How to securely transfer data from Honor to Xiaomi: The 2026 Guide

Moving from Honor to Xiaomi is not only about changing the ecosystem, but also the need to move personal data: photos, contacts, messages and apps, and many users fear losing important information or spending hours manually restarting files. In practice, the process can be performed for 15-40 If you choose the right method and prepare both devices in advance.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to transfer data, from the official Mi Mover tool to manual copying through a computer. Particular attention will be paid to the nuances that manufacturers do not keep silent: why some files are not copied, how to circumvent the restrictions of Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) on Honor, and what to do if Xiaomi does not see the old device. All instructions are relevant for models 2020-2026 and tested on the firmware EMUI 12+ and MIUI 14+.

🔹 Important: Before you start the transfer, check the free space on Xiaomi. If the Honor is 64 GB occupied and the new phone is only available 32 GB, some of the data will not be copied. → Memory for volume assessment.

1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi

Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary application for data migration from Android devices, including Honor.It is pre-installed on all smartphones of the brand (starting with the Redmi Note 5 and Mi 8) and supports the transfer of:

• 📞 Contacts (including groups and notes)
• 📷 Photos and videos (without loss of quality)
• 💬 Communications (SMS and MMS)
• 📁 Documents (PDF, DOC, XLS)
• 🎵 Music and call recordings
• ⚙️ Wi-Fi settings and wallpaper

The app does not copy installed applications (.apk files), but saves a list of them for later download from Google Play or App Gallery, Mi Mover does not transfer data from some Chinese messengers (WeChat, QQ) and banking applications due to security restrictions.

Step-by-step:

1. On Xiaomi, open Settings → About Phone → Mi Mover (or find the app through search).
2. Select the option "I am a new user".
3. Download Mi Mover from the App Gallery or APKCombo on Honor (if you don’t have access to Google Play).
4. Run the app on both phones and select "I'm an old user" on Honor.
5. Connect devices to a single Wi-Fi network or create an access point on Xiaomi.
6. On Honor, scan. QR-code that will appear on the screen of Xiaomi.
7. Select data types to transfer and wait for completion (time depends on volume).

⚠️ Note: If the Mi Mover is stuck in the Preparation phase, check if the Settings option is enabled on Honor. → System system → Transfer of data → Allow transmission. On some models (Honor 50, Honor Magic 4), this option is hidden in the developer menu.

2.Mobile over cloud services: Google Drive vs Huawei Cloud

Cloud storage is a universal migration method that requires no additional applications, and the main advantage is that data is stored in the cloud and can be uploaded to Xiaomi even after a few days.

• 🔄 Google Drive syncs contacts, calendars and certain settings automatically if you add a Google account to Honor.
• ☁️ Huawei Cloud (available on Honor) copies all data, including notes and screen recordings, but requires registration in the Huawei ecosystem.
• 🚫 Volume limit: 15GB is available for free on Google Drive and 5GB on Huawei Cloud.

Instructions for Google Drive:

1. On Honor, open Settings → Accounts → Google → Sync and enable backup for the data you need.
2. Upload the photo/video to Google Photos (the app will automatically prompt you to create a backup copy).
3. On Xiaomi, add the same Google account and wait for sync (can take up to 24 hours).
4. Upload photos and videos via Google Photos, the rest of the data will be restored automatically.

Instructions for Huawei Cloud:

1. On Honor, go to Settings → Huawei Account → Cloud → Backup.
2. Select the data to copy and click "Backup".
3. On Xiaomi, open your browser, go to cloud.huawei.com and log in.
4. Download the archive and unpack it (photos and videos will be in the folder Huawei/Backup).

⚠️ Note: If you used a Huawei account on Honor ID For purchases in the App Gallery, transfer your purchase data before changing your phone. After switching to Xiaomi, access to certain apps (such as Huawei Health) will be restricted.

3. Transfer via OTG cable or adapter

Honor’s physical connection to Xiaomi via OTG-cable or adapter is the fastest way to handle large amounts of data (from 30 GB:

• 🔌 You have. USB-C → USB-C cable (or micro-USB adapter) → USB-C For older models of Honor).
• 📱 Xiaomi has enabled the mode "File transfer" (in notifications when connecting).
• 🔒 Honor unlocks access to the file system (in some firmware) EMUI password required).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Honor to Xiaomi via OTG-On the screen Xiaomi will appear notification "USB-The device is connected – click on it.
2. Select "File Transfer" (MTP).
3. Open any file manager on Xiaomi (e.g. Files by Google or built-in Mi File Manager).
4. Go to the Internal Storage folder (Honor internal memory) and copy the files to Xiaomi memory.
5. To port apps, copy the Android/data folder, but note that most apps won’t work without re-installation.

🔹 Copying speed: ~10-15 MB/s (depending on cable) 64 GB of data will be required ~1.5 hours to 2 hours.

Disable screen lock on both phones

Check the free space on Xiaomi

Use the original cable (not cheap analogues)

Charge both devices at least 50 times%-->

4. Transfer over computer (Windows/Mac)

If you have a PC or a laptop, this is the best way to control the process.

• 🖥️ Copy all data, including hidden files.
• 🔄 Convert formats (e.g., Honor backups to readable view).
• 📂 Selective transfer (e.g. only photos for 2023).

Instructions for Windows:

1. Connect Honor to the PC via USB-cable and select the "File Transfer" mode".
2. Open This computer – the device will appear as a removable disk (e.g. HONOR 50 (H:).
3. Copy the desired folders (DCIM for photos, Downloads for downloads) to the hard drive of the PC.
4. Disable Honor, connect Xiaomi and transfer files to your phone’s memory.

For Mac: use Android File Transfer. The algorithm is similar, but the copy speed may be lower due to the features of macOS.

🔹 Where to look for data on Honor:

DCIM/ → Photo and video


Downloads/ → Downloads from the browser




Movies/ → Videos recorded by the camera




Music/ → Musical files




Pictures/ → Screenshots and images from messengers




Android/data → Application data (not everything can be transferred)

⚠️ Warning: Do not copy the folder Android/obb — It contains a cache of games and apps that won't work on Xiaomi without re-installation.

1. Reboot the phone.

2. Use another USB-port (preferably) USB 3.0).

3. Install HiSuite drivers from the official Huawei website.

4. Enable Settings on Honor → System system → Developer mode → Debugging by USB (if the developer mode is enabled).-->

5. Alternative methods: Bluetooth, NFC and instant messengers

These methods are suitable for transferring small amounts of data (up to 1-2 GB) or individual files, and their main advantage is the lack of additional devices (cables, PCs), but the transfer speed is 10 to 50 times lower than that of other methods.

• 📲 Bluetooth: maximum speed — ~2 MB/s. Suitable for 10-20 photos or multiple contacts. On Honor, select files → "Share" → Bluetooth, then confirm acceptance on Xiaomi.
• 🔗 NFC: It only works for contacts and links, it's enough to hold the phones together and confirm the transmission.
• 💬 Messengers (Telegram, WhatsApp): send files to yourself in saved messages, then download them to Xiaomi. Limit: up to 2 GB per file in Telegram.
• 📧 Email: attach files to the email and send them to your mail. It's good for documents, but it's inconvenient for a lot of media.

🔹 Speed comparison:

6. Transfer of applications and their data

Copying installed applications (.apk files) from Honor to Xiaomi is a pitfalls problem. Even if you copy APK, many programs:

• 🚫 They won’t launch because of differences in processor architecture (Honor often uses Kirin, and Xiaomi uses Snapdragon or Mediatek).
• 🔒 Requires re-authorization (bank applications, social networks).
• 📱 They may conflict with the firmware. MIUI (especially Chinese versions of apps).

How to transfer applications correctly:

1. Create a list of installed apps on Honor through Settings → Apps or App Gallery.
2. On Xiaomi, install them again from Google Play or APKMirror.
3. To transfer application data (for example, saves in games) use:

🔹 Exceptions: Some apps (such as WhatsApp, Viber) allow you to back up chats:

WhatsApp settings → Chat → Backup → Create a copy (on Google Drive)


On Xiaomi: Install WhatsApp, log in and restore chats from backup.

⚠️ Note: Do not carry.apk files of banking applications (SberBank, Tinkoff, etc.) - this can lead to the blocking of the account on suspicion of hacking.

💡

Application portability is not about copying files, but re-installation with data recovery. Most modern applications sync data through the cloud (Google, Huawei, or their own servers), so manual copying is often not required.

Frequent mistakes and their solutions

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

• 🔌 Mi Mover doesn't see Honor: Check that both phones are connected to the same Wi-Fi network (not mobile data). VPN Reboot both devices.
• ☁️ Google Drive does not sync photos: Make sure that the Settings option is enabled on Honor → Google → Backup → Upload the photo in original quality, check if the storage limit is exceeded (15 GB).

🔹 If nothing works, try transferring data to Xiaomi via an intermediate device (a flash drive, external hard drive, or even another phone:

1. Copy files from Honor to a flash drive through the OTG adapter.
2. Connect the flash drive to Xiaomi and transfer the data.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions