How to quickly and safely drop data from Huawei to Xiaomi: from photos to apps

The transition from Huawei to Xiaomi is not only about changing the ecosystem, but also the need to migrate all the important data, from contacts and messages to high-resolution photos and app settings. Many users face the challenge of how to do it without losing hours on manually forwarding each file? In this article, we will examine all the current ways, from standard MIUI tools to workarounds for devices without Google services.

The peculiarity of the portability between these brands is that Huawei actively blocks some standard protocols (for example, MTP when connecting to a PC), and Xiaomi may not recognize backups from competitors. We tested each method on pairs of devices — from Huawei P30 Pro (2019) to Xiaomi 14 Ultra (2026) — and identified 5 working options, taking into account the limitations of both systems. At the end of the article, you will find a comparative table on the speed and reliability of each method.

1.Official way: Xiaomi’s “Phone Clone” app

The easiest and most recommended method is to use Xiaomi’s proprietary tool called Phone Clone, which is pre-installed on all smartphones with MIUI 10 and later, but it can also be downloaded from AppGallery (for Huawei) or APKMirror (if you don’t have access to Google Play), the main advantage is direct data transfer over Wi-Fi without intermediaries like cloud services or PCs.

How it works:

• 📱 Install Phone Clone on both devices (Xiaomi already has it in the Tools folder).
• 🔄 On Huawei, select the role of “Old Phone”, on Xiaomi – “New Phone».
• 📶 Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network or create an access point on Xiaomi.
• 📁 Select data types for transfer: contacts, messages, photos, videos, applications (without their data!).

An important nuance: Phone Clone does not carry Wi-Fi passwords, data from some applications (for example, Viber or WhatsApp) and files from Huawei’s secure folders. These will require additional steps (see section 4), and the transfer speed depends on the amount of data — for example, 60 GB of photos and videos can be copied up to 2-3 hours.

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If the Phone Clone is “hanging” during the connection phase, try disabling the VPN and firewall on both devices. Also check that Huawei allows data transfer in the background for the application (Settings → Apps → Phone Clone → Permissions).

2.Transfer over OTG cable: faster than Wi-Fi

If you have USB-cable OTG (or adapter, this method will be 2-3 It's faster than wireless. It's good for big data. 50 GB) and does not require a stable Internet connection. However, there are pitfalls: Huawei can restrict access to the file system when connecting to another phone, and Xiaomi does not always correctly recognize the file system. EMUI.

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Huawei to Xiaomi via OTG-cable (Type-C port) → Type-C or Type-C → Micro-USB depending on the model).
2. On Huawei, select File Transfer (MTP) mode in the window that appears.
3. On Xiaomi, open Explorer (or Files) and find the connected device in the Devices section.
4. Copy the right folders (DCIM for photo, download, etc.) to internal memory or SD-Xiaomi.

Warning: Some Huawei models (such as the Mate 40 Pro or P50) block access to system folders like Android/data, which store application data, and in this case, alternative methods will have to be used (see section 5).

Is it formatted? SD-mapping FAT32 (file >4GB not copied)

Is there enough space on the target device (check in Settings → Memory)

Power saving modes on both phones are turned off

Is the original cable used (cheap OTGs may not support data transfer)

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3. Cloud services: when there is no cable at hand

If you don't. OTG-You can use cloud storage, and you can use it in two ways: proprietary brand services (Huawei Cloud and Mi Cloud) or universal services (Google Drive, Yandex Disk, Dropbox). The first option is more convenient for contacts and notes, the second - for large files (photos, videos).

Comparison of cloud services for transfer:

The algorithm for Google Drive (the most universal option):

• 📁 On Huawei, upload files to Google Drive via the app or web version (drive.google.com).
• 🔗 Generate a link for (click on the file) → «Share» → «Copy the link»).
• 📥 On Xiaomi, open a link in your browser and download files.

4. Applications and their data portability: what works and what doesn’t

One of the most difficult aspects of the transition between Huawei and Xiaomi is the transfer of installed applications and their data (for example, saves in games, chats in messengers or social network settings). APK-Files via Phone Clone or cable often result in errors due to differences in processor architecture (Kirin vs. Snapdragon/Mediatek) Android versions.

What can be moved and what will have to be reconfigured:

• ✅ Contact and SMS: Transferred via Phone Clone or exported to.vcf/.xml.
• ✅ Photo/video: copied by any means (see sections) 1-3).
• ⚠️ Annexes: only portable APK-files (no data!) To recover data, you need a backup copy through ADB root-access.
• ❌ Game data: not transferred (linked to the account) Google/Huawei ID).
• ⚠️ Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram): chats are only transferred through built-in export (for example, WhatsApp is Settings). → chat → Backup copy).

There’s a workaround to porting apps without losing data through ADB Backup, but it requires an unlocked bootloader on Xiaomi and knowledge of the command line.If you’re not ready for it, it’s easier to reinstall apps manually and log in to your accounts.

5. Alternative methods: for advanced users

If standard methods fail (e.g., because of EMUI limitations or lack of OTG), advanced tools can be used, which take longer to implement, but guarantee the transfer of even protected data.

Method 1: Backup via HiSuite (Huawei only)

• 🖥️ Install HiSuite on PC (official website).
• 📲 Connect Huawei to your computer and create a full backup (Backup) → Complete).
• 📂 Retrieve data from the backup (file with.hbk extension) using the Huawei Backup Extractor tool (available on GitHub).
• 📱 Transfer files to Xiaomi via cable or cloud.

Method 2: Using TWRP and Nandroid Backup (for root users)

If your Huawei has custom recovery (TWRP) installed, you can create a full system snapshot (Nandroid Backup) and restore individual partitions on Xiaomi. However, this method is not recommended for beginners because of the risk of damaging data or firmware.

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Before using alternative methods, make sure that Xiaomi has enough data recovery space. For example, a HiSuite backup can weigh 1.5-2 times as much as the original files due to compression.

6. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

Even when following instructions, users often encounter problems.-5 mistakes and their solutions:

⚠️ Note: If you are connected to OTG Xiaomi does not see Huawei, check that the latter is enabled by the developer mode and debugging. USB (Settings → The phone. → Assembly number (7 taps) → For developers → Debugging by USB).

• 🚫 Error: "Not enough space on the device" Solution: Clear the cache on Xiaomi (Settings) → Memory. → Clean the cache) or use it SD-map.
• 🚫 Phone Clone is 99% freeze-free Solution: Restart both phones and try again. If it doesn't work, use a different method (e.g., restart both phones and try again, OTG).
• 🚫 Photos moved but not opened Solution: Check the file format. Huawei sometimes saves a photo to.heic that is not supported MIUI Install it by default. HEIF Viewer from Google Play.
• 🚫 Contacts are duplicated after transfer Solution: Before penos export contacts to.vcf and remove duplicates through Google Contacts.

If you encounter an error not described here, check the system logs on Xiaomi (Settings → About Phone → Error Log) or contact Mi Community with the device model and MIUI version.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions