How to transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi: a complete guide to photos and videos

Moving from Honor to Xiaomi is not just about changing your brand, but also migrating all the important data: contacts, photos, messages, even app settings. Many users fear this process, considering it difficult or risky. In fact, transferring data between devices to Android can be done in 10 to 30 minutes if you know proven methods and avoid typical errors.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 working ways to migrate data, from standard Xiaomi tools to universal Google services and third-party applications. You’ll learn how to save your call history and SMS without loss, why you shouldn’t rely on cloud backups alone, and what to do if you don’t display some files after transferring. And for owners of older Honor models (until 2020), we’ve prepared separate recommendations for circumventing the restrictions of Huawei Mobile Services.

Preparation for transfer: what to do before the start

Before you start migrating data, make sure both devices are ready to go, which will help you avoid crashes, file loss, or incomplete portability.

On the Honor smartphone:

• 🔋 Charge the battery to at least 50% – the process can take up to an hour with a large amount of data.
• 📶 Connect to a stable Wi-Fi network (mobile internet is not suitable for transferring large files).
• 📁 Free up space: Delete unnecessary files if your device has less than 1GB of free space.
• 🔑 Make sure you remember the password from your Google account and Huawei ID (if used).

On a Xiaomi smartphone:

• 📱 Complete the initial setup before connecting to Wi-Fi (don’t miss this step!).
• 🔄 Update your firmware to the latest version through Settings → The phone. → Updating the system.
• 🛡️ Disable antivirus or optimizers – they can block data transfer.

💡

If Honor has EMUI firmware installed 10 or older, turn on Developer Mode (Settings → Phone → Build Number – press 7 times) and activate Debugging over USB. This will speed up the transfer over the cable.

Note the file system format: if Honor uses F2FS and Xiaomi uses ext4, some applications may not work properly after porting, and then you'd better use the cloud method.

2. Method 1: The official Mi Mover (recommended) app Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary tool for wirelessly transferring data between devices. It supports the transfer of contacts, messages, photos, video, audio, calendars and even some application settings. The main advantage is that you do not need an Internet connection (data is transmitted over a local Wi-Fi Direct network). Instructions: On Xiaomi, run the Mi Mover app (if not, download from Google Play). → On Honor, install Mi Mover (available in APKMirror, as AppGallery doesn't). On both devices, select Send Data (on Honor) and Receive Data (on Xiaomi). Scan QR-Xiaomi screen code with Honor camera. Select data types to transfer and confirm the beginning of the process. Transfer speed depends on the amount of data: Data volume Approximate time Recommendations Up to 5 GB5-15 minutes Use Wi-Fi 5 GHz to accelerate 5-20 GB20-40 minutes Connect both devices to charge 20–50 GB40–90 minutes Transfer data in parts (first photo, then video) Install Mi Mover on Honor|Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network|Charge smartphones to 50%+|Free up 1-2 GB of space on Xiaomi--> ⚠️ Note: If you have Magic installed on Honor UI 4.0 or later, Mi Mover may not see some system files (e.g., notes or calendar entries).In this case, use method 3 (Google Account). 3. Method 2: Sync through Google Account (for contacts and calendars) If you only need to transfer contacts, calendars, notes and mail, the most reliable way is sync through Google Account. This method works even on older Honor models (e.g. Honor). 8X or Honor 10 Lite, where there is no access to Google Play Services. Step-by-step: On Honor go to Settings → Accounts. → Google. Enable sync for Contacts, Calendar and Gmail. Wait for sync to complete (check in Settings). → Accounts. → Google → On Xiaomi, add the same Google Account when you first set up or through Settings. → Accounts and sync. Turn on sync for the same data: ✅ It works on any device with Android 5.0+. ✅ Data is automatically updated when changes are made. ✅ No additional applications required: ❌ I can't stand it. SMS, Photos, videos or applications. ❌ On some Honor models (for example, Honor 30 Pro)+) You may need to manually enable Google Sync through Settings → Annexes → Google Play Services → Permits, how to transfer SMS Google Account? unfortunately Google is not syncing SMS. Use third-party applications to transfer them, for example SMS Backup & Restore: 1. Install the app on Honor. 2. Create a backup. 3. Save the file to Google Drive. 4. Install the app on Xiaomi and recover the data (Restore). 4. Method 3: Transfer over the cable OTG (For large data sets, if you have more than 50 GB of data (e.g. a collection of photos in a format) RAW or video 4K), wireless methods can work too long or be interrupted, and in this case, it is more reliable to use a direct connection via a cable. OTG. What's the matter: 🔌 Cable USB-C to USB-C (adapter USB-A to USB-C, If you have a Micro-USB connector on Honor). 📱 adapter OTG (If you connect to Xiaomi as a host). 💾 Memory card or flash drive (optionally, for intermediate storage). Instructions: Connect Honor to Xiaomi via cable (Xiaomi may need to select File Transfer mode). On Xiaomi, open Explorer (Files) and select the connected device. Copy the desired folders (DCIM For photos, Download for downloads, etc.) to internal memory or to Xiaomi memory card. APK Extractor (extract.apk files from Honor and install on Xiaomi). ⚠️ Note: Not all apps will work after manually installing.apk. For example, Huawei AppGallery or Honor Themes may be blocked on Xiaomi due to service incompatibility. The transmission speed is 2-3 times higher than that of Wi-Fi. For example, 100 GB of data can be transferred in 30-40 minutes (versus 2-3 hours over the air). 5. Method 4: Cloud storage is convenient if you want to save a backup before transferring or transferring data to multiple devices: 📉 Speed depends on the speed of the Internet (at 100 Mbps 10 GB downloaded). ~20 minutes). 💰 Free space is limited (15 GB in Google Drive, 5 GB in Huawei Cloud). 🔒 Some files (like app backups) may not be restored on another device.How to transfer data over Google Drive: On Honor, open Google Drive and click + → Download. Select files or folders to download. After you complete the download, log in to the same account on Xiaomi. Download files via Google Drive or Files (Cloud) → Google Drive. for porting over Huawei Cloud (if you have an Honor model with a Huawei Cloud) HMS): On Honor go to Settings → Huawei ID → Cloud. Create a backup (Backup). On Xiaomi, install Huawei Mobile Cloud from APKMirror. Log in and recover your data. 💡Cloud services are better used for backup than as the main method of transfer. They do not guarantee the safety of the folder structure and metadata files (for example, the date of creation of the photo). 6. Method 5: Third-party apps (Clone Phone, SHAREit, Send Anywhere) If standard methods are not suitable (for example, due to outdated firmware or lack of access to Google Play), you can use third-party applications. We tested the three most reliable: AppSpeedSpeedSupported DataLimits Clone Phone (from Xiaomi)⚡ Quick (Wi-Fi Direct) Contacts, SMS, Photos, videos, apps Not working on Honor EMUI 12+ SHAREit⚡⚡ Any files, but not system data Advertising requires permission to access Send Anywhere files⚡ Average Photo, Video, Documents 10 GB Limit in the Free Version of the Selection Guidelines: 📱 To transfer applications and settings, choose Clone Phone. 📷 For high quality photos and videos – Send Anywhere (retains original resolution). 🔄 For fast transfer without registration, SHAREit. Instructions for Clone Phone: Install the app on both devices (download.apk for Honor with APKMirror). On Honor, select Old device, on Xiaomi - New device. Scan QR-- code for the connection. Select the data to be transferred and confirm. ⚠️ Note: Applications like SHAREit may request access to Special Features or Overlays over other applications. Do not grant these permissions, as they are not required for file transfers and can be used to display ads. 7 (SMS, Notes, passwords) Some types of data require a special approach because they are not carried over by standard methods: 📩 SMS And call history use SMS Backup & Restore: Install the app on Honor. Create a backup and save the file to Google Drive. On Xiaomi, restore the data from the file. 📝 Notes and calendar If you used Huawei Notes: Export notes to.zip via Settings → Export.Transfer the archive to Xiaomi and import to Google Keep or Mi Notes. 🔑 Passwords and Autocomplete Data If you used Huawei Password Manager: Export passwords to.csv via Settings → Export.Import to Google Password Manager or Bitwarden on Xiaomi.How to transfer data from Huawei Health? 1.Open Huawei Health on Honor. 2.Go to Profile → Settings → Data export. 3. Save the file to the device and transfer it to Xiaomi. 4. Install Mi Fitness or Google Fit and import the data. 8. Post-transfer problems and their solutions Even with proper portability, the data may not be displayed correctly or missing. Consider typical problems and ways to fix them: Problem Reasons Photos and videos are not displayed in the gallery Not updated media baseReboot device or use Settings → Annexes → gallery → Warehouse → Clear data Contacts duplicate Sync with multiple accounts Disable sync for unnecessary accounts in Settings → App accounts fly out after installation Version or architecture incompatibility Update apps via Google Play or install alternatives SMS Unrestored Incorrect backup formatRepeat transfer via SMS Backup & Restore, selecting format XML If after the transfer Xiaomi began to slow down: 🧹 Clear the cache through Settings → Warehouse → Clear the cache. 🔄 Reset the device. 📉 Turn off autoloading of unnecessary apps in Settings → Annexes → Autoboot. 💡If Xiaomi doesn’t have enough space after the transfer, transfer the files to the memory card (if supported). → Warehouse → Move the data to SD-map. FAQ: Can you transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi without the Internet? Yes, use: Cable OTG (Direct connectivity. Mi Mover or Clone Phone (wi-fi Direct transmission without internet access); memory card (copy files manually); wireless methods like SHAREit don't require internet, but create a local network between devices. Why can't Mi Mover see my Honor? Possible causes and solutions: Outdated firmware: Update EMUI No Google Play Services: Install Googlefier (for models without Google Play Services) GMS). Firewall lock: Disable Huawei Firewall in security settings. Version incompatibility: Check if your model supports the Honor Mi Mover (a list of compatible devices on the official Xiaomi website). How to transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi if the screen is broken? If the screen does not respond to touch, but the device turns on: Connect Honor to the PC via the PC USB and copy files manually (folders) DCIM, Download etc. Use it. ADB For data extraction (command line skills required). Example of command: adb pull /sdcard/ If your device is blocked, use Huawei HiSuite (you need access to your Huawei account). ID). If the screen is completely black, contact the service center to retrieve data through the EDL-Will saves from Honor games be transferred to Xiaomi? It depends on the type of game: Online games (for example, online games, PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact: saved by account (Google Play Games, Facebook, game server). Just log in to the same account on Xiaomi.Offline games: saves are stored in a folder /Android/obb/ or /Android/data/. Copy these folders manually on Xiaomi (root access may be required). Cloud-saving games (e.g., via Huawei GameCenter): portability is impossible as the service HMS Is it possible to transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi via Bluetooth? Technically, but it's extremely inconvenient: 🐢 Transmission speed — ~1–2 MB/s (10 GB will be transferred ~14 hours). 📁 You can only transfer individual files, not folders. 🔋 High battery consumption. Bluetooth is only suitable for transferring a few photos or documents.