How to transfer photos from Samsung to Xiaomi: all ways with pros and cons

The transition from Samsung to Xiaomi is not only about changing interfaces and features, but also the need to transfer personal data. Photos tend to take up the lion’s share of smartphone memory, and their loss can be a real tragedy. However, the process of transferring images between devices of different brands often raises questions: what way to choose not to lose quality, not to waste hours waiting and not to face technical errors?

In this article, we will discuss 7 working methods for transferring photos from Samsung Galaxy (including the A52, S21, Note 20, etc.) to any Xiaomi smartphone (Redmi, POCO, Mi 11 and later). Each method is analyzed according to three criteria: speed, reliability and convenience. You will learn how to avoid typical errors (for example, a Bluetooth transmission interruption or loss of quality in cloud services), as well as which tools are best used for large archives (10,000+ photos).

We will pay special attention to the hidden MIUI settings, which speed up the reception of files via cable by 2-3 times, and reveal the secret why some photos after transfer are displayed in the Xiaomi Gallery as corrupt (and how to fix it).

1. Transfer photos through USB- Cable: the fastest way

Using a USB-C → USB-C cable (or USB-A → USB-C with an adapter) remains the most reliable method for transferring large amounts of data. Unlike wireless technologies, there is no risk of communication breakdown or loss of quality. However, there is a nuance: not all cables support OTG (required for direct connection of phones), and some Xiaomi models have disabled the MIUI File Manager function for working with external drives by default.

To transfer photos from Samsung to Xiaomi via cable:

1. Connect your phones with a cable. On Samsung, select File Transfer (or MTP) mode in the connection notification.
2. On Xiaomi: Open Files → Devices → Find the DCIM or Pictures folder on Samsung.
3. Select photos (hold your finger on one file → tag the rest) and click Copy.
4. Return to the root folder and select Internal Memory or SD- card on Xiaomi, then paste the files.

The transfer speed depends on the USB version: on USB 3.1 (blue connector), 10 GB of photos are copied in ~15 minutes, and on USB 2.0 - up to 40 minutes.

• 🗃️ File Fragmentation: If photos are stored on Samsung as thousands of small files, pre-archive them in ZIP.

Use USB 3.1 cable (blue connector)

Enable MTP mode on Samsung

Activate debugging over USB on Xiaomi

Check the free space on Xiaomi (at least 10% of the photo volume)

Disable battery optimization for the Files app-->

⚠️ Warning: If Xiaomi doesn’t see Samsung as a drive when connecting, upgrade the firmware MIUI to the latest version. Older versions (below MIUI 12) don’t support USB OTG for some models.

2. Computer transmission: secure and backed up

Using a PC or Mac is a good way to do this if you need to not only transfer photos, but also back them up, and the advantage of this method is the ability to sort photos before the perenosom (delete duplicates, edit metadata) and use fast protocols like Thunderbolt (on a Mac).

Instructions for Windows:

1. Connect Samsung to your computer via cable and select File Transfer mode.
2. Open This Computer → Find Samsung Device → Go to DCIM → Camera (or Pictures) folder.
3. Copy the photos to your computer’s hard drive (e.g., to the D:\Samsung_Photos folder).
4. Disable Samsung, connect Xiaomi and transfer files to the DCIM or Pictures folder.

For Mac, you will need to install Android File Transfer, as macOS does not support MTP by default. The alternative is to use Google Photos (for this method below) or cloud services like Dropbox.

Through the OTG cable

Through the computer

Cloud services (Google Photos, Mi Cloud)

Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct

Another way.-->

If you have a lot of photos (over 50 GB), break them into 10-15 GB. This will speed up copying and reduce the risk of errors. Also, check files for viruses before perenosom - some Xiaomi models block suspicious files in the Gallery.

3. Wireless transmission over Wi-Fi Direct or Mi Share

If you don’t have a cable or a computer on hand, you can use wireless technology. Xiaomi offers a proprietary solution – Mi Share (formerly Xiaomi Share), which works faster than standard Bluetooth and supports the transfer of large files.

The following steps are taken for Mi Share:

1. On Xiaomi, open Settings → Connection and Sharing → Mi Share.
2. On Samsung, activate Quick Share (Settings → Additional Features → Quick Share).
3. On Xiaomi, select Send → Files → Enter photos.
4. On Samsung, confirm the acceptance of files in the notification.

Wi-Fi Direct transmission speeds reach 10-15 MB/s, which is 3-5 times faster than Bluetooth.

• 📶 Distance: Phones should be no further than 5 meters apart.
• 🔋 Battery charge: When transferring 10+GB, both devices will be discharged by 20-30%.
• 📱 Compatibility: Older Samsung models (until 2018) may not work Mi Share – use Send Anywhere (an app from Google Play).

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If Mi Share doesn’t find a Samsung device, reboot both phones and enable Visibility for All in Wi-Fi Direct settings.

Alternatively, Snapdrop (browser-only without installation) open snapdrop.net on both phones, select files on Samsung and send them to Xiaomi, a method that does not require registration and supports folder transfer.

4. Cloud services: Google Photos vs Mi Cloud

Cloud storage is easy to move photos if you have slow internet or don't have physical access to both phones at the same time, but there are pitfalls: some services compress images, and free rates are limited in size. Let's take a look at two popular options.

Google Photo

Google Photos automatically syncs photos with Samsung if backup is enabled to transfer photos to Xiaomi:

1. On Samsung, open Google Photos → Photos → Click on the avatar → Photo settings → Backup and Sync (enable).
2. Wait for the download to complete (check in the Library → Devices).
3. On Xiaomi, log in to the same Google account and wait for sync.

Note: Google Photos’ free tariff from 2021 does not provide unlimited storage for high-quality photos. If you have more than 15 GB of data, files will be compressed to 16 MP (which significantly worsens the quality for professional shots).

Mi Cloud

Xiaomi offers its own cloud, the Mi Cloud (5GB for free) to take advantage of:

1. On Samsung, upload photos to Google Drive or Dropbox (as Mi Cloud does not officially support Android devices from other brands).
2. On Xiaomi, open Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud and enable Gallery Sync.
3. Download files from Google Drive to Xiaomi and transfer them to Mi Cloud manually.

⚠️ Warning: If you use Mi Cloud to store photos, turn off Storage Optimization in the gallery settings, otherwise the original photos will be deleted from the device after uploading to the cloud.

5. Transfer applications: Send Anywhere, SHAREit and alternatives

Specialized file sharing applications often offer faster speeds than standard protocols. Consider top-3 solutions with their pros and cons.

Send Anywhere

The application uses P2P- technology to transfer files directly between devices without cloud servers. The speed reaches 20 MB / s (on the local network).

• ✅ Pros: There are no file size restrictions, no registration requirements.
• ❌ Cons: Samsung can block antivirus (you need to add exceptions).

SHAREit

A popular cross-platform app, but the latest versions have seen aggressive advertising, and the transfer speed is limited to 10MB/s.

• ✅ Pros: Simple interface, support for folder transfer.
• ❌ Cons: Requires permission to access contacts and SMS (risk of data leakage).

Xender

An alternative to SHAREit with similar features but no ads, supports up to 40MB/s in ideal conditions (both phones on the same router).

To avoid problems with applications:

• 🔒 Security: download APK only from official websites (not from third-party sources).
• 📡 Network: For maximum speed, connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network (5GHz).
• 📱 Permissions: Provide access to storage and location (otherwise the transfer will be interrupted).

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When using third-party apps, always check reviews from the past month – many services (such as SHAREit) have been caught collecting user data.

6.Transfer over a memory card: simple, but not always possible

If your Samsung supports microSD and Xiaomi has a memory card slot, this method will be the easiest.

• 📱 Formatting: Xiaomi may not read a card formatted in exFAT (use FAT32 for compatibility).
• 🔄 Speed: A1 or U1 cards will slow down when large numbers of small files are transferred.
• 🔒 Protection: Some photos (e.g., from Secure Folder to Samsung) are not copied to the SD- card without unlocking.

Instructions:

1. Insert microSD into Samsung.
2. Open My Files → DCIM → highlight photos → Copy → select SD- card.
3. Remove the card, paste it into Xiaomi and copy the files to internal memory.

If Xiaomi doesn’t see the memory card:

• Reboot the phone.
• Check the card on another device (it may be damaged).
• Format the map in Xiaomi through Settings → Storage → Memory Map.

7. Solving problems: why photos are not displayed or damaged

Once transferred, photos may not open, appear black, or have distorted colors, and consider the typical causes and ways to address them.

Problem 1: Photos are not displayed in the Xiaomi Gallery

This is most often due to the fact that files are copied to the wrong folder or have an unsupported format.

• 📁 Solution: Move the photo to the DCIM/Camera or Pictures folder.
• 🔍 Verification: Open files through Files → if they open but are not shown in the Gallery, clear the Gallery app cache.

Problem 2: Damaged files (artifacts, blur)

This happens when the transmission is interrupted or if the photos were compressed by the cloud service.

• 🔄 Solution: Re-transfer the photo using cable or Send Anywhere.
• 🛠️ Recovery: Use the Photo Recovery app (available on Google Play) to recover corrupted files.

3 Problem: Incorrect dates or absence of EXIF- data

When you transfer photos through some cloud services (such as Google Photos), the metadata of the photos may be lost.

• 📅 Solution: Use the EXIF Editor app to manually restore dates.
• 🔧 Automation: in Google Photos click on photo → Change → Date and time.

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If photos are displayed sideways after transfer, use the Rotate Image Fix app to automatically rotate over EXIF- data.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions