Xiaomi’s modern smartphone stores a vast amount of personal information, from work documents to priceless family photos. Losing a device or a sudden software failure can lead to irreversible consequences if you do not take care of your data in advance. Backup is the only reliable way to ensure that your contacts, correspondence history and settings do not disappear forever.
Google’s ecosystem offers powerful automatic synchronization tools that are deeply integrated into the Android operating system that underlies the MIUI or HyperOS shell. However, many users ignore these features or don’t know how to activate them correctly to fully cover all important sections. In this article, we’ll take a detailed look at the backup process so you can sleep well knowing your data is safe.
The procedure for creating a copy may seem complicated only at first glance, but in fact it takes only a few minutes of your time. We will consider not only the standard settings, but also the nuances of working with multimedia files, which often take up the most space. Full synchronization with Google Drive does not include the contents of the DCIM folder by default, which requires special attention. Let's start setting up the protection of your data.
Preparation of the device and Google account
Before you start the archiving process, you need to make sure that your device is ready to transfer large amounts of information. First of all, check which Google account is used as the main one on your Xiaomi.
A stable Internet connection is critical. While system settings and contacts take up little space, backing up applications and their data can weigh several gigabytes. Using a 4G/5G mobile network is possible, but Wi-Fi is preferable because of its staging and speed, which is especially important for tariff owners with limited traffic.
Also worth paying attention to is the battery level, which can take a long time, especially if you're making a full copy of the system for the first time, and if the charge drops below the critical point during the recording, the process can be interrupted, causing the archive to be damaged.
☑️ Pre-testing
⚠️ Warning: Make sure there is free space on your Google Drive.The standard 15GB limit can quickly end if you store a lot of documents there and backup photos are done in original quality.
System synchronization of contacts and calendar
The most important data for any user is usually contacts and calendar entries. In Xiaomi smartphones, sync with Mi Cloud can be activated by default, but for versatility and the ability to easily transfer data to any other Android smartphone, it is better to use Google services.
To set up, go to the Settings menu, then select Accounts and Sync. Here you will see a list of all the services connected. Find your Google account in the list and click on it. You will be taken to the Sync Control menu, where you can customize in detail what data will be sent to the cloud.
Make sure the switches opposite Contacts, Calendar and Google Notes are active, and once turned on, the system immediately starts checking your local database against the cloud, ensuring that even if you lose your phone, you can recover your entire phone book just by logging into your profile on your new device.
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Use the “Sync Now” feature in the bottom menu of your account screen to force you to update your data without waiting for an automatic schedule.
It's important to understand the difference between on-premises storage and cloud storage, and if you keep a new contact, the system might ask where to put it: SIM-card, phone memory or Google account. Always select a Google account so that the contact automatically gets backed up.
Creating a full backup of the system and applications
The main mechanism for saving operating system settings and installed applications is in the hidden settings menu of Google. To get to it, open your phone's Settings, scroll down and find the Google section. Inside, select Backup.
In the menu that opens, you will see a button called Start Copying or Backup, and the system will suggest you select your account and network to transfer data, and this will form a digital cast of your device: Wi-Fi passwords, screen settings, a list of installed applications and data inside them (if the application developer supports this feature).
It can take anywhere from minutes to an hour, depending on the number of applications and the speed of the Internet. During this operation, the phone can heat up — this is the normal reaction of the processor to actively working with data. Do not lock the screen for a long time if you want to see progress, or just leave the device alone.
It is worth noting that the data of banking applications and some messengers (such as WhatsApp or Telegram) often require separate configuration within the applications themselves, as they use their own cloud storage for security purposes.
| Type of data | Method of conservation | Where it's rebuilt | Occupied seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Autosynchronization | When logging in to your account | Minimum |
| Photos and videos | Google Photo | Gallery / Photo app | Large volume |
| System settings | Google Drive (Backup) | In the initial setting | Average volume |
| SMS messages | Google Drive (Backup) | In the initial setting | Minimum |
Backup Multimedia through Google Photos
Photos and videos are what users value most, and they are the files that take up the most space. They use a separate Google Photos app to save them, which works independently of the system menu for backing up settings. Open the app and log in under the same account as you do on the system.
Click on the profile avatar in the top right corner and select “Google Photo Settings”, then “Support”. Here you can choose the download quality: “Saving Space” (compressed photos) or “Original” (full quality, takes up disk space). For most users, the option with space saving is optimal, since it allows you to store thousands of photos for free.
Once you have enabled the autoload, all new images will be automatically sent to the cloud with Wi-Fi. It will take time for an existing gallery to upload all files in the background. You can follow the progress in the main menu of the application.
⚠️ Attention: Deleting a photo from your phone gallery after synchronization can also remove it from the cloud if you don't free up space through the special "Free space" menu in the Google Photos app!
Hidden folders
Integrity verification and storage management
Once you have completed all the procedures, it is important to make sure that the data is actually saved. Go to drive.google.com from your computer or any other device, log in and go to the Backup section, where you will see a list of the devices for which the archives are created, with the date of the last update.
If the date is the same, it's a success, and it's also worth checking the amount of storage space in Google, and if the 15GB limit comes to an end, the system will stop accepting new backups and even stop sending mail, in which case you will either have to delete old unnecessary files or purchase a Google One subscription.
Regularity of checks is a key to security. It is recommended to check the sync settings at least once a month to make sure that the switches do not go off after the MIUI updates. Sometimes after major updates, privacy settings can be reset to more stringent values.
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Regularly checking the date of the last backup is the only way to ensure that your data is up to date and ready to be restored at any time.
Recovery of data on a new device or after reset
The most important point is when you really need a backup, and when you first set up a new Xiaomi smartphone (or any Android phone), it will prompt you to recover your data, select the “Cop from the Cloud” option and log in to your account.
You will be asked to choose a backup from the latest data stamp, and then you will start downloading apps and settings, which takes time and a stable Internet connection, and photos will start appearing in the gallery as you download from Google Photos, and contacts will be pulled up immediately after you log in.
Note that not all data can be recovered automatically, and some applications will need to re-enter passwords for security reasons, and banking applications will require re-attachment of the device and confirmation via SMS or push notification.