How to Transfer Contacts to and From Xiaomi to Your Computer: A Complete Guide to 2026

Why moving contacts to Xiaomi requires a special approach

Xiaomi smartphones based on MIUI Store contacts in several places at the same time: in the device memory, Google account, Mi Account and even on the Internet. SIM-This fragmentation creates the illusion of reliability, but in practice it makes it harder to back up, for example, when you reset your phone to factory settings, users often lose some of the contacts because they don't know where they were originally saved.

The second nuance is the format of export. MIUI The default option is to save contacts to a.vcf file (vCard), but not all users understand how to import that file back, especially if it's a mass download. USB-cable without pre-setting often ends in synchronization errors or duplicate records.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to transfer contacts with Xiaomi to your computer (including Windows and macOS) and back, taking into account the features of different versions. MIUI (from 12 to 14. We will pay special attention to hidden settings MIUI, They allow you to export contacts even without an Internet connection.

📊 How do you usually keep contacts on Xiaomi?

Only in the memory of the phone.

Synchronizing with Google

Exporting to file

Using Mi Account.

I don't know where they're stored.

Method 1: Exporting contacts via MIUI (without a computer)

The easiest method is to use the built-in MIUI tools. It is suitable if you need to quickly back up contacts directly on your phone, and then transfer the file to your PC via USB, Bluetooth or the cloud.

The instructions are relevant for MIUI 12/13/14 on the Redmi Note 10/11/12, Xiaomi 11T/12/13, POCO F3/F4/F5 models:

Open the Contacts app (an icon with a person’s silhouette).
Slip on the three dots in the top right corner → select Contact Management.
Go to Import/Export Contacts → Export to File.
Choose where to export from: 📱 Device – contacts stored in the phone’s memory; 🌐 Google – Contacts from Google Account; 📇 SIM-map SIM (Limitation: Name and number only).

Exports

contacts.vcf

Download

The file can now be copied to the computer via USB-cable (file transfer mode) or send yourself an email. Please note if there are many contacts (more than 500), MIUI It can be broken down into multiple contacts(1).vcf, contacts(2).vcf, etc.

All the necessary contacts are selected (not only from the device)|The memory of the phone is enough to create a file|The file is saved in the Download folder|File name does not contain Cyrillic (may cause errors when importing)-->

Method 2: Sync with Google and upload to PC

If your contacts are linked to a Google account, they can be uploaded to your computer via the Google Contacts web interface, which is convenient because you don't need to connect your phone to a PC — you just need to access the Internet.

Step-by-step:

On Xiaomi phone, open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google.
Make sure the Contact switch is on (if not, turn on and wait for synchronization).
On your computer, click on https://contacts.google.com and log in to the same Google account.
In the left menu, select Export → specify the format of Google CSV (for import to other services) or vCard (for import back to the phone).
Click Export - the file will be uploaded to the Downloads folder.

What if your contacts are not synced with Google?

1. Check if sync is enabled in your Google account settings on your phone. 2. Delete your Google account and add it again (Settings → Accounts → Google → Delete Account). 3. Update the Contacts app on Google Play. 4. If you use MIUI 14, try disabling the Account Optimization feature in your battery settings (Settings → Battery → Account Optimization).

Method 3: Transfer through USB-cable (for Windows and macOS)

Classical method with the use of USB-And the cable is good if you don't want to upload contacts to the cloud or you don't have access to the Internet: MIUI The default does not show the folder with contacts when connecting to the PC, so you will have to use hidden functions.

Instructions for Windows 10/11 and macOS:

Connect your phone to your computer through USB-cable (preferably original).
On the phone in the notification bar tap on the message Charge via USB → select File Transfer (or MTP).
On your computer, open This computer (Windows) or Finder (macOS) – Xiaomi drive should appear.
Go to Internal storage → Download (or Internal memory → Downloads) and the contacts.vcf file you created earlier should be located here (see Method 1).
Copy it to your desktop or another folder on your PC.

If the contacts.vcf file is missing, the export has not been performed. Go back to Method 1 and repeat the procedure. Also check if the system files are hidden in the Explorer settings (Windows: View → Hidden Items).

1. Reboot both devices.

2. Use another cable (preferably with data transfer support, not just charging).

3. On the phone, turn on the developer mode and activate debugging by USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap → Back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers).-->

Method 4: Import Contacts Back to Xiaomi

To download contacts from your computer back to Xiaomi, you need to consider the file format and the location of the save. If you export contacts to.vcf, they can be imported directly, and if a file is in.csv format (for example, from Google Contacts), you will first have to convert it to.vcf using online services like ConvertCSV.

Step-by-step instructions for import:

Copy the contacts.vcf file from your computer to the Download folder on your phone (via USB, Bluetooth or email).
Open the Contacts app on Xiaomi.
Tap on three points → Contact management → Import / Export → Import from the file.
Select the contacts.vcf file and specify where to import: 📱 Device – Contacts will be stored in the phone’s memory; 🌐 Google – Contacts will be uploaded to your Google account; 📇 SIM-Card – only suitable for names and numbers (no email, addresses, etc.).

