Why Contact Backups Are Important
Xiaomi's current smartphones store thousands of contacts, from colleagues to relatives. But what if the phone breaks, gets lost, or resets to factory settings? Losing contacts can take hours to repair important connections. Moving contacts to your computer is not just a backup, it's insurance against unforeseen situations.
Many users mistakenly believe that syncing with a Google Account or MI Cloud is completely data-protective. However, cloud services can also fail, and account access is sometimes lost. Local storage on a PC ensures that you can always recover numbers, even without the Internet. In addition, exporting contacts in CSV or VCF format allows you to import them into any other device, from iPhone to enterprise systems.
In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to transfer contacts from Redmi, Poco and Mi phones to your computer, from standard MIUI features to third-party tools, learn which method is the fastest, which is the most reliable, and how to avoid typical errors.
Method 1: Exporting contacts via MI Cloud
The MI Cloud cloud service is a built-in solution from Xiaomi that automatically syncs contacts, photos and notes to bring data to your PC:
- Activate sync on your phone: Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → MI Cloud and turn on the switch opposite Contacts. Make sure the phone is connected to Wi-Fi – sync can take a few minutes.
- Export contacts from the web version: Open your browser to your PC and go to i.mi.com. Sign in with the same Xiaomi account as your phone. In Contacts, click on the gear icon (⚙️) and select Export. The system will prompt you to save the file in.vcf (business card) or.csv (table) format).
⚠️ Note: If you have not used it before MI Cloud, check before exporting that all contacts are displayed in the cloud. Sometimes old records are only left in the local memory of the phone.
Contact synchronization enabled in MI Cloud
The phone is connected to Wi-Fi or mobile Internet
On the PC installed a modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox)
Xiaomi account is not blocked and confirmed email/phone-->
| File format | Advantages | Deficiencies |
|---|---|---|
| .vcf | Compatible with most devices (Android, iOS, Outlook) | Does not support mass editing |
| .csv | Convenient to import into Excel, CRM-system | Can incorrectly display Cyrillic without UTF-8 encoding |
| .xls | Suitable for data analysis (filtering, sorting) | Not all phones support imports from XLS |
Method 2: Transfer through USB-cable (no clouds)
If you prefer not to upload data to the Internet, the most reliable method is to connect your phone to your PC via USB, which works even without network access and is suitable for Xiaomi models on MIUI 12/13/14.
Instructions:
- Connect your phone to your computer using the original USB Type-C cable (or Micro-USB for older models).
- On your phone, select File Transfer (MTP) mode in the connection notification.
- Open Windows Explorer (or Finder on Mac) and go to the phone folder: Internal Drive → MIUI → Backup → AllBackup.
- Find a file with the.vcf extension (commonly called contacts.vcf) and copy it to your desktop.
⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 10 Pro), the contact folder may be hidden. To see it, in Explorer, enable the display of hidden files: View → Hidden elements.
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If the contacts.vcf file is not updated, go to the Contacts app on your phone before copying, click ⋮ → Contact management → Exports/imports → Export to the device. It'll force you to create a current copy.
Method 3: Sync with Google Account
If your Xiaomi phone is linked to a Google Account, your contacts are automatically synced to Google Contacts to export to your PC:
- Open your browser on your computer and go to contacts.google.com.
- Sign in with the same account as on your phone.
- Click on the icon. ⋮ → Exports on the left menu.
- Select the format (Google CSV or vCard) and click Export.
By default, Xiaomi can save contacts not in Google, but in local memory or MI Cloud.
- 📱 Open Contacts. → ⋮ → Contact management → Settings → Maintaining contacts.
- 🔄 Select Google instead of Device or Mi Account.
- 🔄 Click Sync and wait for the process to be completed.
MI Cloud
Google Account
Local phone memory
SIM-map
Other service-->
Method 4: Using Third-Party Applications
If standard methods don’t work, you can use specialized programs, such as My Contacts Backup (for Android) or Super Backup & Restore, which allow you to export contacts to a file and send it by email or save it to the cloud.
The following is a step-by-step guide for Super Backup & Restore:
- Install the app from Google Play.
- Open it and click Contacts → Backup.
- Select the format (VCF or XML) and confirm backup.
- The file will be saved to the phone's internal memory via /sdcard/SuperBackup/contacts/. Copy it to your PC via USB.
⚠️ Note: Some applications (such as Droid Transfer) require additional software to be installed on your computer. Check reviews on Google Play before using it – some programs may contain ads or collect data.
How to check if the app is stealing your contacts?
Method 5: Bluetooth Transfer (for a small number of contacts)
If you only need to move a few contacts, you can use Bluetooth, which is slower than the rest of the world, but doesn't require Internet or cables.
Instructions:
- Turn on Bluetooth on your phone and computer. A PC may need an adapter (built into most laptops).
- Connect devices: On the phone, find the computer in the list of available devices and confirm the connection.
- Open the Contacts app on Xiaomi, select the contact you want and click Share → Bluetooth.
🔹 Limitations of method:
- ⏳ Transmission 100+ Contacts will take a long time.
- 📄 Contacts come in one, not a package.
- 🖥️ A driver must be installed on a PC to receive files over Bluetooth (Windows usually includes a standard delivery).
Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Even when following instructions, users face problems, and here are the most common ones:
- VCF file is empty or corrupted This happens if there is an error when exporting. Solution: delete the old contacts.vcf file from your phone and create a new one through Contacts → Export.
⚠️ Note: If you use MacOS, you may need Contacts (part of the standard set) or Microsoft Outlook to work with.vcf files. Otherwise, the file will open as a text document without a structure.
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Before any contacts transfer, check that the phone has turned off the application background restriction (Settings → Special Features → Application Permits).