How to transfer photos from one phone to Xiaomi: all available ways

Transferring photos from one smartphone to Xiaomi is a challenge that every user faces when buying a new device or sharing snapshots. Even if both phones are from the same manufacturer, there are many options for data transfer, from classic Bluetooth to branded solutions like Mi Share (formerly Mi Drop).

In this article, we will discuss 7 working ways to transfer photos to Xiaomi, including nuances for different models (from Redmi Note 12 to Xiaomi flagships 14). Particular attention will be paid to transfer speeds, format compatibility (.HEIC,.RAW,.JPEG) and ways to circumvent restrictions - for example, when the old phone does not have a memory card slot, and cloud services are blocked by the corporate network.

1. Mi Share (formerly Mi Drop) – a proprietary way from Xiaomi

Mi Share is a proprietary wireless file transfer technology developed specifically for the Xiaomi ecosystem. It is powered by Wi-Fi Direct, which provides speeds of up to 10 MB/s (3-5 times faster than Bluetooth) and does not require an Internet connection. The main advantage is that there are no limits on file size (unlike messengers) and support for batch transmission.

To move your photo through Mi Share, follow the following steps:

• 📱 On the source phone (from which you copy the photo) open the Files application → Choose the photos → Press Share. → Mi Share.
• 🔍 On Xiaomi-receiver, run Mi Share (you can find it in the app menu or through search).
• 🔄 Wait for the devices to detect each other. Your Xiaomi name will appear on the source phone screen — tap it.
• ✅ Confirm the file acceptance on the target device. The photos will be saved to the folder. Download/MiShare.

If Mi Share does not find the device, check:

• 🔋 Battery level (below 15% function can be turned off automatically).
• 📶 Turn off flight mode and VPN — They block Wi-Fi Direct.
• 🔄 Reboot both phones (on some models, Redmi helps reset Wi-Fi settings to Settings) → Connections).

Turn off VPN| Battery charge >15%|Enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth|Update Files app-->

⚠️ Note: On smartphones Xiaomi with MIUI 14+ Mi Share may conflict with Google's Nearby Share. If the transfer is interrupted, turn off Nearby Share in Google's settings → Devices and sharing.

2. Transmission via USB cable (OTG or PC intermediary)

Use of the USB-Cables are the most reliable way to transfer photos, especially when it comes to large amounts of data (e.g. 500).+ snapshot RAW). There are two options:

1. Direct USB-OTG connection (if both phones support OTG).
2. Through the computer as an intermediary (universal method).

Method 1: Direct Connection (OTG)

It's gonna take a while. USB-type-c cable → Type-C (or MicroUSB adapter) → Type-C for old models. Algorithm:

1. Connect the cable to both phones.
2. On Xiaomi receiver, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
3. On the original phone, open Files → find a folder with a photo (usually DCIM/Camera) → copy them.
4. Insert the cable into Xiaomi and paste the files into the Pictures folder.

Method 2: Through the computer

If OTG is not supported or cable is not available, use the PC:

1. Connect the original phone to your computer and copy the photo to a separate folder.
2. Turn off the first phone, connect Xiaomi.
3. Transfer files from your PC to Xiaomi to the DCIM/Camera folder (this is how they will appear in the gallery).

⚠️ Note: When copying through PC photos in format.HEIC (iPhones may not appear in the Xiaomi gallery.Install the app HEIF Viewer from Google Play or convert files to.JPEG pre-existingly.

Mi Share|Bluetooth|Cable USB|Cloud services|Messengers-->

Bluetooth 3: Slowly but without internet

Bluetooth is the most versatile but slowest method (speed 1-2 MB/s), suitable for transferring 10-20 small photos when other methods are not available.

1. Turn on Bluetooth on both phones (Settings → Connections → Bluetooth).
2. On the original phone, select a photo → Share → Bluetooth.
3. Choose your Xiaomi from the list of devices.
4. Confirm reception on the target phone.

Bluetooth limitations:

• 🐢 Speed 10 times lower than the Mi Share.
• 📛 File size limit: 16-32 MB (depending on model).
• 🔋 High battery consumption during long-term transmission.

