How to import contacts on Xiaomi: all ways of 2026

Transferring contacts to the new Xiaomi smartphone is a challenge that every user faces, even if you are an experienced device owner. MIUI, new versions of the firmware (for example, MIUI 15) can make changes to the settings menu, which causes the usual methods of importing to stop working. In this article, we will discuss all the current methods of transferring contacts - from the classic import of the traditional import of the goods. SIM-maps before syncing through Google Account and Mi Cloud, and solve typical problems such as duplicates or missing numbers.

We will pay special attention to importing contacts from iPhone to Xiaomi via iCloud, which often raises questions among users who switch from iOS to Android, and you will learn how to restore contacts after resetting and why some numbers may not appear in the phone book. All instructions tested on the latest Xiaomi models 14, Redmi Note 13 and POCO F6 firmware MIUI 14/15.

Preparation for import: what to do before transferring contacts

Before you start importing, make sure your Xiaomi smartphone is ready for the procedure.Missing these steps can result in data loss or sync errors.

First, check the version. MIUI: The path to import settings may vary depending on the firmware. To find out the version, go to Settings. → The phone. → Version. MIUI. If you MIUI 12 or older, some menu items may be called differently - for example, instead of "Contacts" will be "Phonebook".

• 📱 Update your firmware to the latest version (if available). This will eliminate synchronization bugs.
• 🔄 Back up your current contacts (if any). Go to Contacts for this. → ☰ → Contact management → Exports/imports → Export to device.
• 📶 Connect to Wi-Fi. Sync via Google or Mi Cloud requires a stable Internet connection.
• 🔒 Sign in to your Google and/or Mi Account if you plan to use cloud-based imports.

⚠️ Note: If you are transferring contacts from iPhone, disable iMessage in Apple settings ID Otherwise, messages from contacts with iOS may not reach the new Xiaomi.

Also make sure that the device has enough free space. Importing a large number of contacts (for example, more than 500) can take up to 50-100 MB on the system partition. → Memory.

2.Import of contacts with SIM-maps on Xiaomi

The simplest and most universal way is to transfer contacts directly from the SIM-It is suitable if you have few numbers (up to 250-300, as well as the number of the number of cards). SIM has a memory restriction or you are switching from a button phone.

Instructions for MIUI 14/15:

1. Put it in. SIM-Map to Xiaomi smartphone (if it is not already installed).
2. Open the Contacts app (phone handset icon).
3. Press three points (☰) in the upper right corner and select Contact Management.
4. Go to Import/Export Contacts → Import from SIM-card.
5. Choose. SIM1 or SIM2 (if you have two cards).
6. Tick the necessary contacts or click Select all.
7. Press Import and wait for the process to be completed.

Contacts will be stored in your phone memory or account. Google/Mi (To change the save location, go to Settings before importing → Contacts → Keeping new contacts in.

⚠️ Attention: SIM-The cards only support the name + Additional fields (email, address, birthday) will be lost when importing this type of file. If they are important, use the.vcf method (section 4).

3. synchronize contacts through Google Account

If you’ve used an Android smartphone before, chances are your contacts are already synced with your Google Account, which allows you to transfer them to Xiaomi in minutes without any additional action.

How to check if your contacts are synced with Google:

1. On your old phone, open Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync.
2. Make sure the switch opposite the Contact is on.
3. If the synchronization is disabled, turn it on and wait for the process to be completed.

Now we will move the contacts to Xiaomi:

1. On the new smartphone, open the settings → Accounts and synchronization.
2. Click Add Add Account → Google and log in to the same account used on the old phone.
3. After login, enable contact synchronization: Accounts → Google → [your email] → Synchronization of contacts.
4. Wait until the synchronization is complete (it can take up to 10 minutes with a large number of contacts).

To make sure contacts are moved, open the Contacts app and check the list. If some numbers are missing, try manually updating the sync by pulling the contact list down (swipe down gesture).

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If contacts are not synced, try to delete and re-add Google Account to Xiaomi, which sometimes solves problems with “hang” sync.

4. Transfer contacts via VCF file (vCard)

The.vcf file (or vCard) is a universal format for storing contacts, which allows you to transfer not only numbers, but all the additional information: email, addresses, photos and notes, which is suitable for transferring from an iPhone, Android or even a computer.

How to export contacts to.vcf:

• 📱 From Android: Contacts → ☰ → Contact management → Exports/imports → Export to the device (select the.vcf format).
• 🍎 From iPhone: Go to iCloud.com, select Contacts, click on the gear → Exports vCard.
• 💻 From the computer: If contacts are stored in Outlook or Gmail, export them through the File menu → Exports.

Now Import the file to Xiaomi:

1. Copy the.vcf file to your smartphone (for example, via Bluetooth, email, or cloud storage).
2. Open the file through Files (application) MIUI File Manager).
3. The system will prompt you to import contacts – select Contacts and confirm the action.
4. If the file is large (over 1,000 contacts), importing can take a few minutes.

⚠️ Note: When importing.vcf from iPhone, some special characters (such as emoticons in names) may not display correctly. Before importing, open the file in the text editor and delete the unnecessary characters.

5. Import contacts from iPhone to Xiaomi via iCloud

The transition from iOS to Android is often accompanied by data portability issues, and the most reliable way to use iCloud is to use it, but there are nuances that many people don’t know about.

Step-by-step:

1. On iPhone, make sure contacts are synced with iCloud: Settings → [name] → iCloud → Contacts (included).
2. On your computer, open your browser and go to iCloud.com. Log in to your Apple ID.
3. Select Contacts, then click on the gear in the lower left corner and click Export vCard. Contacts.vcf will be downloaded to your computer.
4. Flip the file to Xiaomi (for example, via Google Drive or cable) USB).
5. On your smartphone, open the.vcf file and import contacts (see Section 4).

An alternative way is through the Move to iOS app (yes, it works the other way around!):

• 📲 Install the Move to Android app on Xiaomi (unofficial ports).
• 🔗 Follow the instructions on the screen by selecting the transfer of Contacts.
• ⚡ This method will also carry photos, messages, and notes, but may not work smoothly on newer versions. MIUI.

If after importing some contacts appear as "Unknown", check the encoding of the.vcf file. UTF-8 s BOM, This can be corrected through a text editor (e.g. Notepad).++), coded UTF-8 without BOM.

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Importing via iCloud is the most reliable way to transfer contacts from the iPhone, but requires a computer. Alternative methods (such as email) can lead to data loss.

6. sync through Mi Cloud (Xiaomi account)

Mi Cloud – cloud storage from Xiaomi, which allows you to synchronize contacts, photos, notes and even SMS. If you’ve used a Xiaomi smartphone before, your contacts could be saved automatically to the Mi Cloud.

How to turn on synchronization:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Account.
2. Sign in to your Xiaomi account (or create a new one if you don’t have one).
3. Activate the Contact Synchronization switch.
4. Click Sync Now to start the process manually.

If you are transferring contacts from another Xiaomi device:

• 📱 On your old phone, make sure that sync with Mi Cloud is enabled.
• 🔄 On the new device, log in to the same Mi Account and wait for automatic synchronization.
• ⏳ The process can take up to 15 minutes depending on the number of contacts.

The advantage of Mi Cloud is that it can back up automatically, but there are limitations to this method:

• 🚫 Contacts synced through Mi Cloud will not be available on devices from other brands (such as Samsung or Google Pixel).
• 📶 Requires a stable Internet connection for first synchronization.
• 🔒 When resetting the phone to factory settings, contacts will be restored only after logging into the Mi Account.

To avoid data loss, we recommend you to duplicate contacts in Google Account.

1. Open Contacts. → ☰ → Contact management → Exports/imports.
2. Select Export to the device (.vcf format).
3. Import the file to Google Contacts via the web version.

7. Solving problems: contacts not imported or missing

Even if you do the right thing, you can make mistakes, and we'll look at the most common problems and their solutions.

If contacts disappear after the update MIUI, Try the following steps:

1. Check if the synchronization is disabled: Settings → Accounts. → Google/Mi Account.
2. Update the Contacts app via Google Play (sometimes bugs are fixed in new versions).
3. Reset the settings of the application Contacts: Settings → Annexes → Contacts → Warehouse → Drop it.

If nothing helps, try hand-importing through the ADB (power-user):

adb shell content insert --uri content://com.android.contacts/raw_contacts --bind name: "Name" --bind phone_number:"+79991234567"

This command adds one contact. Mass import requires a script.

8 Additional Tips: Backup and Optimization

To avoid losing contacts in the future, follow these guidelines:

• ☁️ Enable automatic sync with Google and Mi Cloud. for this go to Settings → Accounts. → Autosynchronization of data.
• 📅 Export contacts to a.vcf file regularly (e.g. once a month) and save them to the cloud (Google Drive, Yandex Drive).
• 🧹 Clear duplicates. Google Contacts has a tool to find them: Duplicates → Unite.
• 🔍 Use contact groups for convenience, such as work, family, friends".

To optimize the work with contacts on Xiaomi:

• 📞 Configure a quick dial: in the Phone application, hold the number on the keyboard to assign it to the contact.
• 🔊 Enable voice dialing: Settings → Special facilities → Voice assistant → Voice set.
• 🌐 If you frequently call abroad, keep the numbers in an international format (e.g., in a mobile phone number, +79991234567 instead of 89991234567).

If you’re switching between different brands, consider using cross-platform services like SyncGene or Contacts.+. They allow you to synchronize contacts between Android, iOS and even Windows Phone.

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Backing up contacts manually (via.vcf) is the only way to guarantee that you can save data when you change platforms (for example, from Android to iOS or vice versa).

FAQ: Frequent questions about importing contacts on Xiaomi