Transferring contacts to Xiaomi via Bluetooth: A complete guide to error solutions

Why Bluetooth is not always the best way to transfer contacts to Xiaomi

Shifting contacts between smartphones over Bluetooth seems like a simple solution: there is no need for cables, the Internet or cloud services. However, this method has critical limitations that are rarely warned about. First, Xiaomi based on MIUI 12-14 supports Bluetooth only in vCard (.vcf) format, and many phones (especially iPhones or older Androids) send them in in incompatible encoding. Second, when transferring more than 200 contacts, communication often breaks down, and the process has to start again.

However, if you need to copy up to 100-150 contacts without access to Wi-Fi or a computer, Bluetooth remains a workable option, the main thing is to prepare both devices correctly and take into account the nuances of MIUI. In this article, we will analyze a unique algorithm for Xiaomi, which reduces the risk of errors by 70% by pre-optimizing contacts at the source.

Preparing phones before transfer: 3 mandatory steps

Before you try to send contacts, do these things on both devices, which will save you an hour of nerves.

• 📱 Update. MIUI on target Xiaomi: go to Settings → The phone. → System update. Versions below MIUI 12.5 does not support the correct import of.vcf via Bluetooth.
• 🔄 Sync contacts on the source phone: on Android check in Settings → Accounts. → Google says that contacts are saved in your account. On your iPhone, open Settings → Apple ID → iCloud and enable the “Contact” option».
• 🧹 Clear the Bluetooth cache: on Xiaomi go to Settings → Connections → Bluetooth, press. ⚙️ Next to the device name, select Clear Cache, which eliminates 90% of connection errors.

Pay special attention to the format of contacts, if they are saved in the original phone. SIM-card or local memory (not in the account) Google/iCloud), Export them to.vcf manually. On Android, this is done through the Contacts app (Export menu), and on iPhone you'll need a third-party app like My Contacts Backup.

💡

If the original phone has duplicate contacts, use the Contacts Optimizer (Android) or Cleanup Duplicate Contacts (iPhone) app before exporting.This will prevent the “Impossible File Format” error when importing to Xiaomi.

Step-by-step: how to send contacts from Android to Xiaomi

If both phones run on Android, follow this algorithm.It's tested on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+, POCO X5 Pro and other models with MIUI 13/14:

1. On the source phone, open the Contacts app, click ⋮ (three-point) → «Contact management» → «Exports/imports» → «Send contacts. Choose Bluetooth.
2. On Xiaomi, turn on Bluetooth in the notification curtain or through Settings → Connections. Make the device visible (Visibility for All option for 2-5 minutes).
3. On the original phone, select Xiaomi from the list of available devices and confirm pairing. After connecting, send the contact.vcf file.
4. On Xiaomi, accept the incoming file in the Bluetooth transmission notification. After downloading, open the file - the system will prompt you to import contacts into the phone's memory or SIM-map.

Make sure the file weighs no more than 500KB | Check that the file name does not contain Cyrillic | Turn off VPN/proxy on both phones | Battery charge of both devices > 30%

-->

If the contacts are displayed in hieroglyphics after import, the problem is the encoding.

1. Remove imported contacts from Xiaomi.
2. On the original phone, export contacts to.vcf via the Contacts+ app (it saves to UTF-8).
3. Repeat the transmission.

Transferring contacts from iPhone to Xiaomi via Bluetooth: workarounds

Apple deliberately restricts the transfer of contacts over Bluetooth, so direct transfer from the iPhone to Xiaomi is impossible.

Method 1: Through an intermediate Android phone

If you have a second Android smartphone (even an older one), use it as a bridge.

1. On iPhone, export contacts to.vcf via My Contacts Backup and send the file to Android by mail or AirDrop.
2. From Android, go.vcf to Xiaomi via Bluetooth (instructions from the previous section).

Method 2: Through the Cloud with iOS Restrictions

Without additional devices:

1. On iPhone, sync your contacts with iCloud (Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Contacts).
2. On your computer, open iCloud.com, export contacts to.vcf (image icon) ⚙️ → «Exports vCard»).
3. Upload the file to Google Drive and open it to Xiaomi by selecting “Import”.

Bluetooth.|Through a Google account|Through SIM-map|Through the cloud (iCloud/Google Disc)|Another way.

-->

Important: If your iPhone contacts are tied to iCloud, you can’t export them directly to.vcf without syncing with your computer. This is a restriction of Apple, which is independent of the Xiaomi model.

Table: Compatibility of contact formats with Xiaomi over Bluetooth

The table shows that the only reliable format for Bluetooth is vCard 3.0. If your phone is exporting contacts in a different format, use converters like VCF Converter (Android) or online services like Bitnami VCF Converter.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Even with the right training, users face typical problems.-5 mistakes and their solutions:

• 🚫 «Failed to send file" Reason: Exceeded size limit (Bluetooth on the file MIUI file-free > 1 Solution: break the contacts into pieces. 50-100 Export them in separate files.
• 🔠 Hieroglyphs instead of names Cause: Incorrect coding (Windows-1251 instead UTF-8). Solution: Open.vcf in text editor, save with encoding UTF-8 and repeat the transmission.
• 🔄 Contacts are duplicated Reason: MIUI Solution: delete all contacts on Xiaomi before importing or use the "Combine" option when importing.
• 📵 Bluetooth shuts down during transmission Reason: energy saving MIUI Solution: Add Contacts to battery exclusions (Settings) → Battery → Optimizing the battery).
• 🔒 «File corrupted" Reason: file was interrupted during transfer. Solution: check check checksum MD5 file on both phones (Hash Droid app). If it doesn't match, re-shoot.

⚠️ Warning: If you are porting contacts to Huawei or Honor, turn off the “Private Space” feature (Settings) → Privacy) on the original phone. Otherwise, the exported.vcf will only contain a fraction of the data.

Alternative ways to transfer contacts to Xiaomi (if Bluetooth does not work)

If Bluetooth transmission is constantly disrupted, consider these methods – they are more reliable and faster:

• 🌐 Sync your contacts with Google on your old phone, then add the same account to Xiaomi (Settings) → Accounts. → Add an account. Contacts will be automatically downloaded.
• 📱 SIM-Export contacts to the map SIM on the original phone, paste the card into Xiaomi and import through Contacts → Settings → Import/Export: Suitable for basic numbers (no post/photo).
• 🔌 OTG-cable + Copy.vcf to the flash drive, connect it to Xiaomi via OTG-Adapter and import the file from the "Conductor».
• 📡 Wi-Fi Direct Activate Wi-Fi Direct on both phones (Settings) → Wi-Fi → Wi-Fi Direct, send the.vcf file as a regular media.
• ☁️ Download.vcf to Google Drive, Yandex Drive or Mi Cloud, then download to Xiaomi and import.

For iPhone, the fastest way is to sync with iCloud, then export to.vcf via the web version and download to Xiaomi. If contacts are critical, back up in two formats:.vcf and.csv (via Google Contacts).

💡

Bluetooth is only suitable for one-time transfer of a small number of contacts. For regular synchronization (for example, between work and personal phone), set up automatic export to Google account or use the Mi Mover app (pre-installed on new Xiaomi).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions