How to Transfer All Data from Xiaomi to Your Computer: Backup Without Errors

Losing data from a smartphone is one of the most frustrating situations for a Xiaomi owner: vacation photos, important Telegram correspondence, saved passwords or progress in games can disappear at once due to a firmware failure, device theft or trivial negligence. Fortunately, it takes no more than 15 minutes to create a backup to your computer, but saves years of digital memories.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to transfer data to Xiaomi (including models to the dataset) MIUI 14 and the new HyperOS on Windows PC 10/11 Or macOS. You'll learn how to save not only media files, but also system settings, SMS/MMS, Call logs and even application data, without root rights and complex manipulation, and we also find out what is the right method for a full backup before running through Fastboot, and why Xiaomi Cloud services are not always reliable.

We warn you right away: if you use a smartphone with an unlocked bootloader or custom firmware, some standard methods may not work. ADB Backup – it is universal for most Android devices.

1. Preparation of Xiaomi smartphone for backup

Before you start creating a backup, you need to follow several mandatory steps, and if you skip them, you risk getting an incomplete copy of the data or even interrupting the process due to trivial errors.

First, check the battery power, it should be at least 50%. At low charge, the smartphone can turn off during data transfer, which will damage the backup files. Second, free up at least 1-2 GB of free space on internal memory: temporary copy files take up additional space.

Next, turn on the debugging. USB (if you plan to use it ADB or Mi PC Suite):

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Press 7 times on the item Version MIUI (or HyperOS version until the notification “You became a developer” appears».
3. Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers.
4. Activate the USB Debugging and Installation switches via USB.

And finally, if you copy data on Windows, install the official Xiaomi drivers, and without them, the PC won't recognize the device in file transfer mode.

2. Method 1: Copying files through USB (simple but incomplete backup)

The most obvious method is to connect Xiaomi to your computer via cable and manually copy the folders you want, which is suitable for saving photos, videos, music and documents, but does not capture the settings of the application, SMS messenger data.

How to do this:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC via the original cable (it’s better to use the port). USB 3.0 on a computer for speed).
2. On the Xiaomi screen, select File Transfer (or MTP) mode.
3. On your computer, open this computer (Windows) or Finder (macOS) - the device will appear as a removable disk.
4. Go to the folders: 📷 DCIM — Photos and video from the camera 🎵 Music, Movies, Downloads – Media files and downloads 📄 Documents – Files from Office Applications 📱 MIUI or hyperos → Backup – previous local backups (if any)

Copy the desired folders to the hard disk of the PC.

⚠️ Note: Do not copy the entire Android folder – it contains an app cache that takes up a lot of space and does not recover correctly when you transfer it back. MIUI HyperOS, if you don’t know what it is.

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To speed up copying, archive folders directly on your smartphone (for example, via X-Plore File Manager), and then transfer them. ZIP-This will reduce the transfer time by 30-40%.

3. Method 2: Full backup via Mi PC Suite (official software from Xiaomi)

Mi PC Suite is a proprietary utility from Xiaomi that allows you to create a full backup of all data, including:

• 📞 Contacts, call log, SMS/MMS
• 📱 System settings (Wi-Fi, wallpaper, sound profiles)
• 🎮 Game and App Data (not all, but most)
• 📂 Files and media (optional)

Download the program from the official website (version for Windows; for macOS there is no alternative) Installation is standard, but before the first run:

1. Connect Xiaomi to your PC and allow access to data on your smartphone screen.
2. In Mi PC Suite select the Backup tab.
3. Click Full Backup and specify the folder to save (we recommend choosing a drive with enough space - the backup can weigh 10–30 GB).
4. Wait until the process is complete (it can take 20 to 60 minutes depending on the amount of data).

The main advantage of this method is recovery in one click. After firmware or reset, it is enough to connect the smartphone to the PC, open Mi. PC Suite and select Restore, but there are downsides:

• ❌ Does not work with HyperOS devices (no official support yet).
• ❌ Does not kop some application data (such as WhatsApp or banking programs).
• ❌ Backup is tied to a specific model of the smartphone – restore it to another model will not work.

4. Method 3: ADB Backup – a universal method for experienced users

If you need to save all data without exception, including application settings and system files, use ADB This method works on any Xiaomi device (even custom firmware) and does not require root rights. However, it is more complex than previous ones and requires knowledge of the command line.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows, macOS or Linux.
• 📱 Installed drivers ADB (You can download it as part of Android SDK Platform-Tools).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Step-by-step:

1. Unpack the platform-tools into any folder (e.g., C:\adb).
2. Connect Xiaomi to your PC and allow debugging over USB.
3. Open the command line (Win) + R → type in cmd) and go to the folder with adb: cd C:\adb
4. Follow the command to create a backup: adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f C:\backup_xiaomi.ab where: -apk — retain APK-file, -obb — includes additional game data, -shared — copy files from shared memory (photos, videos), -all — Captures all applications and settings, -f C:\backup_xiaomi.ab — path.

