How to transfer contacts from one Xiaomi phone to another: all ways

Why standard contact export on Xiaomi often doesn’t work

Shifting contacts between Xiaomi smartphones seems like a simple task — until you face typical problems. Users often complain that when synchronizing through Mi Account, individual numbers are skipped, and exporting to the company is not a problem. SIM-The card cuts off fields with email addresses or birth dates, and it's because of the limitations of the.vcf format, which not all apps interpret correctly.

Another trap is the duplication of contacts with multiple accounts (e.g. Google + Mi Account), which can create separate records for one person if they were stored in different sources, and when transferred over Bluetooth, many forget that only basic information is transmitted without photos or notes.

In this article, we will discuss 5 reliable ways to transfer contacts between Xiaomi phones (including models on MIUI 14/15), taking into account their features. From the simplest copying via SIM to advanced methods with backup – choose the best option for your situation.

Method 1: Synchronize with Mi Account (the fastest method)

If both phones are linked to the same Xiaomi account, this method will take no more than 2-3 minutes, the main advantage is that contacts are automatically updated when new entries are added to either device, but there is a caveat: the method only works if the old phone is synced.

How to check and enable synchronization:

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
• 🔄 Make sure the switch opposite the Contact is active (green).
• ⏳ Wait for the synchronization to be completed (notification will appear at the top of the screen).
• 📲 On your new phone, log in to the same Xiaomi account and enable contact sync.

If the contacts do not appear on the new device:

1. Go to Contacts → Settings → Contact Management → Import / Export.
2. Select “Import from Mi Cloud”.
3. Confirm the action and wait for the process to be completed.

Sign in to one account on both phones|Check for a stable Wi-Fi connection|Enable contact synchronization in Mi Cloud|Update the Contacts app to the latest version-->

⚠️ Note: If the old phone is out of sync, the contacts will not load into the cloud. In this case, export them manually first (see Method 3 or 4).

Method 2: Transfer through SIM-map (for basic models)

This method is suitable for phones without Internet access or if you urgently need to transfer only phone numbers (without additional fields). SIM-The card stores contacts in a stripped-down format - a maximum of 250 records of 140 characters each.

Step-by-step:

1. On your old phone, open your contacts. → Settings (⚙️) → Contact management → Imports/Exports.
2. Select "Export to" SIM-map and mark the desired contacts (or click "Select all»).
3. Confirm the export. The system will show the number of successfully copied records.
4. Move it. SIM-map to the new Xiaomi phone.
5. In the Contacts of the new device, select "Import with" SIM-maps" and specify where to store data (in Mi Account, Google or locally).

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Before exporting to SIM Check the free space: go to Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → [yours SIM] → Memory. SIM-If you're more than 80% busy, delete your old contacts.

Method 3: Export/import via VCF file (for full backup)

The.vcf (vCard) format allows you to save all contact fields, including photos, addresses and notes, which is universal and works even between different brands (for example, from Xiaomi to Samsung), the main thing is to choose the right place to save the file.

Instructions for export:

• 📁 Open Contacts. → Settings → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Export to file.
• 🔘 Choose your export contacts (we recommend “all of them»).
• 💾 Specify the save folder (for example, internal memory) → Download) and confirm.
• 📎 The file will be called contacts.vcf (or similarly).

Transfer to the new phone:

1. Copy the contacts.vcf file to your new phone (via Bluetooth, wire, or cloud).
2. Open the file and the system will prompt you to import contacts.
3. Select an account to save (Mi Account, Google or locally).

⚠️ Note: When importing a large number of contacts (1000)+ The process can take up to 10 minutes. Do not interrupt it or leave the Contact app».

Method 4: Sync through Google Account (cross-platform method)

If you use Google Contacts, this method will not only transfer data, but also automatically update it on all devices, Suitable for Xiaomi phones on MIUI and Android One (for example, Mi A3, Poco F1).

How to turn on synchronization:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Accounts → Google → [your account].
2. Activate the Contacts switch.
3. Click on “Sync” and wait until it is completed.
4. On the new phone, log in to the same Google account and enable contact sync.

If no contact is made:

• 🔍 Check what's in the Settings → Annexes → Contacts → Memory selected by Google as the default source.
• 🔄 Forced update data: Settings → Accounts. → Google → [account] → Synchronize now.
• 📱 Make sure that on the new phone in Contacts → Settings → Display contacts marked by your Google account.

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Syncing through Google is the only way that is guaranteed to save your call and message history (if backup is enabled in Google Drive).

Method 5: Local backup (for power users)

This method is suitable if you want to transfer not only contacts, but also SMS, call log or application settings. Xiaomi offers a built-in backup tool that creates an archive with the.mbk extension.

How to make a backup:

1. Open Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Local Backup.
2. Select Contacts (and other information if necessary).
3. Click on “Backup” and wait for the archive to be created.
4. The file is saved to MIUI/Backup/AllBackup.

Recovery on the new phone:

• 📂 Copy the.mbk file to the same folder on the new device.
• 🔙 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Backup and reset → Local backups.
• 🔍 Select the backup file and click "Restore».
• ✅ Confirm the restoration of contacts (you can select individual items).

The advantage of this method is that it has full control over data, but the archive takes up more space (up to 50-100 MB) and cannot be opened on other devices without a MIUI.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even when following instructions, users face problems, and here are the most common ways to solve them:

If none of these methods worked, check:

• 🔋 Battery level (should be) >20%, otherwise the process may be interrupted).
• 📶 Internet connection stability (for cloud-based methods).
• 📱 Version MIUI — older versions (MIUI 10 and below) may be synchronized bugs.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions