How to transfer data from one Xiaomi Redmi phone to another: the complete guide

The transition to the new Xiaomi Redmi smartphone is always an exciting moment: you want to save all the important data, but not waste hours on manual settings. Fortunately, the MIUI ecosystem offers several convenient ways to migrate, from automatic cloning through branded tools to universal solutions from Google. However, not all methods are equally effective: somewhere you lose your application settings, somewhere you lose your call history, and sometimes the process is delayed due to the slow Internet.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to transfer data between Redmi phones (including Note 12 Pro+, Redmi 13C, POCO X5 and others), take into account the nuances of different versions of MIUI (12 to 14), and also warn against typical errors. For example, did you know that when using Mi Mover over Wi-Fi Direct, the transfer rate can drop by 3 times if the old phone is power-saving? Or that transferring through Google Account does not store passwords from Wi-Fi unless you activate synchronization in advance?

Whether you're upgrading from Redmi 9 to Redmi Note 13 Pro or just want to copy photos to a spare device, you'll find the best solution for your task. And at the end of this article, you'll find a comparative method table on speed, reliability and supported data types.

1. Mi Mover branded tool: fast and lossless

Mi Mover is a MIUI-built migration app that automatically installs on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones, and allows you to migrate almost everything from contacts and messages to lock screen settings and wallpapers, the main advantage of which is that it supports data transfer between devices on different versions of MIUI (for example, from MIUI 12 to MIUI 14) without resetting.

To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:

• 📱 Make sure both phones have Mi Mover installed (if not, download from Google Play or App Gallery).
• 🔗 Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network (or use Wi-Fi Direct for a direct connection).
• 📲 On the old phone, select the role of "Sender", on the new one - "Receiver".
• 🔍 Scan it. QR-code from the screen of a new phone or enter PIN-pairing.
• 📋 Select data types for transfer (contacts, messages, photos, applications, etc.).
• ⏳ Wait for the process to be completed (time depends on the amount of data).

The Mi Mover transmission speed reaches 10-15 MB/s when using Wi-Fi Direct, but can be reduced to 2-3 MB/s if:

• 🔋 Power saving mode activated on the old phone.
• 📶 Wi-Fi signal weak (less than 70% level).
• 🗃️ Large files are transferred (video to video) 4K, application archives).

⚠️ Note: If the new phone already has data (for example, you started using it before the transfer), Mi Mover will offer to reset the device to factory settings.

Charge of both phones > 50% | Disable VPN and firewalls |Free ≥ 2 GB of storage on your new phone | Check compatibility of MIUI versions (on Xiaomi website)

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2. Transfer through Google Account: universal, but with limitations

If you use Google (Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive), this is the easiest way to do it, and it works on any Android device, but it has some nuances for Xiaomi:

• ✅ Transferred: contacts, calendars, Google Keep notes, photos (if synced in Google Photos is enabled), some system settings.
• ❌ Not tolerated: SMS/MMS, call history, settings MIUI (topics, gestures, Wi-Fi passwords (unless sync is enabled in Google Password Manager).

Instructions for transfer:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Google → Backup and enable the option “Backup to Google Drive”.
2. Select the Google account to which the new phone is linked.
3. Click “Create a backup now” and wait until it is completed.
4. On the new phone, when you first turn on, select “Copy Data from Another Device” → “From Cloud Storage” → specify the same Google account.
5. Select a backup and wait for the recovery.

Important: Free storage in Google Drive is limited to 15 GB. If you have a lot of photos or videos, they will have to be transferred separately (for example, through Google Photos with high quality instead of original to save space).

⚠️ Note: If your old phone used a Mi Account to sync notes or calendar entries, this data will not be backed up by Google. → Mi Account → Synchronization.

Mi Mover|Google Account|OTG/PC Cable |Cloud Services (Yandex Drive, Dropbox) |Another way

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3. Cloning via OTG cable or computer: for large volumes

If the data is more than 50GB (for example, you have thousands of photos in RAW or a collection of videos), wireless methods may be too slow.

Method 1: Direct connection through OTG-adapter

You'll need it. OTG-cable USB-C → USB-C for the new Redmi models:

1. Connect your old phone to your new one via OTG.
2. On your new phone, open Files by Google or the standard MIUI File Manager.
3. Select folders to copy (e.g. DCIM for photos, Downloads for downloads).
4. Copy the files into the corresponding folders on the new device.

Method 2: Transfer through a computer

Suitable if you don't. OTG-cable or you need to sort files before copying:

1. Connect both phones to your PC via USB (use original cables for stability).
2. On your phones, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
3. Open This Computer on a PC and copy the data from one device to another.

Transfer speeds via USB 3.0 can reach 40-60 MB/s, but depend on:

• 🔌 Cable quality (cheap cables often limit speeds to a high speed) USB 2.0).
• 🖥️ Ports on the computer (blue ports) USB 3.0 faster than black USB 2.0).
• 📁 Fragmentation of files (many small files are copied longer than one large archive).

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4. Cloud services: Yandex Drive, Dropbox, Telegram

If you have slow internet or no cable access, you can use cloud storage, which is a way to transfer sample data (photos, documents, music), but not system settings.

Comparison of popular services for Xiaomi Redmi:

* Telegram has a file limit of up to 2 GB, but the number of files is unlimited.

Instructions for Yandex Drive (optimum for Xiaomi):

1. Install the Yandex Drive app on both phones.
2. On the old phone, turn on "Autoload photo" in the application settings.
3. Download the remaining files manually through the application interface.
4. On the new phone, log in to the same account and download files.

⚠️ Note: When downloading a video to Yandex Drive via the mobile network, Xiaomi Redmi can automatically compress files if the option “Saving traffic” is enabled in Settings. → SIM-Maps and mobile networks. Turn it off before downloading!

5. Applications and their data portability: what you need to know

Even if you have transferred all files, applications may not work properly without their data (for example, save in games, cache maps in Google Maps or settings in Viber).

Method 1: Backup in MIUI

MIUI has a built-in backup function:

1. Open Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Local Backup.
2. Select data for saving (applications, system settings, SMS).
3. Save a backup to a memory card or internal memory.
4. Transfer the backup file (.mbk) to the new phone and restore it through the same settings section.

Method 2: Backup applications

For individual applications (such as WhatsApp, Telegram, games) use their built-in features:

• 💬 WhatsApp: Settings → chat → Backup copy (save in Google Drive).
• 🎮 Games: Many support sync via Google Play Games or Mi Account.
• 📍 Google Maps: Location history synced with Google account.

Importantly, some applications (e.g. banking) prohibit data transfer for security reasons, and they will have to be reconfigured.

6. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

Even if you follow the instructions, Xiaomi Redmi users are having trouble, and here are the most common ones:

• 🔄 "Mi Mover does not see second phone: Check whether Wi-Fi Direct is enabled on both devices (Settings) → Connection and sharing → Wi-Fi Direct: If you use Wi-Fi, make sure both phones are connected to the same 2.4GHz network (5GHz networks may not be supported).
• ⏳ "Transfer stuck at 99%": This is a problem when transferring large files.Try: Restart Mi Mover on both phones.Switch off VPN And firewalls, and you can move data in parts (like contacts first, then photos).
• 📱 "The new phone doesn’t have some apps: Mi Mover only portes apps that are compatible with the new version MIUI For example, if you switch from Redmi 8 (32-bit) to Redmi Note 12 (64-bit), some older apps may not install.

If none of these methods worked, try alternative solutions:

• 🔧 ADB-manually copying system data (requires skills).
• 📦 Titanium Backup (Routed Devices Only).
• 🖥️ PC programs like MobileTrans or Dr.Fone (paid but cross-platform portable).

1. Battery charge (> 30%).

2. free space on the new phone (in 1.5-2 times more volume of data transferred).

3. MIUI version compatibility (Xiaomi has a compatibility table for Mi Mover).

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FAQ: Answers to popular questions