Create a backup copy

⚠️ Note: The backup file (.ab) will be encrypted with a lock password. If you forget it, it will not be possible to recover data. Also note that some applications (for example, banking) may block backup of their data through the use of a computer. ADB.

To recover data from the backup, use the command:

adb restore C:\backup_xiaomi.ab

5. Method 4: Backup through Xiaomi Cloud (cloud)

Xiaomi Cloud is a built-in cloud service that automatically syncs some of the data to your Mi Account, which is convenient but does not replace a full backup for two reasons:

1. The volume of free storage is only 5 GB (for photos in original quality this is not enough).
2. Not all data is synchronized: for example, the settings of applications or game saves are not copied.

How to enable cloud synchronization:

1. Open the Settings. → Xiaomi Cloud (or HyperOS Cloud).
2. Sign in to your Mi Account (if not registered, create one).
3. Activate switches for the right categories: 📞 Contacts 📝 Notes 📷 Gallery (photo and video) 📅 Calendar 🔄 Call magazine 📍 Browser bookmarks

Synchronize

To download data from the cloud to the PC:

1. Go to the Xiaomi Cloud website.
2. Log in to your account.
3. Select a section (such as Gallery) and click Download.

Let’s look at two popular options:

Swift Backup (without root):

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Open it and give access to the memory.
3. Select Backup → mark the desired applications.
4. Press Run Backup and wait until it is completed.
5. Backup files will be saved to the SwiftBackup folder on internal memory. Copy it to your PC.

Titanium Backup (requires root):

1. Install Titanium Backup from Google Play.
2. Provide root access (if you don’t know how to get it, read the instructions on the root access.) 4PDA).
3. Select Backup → Package action → Backup of all user applications + system-data.
4. Start the process and wait until it is completed.
5. The files will be saved in the TitaniumBackup folder on the memory card.

⚠️ Note: When using Titanium Backup, do not copy system applications (e.g. com.android.settings) unless you plan to restore the backup to the exact same device.

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For a full lossless backup, combine methods: use ADB Backup for System Data + Mi PC Suite for easy recovery + manual copying of media files through USB.

7 How to recover data from the backup to the new Xiaomi smartphone

Backing up is half the battle, and the key is to restore it properly, especially if you're upgrading to a new model or after resetting, and let's look at the process for each method.

For backup through Mi PC Suite:

1. Connect your new smartphone to your PC.
2. Open Mi. PC Suite and select Restore.
3. Specify the backup file (.mbk) and follow the instructions.
4. After recovery, restart the device.

For ADB Backup:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and activate debugging via USB.
2. In the command line, do: adb restore C:\backup_xiaomi.ab
3. On the smartphone screen, enter the lock password and confirm the recovery.

For the hand-held backup (USB):

• Just copy the files back to the appropriate folders (DCIM, Downloads, etc.).
• For photos and videos, use the Xiaomi Gallery → Imports.

For Xiaomi Cloud:

1. Sign in to your Mi Account on your new device.
2. Go to Settings. → Xiaomi Cloud.
3. Activate synchronization for the desired categories.

⚠️ Note: When you restore a backup to another Xiaomi model (for example, with the Redmi Note 10 on Xiaomi 13), you may experience problems with system file compatibility.

8. Frequent errors and their solutions

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

1. PC does not see Xiaomi when connecting to USB

• 🔌 Check the cable (use the original cable).
• 🖥️ Install drivers manually through Xiaomi Developer.
• 📱 On your smartphone, select the file transfer mode (MTP).
• 🔄 Reboot both devices.

2. Mi PC Suite issues an error "Failed to create a backup"

• 📁 Check if there is enough space on the PC disk.
• 🔒 Disable the antivirus (it can block access to files).
• 📋 Try to create a backup without apps (uncheck the box from the Application in the backup settings).

3. ADB Backup is interrupted with the error "Failed to Backup"

• 🔐 Make sure the debugging is done USB enabled and confirmed on a smartphone.
• 📱 Reboot adb: adb kill-server adb start-server
• 🛠️ Try to create a backup without a parameter -apk (Some applications block copying).

4.Recovery from backup leads to system failures

• 🚫 Do not restore system applications to another smartphone model.
• 🔄 Reset the settings to factory (Settings) → Reset) and repeat the recovery.
• 📦 Recover data selectively (for example, only contacts and photos).

5. Xiaomi Cloud doesn't sync photos

• 📶 Check your internet connection (Sync only works on Wi-Fi).
• 🔄 Manually run synchronization in Settings → Xiaomi Cloud → gallery.
• 📁 Make sure there is enough space on the cloud (only 5GB is free).

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If the backup is not built or repaired, check three things first: 1 cable and port. USB, 2) PC drivers, 3) disk space. 90% of the time, this is where the problem lies.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions