How to Transfer Data to Xiaomi’s New Phone: A Complete Guide to 2026

Changing a smartphone without a headache: what you need to know before transferring

The transition to a new Xiaomi is always an exciting moment. Even if you upgrade to the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra or choose a budget Redmi Note 13, the main thing is to save all the important data: photos from the last vacation, work chats in Telegram, save in games and set up a smart home. Statistically, 68% of users lose some information when changing their device precisely because of the wrong transfer.

In this article, we will look at all the current ways to migrate data, from the official Mi Mover tool to manually copying through the cloud, and pay special attention to the nuances of MIUI 14/15, which are different from standard Android, and the problems when transferring from the iPhone, learn how to avoid typical errors (for example, why contacts are duplicated or photos lose quality) and what to do if the new Xiaomi “can’t see” an old phone.

Before you start, check out two key points:

• 🔋 The battery charge on both devices is at least 50%. The data transfer can take up to 1 hour, and if the phone turns off in the process, some files may be damaged.
• 📶 Stable Internet connection (for cloud-based methods) If you have a weak Wi-Fi or mobile signal, you should use a cable.

Method 1: Mi Mover is the official tool of Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a built-in data porting app that Xiaomi is developing specifically for its smartphones, which supports migration from any Android device (including Samsung, Huawei) and even from iPhone (with restrictions), the main advantage is the preservation of folder structure and metadata (for example, the date of creation of photos).

How to use:

1. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select Data Transfer (or find Mi Mover in Settings → About Phone → Data Transfer).
2. On an old phone, download Mi Mover from Google Play (for Android) or the App Store (for iOS).
3. Create a Wi-Fi hotspot on an old phone or connect to a single network.
4. On the new Xiaomi, select “I’m the sender” (if you’re porting from your iPhone) or “I’m the recipient” (from Android).
5. Scan it. QR-code and select data to transfer.

⚠️ Note: When transferring from iPhone, Mi Mover only copies contacts, photos and videos. Apps, notes and messages will have to be transferred separately (see the section on iOS).

Both phones are connected to the same Wi-Fi network (or a direct connection is created)

On the old phone enough free space (at least 10% of the volume of data transferred)

VPNs and firewalls are disabled (they can block transmission)

All background applications (especially messengers and cloud services) are closed

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Method 2: Transfer via OTG cable or adapter

If you don't have time to wait for data to move through the air, or if you have more than 10 GB of data, a direct cable connection is the most reliable option.

• 🔌 USB-C cable (if both phones are modern) or adapter OTG (For older models with microUSB).
• 📱 File Manager (built-in in the MIUI or third-party, such as Solid Explorer).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your new phone via cable. On the screen of your old device, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. On the new Xiaomi, open Files → Devices → select a connected phone.
3. Copy the folders you need (DCIM for photos, Download for downloads, WhatsApp for chat backups).
4. To port applications, use APK Extractor (retrieves installed APKs) or Titanium Backup (for data backups).

Important: If you are transferring data from an Android 11+ phone, some apps (such as banking apps) may block the new device due to a change in the phone ID, in which case you will need to re-authorize.

Method 3: Cloud Services – Google Drive, Mi Cloud, and Others

Cloud portability is convenient if you have slow cable or phones of different brands. Xiaomi offers its Mi Cloud service, but it has a limitation - only 5 GB for free (versus 15 GB for Google Drive), but Mi Cloud is better integrated with MIUI and saves the system settings.

Comparison of services:

Instructions for Google Drive:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Google → Backup.
2. Enable backup (make sure the data you need is selected).
3. On the new Xiaomi, when setting up, select “Restore from backup” and log in to the same Google account.

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If you have a lot of photos, use Google Photos with the Free Space feature, and once uploaded to the cloud, the originals on your phone will be replaced with optimized versions, which will speed up the transfer.

Method 4: Moving from iPhone to Xiaomi – bypassing the restrictions

The transition from iPhone to Xiaomi is a separate story, and Apple is not interested in making migration easier, so standard tools like the Mi Mover are limited.

Contacts and calendars:

• 📱 Export via iCloud: On iPhone, enable synchronization of contacts with iCloud, then on Xiaomi add iCloud account to Settings → Accounts.
• 📧 Alternative: Export contacts to.vcf file via Settings → Contacts → Export and send it to a new phone by mail.

Photo and video:

• 🖼️ Use Google Photos: Install the app on your iPhone, download media files, then download them to Xiaomi.
• 💾 For large volume (100)+ GB) connect your iPhone to your computer, copy the files to a folder, then transfer them to Xiaomi via cable.

Annexes and data:

• 🎮 Games: Use cross-platform services like Google Play Games or Facebook to save.
• 💬 Messengers: Make a backup in iCloud on WhatsApp, then restore it to Xiaomi via Google Drive (you will need to reinstall the application).

⚠️ Note: When transferring from iPhone to Android, you can not directly copy:

• 🎵 iTunes purchases (music, movies, books) – they are tied to the Apple ecosystem.
• 📱 iCloud backups (except contacts and photos) – the format is incompatible with Android.
• 🔐 Apple Pay and Keychain data – they will have to be reconfigured.

Method 5: Transfer over a computer (for advanced users)

If you prefer full control of the process, manual copying via PC is the most flexible method, suitable for transferring large amounts of data (for example, collections of movies or projects) or when you need to filter out unnecessary files.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 Two. USB-cable (or one with a splitter).
• 📁 File Manager (e.g. Total Commander or Finder on Mac).

Step-by-step algorithm:

1. Connect both phones to your computer in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Copy from an old folder phone: DCIM — Photos and videos Download – downloads from the Pictures browser – images from WhatsApp applications – backups of chats (files with extension.crypt14) Android/data — playback
3. Insert the copied data into the corresponding folders on the new Xiaomi.
4. Use ADB (command line skills required) to port applications: adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab adb restore backup.ab

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Transferring over a computer is the only way to save files in their original quality without compression (relevant to the data). RAW-photo 4K).

What to do after the transfer: check and setup

Even if the process went smoothly, check the data integrity on the new Xiaomi:

• 📞 Contacts: Open the Contacts app and make sure all numbers are in place (especially check groups and linked accounts).
• 📸 Photo/video: Open a few files in the gallery – they should be open without errors (if you see black thumbnails, then the files are corrupted when you copy them).
• 🎮 Applications: run multiple games or save programs (e.g, PUBG Mobile or Spotify – Data must be downloaded automatically.

Typical problems and solutions:

After the check:

• 🔄 Update. MIUI Up to the latest version (Settings) → The phone. → Updating the system).
• 🔒 Set up screen lock and fingerprint (Settings) → Password and security).
• 📡 Connect to home Wi-Fi and set up smart devices (if you use Mi Home).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions