How to Transfer Notes from Xiaomi to Realme 8: All Ways to Save Data

The transition from Xiaomi to Realme 8 is often accompanied by the need to transfer personal data, and notes become one of the most important types of information. Unlike contacts or photos, notes can contain unique formats: to-do lists, encrypted records, attachments in the form of screenshots or voice messages.

In this article, we will discuss 5 Working methods of transfer, including cloud services, local copying and specialized applications, special attention will be paid to preserving the structure of notes (color tags, checklists, reminders) and solving typical errors, for example, when Realme 8 does not recognize the export files from Mi Notes. MIUI 14/15 and realme UI 3.0/4.0.

Why can’t you just copy your notes like a regular file?

Notes are not stored as text documents, but as a database in.db format or encrypted.enc files. Direct copying of /data/com.miui.notes folder on Realme 8 will not work for three reasons:

• 🔒 Encryption: Mi Notes uses binding to Xiaomi account, without which files cannot be opened.
• 📱 Incompatibility of the OS: Realme UI Does not support database reading MIUI.
• 🔄 Sync: Local notes are tied to a system application that is not available on Realme.

Even if you find a note folder through the File Manager, the contents of the folder will be unreadable without special tools, so workarounds are required — more on that.

Method 1: Export via Mi Cloud (official method)

The most reliable option is to use the built-in export function in Mi Notes. This method stores all metadata: creation dates, color tags and attachments. Importantly, before you start, check that Xiaomi has synchronization with Mi Cloud (Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Notes).

Instructions:

1. Open the Notes app on Xiaomi.
2. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner → Settings → Export notes.
3. Select the format.zip (saves attachments) or.txt (text only).
4. The file will be saved in the folder. Download/Notes_Backup. Move it to Realme. 8 Google Drive, USB-cable.
5. On Realme 8, install the Notes by Realme app (if not installed by default) and import the file through Settings → Import.

Sign in to Xiaomi account on both devices

Check the space available in Mi Cloud (minimum 50 MB)

Disable VPN (can block synchronization)

Charge both phones at least 30 times%-->

Critical detail: If you have voice messages in your notes, export them separately through Settings → Media Export, otherwise they will turn into unreadable.amr files.

Method 2: Sync with Google Keep

If you don't want to depend on Mi Cloud, use Google Keep as a stash, which is a good way to take text notes without complex formatting, and the advantage is cross-platform: data will be available on both Realme 8 and PC.

Algorithm of action:

1. On Xiaomi, install Google Keep from the Play Market.
2. Open the note in Mi Notes, click Share → Google Keep.
3. In Google Keep, click Save. Repeat for all notes.
4. On Realme 8, log in to the same Google account and open Keep – all notes will be synced.

⚠️ Note: Google Keep does not support exporting attachment notes (photos, audio) for such cases, use Method 1 or Method 4.

Method 3: Local backup via ADB (for advanced)

If you don’t trust cloud services or have slow internet, you can extract notes directly from Xiaomi’s memory using Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that requires debugging permission over USB and works even without root permissions.

Step-by-step:

1. On Xiaomi, turn on Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (click 7 times to activate Developer Mode).
2. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and enable USB debugging.
3. Connect your phone to your PC, install ADB Tools, and execute the commands:

adb devices


adb shell "run-as com.miui.notes cat /data/data/com.miui.notes/databases/notes.db > /sdcard/notes.db"




adb pull /sdcard/notes.db C:\NotesBackup\

The notes.db file contains all notes in raw form. Use SQLite Browser (a free PC program) to read the notes.

• 📄 Export notes from notes.db to.txt or.csv.
• 📱 Send files to Realme 8 and import via Notes by Realme or Excel (for tables).

Method 4: Transfer through third-party applications (Notion, Evernote)

If you use cross-platform services like Notion or Evernote, it’s easy to move notes with just a few clicks, and these apps support import from Mi Notes and automatically sync with Realme 8.

Instructions for Notion:

1. On Xiaomi, export notes to.txt or.html (via Share → Save as a file).
2. Upload files to Notion via the web version or mobile app.
3. On Realme 8, set Notion and log in – all notes will be available offline.

Advantages of the method:

• 🌐 Access from any device (PC, tablet, other phone).
• 🔍 Full text search for all notes.
• 📎 Investment support (PDF, images, tables).

⚠️ Note: The free version of Notion limits the amount of files you can download to 5 MB. For large notes with attachments, you will need a paid tariff or Method 1.

💡

If the notes contain Chinese/Korean characters, change the encoding in the Mi Notes settings to UTF-8 before exporting, otherwise the characters will appear in Krakozabra.

Method 5: Manual transfer via screenshots + OCR

If the notes are small (up to 20 pieces), and their format is simple (text + pictures), you can use the manual method:

1. Take screenshots of each note on Xiaomi (click Power + Volume Down).
2. Transfer screenshots to Realme 8 via Google Photos or Telegram.
3. Use Google Lens or Text Fairy app for text recognition (OCR) and copy to Notes by Realme.

This method is suitable for:

• 📝 Notes with handwritten text (recognisable to 95 accuracy%).
• 🖼️ Notes with a unique design (e.g. drawings, diagrams).
• 🔒 Confidential Notes That Cannot Be Uploaded to the Cloud.

Disadvantages:

• ⏳ It takes a lot of time (5-10 minutes to write a note).
• 🎨 Lost original formatting (colors, highlights).

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you move notes, you have a typical problem, and here's how to solve them:

If the notes are not displayed correctly after the transfer, try:

1. Delete the cache of the Notes by Realme app (Settings → Apps → Storage → Clear cache).
2. Import notes in small batches (10-20 pieces each).
3. Use an alternative note-taking app, such as ColorNote.

💡

Before you start transferring, always back up your notes in two formats:.zip (for attachments) and.txt (for text).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions