How to Transfer Messages from Xiaomi to Xiaomi: All Ways to 2026

Why a standard transfer through Mi Account doesn’t always work

You bought a new Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+ or POCO F6, but faced with a problem: messages from an old smartphone are not automatically synchronized? Even binding to a single Mi Account does not guarantee the transfer of SMS and chats from the Messages. The reason lies in the MIUI architecture: since version 12.5, Xiaomi shares backups of applications and system data. Messages are “apps”, and their backup is disabled by default in the cloud.

Another trap is different regions of firmware, and if your old Xiaomi Mi 11 ran on Global ROM and your new Xiaomi Mi 11 ran on China ROM, cloud sync may be blocked due to privacy restrictions, and alternative methods will be required, which we will discuss below.

In this article you will find:

• 🔄 Official ways to transfer via Mi Cloud and Quick Share (formerly Mi Share)
• 📱 Local methods for models without root rights (through the ADB and Xiaomi Backup)
• ⚠️ What to do if messages are not transferred due to a failure MIUI 14
• 📌 Comparative table of methods for speed and reliability

Method 1: Synchronize with Mi Cloud (for MIUI 12–14)

The easiest method is to use Mi Cloud's built-in cloud storage, which is suitable if:

• 📱 Both devices are linked to a single Xiaomi account.
• 🌍 The devices work on one version. MIUI (for example, both MIUI 14 Global)
• 📶 There is a stable connection to Wi-Fi (message volume can exceed 500 MB)

Instructions:

1. On your old smartphone, open Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Make sure the Messages switch is on, and if it's not, tap it and wait for the sync to finish.
3. On the new device, log in to the same Mi Account and enable Message Sync in Mi Cloud.
4. Open the Messages app and wait for chats to appear (it can take up to 10 minutes).

⚠️ Note: If the cloud already has a backup of messages from another device, the new copy will overwrite the old one. Pre-export important chats manually (see Method 3).

Check the MIUI version on both devices

Connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network

Free up space in Mi Cloud (if the limit is exceeded)

Shut down. VPN (can block synchronization)-->

Method 2: Quick transfer via Quick Share (Mi Share)

Quick Share (formerly Mi Share) allows files to be transferred between Xiaomi devices over Wi-Fi Direct, but you will need to back them up as a file before transferring messages.

Algorithm of action:

1. On your old phone, install the SMS Backup & Restore app (free, no root).
2. Launch Backup: Open the App → Click Backup → Select “All Conversations” → Save the File to Downloads folder
3. Activate Quick Share on both devices: Settings → Connections and Sharing → Quick Share → Enable
4. On an old phone, select a backup file (.xml format) and send it to a new device.
5. On the new phone, install the same SMS Backup & Restore app and restore messages from the received file.

The advantage of the method: it works even on devices with different firmware (for example, Global and China ROM), the disadvantage is that attachments are not portable (photos, videos from chats).

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If Quick Share doesn’t find the second device, check that both phones have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, and turn off power saving mode.

Method 3: Local backup via Xiaomi Backup (without root)

MIUI has a built-in Xiaomi Backup app that stores application data, including messages, but by default it doesn't include SMS in the backup.

Steps to create a backup:

1. Open Settings → About the phone and tap the MIUI version 5 times to activate the developer mode.
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect your phone to your PC and execute the command: adb shell pm grant com.miui.backup com.android.permission.BACKUP This unlocks access to the SMS backup.
4. Open the Backup app, select Local Backup and select Messages.
5. After creating a backup, copy the backup/AllBackup/ file to a new device and recover the data through the same application.

Method 4: Move over Google Drive (for models with Google Mobile Services)

If your Xiaomi runs on global firmware with Google services, you can use Google Drive to port SMS. This method is suitable for devices with MIUI 13+, where the backup function is integrated in Google.

Instructions:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Google → Backup.
2. Enable Backup in Google Drive and make sure that the Message Point (SMS) is marked.
3. Wait for the backup to complete (it can take up to an hour with a large amount of data).
4. On the new device, log in to the same Google account and restore data from the backup when you first set up.

⚠️ Note: Google only reserves SMS, but does not save chats from Mi Messages (e.g. messages from banks or services.

The advantage of the method is that the backup is stored in the Google cloud and does not depend on Mi Account. The disadvantage is that it does not work on Chinese firmware (China ROM) without GMS.

Method 5: Manually copying a database (for advanced users)

If none of the above methods worked, you can manually copy the message database, which requires root rights or an unlocked bootloader.

Step-by-step:

1. Install the Android SDK Platform-Tools on your PC.
2. Connect your old phone to your PC and execute the commands: adb shell su cp /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db /sdcard/ exit exit exit
3. Copy the file mmsms.db from your phone to your PC: adb pull /sdcard/mmssms.db
4. Connect the new device and transfer the file back: adb push mmssms.db /sdcard/ adb shell su cp /sdcard/mmssms.db /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/ chmod 660 /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db chown system:radio /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db exit exit
5. Reboot the phone. Messages will appear in the Messages app.

⚠️ Important: Incorrectly changing the permissions to the mmssms.db file can result in the loss of all messages.

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Manually copying a database is the only way to transfer messages to custom firmware devices (like LineageOS or Pixel Experience) that don’t work with Xiaomi’s standard methods.

What to do if messages are not transferred

If after all the manipulations, the messages did not appear on the new device, check the following points:

• 🔧 Different versions MIUI: On the new firmware (MIUI 14+) Changed storage format SMS. Try to roll back on MIUI 13 or use SMS Backup & Restore.
• 🚫 Antivirus blocking: Applications like Mi Security can block access to a database.
• 📵 Sync Error: If the Mi Cloud has a sync waiting status, check the date and time settings – they should be automatic.
• 🔄 Account conflict: The new phone may have had a previous owner's account tied up. Reset the device to factory settings (Settings) → The phone. → Resetting settings).

If the problem is with Chinese firmware (China ROM) that does not have Google services, use Method 5 (manual database copying) or install Global ROM via the Mi Flash Tool.

FAQ: Frequent questions about post transfer