How to transfer data from one Xiaomi to another: 5 proven ways

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment, especially when it comes to saving all the important data from the old device. Photos, contacts, messages, notes and even desktop settings can all be lost if you approach the transfer process without preparation. Fortunately, Xiaomi has several built-in tools that make migration easier, but not all users are aware of their nuances.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to transfer data between Xiaomi devices, from the official Mi Mover app to manual backup via ADB. You’ll learn what is right for your case, how to avoid typical errors (such as a Wi-Fi transmission interruption), and what to do if the new smartphone does not see the old device, and also why transferring over an OTG cable can be 10 times faster than cloud redundancy, but requires preparation.

Whether you’re switching from the Redmi Note 10 to the Xiaomi 14 or from the POCO X3 to the Redmi K70, the instructions below cover all models based on the MIUI 12-14 and HyperOS. Let’s start with the simplest method that the company recommends.

1.Official method: transfer via Mi Mover

Mi Mover is a built-in app from Xiaomi that automatically starts when you first turn on a new smartphone, and it allows you to transfer almost all data from your old device over Wi-Fi Direct (without connecting to the router) or through an OTG cable.

Advantages of the method:

• 🔄 Supports the transfer of contacts, messages, photos, videos, applications (including their data), notes, calendars and even some system settings.
• 🚀 It works without the Internet (with Wi-Fi Direct).
• 📱 Compatible with all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO on MIUI/HyperOS.

How to transfer data via Wi-Fi Direct:

1. Turn on your new smartphone and reach the Data Transfer screen (usually a step after selecting the language).
2. On the old device, open Settings → About Phone → Data Transfer (Mi Mover).
3. Select the "I am an old device" role on both phones.
4. Scan it. QR-code from a new smartphone or connect manually via Wi-Fi Direct.
5. Select data to transfer (you can mark everything or select individual categories).
6. Confirm the start of the transfer and wait for the completion.

⚠️ Note: If you have Xiaomi with HyperOS (e.g. Xiaomi 14) and your old device is on the Internet MIUI 12-14, update the firmware on both smartphones to the latest version before transferring.

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If Wi-Fi Direct data transfer is interrupted, try connecting both devices to the same Wi-Fi network (not Wi-Fi Direct) and repeat the process.

2.Transfer over OTG cable: when speed is critical

If you have a lot of data (e.g. 50+GB of photos and videos), Wi-Fi transmission can take hours, in which case the OTG cable (or USB-C adapter → USB-C) will be the salvation, the transfer speed will increase by 5-10 times, and the risk of communication failure is reduced to zero.

What you need:

• 🔌 Cable USB-C → USB-C (adapter + cable USB-A → USB-C old-model).
• 📱 Old smartphone with unlocked screen and enabled debugging USB (see spoiler below).
• 🔋 Charge of both devices at least 50% (transfer can take 30-60 minutes).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect the OTG cable to the new smartphone and the other end to the old one.
2. On the new device, select “Cable Data Transfer” (in the Mi Mover menu).
3. On your old phone, allow access to data (debugging confirmation may be required).
4. Select categories to transfer (we recommend you to exclude the "App Cache" - it takes up a lot of space and is not needed).
5. Wait until it's done. Don't turn off the cable or lock the screens!

* When transmitting over Wi-Fi Direct, hangings are possible with a data volume > 100 GB.

3. Xiaomi Cloud Backup: Pros and Cons

If you don't have a cable on hand or Wi-Fi Direct is unstable, you can use the Xiaomi cloud, which is convenient for transferring contacts, notes, photos and some settings, but has limitations:

• 📁 Free rate – only 5 GB (this is the price). ~1000 photos of high quality).
• ⏳ Speed depends on your internet connection.
• 🚫 Not all apps and their data are portable (for example, WhatsApp or Telegram will have to be reserved separately).

How to make a backup to the cloud:

1. On your old smartphone, go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Enable synchronization for the desired categories (contacts, gallery, notes, etc.).
3. Wait until the download is complete (you can check the progress in the "Storage" section).
4. On the new device, log in to the same Xiaomi account and enable sync.

⚠️ Note: If you use Google Photos for backup, disable automatic download to Mi Cloud to avoid duplicate files. Otherwise, photos can take up space in both clouds.

Xiaomi’s cloud is not suitable for porting applications and their data (for example, saving in games), only Mi Mover or manual reservation through ADB (more on this below) will help.

4.Move over Google Account: a universal but limited way

If you use Google, you can transfer some of your data through your Gmail account, which works on any Android device, but it has its own nuances:

• ✅ Transferred: contacts, calendars, mail, some system settings, Chrome bookmarks.
• ❌ Not tolerated: SMS, Photos (if not included Google Photos), applications, files.
• 📊 Free storage – 15 GB (common for Gmail, Drive and Photos).

Instructions:

1. On an old smartphone, check that sync is enabled: Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync.
2. On the new device, when you first turn on, select “Copy Data from Old Device” and log in to the same Google account.
3. Select data to recover (usually contacts, calendars, and apps from Google Play).

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Google Account is only suitable for basic synchronization. For full data transfer (photo, video, SMS), use it with Mi Mover or Xiaomi cloud.

5. Manual transfer: for experienced users

If standard methods don't work (e.g., Mi Mover failure or firmware incompatibility), you can manually transfer data, which takes longer, but gives you complete control over the process.

What can be transferred manually:

• 📁 Photos and videos: copy the folder DCIM on a computer or flash drive, then move to a new smartphone.
• 📞 Contacts: export to.vcf file via Contacts → Settings → Exports.
• 💬 SMS: Use applications like SMS Backup & Restore (available on Google Play).
• 🎮 Application Data: For games and programs with local storage (such as WhatsApp), copy folders from the /Android/data/ (root rights are required or ADB).

To transfer applications with data without root rights:

1. Connect the old device to the PC and enable debugging over USB.
2. Use the command to backup: adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab
3. Copy the backup.ab file to your new smartphone.
4. Recover the data by command: adb restore backup.ab

⚠️ Note: Backup copies through ADB Some applications (such as Telegram or banking programs) may not be able to recover data due to their internal security.

6. Data porting from Xiaomi to POCO (and back): are there any differences?

POCO devices run on the same MIUI/HyperOS firmware as Xiaomi, so all of the methods described above apply to them, but there are a few nuances:

• 🔄 Mi Mover on the POCO may be called "POCO Mover, but the functionality is identical.
• 📱 Some models POCO (for example, POCO F5) have limited Wi-Fi Direct support – in this case, use a cable OTG.
• 🔋 Nana POCO HyperOS application transfer may take longer due to background optimization.

If you are migrating data from Xiaomi to POCO or vice versa, we recommend:

1. Update the firmware on both devices to the latest version.
2. Use the OTG cable to speed up the process.
3. Before transferring, disable Battery Optimization for Mi Mover in the application settings.

Update MIUI/HyperOS on both devices |Disable battery optimization for Mi Mover|Prepare OTG cable (in case of Wi-Fi failure)|Check free space on a new smartphone |Backup important data on PC-->

7.Typical mistakes and how to avoid them

Even when using official tools, users face problems, and here are the most common ways to solve them:

If after transferring on the new smartphone do not work some functions (for example, fingerprint or Face ID), reset settings to Settings → System → Reset settings, but do not format memory – this will delete the transferred data.

Frequently asked questions