Confirm the import and wait until the completion (may take up to 5 minutes if the contacts are more than 1000).

The important thing is that if you import contacts into your Google account, they automatically sync to other devices where you are logged in with the same account, and if you choose your phone’s memory, the contacts will only be on that Xiaomi account.

💡

Before importing, it is recommended to back up your current contacts (see Method 1). If there are duplicates in the.vcf file, MIUI can combine them automatically, but this sometimes leads to data loss (for example, if the duplicate indicates a different email).

Method 5: Alternative methods (Bluetooth, Mi Cloud, third-party applications)

If the standard methods don't work, you can use alternatives. Let's look at the three most reliable ones.

Method	Advantages	Deficiencies	Instructions
📲 Mi Cloud	Automatic backup, access from any device	Requires Mi Account, Volume Limit (5GB free)	1. On phone: Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Contacts (enable sync). 2. On PC: go to i.mi.com, log in and download contacts in.vcf format.
🔵 Bluetooth	No need for internet, works on any device	Slow transmission, limit on the number of contacts (depending on the model)	1. On the phone: export contacts to.vcf (see Method 1). 2. turn on Bluetooth on the phone and PC, send the file as usual.
📱 Apps (for example, My Contacts Backup)	Additional features (scheduled backups, cloud storage)	Data leakage risk, advertising in free versions	1. Install the application from Google Play. 2. Create a backup and send the file to the PC via email or through the cloud.

Of these methods, Mi Cloud is the most reliable for Xiaomi users, as it is integrated into the MIUI ecosystem and requires no additional actions, but if you prefer not to store data in the cloud, Bluetooth or third-party applications will be a good alternative.

💡

When using Mi Cloud, check that the phone has Auto Sync enabled (Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Sync settings). Otherwise, contacts will not be updated in real time.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When moving contacts, Xiaomi users often face typical problems, and here are the most common ones and ways to solve them:

⚠️ Note: If you import contacts on your phone, you may have a file corrupted error, it may be an encoding problem. Try opening a.vcf file in a text editor (e.g. Notepad).++) and keep it encoded. UTF-8.

🔄 Duplicate contacts: occurs when you import contacts to the same place they were exported from.Solution: delete old contacts before importing them or select another save location (e.g. from Devices on Google).
📵 Contacts are not displayed after import: check if they are hidden in the Contacts app settings (Settings) → Display contacts. Also make sure you import them into the correct account.
⚡ Slow import: if the contacts are more than 2000, MIUI Solution: break up the.vcf file into multiple parts (manually or online tools).
🔒 Error of access in export: if MIUI writes that there is no right to save the file, check the permissions for the Contacts application (Settings) → Annexes → Application management → Contacts → Permits).

Another common problem is the loss of contact photos when you transfer them. Unfortunately, MIUI does not always correctly export avatars to.vcf. To save photos, use specialized applications like Contacts Backup & Restore (available on Google Play).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions

Can I transfer contacts from Xiaomi to iPhone?

Yes, for this: Export your contacts with Xiaomi to a.vcf file (see Method 1). Send the file to your iPhone via email or AirDrop. On your iPhone, open the file - the system will suggest adding contacts to iCloud. Alternative: sync your contacts with Google on Xiaomi, then add a Google account on your iPhone and enable contact sync.

Why do you create multiple.vcf files when exporting?

This is standard MIUI behavior if there are more than 500 contacts. The system breaks them down to avoid errors in processing a large file. To combine files: Copy all contacts(1).vcf, contacts(2).vcf, etc. onto a computer. Use an online service like VCF Merge to merge. Import the resulting file back to your phone.

How to transfer contacts from SIM-card to Xiaomi?

For this: Insert SIM-- card to phone. → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Import with SIM-Choose where to import (to Device or Google). Confirm the import, the contacts will appear in the phone book. SIM-The cards are only imported names and phone numbers, and additional data (email, addresses, birthdays) are not transferred.

Can I restore remote contacts on Xiaomi?

Yes, if: Contacts were synced with Google: go to Google Contacts, on the left menu select Cancel Changes and Restore the version you want. Contacts were saved to Mi Cloud: go to i.mi.com, in Contacts find the cart (available within 30 days of deletion), you backed up through My Contacts Backup: restore data from the archive. If contacts were stored only in the phone memory and were not synced, the chances of recovery are minimal.

How to transfer contacts from Xiaomi to another Xiaomi?

The fastest way is to use Mi Mover (built-in data porting app). Instructions: On both phones, install Mi Mover (available in the App Store on new models or by link here). On the old phone, select Send, on the new phone, Receive. Connect to one Wi-Fi network or create an access point. Select Contacts in the data transfer list and confirm the transfer. Alternative: export contacts to.vcf on the old phone and import the file on the new one (see Method 1 and 4).