How to transfer a gallery from one Xiaomi phone to another: all the ways

Changing your smartphone is always stressful, not so much with getting used to a new interface, but with the need to transfer the memories accumulated over the years. The owner of a Xiaomi or Redmi device faces the task of migrating a huge array of data: thousands of photos, hundreds of videos and screenshots that take up gigabytes of memory. Simply copying files via Bluetooth will not work due to low speed, and using cloud storage can take too long with unstable Internet.

Fortunately, the MIUI and HyperOS ecosystem offers built-in tools that allow you to perform data cloning in minutes. In this article, we will break down all the current methods, from the regular Mi Mover app to manual copying through your computer, so you can choose the most suitable option for your situation.

Regardless of the method chosen, we strongly advise you to check the status of both devices in advance: the old phone should be charged, and the new one should free up enough space, ignoring this step can lead to interruption and damage to some files, which is especially critical for unique family archives.

Using the Mi Mover app for quick migration

The most efficient and logical solution for owners of Xiaomi equipment is the use of the native Mi Mover tool. This application is preinstalled on most modern models and is specially optimized for working with the Android file system in the MIUI shell. Its main advantage is to create a direct Wi-Fi connection between devices, which provides transfer speeds that significantly exceed the capabilities of Bluetooth or mobile Internet.

To get started, you need to open the app on both smartphones, and on the new device, you need to choose the Recipient role, and on the old device, you need to select the Sender role, and the system automatically scans the available networks and suggests you connect to the access point created by the new phone, which is completely secure, because the data is transmitted over a local channel and does not leave the limits of your devices.

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Make sure that the screens of both smartphones do not go out during the transfer of large files, otherwise the Wi-Fi module can go into power saving mode and break the connection.

Once you've established the connection, Mi Mover will suggest you select data categories to transfer, so you can move not only the gallery, but also contacts, messages, system settings, and even lists of installed applications, and the algorithm will determine the compatibility of programs and try to install their analogues on the new device, preserving the folder structure.

Importantly, when transferring high-resolution (4K or 8K) video files, the process can take considerable time. Interrupting transmission is not critical at this stage: when you restart, Mi Mover is often able to continue downloading from the stop rather than starting over.

Synchronization with Xiaomi Cloud

An alternative to local transmission is the Xiaomi Cloud cloud service, which is deeply integrated into system processes. This method is ideal if you do not have physical access to both phones at the same time or if you plan to use the cloud as a permanent backup. Photos are automatically uploaded to secure storage when you connect to Wi-Fi, becoming available from any device where you log in to your Mi Account.

To activate the function, go to the settings and select Mi Account. In the sync menu, you need to activate the slider opposite the Gallery item. The system will suggest you choose the quality of the photos you download: Original or Optimized. The first option saves the full resolution and weight of the file, the second one compresses the image to save space, which can be critical at a free limit of 5 GB.

Once you have finished downloading on your old phone, just log in to the same Mi Account on your new device, and the gallery automatically pulls up thumbnails, and the full versions of the photos will be downloaded as you watch or at the user's command, which allows you to start using the phone immediately, without waiting for the end of downloading terabytes of data.

However, it is worth considering that speed depends on the bandwidth of your Internet channel. When using mobile traffic (4G/5G), it is recommended to limit downloads only through Wi-Fi, so as not to exhaust the carrier’s traffic packet.

Google Photos as a universal solution

Google Photos remains one of the most reliable ways to save memory, especially if you plan to upgrade to a smartphone from another brand in the future. The app is available on Google Play and is often pre-installed on Xiaomi. Its key feature is powerful algorithms for recognizing objects, faces and geolocation, making it instant.

To move the gallery, install the app on your old device and log in to your Google account. In the autoload settings, select the Express quality (free storage with little compression) or Original (takes up space in your Google One). Once synced, just log in to your new phone and your entire library will be available in the blink of an eye.

A unique feature is the ability to free up space on the device. Once you have confirmed a successful download to the cloud, Google Photos will offer to delete local copies, leaving only thumbnails, which allows you to instantly free up tens of gigabytes on the old phone before selling or transferring it.

It’s worth remembering the nuances with the HEIC format, which is often used by iPhone cameras or new Android flagships. Google Photos is able to convert them on the fly, but when downloading originals to the new Xiaomi, additional codecs may be required to display correctly in the standard gallery.

Transfer of data via computer (USB)

For users who prefer full control over their data and don’t trust cloud technology, USB connectivity is the gold standard. It allows you to copy files in their original quality without any compression or loss of metadata (EXIF).

Connect your old phone to your PC and select File Transfer (MTP) mode from the menu that appears on your smartphone screen. In Windows Explorer, find the device, go to the DCIM → Camera folder. This is where all the pictures taken on the main camera are stored. Select the files or folders you need by date and copy them to your computer's hard drive.

Then disable the old device and plug in the new one. The folder structure on Xiaomi is similar, so you can just drag files from your computer to the corresponding directory of the new smartphone. If the DCIM folder doesn't already exist, the system will create it automatically after the first shot, but you can also create it manually for order.

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Direct copying through USB — The only way to guarantee the original quality of the video 8K and RAW-files without loss of data.

When dealing with large amounts of data (over 100 GB), it is recommended to use USB 3.0 ports (usually blue) on your computer, which will speed up the process several times compared to USB 2.0 ports. Also avoid using cheap “charging only” cables, as they do not support data transfer and the computer simply will not see the phone.

Use of external flash drive and OTG

If there is no computer at hand, there is USB-plug-in OTG (On-The-Go, you can use it as a staging device. Most modern Xiaomi smartphones support this standard by allowing you to connect the outer peripherals directly to the Type-C connector.

The process is simple: connect the flash drive to the old phone via an adapter (if the connectors don't match). In a file manager (like Explorer or File Manager), copy the contents of the folder from the photo to an external medium. After the operation is completed, remove the flash drive and connect it to the new smartphone to transfer the files to internal memory.

This is a good way to be autonomous, but it has a speed and volume limit. FAT32 drives don't support writing individual files larger than 4GB. If you're shooting high-resolution long videos, they may not be copied, so you need to format the drive to an exFAT format that's supported by Android.

Solving and optimizing the gallery

After transferring the data, you may find that the new gallery is slow or does not display some albums.This is because the Android system and MIUI shell take time to index media files.The Media Scanner background service process can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours depending on the number of photos.

During this period, the phone can heat up and the battery can run out faster than usual. This is normal behavior. To speed up the process, you can restart the device after you finish copying. If the problem persists for a long time, check for the.nomedia file in the photo folders - its presence prevents the system from scanning the directory.

You should also pay attention to duplicates. When using multiple sync methods (for example, Mi Mover first, then Google Photos), the same pictures can appear twice. Use built-in tools or third-party applications to search for duplicates to clean up, but do this carefully when checking the preview.

To organize a new space, you should immediately set up automatic sorting. In the Gallery app, go to the settings and activate the grouping by date, people or places, which will make navigation through the updated archive as comfortable as possible.

⚠️ Note: When you move through third-party apps (not Mi Mover), WhatsApp and Viber may not be transferred with the photo. Use the built-in backup function in the messengers themselves before resetting your old phone.

⚠️ Note: Formatting an external flash drive or SD-The cards will destroy all the data on the media in the process. Always make a copy of important files on the computer before formatting.