Why Google Drive is the Best Option for Xiaomi
The transition from iPhone to Xiaomi smartphone (whether it’s Redmi Note 12, Poco X5 or the flagship Mi 13 series) is often accompanied by a problem of data migration. Unlike direct transmission over cable, which does not always work smoothly between the iOS and Android ecosystems, cloud services offer a universal solution. Google Drive here stands out: it is pre-integrated into MIUI firmware, supports background synchronization and does not require the installation of additional applications on Xiaomi.
The key advantage of the method is to preserve the structure of folders and metadata (for example, the date of the photo creation in the Xiaomi Gallery), but there are also pitfalls: the limitation of free storage (15 GB per Google account), possible errors when downloading files with.HEIC extensions (photo from iPhone) or.MOV (video). In this article, we will discuss a step-by-step algorithm taking into account the specifics of MIUI 14 and newer versions, as well as alternative methods for large amounts of data.
Preparing iPhone for data transfer
Before uploading files to Google Drive, you need to optimize your iPhone settings to avoid loss of quality or incomplete synchronization, starting with cleaning the cache and checking file formats:
- 📱 Update iOS: Go to Settings → Mainstream → Update: Versions below iOS 15 may not handle.vcf contact exports correctly.
- 🗑️ Clear the cache: In Settings → Safari click on “Clear History and Data.” This will make room for backup.
- 📸 Convert photos: Files.HEIC Not always correctly displayed on Xiaomi. Use the free app HEIC to JPG packet-conversion.
- 🔄 Turn off iCloud: In Settings → [Your name] → iCloud temporarily deactivate sync Photos, Contacts and Notes to avoid duplication.
Pay special attention to contacts. If they are only stored in iCloud, export them manually: open iCloud.com on your computer, select Contacts → Cog icon → Export vCard. The.vcf file can then be downloaded directly to Google Contacts.
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If the iPhone is enabled with the function "Optimize storage iPhone" (Settings) → Photos, upload the original photos manually: open each photo and wait for the "Done" label at the bottom of the screen.
Setting up Google Drive on iPhone
Install Google Drive from the App Store (if you don’t have one) and log in to the same Google account that will be used on Xiaomi. Importantly, if you already have files on Drive, create a separate folder for your iPhone data (e.g., if you already have files on Drive, «Migration_iPhone_Xiaomi»), avoid confusion.
Loading algorithm:
- Open Google Drive → press + → Download.
- Select the file type: 📷 Photo/Video: Go to Photos → Albums. → For batch download, use the "Select All" option in the upper right corner. 📞 Contacts: If you exported.vcf before, upload it to your folder «Migration_iPhone_Xiaomi». 📄 Documents: Files from Files or Notes (export notes to the PDF via the option “Share»).
iPhone 13 Pro
What to do if the loading is interrupted?
Critical detail: if you upload photos in the original resolution, Google Drive automatically compresses them to 16 MP when viewed on mobile devices. To get full-size files on Xiaomi, download them through the browser in "Pc" mode (in Chrome, click three dots → "PcS Version").
Transferring data to Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions
On Xiaomi, the process of downloading data depends on the version of MIUI. In the firmware of MIUI 13 and later Google, the Drive is pre-installed, but can be disabled in order to save energy.
Turn on Wi-Fi (set priority for 5GHz network to speed up)|Turn off the power saving mode for Google Drive (Settings) → Annexes → Battery management → Select Google Drive. → No restrictions)|Update Google Drive to Play Market (minimum version 2023.40.0)|Free up 10-15% of internal memory (check Settings) → The phone. → Warehouse)-->
Downloading instructions:
- Open Google Drive on Xiaomi and log in under the same account.
- Go to the folder «Migration_iPhone_Xiaomi» (or the one where the data was downloaded from the iPhone).
- For downloading: 📷 Photo/Video: Click on the file → three-point → «Save to the device. For batch download, select files with a long tap. → loading-mark. 📞 Contacts: Open the.vcf file → Select "Import to Contact." MIUI Contacts are automatically synced to your Google account. 📄 Documents: Click “Open with Help” and select the appropriate application (e.g, WPS Office PDF/DOCX).
- Photo: Gallery → Albums → Downloads or Files → Images.
- Video: Gallery → Video or Google Photos (if autosynchronization is enabled).
Common mistakes and their solutions
Even when following the instructions, users face typical problems, and below is the error table and how to fix them, which is relevant for Xiaomi on MIUI 14/15:
| Mistake. | Reason. | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Files are not displayed in the Gallery after downloading | No permission to scan the media | Go to Settings → Applications → Gallery → Permissions and enable storage access. Then to Gallery → Settings → Update media files. |
| Google Drive says "Not enough space" | 15GB limit is exhausted or quota temporarily blocked | Remove unnecessary files from Google Drive → Recycle Bin (they take up space 30 days). Alternative: Use OneDrive (1TB for Office 365 subscribers). |
| Contacts are duplicated after importation | Sync with multiple accounts (Google + Mi Account) | Open Contacts → Settings → Manage contacts and disable sync with unnecessary accounts. Then combine duplicates manually. |
| iPhone video is played without sound | .MOV codecs are not supported by the default player | Install MX Player or VLC from Play Market. In the player settings, enable the option "Software Decoding". |
⚠️ Note: If photos in the Xiaomi Gallery are displayed with a green tint after transfer, this means that the color profile is displayed in the image. DCI-P3 (Solution: Open a photo in Google Photos and save it again - the service automatically converts the profile to sRGB.
Alternative methods of data transmission
Google Drive is suitable for most scenarios, but there are situations where it is better to use other methods:
- 🔌 Direct Cable Transmission: Connect iPhone to Xiaomi via OTG-Type-C to Lightning: On iPhone, allow access to photos in a pop-up window. On Xiaomi, open Files → USB-Con: Not all Xiaomi models support storage and copy data. MTP-iPhone protocol (only stable on Redmi Note 11 Pro)+ newer).
- ☁️ Other cloud services: iCloud for Windows: Install on PC, download data, then download to Xiaomi via USB. OneDrive: 5GB is free, but there are no limits on file size (unlike Google Drive).Telegram: Upload files to Save Messages (limit 2GB per file).
- 📲 Migration apps: Move to iOS (from Apple) only works backwards (from Android to iOS). MIUI): Supports transfer from iPhone, but often issues an error “failed to connect” on iOS 16 devices+.
For users with more than 100GB of data, a combination of methods is best: upload the bulk of the photos to Google Drive, and transfer the music and documents over cable, which will reduce time and minimize the risk of data loss.
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If you need to move messages from iMessage, use paid services like iMazing or Backuptrans. Free methods (export via iCloud) do not keep attachments and emojis in their original form.
Optimizing data after transfer
After a successful migration, data on Xiaomi requires adjustments to work correctly:
- 📁 File Organization: Move the photo from the Download folder to DCIM/Camera, So they're displayed in the standard Gallery. Use Google Files to categorize documents by type (PDF, DOCX etc.).
- 🔄 Sync: Enable autosynchronization for Google Photos (Settings) → Backups, so that new photos are automatically uploaded to the cloud. → Google accounts → Synchronization of contacts.
- 🗃️ Clean: Remove duplicate photos with Files by Google (Clean up section) → Annexes → Google Drive → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
To speed up the system after transferring a large amount of data, perform optimization in MIUI:
- Go to Settings → About the phone → Memory.
- Click "Clean" (will delete temporary files).
- Enable the Deep Clean option (available on Xiaomi with 8GB of RAM and higher).
⚠️ Attention: If Xiaomi started to brake after the transfer, check the background synchronization activity. → Accounts. → Data Sync Disable Auto Sync for Unneeded Applications (e.g. Google Tables or Keep).