How to transfer all photos from one Xiaomi phone to another: 5 proven ways

Transferring photos between Xiaomi smartphones seems like a simple task – until you face restrictions MIUI, Even if both devices are running on the latest firmware versions, users often lose quality. HEIF-This article will not just list the ways to copy, but will help you choose the best method based on the amount of data, Internet speed and model of your Xiaomi.

We tested all the current portability options on devices with MIUI 14/15 (including the Redmi Note 12 Pro+, Xiaomi 13 Ultra and POCO F5) And we've identified key nuances, from the differences in how Mi Mover works on new and old models to the hidden limitations of cloud services, like did you know that when you use Google Photos, Xiaomi smartphones default to compress images to the same level of cloud computing? 16 MP, if you don't change the settings? Or that Mi Mover might hang on. 99% transfer RAW-These and other pitfalls we'll look at below.

Important: If you are porting pictures from a device older than 2019 (like the Redmi Note 7 or Mi 9), some methods may not work due to an outdated version. MIUI. Please note the section on direct cable or SD-map – they are universal for all generations.

1. Official method: Mi Mover (quick but with limitations)

Mi Mover is a MIUI-built data migration app that Xiaomi has positioned as the main portability tool. It is really handy if both phones support the latest firmware, but there are critical nuances. For example, the app does not transfer photos in the original resolution if they are saved in HEIC/HEIF format - it automatically converts them to JPEG with loss of quality. Mi Mover can also "cut" metadata (shoot date, geotaggs).

To avoid problems before using:

• 🔋 Charge both phones to at least 50% – the process can take up to 1.5 hours with the volume of the photo >30GB.
• 📶 Connect to one Wi-Fi network (or create an access point on an old phone). Mi Mover does not work over the mobile Internet!
• 🚫 Close all background applications, especially instant messengers and cloud services – they can interrupt the transfer.
• 📁 Check if there is enough space on the new phone: Mi Mover doesn’t show “not enough memory” error, just stops copying.

Step-by-step:

1. On the new Xiaomi phone, open Settings → About Phone → Mi Mover (or find the app through search).
2. Select “This is the new phone” (I am the new user).
3. On your old phone, run Mi Mover and select “This is the old phone.”
4. Scan it. QR-code from a new phone with an old one.
5. In the data list to transfer, uncheck all the boxes except "Photos and videos." Click "Move."

⚠️ Note: If the old phone has dual apps enabled, Mi Mover may skip photos from cloned messengers (such as the second WhatsApp or Telegram). /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/[name-packet].

Charge both phones up to 50%+

Connect to a single Wi-Fi network

Close background annexes

Make room on a new phone

Shut down. VPN (can block the connection)-->

2.Google Photos: Cloud-based transfer without cables (but with a catch)

Google Photos is the most versatile way if you have a stable Internet, but it has hidden limitations for Xiaomi users:

• 📉 By default, Xiaomi smartphones upload photos in “High Quality” (compression up to 16 MP), even if you have Google One with unlimited storage.
• 🔄 When synchronization is lost HEIC/HEIF-files - they are converted into JPEG.
• ⏳ Uploading 50 GB of photos over Wi-Fi (at a speed of 10 Mbit / s) will take ~12 hours on the mobile Internet - up to 2 days.

How to transfer photos without loss:

1. On your old phone, open Google Photos → click on the avatar → Photo Settings → Backup and Sync.
2. Select “Original Quality” (if cloud location permits).
3. Enable backup and wait until completed (check in Settings → Storage Management).
4. On the new phone, log in to the same Google account and wait for sync.
5. To download a photo to your device: open Google Photos → highlight the desired pictures → Save to your device.

If the photos are not synchronized:

• 🔄 Restart the application and check your internet connection.
• 📁 Make sure that the photo folder is not excluded from backup (in the settings of Google Photos there is a list of ignored folders).
• 🔧 Update the application to the latest version - in MIUI Often outdated versions are due to the features of the firmware.

Direct Cable (OTG): The most reliable, but not the fastest way

Use of the USB-cable OTG-Adapters are the only method that guarantees that photos are transferred in their original quality without compression and loss of metadata:

• ⚡ Transfer speed depends on the version USB: Xiaomi 13 Pro (USB 3.2) 50 GB is copied for ~20 minutes, and on Redmi. 9A (USB 2.0 - up to 2.5 hours.
• 🔌 Not all cables support data transmission, some only charge».
• 📂 folder DCIM Xiaomi can be hidden. To see it, turn on the hidden files in the file manager.

