How to quickly and safely transfer all files to your new Xiaomi phone

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment: more memory, more powerful processor, fresh software. But the joy of updating is often overshadowed by the need to transfer data. Photos over the past 5 years, working documents, saved passwords, correspondence in messengers - it is scary to lose, and manually transferring it is tedious. Fortunately, Xiaomi has several built-in and third-party tools that simplify the process to a couple of clicks.

In this article, we’ll look at 6 proven ways to migrate data to the new Xiaomi, from the official Mi Mover to manually copying via your computer, which method is faster for large volumes (e.g. 100+GB photos), how to save application settings, and why some files may not migrate — even if you did everything according to the instructions, and also give you an idea of how to avoid the typical mistakes that cause users to lose data when switching to a new model.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a Xiaomi-branded app that automatically transfers data between the brand’s smartphones, preinstalled on all new devices (starting with MIUI 9) and supports transferring contacts, messages, photos, videos, apps, and even some system settings. The main advantage is that you don’t have to connect your computer or search for cables: everything works on Wi-Fi Direct.

To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:

• 📱 Open the Mi Mover app on your old phone (if you don’t have one, download it from Google Play).
• 🆕 On the new Xiaomi, run the Mi Mover during initial setup (or find it in the Settings menu). → The phone. → Data portability).
• 🔗 Select a role: on the old phone, click “I am the sender”, on the new one – “I am the recipient».
• 📶 Connect to a single Wi-Fi network or use a direct connection (phones will create their own access point).
• 📋 Select data types to transfer (you can mark everything or select individual categories).
• ⏳ Wait for the process to be completed (time depends on the amount of data).

Battery charge on both phones > 50%|Both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.|The new phone has enough free memory|Power saving mode is disabled on the old phone|Mi Mover app updated to latest version-->

Mi Mover copies most data, but there are limitations:

• 🚫 Not transferable: Wi-Fi passwords, data from some banking applications (due to security), files from folders, protected DRM (For example, downloaded movies from Netflix).
• ⚠️ Problems with large files: if the data volume exceeds 50 GB, the connection may be interrupted.
• 🔄 Application updates: Moved programs won’t update automatically – close Google Play and run again after the transfer.

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If Mi Mover is “hanging” during the connection stage, restart the application on both phones and try using modem mode (on the old phone, turn on “Wi-Fi Access Point”, and connect the new one to this network).

2.Move over cloud services: Google Drive, Mi Cloud, Yandex.Disk

Cloud storage is a universal portability method that works even if you don’t have a cable or a second phone on hand. Xiaomi is closely integrated with Mi Cloud and Google Drive, but you can use any other service: Yandex.Disk, Dropbox or OneDrive. The main advantage of the method is that the data is stored in the cloud and can be restored to a new phone at any time.

Instructions for Google Drive (the most reliable option for Android):

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Google → Backup.
2. Click on “Create a backup” and select a Google account.
3. Check the data types (contacts, calendar, photos, SMS) and start the process.
4. On the new Xiaomi, when setting up, select “Restore from Google backup.”

For the Mi Cloud (if you have used it before):

• 🔄 On the new Xiaomi, log in to the same Mi Account and enable sync in Settings → Mi Cloud.

Google Drive|Mi Cloud|Yandex.Disk|Dropbox|Nothing else |Not using-->

Important nuances of cloud transfer:

• 📸 Photos and videos: If you've used Google Photos, they'll automatically recover when you log in. But the albums and folders may not keep the structure.

⚠️ Warning: If your old phone had Power Saving Mode on, your sync with the cloud might have stopped. Before transferring, check that all data is uploaded: open Google Drive or Mi Cloud and make sure the files are displayed.

3. Transfer via OTG cable or adapter

If you don't have access to Wi-Fi or the cloud, the most reliable way to do this is to connect directly to the cable.

• 🔌 USB-cable OTG (Type-C or Micro-USB connector, depending on the model).
• 📱 Adapter (if you want to connect your old phone as a flash drive to a new one).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your new one OTG-cable).
2. The new Xiaomi will be notified «USB-Device is connected. Click on it and select File Transfer (or File Manager»).
3. Open the File Manager on a new phone and a folder with an old device (usually called after the model, for example, Redmi Note 10) will appear there.
4. Copy the files you want (a DCIM photo, Download documents, music from Music) to your new phone.

Advantages of the method:

• ⚡ Maximum speed - up to 480 Mbit / s (USB 3.0) against ~50 Mbps on Wi-Fi.
• 📁 Full control: you can see all files and choose which to copy.
• 🔋 Does not drain the battery: unlike wireless methods.

