Buying a new Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 smartphone is always accompanied by the joy of having fresh technology, but this moment is often overshadowed by the need to transfer a huge array of personal data. The most voluminous and valuable part of user content is certainly a multimedia gallery containing thousands of images and hours of video. The process of migrating data between Android devices can seem a complex maze for the untrained user, but modern technology offers several effective solutions.
You don't need to be a technician to successfully copy all the photos from your old device to your new Redmi. There are many ways, each of which has its own advantages depending on the amount of data, the speed of the Internet connection and the availability of additional equipment. We will consider the most relevant methods that ensure that your memories are preserved in their original quality.
Before you start active, you need to do basic training on both devices to avoid failures in the transmission process, which will take only a few minutes, but will greatly simplify the further work.
Make sure that both smartphones have at least 50-60% battery charge, as active transmission of large amounts of data over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth significantly consumes energy. Also check the free space on the target device: if your gallery weighs 30 GB, and on the Redmi Note 10 only 20 GB is free, the process will end in error or require a pre-cleaning of memory.
Using the built-in Mi Mover app for quick migration
The most logical and optimized way for owners of Xiaomi equipment is to use the regular utility Mi Mover. This tool is pre-installed on all devices with a MIUI shell and allows you to create a direct Wi-Fi connection between devices, bypassing the router and Internet traffic.
To get started, run the app on both devices. On the new Redmi Note 10, select "I'm the recipient" and on the old smartphone, "I'm the sender." QR-You can use a code or a password to set up a secure communication channel, and when you connect, the interfaces of the devices are synchronized, and you have full access to the file system of the old phone.
In the data selection menu, you have to go to Images or Gallery, where you can select specific albums or tag all photos at once, and Mi Mover's algorithm is designed to automatically store folder structure, so your event- or date-distant albums don't get mixed up in one pile.
The copying process can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours depending on the number of files. It is important not to break the connection and keep the device screens active. Once the operation is complete, the system will notify you of the success, and all photos will appear in the standard Gallery app on the new smartphone.
Transfer through Google Photos and Cloud Services
If a direct connection between devices cannot be established, or the old phone has already been given/sold, but the data in the cloud remains, the ideal option is the Google ecosystem. Google Photos service is installed by default on most Android smartphones and offers unlimited (compression) or limited (original quality) storage.
On your old device, open the app, log in to your account and make sure that sync is enabled. Go to settings and select the download quality. If it's important for you to keep your original resolution of images without compression, select Original, but remember that this wastes space in your Google One storage.
⚠️ Note: When selecting the “Save space” mode, Google automatically compresses photos to 15 MP and videos to the maximum. 1080p. For ordinary users, the difference is not noticeable, but professionals should use the original quality.
Once all photos are uploaded to the cloud (Sync status complete), grab your new Redmi Note 10. Sign in to the same Google account in the system settings and Google Photos app. Your gallery will automatically pull up from the cloud. You can view photos online or select Save to Device for specific albums so they are available offline.
This method is also great for backing up before any firmware experiments. Cloud storage ensures that even if an old phone physically breaks down, your data will remain secure and accessible from any device, including your computer.
Local exchange via Bluetooth and Quick Share
When you want to transfer a small piece of gallery, like a few dozen fresh images, there is no point in launching a full-scale migration, in which case Quick Share (formerly known as Nearby Share), which is the equivalent of AirDrop for the Android ecosystem, works faster than classic Bluetooth and does not require configuring complex networks.
To transfer, select the photos you need in the gallery of the old phone, click the "Share" button and select the Quick Share icon. The receiving Redmi Note 10 should have Bluetooth and geolocation enabled, and visibility activated. Devices will find each other automatically, and a request for confirmation of the file acceptance will appear on the screen.
- 📸 Speed: Transfers via Wi-Fi Direct, which is much faster than normal Bluetooth.
- 🔒 Security: The connection is encrypted and files are only transmitted after user confirmation on both devices.
- 📱 Compatibility: Works between any Android smartphone, regardless of brand and operating system version.
If the old phone doesn’t have Quick Share, you can use standard Bluetooth, but the speed will be extremely low (about 2-3 Mbps). Transferring a single video weighing 1 GB can take more than an hour, so for large volumes this method is not recommended.
Copying data through a computer and USB-cable
The most reliable and controlled way, especially for terabytes of information, is the old school, using the personal computer as an intermediate buffer, which eliminates the risks of interruption through the air and allows visual control of the folder structure.
Connect your old smartphone to your PC through USB-cable and select the mode of operation "File transfer» (MTP). In My Computer, open the device and go to the folder. DCIM/Camera Copy the required directories to your computer's hard drive. Then repeat the operation with the connected Xiaomi Redmi Note. 10, inserting the copied data into the corresponding folders of the new device.
☑️ Checklist before transfer
When working through a file manager, it is important to be careful with system folders: Do not copy hidden files that start with a dot or files with the.nomedia extension unless you are sure of their purpose, as they can disrupt the indexing of media files on a new device.
For advanced users familiar with the command line, there is the option of using ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which allows you to copy data with superuser rights if necessary, but for a regular gallery this is not necessary. Standard copying through Windows Explorer or macOS is quite enough.
Using microSD cards and OTG adapters
Many users still store photos on memory cards. If your old phone supports microSD, the transfer process is simplified to physically retrieving the card.However, the Redmi Note 10 has a hybrid slot or a limited amount of supported cards, so simply repositioning may not work if the card is too large or formatted in NTFS.
In this case, help comes to the rescue. OTG (On-The-Go adapter. It's a small adapter that lets you plug in. USB-A flash drive or card reader directly to the Type-C connector of a smartphone. If you connect a flash drive with photos to Redmi, you will see a notification about the connection. USB-storage.
Open the Explorer app on Xiaomi, find the external drive connected, and copy the files to internal memory. The system automatically prompts you to sort the photos by date or album, a great way to offload the phone's internal memory by leaving archival photos on a flash drive.
| Method | Speed. | We need the Internet. | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mi Mover | Tall. | No. | Low. |
| Google Photo | Depends on the network. | Yes. | Low. |
| USB Cable (PC) | Very high. | No. | Medium |
| Bluetooth | Low. | No. | Low. |
Solving problems with HEIC formats and compatibility
A common problem when switching from iOS or modern Android-flags to Redmi is format incompatibility. If older photos are taken in HEIC (High Efficiency Image Format) format, the standard Xiaomi gallery may not display them or show them as a black screen, requiring the installation of additional codecs.
To avoid this, it is better to convert images to universal. JPG The Mi Mover app does this automatically when transmitting, but if you use other methods, check the camera settings on the original device «JPEG» before the migration.