic to.jpg for iPhone photos)

4.Cloud Services: Google Drive, Mi Cloud and Alternatives

For those who prefer the “cloud” approach, Xiaomi offers its own Mi Cloud service, and also supports integration with Google Drive. the main plus is data is available from any device, minus the limitations on the amount of free storage (5 GB for Mi Cloud, 15 GB for Google Drive).

How to transfer data through Mi Cloud:

1. On your old phone, install Mi Cloud from the Play Market (or use the web version).
2. Sign in to your Mi Account (create if not).
3. Enable synchronization for the desired data types (Settings) → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Synchronization).
4. On the new Xiaomi, log in to the same account and wait for the sync to complete.

Comparison of cloud services:

Critical information: When using Google Drive to port the Android backup (Recovery feature) make sure the version is MIUI The new Xiaomi is no older than the old device, otherwise the recovery may result in the error "Incompatible version".

5. Transfer of applications and their data

The hardest part of migration is storing data inside apps, and unfortunately, there's no one-size-fits-all solution: every messenger or game uses its own backup mechanism, and we've compiled instructions for the most popular services:

WhatsApp:

• 📱 On the old phone, create a backup: Settings → chat → Backup.
• 🔄 Move the backup file (msgstore.db.crypt14) To the new Xiaomi folder /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases.
• 📱 Install WhatsApp on your new device and restore data when you first start.

Telegram:

• 🌐 All chats and media files are synced automatically through the Telegram cloud.
• 🔄 Just log in to a new device – history will survive.
• 📁 For local files, copy the folder Telegram/Telegram Images.

Games (e.g. Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile)

• 🎮 Most games are linked to a Google Play account, Facebook or miHoYo.
• 🔄 Sign in to the game on a new device – progress will be pulled from the server.
• ⚠️ For offline games (such as Minecraft), copy the folder with worlds (games/com.mojang/).

Backup in the application itself (if there is a function)

Copy folders with user data (for example, downloads in the browser)

Recorded logins / passwords from accounts in games and services

Check the compatibility of the application versions (update on the old phone)

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⚠️ Note: When transferring WhatsApp data from iPhone to Xiaomi, use the official Move to iOS app from Apple – it is the only correct converts the backup from the iTunes format into a readable for Android view.

6. Transfer system settings and accounts

To avoid setting up Xiaomi from scratch, you can transfer most system settings.

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → About Phone → Backup.
2. Create a backup of the settings (the file will be saved to the MIUI/backup/AllBackup).
3. Transfer this file to the new Xiaomi and restore it through the same menu.

What settings are transferred:

• 📶 Wi-Fi settings (saved networks and passwords)
• 🔊 Audio profiles and notification settings
• 🖥️ Desktop configuration (wallpaper, widgets, folders)
• 🔒 Fingerprints and faces (registration required on new device)

For account transfer:

• 📧 Google: Sign in to Settings → Accounts. → Add an account
• 📱 Mi Account: Sign in to the same account to sync Mi Cloud
• 🌍 Social Media: Use Official Authorization Apps

Please note that security settings (such as Find My Device or App Lock) are not automatically portable. → Passwords and security.

7.Typical mistakes and how to avoid them

Even when following instructions, users often encounter problems, and we have compiled TOP-5 errors and ways to solve them:

1. Error "Incompatible version" MIUI" Reason: The firmware version on the new Xiaomi is older than the old device.Solution: Upgrade the old device to the latest version MIUI Or use manual transfer.
2. Freeze during the "Data Preparation" stage Cause: Antivirus conflict or memory shortage Solution: Disable Google Play Protect, free 5+ GB of space, reboot devices.
3. iPhone photos are not portable Reason:.heic format is not supported by Android. Solution: Convert photos to.jpg via Google Photos or iMazing.
4. Lost WhatsApp messages Reason: Wrong location of backup file.Solution: Check that file msgstore.db.crypt14 lie /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases.
5. No sound after transfer Reason: Mi Sound Enhancer not moved Solution: Manually turn on Settings → Sound. → Uniform sound.

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If you are transferring data via Mi Mover, you can check that both devices have power saving mode turned off and Wi-Fi is turned on (even if you use a cable).

8. Alternative programs for data transfer

If the standard methods don't work, you can use third-party utilities. We tested 5 popular programs:

Selection recommendations:

• 🍎 For transferring from the iPhone is optimal iMazing – it correctly processes iTunes backups.
• 🤖 For Android.→Android is a free Clone Phone or Samsung Smart Switch.
• 💬 If you need to transfer correspondence, choose Dr.Fone or MobileTrans.

⚠️ Warning: When using third-party software, disable the antivirus on your computer – it can block data transmission, taking it for malicious activity (especially important for Dr.Fone and MobileTrans).

Frequently asked questions