Instructions for transfer:

1. Connect your old phone to your new one with the help of USB-C cable OTG-Adapters if the ports are different).
2. On the new phone, select File Transfer (MTP) mode in the notification panel.
3. Open any file manager (e.g., built-in Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
4. Go to /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera on your old phone.
5. Copy all files into a similar folder on your new phone.

If the phone does not recognize the connection:

• 🔄 Reboot both devices.
• 🔧 Try another cable or port.
• 📱 On the old phone in Settings → Additionally. → To the developer, turn on “Debugging by USB» (If it doesn't help, turn it off).

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If you interrupt the copying on large files (for example, 4K video), break the transfer into parts: first copy the photos, then the video. You can also archive folders in ZIP directly on your phone (via Mi File Manager) and transfer archives.

4. SD-map: for old models or large amounts of data

If you have a Xiaomi that supports microSD (like the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ or POCO X4 Pro), porting over a memory card may be the easiest solution, and the main advantage is that you can transfer data without an Internet connection and without the risk of loss.

• 📥 ExFAT cards (capacity) >32GB) may not read on phones older than 2018 - they need a file system FAT32.
• 🔄 If the card was previously used as an “adoptable storage” function, it must be formatted before use.
• ⚠️ Do not remove the card while copying – it can damage the file system.

Step-by-step:

1. Put it in. SD-card.
2. Open Mi File Manager and go to DCIM/Camera.
3. Select all photos, click “Copy” and select SD-map.
4. After copying, remove the card and paste it into a new phone.
5. Copy files from the card into the internal memory of the new device.

⚠️ Attention: If you are using SD-The card is an extension of internal memory (Adoptable Storage function in the MIUI), Transferring the photo directly to the card can lead to encryption, in which case the card will not be read on another phone.

5. Local area network (FTP/HTTP): for advanced users

If you don't have a cable, but you have Wi-Fi, you can organize the photo transfer over a local server, which is more complicated than others, but allows you to transfer data without clouds and without a physical connection, and we recommend it if:

• 📡 You don't. OTG-cable, but there is a stable Wi-Fi.
• 📁 You only need to transfer a part of the photo (for example, for the last year).
• 🔒 You don’t trust cloud services.

Instructions for Xiaomi:

1. On your old phone, install the FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer app.
2. Open the side menu and select Remote Access or «FTP-server».
3. Start the server and write down the address (e.g. ftp://192.168.1.100:2221).
4. On your new phone, open any file manager with FTP support (e.g., Mi File Manager → Network → FTP).
5. Connect to the server using the recorded address and copy the files.

The alternative is to use the built-in HTTP-server in Mi File Manager:

1. Open the Mi File Manager on your old phone.
2. Select the folder with the photo, click "Share» → «HTTP-server».
3. A reference of the form http://192.168.1.100:1234 is generated.
4. Open this link on a new phone in your browser and download the files.

⚠️ Attention: When transmitting by FTP/HTTP The speed depends on the power of the Wi-Fi router. On cheap models (for example, from the provider), the speed can drop to the power of the Wi-Fi router. 1–2 MB/s. To speed up, connect both phones to the router 5 GHz (if supported).

💡

Local area network is the only way to transfer, which works even if the phones have different versions of MIUI (for example, from the old Redmi Note 5 to the new Xiaomi 14), the main disadvantage is low speed with a large amount of data.

6. Alternative methods: when nothing works

If standard methods don’t work (e.g. Mi Mover freezes and Google Photos doesn’t sync some of your images), try these options:

• 📱 Bluetooth: only suitable for 10-20 photos (speed) ~1 MB/s. To transfer, select files in Mi File Manager → «Share» → «Bluetooth».
• 💻 Computer as a middleman: Connect your old phone to your PC and copy the photo to a folder. Connect the new phone and transfer the files back.

Other clouds

Yandex Disc.

Mega

Google Photo

Transfer applications

Send Anywhere

Xender

If the photo is not copied due to the error "File corrupted":

• Try opening a problem file on an old phone, and if it doesn't open, it's really corrupted.
• Use the Photo Recovery app (such as DiskDigger) to recover.
• If many files are damaged, check them. SD-Error card via PC (Chkdsk D team: /f into CMD).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions