How to transfer contacts with Xiaomi: all ways to save photos and notes

Moving contacts from a Xiaomi smartphone is a challenge that every user faces when buying a new phone, resetting or switching to another platform. Unlike the iPhone, where syncing with iCloud works automatically, owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi have to choose between several methods: from classic exporting to a SIM- card to Google cloud services and Mi Account. The problem is complicated if you need to save not only numbers, but also attached photos, birthdays or additional fields — standard tools MIUI do not always cope with this task.

In this article, we will analyze 5 working ways to download contacts with Xiaomi on any device: from Android to iOS and PC. Why does the Cyrillic characters lose when exporting to SIM, how to circumvent the MIUI limit on the number of contacts in the VCF- file, and why does synchronization with Google Contacts sometimes hang on models with MIUI 14+? All instructions have been tested on the latest firmware in 2026 and adapted for new models - from the budget Redmi 12C to the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra.

1. Export of contacts to SIM-Map: Quickly but with limited

The easiest way to transfer contacts is to save them to a SIM- card, which requires no internet connection and works even on a dead phone, but has critical drawbacks:

• 📱 Only name + number is supported (photos, email, addresses and notes are lost).
• 🔤 Cyrillic characters (Russian letters) may appear as???? on some SIM.
• 🔢 Limit on number of contacts: usually 250-500 (depending on operator).
• ⚡ SIM should be standard size (nano-SIM without an adapter is not suitable for older phones).

To export contacts to SIM:

1. Open the Contacts app (a icon with a person's silhouette).
2. Press three points (⋮) top-right → Contact management.
3. Choose Import/Export Contacts → Exports to SIM-map.
4. Check the necessary contacts (or click Allocate) → Export.
5. Wait until it is completed (it can take up to 2-3 minutes with a large number of records).

⚠️ Warning: If the contacts are displayed in characters after exporting to SIM, try inserting the card into another Xiaomi phone and re-exporting them from there. The problem is with the encoding, which MIUI sometimes misconverts.

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Before exporting to SIM, check the free space: go to Settings → SIM- Cards and Mobile Networks → [Your SIM] → SIM Memory. If less than 10% is free, delete old messages or contacts.

Google Contact Sync: Reliable, but not always obvious

Google Cloud Contacts is the best way for those who use Google services (Gmail, YouTube, Play Market).

• ☁️ Automatic backup (if synchronization is enabled).
• 📸 Photos, emails, addresses and notes are stored.
• 🔄 Easy to transfer to a new phone (including an iPhone).
• 🌍 Access from any device via contacts.google.com.

How to turn on synchronization:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Synchronization.
2. Select your Google account (if not, add it through Add Account).
3. Activate the slider opposite Contact.
4. Click Sync Now (or wait for automatic sync).

If the contacts are not synchronized:

• 🔄 Reboot the phone.
• 📶 Check your internet connection (synchronization only works via Wi-Fi or mobile data).
• 🔧 Delete and add your account again (rarely helps).
• 📱 Update Google Contacts app in Play Market.

⚠️ Note: On some Xiaomi models with MIUI 14/15 The synchronization may be blocked due to battery optimization. To fix this, go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management → Google Contacts → Battery and select No Limitations.

3. Export to VCF file: universal format for any device

A VCF (or vCard) file is the standard contact storage format that supports all modern phones and services, and its main advantage is to save all data: photos, multiple numbers, addresses, and even user fields. However, there is a limitation in MIUI: when exported through the standard menu, you can select All contacts or Selected ones, but not filter by group.

Export instructions:

1. Open Contacts. → ⋮ → Contact management → Import/Export of contacts.
2. Select Export to File (or Export to Storage on newer versions of MIUI).
3. Mark the contacts you want (or click Allocate).
4. Click Export and select a folder to save (such as Downloads or Documents).
5. The file will be saved as contacts.vcf (or contacts YYYYMMDD.vcf).

How to use VCF- file:

• 📲 On New Android: Copy the file to your phone, open it through Contacts → Import.
• 🍎 On iPhone: Send the file to email, open to iPhone, and select Add All Contacts.
• 💻 On PC: Import through Google Contacts or Outlook.

