How to transfer all data from the old Xiaomi to the new: 5 proven ways

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but the data transfer process often raises more questions than the choice of model itself. Even if you stay in the ecosystem of one brand, the risk of losing important files or settings remains: Mi Account does not sync, photos are duplicated, applications refuse to recover. This article will help avoid typical errors and move everything from SMS to Wi-Fi passwords as quickly and without loss.

We tested all the current migration methods on models from Redmi Note 12 to Xiaomi 14 Ultra (2026) and identified those that work consistently. Importantly, if you have devices on different versions of MIUI (for example, MIUI 13 and MIUI 15), some features may differ — we will warn you about this separately. Also note that transferring through a USB-C cable requires an original cord with OTG support, otherwise the copy speed will drop by 10 times.

1.Preparation for transfer: what to do before the beginning

The first step is to make sure both phones are ready for the procedure. On the old Xiaomi, check:

• 🔋 Battery charge not lower than 50% (when transferred via cable energy consumption is higher than Wi-Fi).
• 📶 Stable Wi-Fi connection (if you plan to wirelessly transfer) – it’s better to use a 5GHz network.
• 🔐 Authorization to Mi Account on both devices under the same account (check Settings) → Xiaomi account).
• 📱 Free space on the new phone – at least 10% of the volume of data transferred.

On a new smartphone, immediately after unpacking, don’t set it up as new — select Data Transfer at the initial setup stage. If you’ve already passed this step, reset your phone to factory settings via Settings → About Phone → Settings Reset. This is the only way to activate the built-in Mi Mover migration wizard.

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If your old phone has data encryption enabled (checks in Settings → Security → Encryption), turn it off the day before transferring. Otherwise, the files may be copied in corrupted form.

⚠️ Note: If the old Xiaomi installed custom Recovery (TWRP) or root rights, the built-in Mi Mover won't work. In this case, use methods 3 or 4 from this article.

2. Method 1: Mi Mover – official master of transfer from Xiaomi

This is the most reliable method for devices on MIUI 12 and later.

• 📞 Contacts, call log, SMS/MMS
• 📷 Photos and videos (including Google Photos albums, if synced)
• 🎵 Music, documents, downloads
• 📱 System settings (wallpaper, sounds, brightness)
• 🔑 Wi-Fi passwords and Bluetooth device data
• 📦 Some system applications (e.g. Mi Home or Mi Fit)

Step-by-step:

1. On the new phone, select “Data Transfer” at the setup stage" → "Xiaomi".
2. On your old phone, open the Mi Mover app (if you don’t have one, download from Google Play).
3. Select the role of "Sender" on the old phone and "Receiver" on the new one.
4. Connect to a single Wi-Fi network or create an access point on a new device.
5. Scan it. QR-code from a new phone on an old one.
6. Select the data to transfer and confirm the start of the process.

Both phones are connected to charging|Wi-Fi is enabled on both devices|There's plenty of room on the new phone.|Mi Account is authorized and synchronized-->

⚠️ Note: If the transfer is interrupted during the photo copying phase, do not start the process again - wait for the current session to end.

Method 2: Transfer over a USB cable (for large amounts of data)

This method is 2-3 times faster than wireless and is suitable for transferring 100+ GB of data.

• 🔌 The original cable. USB-C to USB-C supportive USB 3.0 (or adapter) OTG old-model).
• 📱 The new phone must be enabled File Transfer mode (MTP).
• 🔋 Charging of both devices is not less than 70% (the cable consumes a lot of energy).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phones with a cable. On the old one, select File Transfer Mode.
2. On the new phone, the option “Data Transfer” will appear in notifications – click it.
3. Select data to copy (you can even transfer the cache of applications so as not to download updates again).
4. Wait until it is completed – the process will take ~20 minutes to 50 GB.

If the phone does not recognize the connection:

• Try another cable (cheap cables often don’t support data transfers).
• Enable USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times) → Additional settings → For developers.
• Reboot both devices.

Method 3: Cloud Transfer over Mi Cloud (for backup)

This method is suitable if you have slow internet or no cable.Mi Cloud provides 5GB of space for free, but it can be expanded to 100GB for 99 ₽/A month, carried forward:

• 📞 Contacts, SMS, call-in
• 📷 Photo and video (in compressed format)
• 📝 Notes and reminders
• 🔧 Browser and Wi-Fi settings

How to move:

1. On an old phone: Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Backup → “Create a backup”.
2. Select the data and wait for the download to be completed.
3. On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account and restore the backup in the same menu.

⚠️ Note: If you use two-factor authentication in Mi Account, turn it off for 10 minutes before restoring the backup. SMS-code during recovery, which may block the process.

5. Method 4: Transfer through Google Account (for apps and contacts)

If you use Google services, this method will allow you to transfer:

• 📞 Contacts (from Google Contacts)
• 📅 Calendar and reminders
• 📱 Google Play apps (save settings, but no cache)
• 📍 Google Maps Data (Selected Places, History)
• 🔑 Passwords from Google Smart Lock

Instructions:

1. On your old phone: Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync → Turn on all the switches.
2. Wait for the sync to complete (check in Google Drive → “Backups”).
3. On the new phone, log in to the same Google account and recover the data when you set up.

Limitations:

• 🚫 Photos and videos are not transferred (you need to use Google Photos separately).
• 🚫 Settings MIUI (topics, gestures, etc. are not restored.
• 🚫 Some Chinese apps (Mi Home, Mi Fit) may not sync.

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Google Account is the best way to migrate apps without losing data (such as game progress or Chrome customizations), but it needs to be combined with other methods to fully port.

Method 5: Manual transfer over PC (for power users)

This method gives full control over the process and is suitable if:

• 🔧 You need to transfer hidden files or system data.
• 📂 You want to sort files before copying.
• 🖥️ You have a computer with Windows. 10/11 macOS.

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your PC via USB and select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Copy the DCIM (photo), Downloads (downloads), Pictures folders to your computer.
3. Export your contacts through Google Contacts in.vcf format.
4. With ADB (optional), backup your applications: adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab
5. Connect the new phone and transfer all files to the appropriate folders.
6. Import contacts via Contacts → Import/Export.

To transfer SMS, use the SMS Backup & Restore app:

• Put it on both phones.
• On the old one, back up in.xml.
• Transfer the file to a new phone and restore it.

7 What to do if the data is not transferred

If you find something missing after the transfer, check:

If you have lost messages on Telegram/Viber/WhatsApp:

• 🔄 Restore chats through the built-in backup in the settings of each messenger.
• 📱 For WhatsApp, move the folder /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases new phone.
• ☁️ In Telegram, enable sync with the cloud in Settings → Data and memory.

8.Optimize the new phone after the transfer

After successful data transfer:

• 🔍 Check the Settings. → Memory for the presence of duplicate files.
• 🔄 Update all apps through Google Play or App Store.
• 📵 Reboot your phone – it will eliminate possible lags after migration.
• 🔒 Set the face unlock/print again (they are not portable).

To make room:

• Remove unnecessary backups to Settings → Memory → Files → Backups.
• Clear the app cache through Settings → Apps → Clear the cache.
• Move the photo to Google Photos with the option "Free space".

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After the transfer, check Settings → Accounts → Sync and enable automatic backup for Mi Cloud and Google. This will protect data in the future.

FAQ: Frequent questions about data portability to Xiaomi