How to Transfer Data from Android to Xiaomi: 5 Proven Ways

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but transferring data from an old Android device can become a real headache if you don’t know the nuances. Even with standard tools like Mi Mover or Google Account, users often encounter missed contacts, cropped chats or “broken” photos. Why is this happening?

Xiaomi uses its own MIUI shell, which interacts with data from pure Android or other brands’ firmware (Samsung One UI, Realme UI, etc.) for example, the Gallery app on Xiaomi may not recognize albums created in Google Photos, and Samsung Notes have no analogue at all in the Mi ecosystem. In this article, we will analyze all the current methods of transferring data from automatic to manual ones, and also explain how to avoid typical errors that cause data loss.

We will focus on migrating data from Android 12+ devices to Xiaomi with MIUI 14/15, as it often has problems with resolution and protocol compatibility. If your old smartphone from Huawei, Honor or Meizu, get ready for additional steps – these brands use their own cloud services that are not synchronized with the Mi Cloud.

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

The first rule of successful transfer is that you don't start with the devices running out. If the battery sits down during transfer, there's a high probability of losing some data or even malfunctioning the new smartphone. The optimal charge level of both devices is at least 60%.

The second is to check firmware versions. The old device should have the current version of Android installed (preferably at least 10), and the new Xiaomi should have the latest stable MIUI.

• 📱 On Old Android: Settings → The phone. → Android version
• 📱 On Xiaomi: Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI

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If your older smartphone is running Android 8 or lower, first update it through Settings → System → Software Update. Devices on older versions may not support modern data protocols.

The third step is to clean up the garbage, and it's pointless to transfer unnecessary files (cache, duplicate photos, old APKs) using built-in tools:

• 🧹 On Android: Settings → Warehouse → Make room
• 🧹 On Xiaomi: Security → Cleanup → Deep cleaning

⚠️ Note: If the old device has data encryption enabled (Settings) → Security → Encryption, disable it 24 hours before transfer. Otherwise, the files may not be copied or will not be available on the new Xiaomi.

2. Method 1: Mi Mover is the official tool of Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a Xiaomi-branded app that is installed by default on all new devices of the brand. It supports portability:

• 📞 Contacts (including call histories)
• 📸 Photo and video (without compression)
• 💬 Communications (SMS and chat rooms of some messengers)
• 📁 Annexes (only) APK, data-free)
• 🎵 Music and documents

How to use:

1. Turn on Mi Mover on both devices (you need to download it from Google Play on the old one).
2. On the new Xiaomi, select “I am a new user” and on the old one, “I am sending data.”
3. Connect to a single Wi-Fi network or create an access point on an old phone.
4. Scan it. QR-The code from the screen of the new Xiaomi old device.
5. Select data types to transfer and wait for completion.

⚠️ Warning: If Mi Mover is stuck in the Preparing stage, check if the antivirus is blocking transmission (turn it off on both devices) or VPN (Also make sure that the new Xiaomi has enough free space – the app creates temporary files.

Shut down. VPN both-device|Close all background applications|Connect to a 5GHz network (if any)|Get out. SIM-A card from an old phone (sometimes interferes with the phone)|Check that the new Xiaomi has a developer mode enabled (not necessarily, but helps with errors)-->

Method 2: Transfer through Google Account (for contacts, calendars, notes)

If you used Google services on an older device, most of the data is already synced to the cloud, so you can move it to Xiaomi:

1. On the new smartphone, when you first turn on, select “Login to Google Account” and use the same data as on the old phone.
2. Go to Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync and turn on all the switches.
3. For contacts: Open the Contacts app, click on three points → Import/Export → select Google as the source.

What exactly will happen:

• 📞 Contacts (including groups and tags)
• 📅 Calendars (events and reminders)
• 📝 Notes from Google Keep
• 🌐 Chrome bookmarks and browser history
• 📧 Gmail emails (if you have used them)

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ Photos and videos are not automatically synced (you need to use Google Photos separately).
• ❌ SMS and MMS They are not (likely) a third party. SMS Backup & Restore).
• ❌ Application settings (e.g., game progress) are not saved.

4. Method 3: Lossless Photo and Video Transfer (Google Photo vs Xiaomi Gallery)

Photos and videos are the heaviest data, and their transfer is often accompanied by problems: compression, loss. EXIF-We're going to look at two reliable options for labels or album structure disruption.

Option 1: Google Photos (recommended for large libraries)

1. On your old device, open Google Photos and turn on Backup (Photo → Settings → Backup and Sync).
2. Select “High Quality” (unlimited storage) or “Original Quality” (Google Drive counter).
3. Wait until the loading is complete (may take hours with a large volume).
4. On the new Xiaomi, log in to the same Google account and wait for sync.

Option 2: Direct transmission over cable (for maximum quality)

If you have Xiaomi with a port USB-C, can be used OTG-direct-copying:

1. Connect your old phone to your new one OTG-adapter.
2. On the new Xiaomi, open Explorer and select the connected device.
3. Copy the folders. DCIM, Pictures and Downloads in internal memory or SD-map.
4. After copying, check the files through the Gallery – sometimes MIUI does not update the media base automatically (reboot helps).

⚠️ Note: When copying via cable, do not use the exFAT file system on a flash drive or SD-map – Xiaomi may not correctly display files larger than 4 GB. Format the drive in FAT32 (if the files are less than 4 GB; or NTFS (For large files, but you will need additional reading software on Android).

Google Photo| Direct copying via cable |Through computer |Mi Mover|Another way-->

5. Method 4: Transfer applications and their data (including games)

Move it yourself. APK-Application files are simple, but with their data (saves, logins, settings) it is more complicated.

Step 1: Transfer APK over Mi Mover

As described in Method 2, Mi Mover can copy installed applications.

• ❌ Application data is not transferred (for example, progress in games).
• ❌ Some system apps (such as Samsung Health) won’t work on Xiaomi.
• ❌ Apps from Huawei AppGallery will not be installed (you need to download from Google Play).

Step 2: Transfer application data via Helium or Swift Backup

For backup of application data:

1. Install Swift Backup (root rights required) or Helium (rootless but with limitations) on your old device.
2. Backup the right applications to the cloud or to the cloud SD-map.
3. On the new Xiaomi, install the same app, restore the data.

Step 3: Transfer of game saves

For games, use:

• 🎮 Google Play Games (for games with cloud-based storage support).
• 🎮 Xiaomi Game Turbo (built-in) MIUI, But it only works with some games).
• 🎮 Manual transfer of save files (folder) /Android/data/ or /Android/obb/).

1. Connect the old device to the PC.

2. execute the command:

adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab

3. Transfer the backup.ab file to the new Xiaomi and restore via:

adb restore backup.ab

This method works even on Android 13, but does not copy the data of some system applications.-->

Method 5: Transfer over a computer (for full control)

If you need to migrate all the data without exception, or the previous methods didn't work, use a computer (Windows, macOS or Linux), which is the most reliable method, but it takes longer.

Step 1: Copying data from an old phone

1. Connect your old device to your PC via USB-cable.
2. Select File Transfer (MTP) mode in the phone notification curtain.
3. Copy the following folders on your PC: 📁 DCIM (photo) 📁 Downloads (downloads) 📁 Android/data and Android/obb (file) 📁 WhatsApp (if you need to move chats)

Step 2: Move to the new Xiaomi

1. Connect the new Xiaomi to your PC and select MTP mode.
2. Copy the saved folders into the root directory of internal memory.
3. For WhatsApp: Copy the WhatsApp folder to the memory root. Install WhatsApp with Google Play. When you first launch, the app will prompt you to restore chats from the local backup.