4.Sync with Mi Account: Google's Alternative for Xiaomi Owners

If you don’t use Google, you can sync your contacts through Xiaomi’s Mi Account, a cloud service that is convenient for transferring data between Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO phones, but has limitations:

• 🌐 Only works on MIUI devices (iPhone or other Android devices will have to use workarounds).
• 🔒 Requires authorization to Mi Account (if no account is available, sign up for Settings → Mi Account).
• 📊 All data, including photos and notes, is stored.
• 🔄 Synchronization can take up to 10-15 minutes with a large number of contacts.

How to turn on synchronization:

1. Open Settings → Mi Account (or Xiaomi Account on the new versions).
2. Sign in to your account (or create a new one).
3. Go to Sync and activate the slider opposite Contact.
4. Press Sync now.

To transfer contacts to the new Xiaomi phone:

1. Sign in to the same Mi Account on the new device.
2. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Sync and enable Contacts.
3. Wait for the synchronization to be completed (check in the Contacts app).

⚠️ Warning: If you reset your phone to factory settings without waivers of Mi Account, contacts will remain in the cloud, but access to them will be blocked for 7 days (anti-theft protection). To avoid this, go to Settings → Mi Account → Security before reset and temporarily disable Account Protection.

Check your internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data)

Make sure you have enough space on your account (up to 5GB free)

Update the Contacts app to the latest version

Turn off battery optimization for Mi Account in the application settings-->

5. Transfer contacts to the computer: backup in two clicks

If you need to save contacts on a PC (for example, for backup or printing), you can use two methods: through MIUI or using Google Contacts. The first way is faster, but the second is more reliable - the data is stored in the cloud and is independent of the phone.

Method 1: Direct export through MIUI

1. Connect your phone to your PC through USB-cable (select File Transfer Mode).
2. On your phone, export contacts to the VCF- file (see 3 section).
3. Copy the contacts.vcf file from your phone to your computer (usually saved in the Download or MIUI folder).

Method 2: Google Contacts (recommended)

1. Sync your contacts with Google (see section 2).
2. Open your browser on your PC and go to contacts.google.com.
3. Log in to your account and click Export (on the left menu).
4. Select the format (Google CSV or vCard) and click Export.
5. The file will be downloaded to your computer – save it in a safe place.

For advanced users, if you want to automate backup, you can use ADB (Android Debug Bridge), for example, a command to export contacts to a file:

adb shell content query --uri content://com.android.contacts/contacts --where "deleted=0" > contacts_backup.txt

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Exporting through Google Contacts is preferable, as it allows you to recover data even if you lose or steal your phone.The local VCF- file risks being lost along with the device.

6.Contact transfer to iPhone: bypassing Apple restrictions

Moving from Xiaomi to iPhone is a common situation, but Apple deliberately makes it harder to import contacts from Android.

• 🍏 iCloud does not support direct import from Mi Account.
• 📱 Contact photos may be lost when transmitted via VCF.
• 🔗 Sync with Google Contacts on iPhone is running crooked (contacts are duplicated).

Optimal way:

1. Export your contacts with Xiaomi to the VCF- file (3 section).
2. Send the file to your email (such as Gmail or iCloud).
3. On iPhone, open the letter and click on the attached contacts.vcf.
4. Choose Add All Contacts (if there are many contacts, iOS will suggest adding them one at a time).

Alternative for large databases (1000+ contacts):

1. Sync your contacts with Google on Xiaomi.
2. On iPhone, go to Settings → Contacts → Accounts → Add an account → Google.
3. Log in to the same account and enable contact synchronization.
4. Wait until it is completed (it can take up to 30 minutes).
5. Important! After the transfer, turn off sync with Google to avoid duplication.

⚠️ Warning: If the Cyrillic names disappear on the iPhone after importing, check the encoding of the VCF- file. Open it in Notepad and save it with UTF-8 encoding, then repeat the import.

7 Recovery of Remote Contacts: When There Is No Backup

If the contacts were accidentally deleted, you can try to restore them, and success depends on where they were stored:

If the contacts were stored only on the phone and not synced to the cloud, the chances of recovery are minimal.

1. Turn off the internet immediately and do not add new contacts (data may be overwritten).
2. Use recovery software (such as DiskDigger for Android).
3. Contact the service center – sometimes the data can be retrieved through the EDL- mode (requires disassembly of the phone).

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Regular sync with Google or Mi Account is the only reliable way to protect against loss of contacts. Local storage without backups is risky!

FAQ: Frequent questions about moving contacts with Xiaomi