How to transfer contacts from Xiaomi 9 to SIM-card: instructions with nuances

Xiaomi’s current smartphones, including the flagship Mi 9, store contacts in the cloud or internal memory, but sometimes you need to transfer them to the cloud. SIM-maps, such as changing a device, backing up or using a second phone without access to the Internet, but this process has nuances: not all contact fields will be saved, but in new versions. MIUI function may be concealed.

In this article you will find 3 working method of transferring contacts to SIM Xiaomi 9 (including versions MIUI 12/13/14), Discuss the limitations of formats SIM, We can learn to get around common errors and tell you how to check the results, and we can also use alternative backups if you want to do this. SIM-The card is not suitable for your tasks.

⚠️ Important: Before transferring, make sure that your SIM-There's plenty of room for the card. SIM (not USIM eSIM (or eSIM) can hold only 250-500 contacts, and fields are limited to 11-20 characters for the name and 20-40 characters for the number.

1. Standard transfer through the contact menu

The easiest way is to use the built-in MIUI feature. It is available on Xiaomi 9 regardless of the firmware version, but the path to it may differ.

Open the Contacts app (an icon with a human silhouette) in the upper right corner, click three dots (⋮) and select Contact Management (or Settings in older versions) MIUI). Follow the way:

Import/Export of contacts → Export to SIM-card

The system will suggest selecting the contacts to transfer. There are 2 options:

• 📋 Selective transfer: tick the desired contacts manually, convenient if you want to keep only part of the numbers.
• 🔄 Transfer all contacts: click "Select all" (or similar button). on Xiaomi 9s MIUI 14 when selecting this option, the system automatically skips contacts with incorrect symbols (e.g., emoji in names).

Once confirmed, the copying process will begin. The time depends on the number of contacts — usually 10 to 60 seconds — and when completed, a notification will appear with the number of successfully transferred records.

Make sure that SIM-The card is inserted into slot 1 (main card)

Check the vacant space on SIM (menu "Settings" → SIM-maps and mobile networks»)

Close all background apps (especially messengers)

Connect your phone to charge (with lots of contacts)-->

2. An alternative method through settings SIM-map

If the standard method doesn’t work (e.g., the “Export to SIM” option isn’t on the menu), try an alternative way through the phone’s settings.This method is relevant for the Xiaomi 9 with MIUI 13/14, where the contact interface has been simplified.

Go to:

→ SIM- Maps and Mobile Networks → [Select your SIM] → Contacts SIM

Here, click on “Import/Export” and select “Export from phone to SIM.” The system will prompt you to select an account (usually “Phone” or “Google”) from where the contacts will be copied.

⚠️ Attention: If you have installed MIUI Global Stable, in some regional versions, this item may be called "Copy contacts to". SIM». Also note that contacts from WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber are not portable – only those saved in the phone book.

The advantage of this method is that it bypasses the possible limitations of the Contacts app, but has the same drawback: data loss. SIM-map won't hold:

• 📞 Multiple numbers for a single contact (mainline only).
• 📧 Email addresses, birthdays, notes.
• 🏷️ Contact groups (e.g., “Family” or “Work»).
• 🌐 Links to profiles in social networks.

3. Use of third-party applications

If the built-in MIUI tools fail, third-party utilities will come to the rescue, useful when you need to migrate contacts to Xiaomi 9 with custom firmware or if standard methods give an error.

We recommend 2 verified applications:

• 📱 Copy to SIM Card (available on Google Play) Supports packet transfer, shows free space on the SIM and allows you to edit contacts before saving.
• 🔄 SIM Contacts Manager. Can work with vCard files and has a backup function.

Instructions for Copy to SIM Card:

1. Download and install the app from the Play Market.
2. Open it and give access to your contacts.
3. Select “Export to SIM” and select the contacts you want.
4. Click on “Copy”, wait until the end (the application will show the error log if some numbers are not copied).

⚠️ Note: Some applications require permission to send SMS — This is necessary to work with SIM-check your reviews and rankings on Google Play before installing the tool, but be careful with suspicious utilities.

* Depends on the free space on the SIM.

** MIUI 14 may require manual permission to access the contacts.

💡

Before using third-party apps, back up your contacts in.vcf format via the Export menu in the standard Contacts app, which will protect data in case of crashes.

4. Limitations SIM-maps: what will not survive

Even if the transfer was successful, not all data from Xiaomi 9 will be saved. SIM-This is due to the outdated standard for storing contacts on the SIM (ETSI GSM 11.11), which does not support modern fields.

Here's what's guaranteed to get lost:

• 📞 Additional rooms: on SIM Only one number for each contact will be retained (priority is given to mobile numbers).
• 🏢 Addresses and organizations: "Company", "Office", "Street" fields are not transferred.
• 🎂 Date of Birth and Events: All information about birthdays, anniversaries will be lost.
• 🖼️ Contact photos: SIM-The card does not support the storage of images.

There are also limits on the length of the fields:

• Name: maximum 11-20 characters (depending on operator).
• Phone number: up to 20 digits (without spaces and special characters).
• Notes: no more than 30-40 characters (if the field is supported).

🔍 How to check what has survived?

After transfer, open the contact menu, select «SIM-map" as the source (top drop-down list) here you'll see all the copied records. Compare them to the original, so you can see what data was lost.

💡

SIM-The card is only suitable for temporary storage of the main numbers. For a full backup, use Google Contacts or export to the.vcf file.

5. Typical errors and their solution

When transferring contacts to SIM, Xiaomi 9 users often face problems, and let’s look at the most common ones and how to fix them.

Mistake 1: “Not able to export contacts”

• 🔌 Reason: SIM-The card does not support recording (often with eSIM or virtual operators).
• 🛠️ Solution: Insert the physical SIM another operator (for example, MTS, Beeline) and try again.

Error 2: “There is no free space on the SIM”

• 📱 The maximum number of contacts (usually 250-500) has already been saved on the map).
• 🗑️ Solution: Delete unnecessary entries through the Contact Menu SIM» or use another SIM.

Mistake 3: Not all contacts are transferred

• ⚠️ Reason: The system misses contacts with incorrect characters (for example, emoji in the name or hyphens in the room).
• ✏️ Solution: Edit problematic contacts (remove special characters) and repeat export.

Error 4: After the transfer, the contacts are duplicated

• 🔄 Reason: You have previously imported contacts with SIM, And now they are duplicated in the reverse transfer.
• 🧹 Solution: Before exporting, remove all contacts with SIM via the “Contact Management” menu».

If none of the methods worked, try resetting the Contacts app settings (but this will delete all local data!):

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Contacts → Storage → Clear data

6. Alternative methods of backup

If SIM porting is not suitable (for example, due to format limitations), consider alternative methods of keeping contacts with Xiaomi 9:

Export to.vcf (vCard) file

It's a generic format that you can import to any phone, so you can back up:

Contacts → ⋮ → Contact management → Import/Export → Export to file

The file will be stored in internal memory (MIUI/backup/Contacts/) and can be copied to a PC or cloud.

2. synchronize with Google Contacts

The most reliable way to link contacts to your Google account is:

Settings → Accounts and sync → Google → Synchronize contacts

Advantages:

• 🌐 Access from any device via Gmail or Google Contacts.
• 🔄 Automatic update when changing numbers.
• 📱 Support for all fields (photos, addresses, notes).

3. backup via Mi Cloud

Xiaomi offers its own cloud storage:

Settings → Accounts and synchronization → Mi Cloud → Contacts

Cons: Xiaomi account is required, and when changing the phone brand, recovery can be difficult.

4. Third-party services (My Contacts Backup)

Apps like My Contacts Backup let you send backups to email or save them to the cloud, which is good if you don't trust Google or Mi Cloud.

7. Frequent Questions (FAQ)