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If Bluetooth is permanently disconnecting, try disabling Adaptive Battery in Battery → Power Modes settings. This will remove MIUI limitations on the module's background operation.

4. Cloud services: Google Photos, Mi Cloud and others

Cloud storage is convenient for automatic synchronization of photos between devices.

1. Google Photo.

• 📤 Upload the photo to Google Photos on the source phone (autoboot is enabled in the application settings).
• 📥 On Xiaomi, log in to the same Google account and download photos.
• ⚠️ Only 15GB is available for free (shared storage for all Google services).

2.Mi Cloud (branded Xiaomi cloud)

• 🔗 Link both phones to one Mi Account.
• 📤 On the source phone, enable photo synchronization in Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → gallery.
• 📥 Xiaomi photos will appear automatically in the folder Mi Cloud.
• ⚠️ Free only 5GB, but there are bonuses for activity in the ecosystem Xiaomi.

3. Yandex.Disk / Mail.ru Cloud

• 📤 Upload photos to the cloud via an app or browser.
• 📥 Download files on Xiaomi via the same app.
• ✅ Yandex.Disk gives 10 GB for free, Mail.ru – 8 GB.

5. Messengers and social networks: Telegram, WhatsApp, Viber

Transferring photos via instant messengers is convenient for a small number of pictures (up to 30-50 pieces), the main advantage is that you do not need additional applications, but there are restrictions:

• 📏 Quality compression: WhatsApp reduces resolution to 1600×1200, Telegram (without compression) - up to 4096×4096.
• 🕒 Size limit: WhatsApp – 16 MB per file, Telegram – up to 2 GB.
• 🔒 Privacy: photos pass through messenger servers.

How to transfer photos via Telegram:

1. Open the Save Messages chat.
2. Send the photo as a file (to preserve the original quality).
3. On Xiaomi, download files from the same chat.

Through WhatsApp:

1. Create a chat with yourself (or use an existing one).
2. Send the photo as a document (so they will shrink less).
3. Download them to Xiaomi.

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI 14+ When downloading photos through messengers, they are saved to the Download folder, not to the DCIM/Camera. To show them in the gallery, transfer them manually.

6. microSD memory card: for phones with slot

If both phones support memory cards, this is one of the fastest and most reliable methods, and it's suitable for transferring thousands of photos without loss of quality.

1. Remove the microSD from the original phone (pre-mount it in the settings).
2. Put the map in Xiaomi.
3. Open the files. → Memory map → DCIM/Camera Copy the photo into your internal memory.

Nuances:

• 🔧 On some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 11) the slot is hybrid – you can not use 2 at the same time. SIM + microSD.
• 🛑 Format the card in exFAT (if the volume is > 32GB, otherwise Xiaomi will not see files larger than 4GB.
• ⚡ Use a class map to speed up. UHS-I (U3) — Read/write speed up to 90 MB/s.

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A memory card is the only way to transfer photos if the phones are broken screens or Wi-Fi/Bluetooth is not working.

7. Automatic synchronization between two Xiaomis

If you have two Xiaomi phones, you can set up automatic photo sync via Mi Cloud or Google Photos, which will eliminate manual copying when adding new photos.

Configure via Mi Cloud:

1. On both phones, sign in to one Mi Account.
2. Enable gallery sync: Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Gallery.
3. Select Autoboot over Wi-Fi and specify folders for synchronization.

Configure via Google Photos:

1. Install Google Photos on both phones.
2. Log in to one Google account.
3. Enable Backup and Synchronization in the application settings.
4. On Xiaomi, photos will be available in the Photos section.

Advantages of automatic synchronization:

• ⏰ Photos are copied in the background without your participation.
• 🔄 Changes (deleting, editing) are synchronized on both devices.
• 📡 It works even if the phones are on different networks (via the cloud).

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To save traffic, in the Mi Cloud settings, select Sync only over Wi-Fi and turn off video downloads.

FAQ: Frequent questions about transferring photos to Xiaomi