⚠️ Note: If your phone requests permission to access data when you connect, don't click Cancel or the folders won't show up. On some Xiaomi models (e.g., for example, on the phone, POCO F5) You need to additionally enable the Developer Mode and allow USB-debugging.

4. Transfer over computer (Windows/Mac)

If you have a laptop or a PC on hand, you can use it as a data transfer intermediary, which is suitable for large volumes (100+ GB) or if you need to sort files before copying.

• 💻 Windows computer 10/11 macOS.
• 🔌 Two. USB-cable (or one if you move data in stages).
• 📂 Enough free space on the hard disk.

Instructions for Windows:

1. Connect your old phone to your computer and select File Transfer Mode (not Charge).
2. Open this computer and a device (e.g. Xiaomi Redmi) will appear there.
3. Copy the required folders (DCIM, Download, WhatsApp) to your computer.
4. Disable the old phone, connect the new one and transfer the files back.

MacOS may require Android File Transfer (the official software from Google for working with Android devices) to be installed here.

A critical nuance: if you are transferring data through a computer, don’t copy the entire Android folder — it contains an app cache that can take up tens of gigabytes of useless information. Instead, selectively copy only the desired subfolders (for example, Android → data → com.whatsapp for WhatsApp correspondence).

5. Transfer by means of SD-card

If your Xiaomi supports memory cards (such as the Redmi Note 12 or POCO X5), you can use microSD as an intermediate storage method, which is convenient for transferring music, photos and videos, but is not suitable for applications or system data.

How to transfer files through SD-map:

1. Put the memory card in your old phone.
2. Open the File Manager, select the desired files and click “Copy”.
3. Go to the folder. SD-cards (usually called cards) SD Card or External Storage and insert files.
4. Remove the card, paste it into a new phone, and copy the data into internal memory.

Limitations of the method:

• 🚫 Not portable: applications, settings, SMS, messenger-data.
• 🐢 Slower. USB: read-write speed SD-The card is usually 3-5 times lower than through a cable.
• 🔄 Formatting: If the card was formatted as internal memory on an old phone, the new Xiaomi may not see the files.

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SD-Map is the easiest way to transfer media, but for full data migration it is better to combine it with the cloud or Mi Mover.

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

Some apps store data in secure folders that are not copied by standard methods, such as WhatsApp saving correspondence to /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases, and games to /Android/obb. To move them, you need to act manually.

Instructions for WhatsApp:

1. On an old phone, open WhatsApp, go to Settings → Chat → Backup and create a local copy.
2. Copy the WhatsApp folder (at the root of internal memory) to your new phone.
3. Install WhatsApp on the new Xiaomi, log in to the same account and restore chats from the local copy.

Instructions for Telegram:

• 📁 Export chats: Settings → chat → Export history (you can choose the format.json or.html).
• 📎 Transfer the file to a new phone and import it through Settings → chat → Import of history.

For games (e.g. Genshin Impact, PUBG):

• 🎮 Copy the folder. Android/obb (There are additional game files stored).
• 🔄 If the game is linked to an account (Google Play Games, Mi Account), log in to a new phone - progress will be automatically pulled up.

⚠️ Note: Some games (such as Clash of Clans) don’t save progress locally, but are tied to a Supercell account. ID. If you didn’t log in in advance, transferring game files won’t help!

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even with the official tools, users are having problems. TOP-5 errors and ways of solving them:

• 🔌 Phones not connected via Mi Mover: Check that both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on, restart the Mi Mover app on both phones. If you're using mobile internet, turn off Traffic Saving Mode.
• 📱 Not all files moved: Check if there was enough space on the new phone (Settings) → Storage.Some files may be hidden – turn on the display of hidden folders in the File Manager.
• 🔒 Requests password from old phone: If you forget the pattern lock, reset it via Mi Account (requires access to the linked mail (POCO X3, Redmi 9 can be reset via Fastboot (but it will delete all data!).
• ⚡ Quick battery discharge during transfer: Connect both phones to charging before the process begins. disable background apps (in Settings) → Battery → Optimization).
• 📵 Contacts lost after transfer: Check if they are synced with Google Contacts (Settings) → Google → Synchronization: If the contacts are only stored on SIM-Insert it into a new phone and import it manually.

If none of these methods worked, try alternative programs:

• 🔄 Clone Phone (from Xiaomi) – the analogue of Mi Mover for older models.
• 📱 Send Anywhere – a cross-platform application for transferring files over Wi-Fi.
• 💻 Syncthing – open source software for synchronizing folders between devices.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions