The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment, but data porting often turns into a headache. Even if you bought the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra or the budget Redmi Note 13, the migration of apps, photos, contacts and settings should be as simple as possible. Unfortunately, many users face problems: applications are not restored, data is lost, and synchronization is delayed for hours.
In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to migrate data to the new Xiaomi in 2026, from the Mi Mover branded tool to cloud services and manual copying. You’ll learn how to avoid common mistakes (such as why WhatsApp isn’t restored via Google Drive), what data is best to carry manually, and how to speed up the process with slow Internet. And if you’re switching from an iPhone, there’s a separate section with nuances for you.
Important: the methods in the article are tested on firmware MIUI 14/15 It is applicable to all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO 2020–2026 If your old phone isn't from Xiaomi, it's not a problem, we covered that scenario.
1.Preparation for transfer: what to do before the beginning
Before you start copying data, follow the mandatory preparatory steps, and ignoring them can lead to data loss or failures in the process.
On an old phone:
- 🔋 Charge the battery to at least 50% (when cable transfers, the discharge may interrupt the process).
- 📶 Connect to stable Wi-Fi (if you plan to use the cloud). Mobile Internet is not suitable - traffic restrictions or connection breaks will ruin the backup.
- 🧹 Clean up unnecessary files: delete app cache, duplicate photos, and old videos, and this will reduce the amount of data transferred by 20 to 40%.
- 🔐 Make sure there is no lock on the phone. OEM (This is true for Samsung and some other brands, otherwise Mi Mover won't be able to access the data.
On the new Xiaomi:
- 📱 Complete the initial setup until the system prompts you to move the data (usually the “Copy Data” step). If you have already completed the setup, reset your phone to the factory (Settings) → The phone. → Resetting settings).
- 🔄 Update the firmware to the latest version (Settings) → Updating the system. MIUI 15 Bugs with WhatsApp and Telegram portability fixed.
- 🔌 Prepare quality. USB-Xiaomi cable (preferably original) cheap cables may not support data transfer.
⚠️ Warning: If your old phone has data encryption enabled (such as on Samsung or Google Pixel), disable it in advance. Mi Mover will not be able to read the encrypted files and the transfer will end in an error.
2. Method 1: Mi Mover is the official tool of Xiaomi
Mi Mover is Xiaomi’s proprietary solution for wireless data transfer between devices and works on all of the brand’s smartphones (including Redmi and the Redmi.) POCO) It supports transferring from other Android devices, and the main advantage is that you can keep the folder structure and select specific data to copy.
How to use Mi Mover:
- On the new Xiaomi, when you first set up, select Data Transfer. If you have already completed the setup, download Mi Mover from Google Play to both phones.
- On your old phone, launch Mi Mover, select I am the sender and scan. QR-screencode.
- Confirm the connection on both phones. Wait for the program to scan the data.
- Choose which data to transfer: 📱 Applications (including settings and cache) 📞 Contacts, messages, call log 📷 Photo and video (gallery, WhatsApp, Telegram) 🎵 Music and documents 🔧 System settings (Wi-Fi, wallpaper, sound profiles)
Move over
Advantages of Mi Mover:
- ✅ Wireless transfer without loss of quality.
- ✅ Stores app settings (such as Instagram login or game progression).
- ✅ It works even without the Internet (data is transmitted over a local network).
⚠️ Note: If the transfer is suspended during the "Data Preparation" stage, check: VPN Make sure that the new Xiaomi has enough free space (at least 10% more than the amount of data being transferred) and restart both devices and try again.
Shut down. VPN both phones|Charge both devices to a minimum of 50%|Connect to a Wi-Fi network (if applicable)|Make room for the new Xiaomi|Remove unnecessary files from your old phone-->
| Type of data | Transferred through Mi Mover? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annexes (.apk) | ✅ Yes. | Including settings but without account data (e.g. passwords from the VK I'll have to re-introduce). |
| Contacts and SMS | ✅ Yes. | Transferred in full, including contact groups. |
| Photos and videos | ✅ Yes. | The folder structure is preserved, but Google Photos can create duplicates. |
| ❌ No. | A separate backup is required via Google Drive (see section 4). | |
| Wi-Fi settings | ✅ Yes. | Including saved passwords (except corporate networks with certificates). |
3. Method 2: Transfer via cable (OTG adapter)
If you don't have stable Wi-Fi or data is more than 50 GB, cable transfer is the most reliable option.
- 🔌 USB-cable OTG (If the old phone supports USB Host).
- 🔄 adapter USB-C → USB-A (If the new Xiaomi port USB-C, And the old one is Micro-USB).
- 💾 flash drive or external SSD (Optionally, if there is a lot of data).
Step-by-step:
- Connect your old phone to your new phone via cable (or via a new phone) OTG-On the screen of the old device, select File Transfer mode (MTP).
- On the new Xiaomi, open Explorer (Files by Google or standard) MIUI File Manager).
- Go to section. USB-device and copy the required folders: DCIM — Photos and videos. Download - uploaded files. WhatsApp/Media — chat-media. Android/data — settings for some applications (but not all!).
applications
APK Extractor
Google Play
.apk
Advantages of cable transfer:
- ⚡ Maximum speed (up to 40 MB / s vs. 2-5 MB / s over Wi-Fi).
- 🔒 No dependence on the Internet or cloud services.
- 📁 Complete control over which files to copy.
⚠️ Note: Not all applications can be simply copied via.apk. For example, Banking applications (Sberbank, Tinkoff) require installation from an official store (Google Play or AppGallery) and binding to a new device through a new device. SMS.
1. Reconnect the cable by selecting "File Transfer" mode" (MTP).
2.Install Xiaomi drivers USB Drivers on PC (if connected via computer).
3. Use a different cable - some cheap cables only support charging.-->
Method 3: Cloud Services (Google Drive, Mi Cloud, Yandex Disk)
Cloud transfer is convenient if you have a slow cable or phones of different brands (for example, iPhone). → However, this method has limitations: not all data is synchronized automatically, and free space in the cloud is often not enough (for example, Google Drive gives only 15 GB).
Comparison of cloud services for transfer:
| Service | Free seat | What's synchronizing | Speed. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Drive | 15GB | Contacts, calendar, photo (via Google Photos), some app settings. | Depends on the Internet (usually 1-10 MB / s). |
| Mi Cloud | 5GB | Contacts, messages, notes, photos (but not videos!) | Google Drive is faster, but only for Xiaomi devices. |
| Yandex Disk | 10GB | Any files (manual), but no automatic application sync. | Up to 50 MB/s with a good internet connection. |
| iCloud (for iPhone) | 5GB | Photos, contacts, calendar (requires export to Google Contacts) | Slower than the rest because of compression. |
How to transfer data via Google Drive:
- On your old phone, open Settings. → Google → Backup and enable Download to Google Drive.
- Choose which data to save (contacts, photos, application data).
- Wait for the backup to be completed (it may take several hours).
- On the new Xiaomi, when setting up, select Restore from backup and log in to the same Google account.
To move WhatsApp via Google Drive:
- Open WhatsApp. → ⋮ → Settings → chat → Backup copy.
- Click Create a copy and wait until it is completed.
- On the new phone, install WhatsApp, log in to the same account and restore chats.
⚠️ Note: If you use Mi Cloud, note that video files are not synced, only photos. For video you will have to use Google Photos or manual transfer.
How to transfer passwords from Chrome to the new Xiaomi?
5. Method 4: Transfer from iPhone to Xiaomi (features)
The transition from iPhone to Xiaomi is complicated by Apple’s restrictions on data exports, but there are workarounds:
Step 1: Transfer contacts and calendar
- 📱 On iPhone, open Settings → [Your name] → iCloud and enable Contact and Calendar Synchronization.
- 🌐 On your computer, go to iCloud.com, log in to your account and export your contacts to.vcf.
- 📲 Send this file to the new Xiaomi (e.g., via Telegram) and import contacts via the Contacts app.
Step 2: Transfer photos and videos
- 📷 Use Google Photos: Install it on your iPhone, turn on backup and wait for the download.
- 📱 On the new Xiaomi, log in to the same Google account – photos will be automatically uploaded.
Step 3: Transfer WhatsApp
That's the hard part. WhatsApp doesn't officially support moving chats from iOS to Android, but there's a workaround:
- Download the iMazing or Backuptrans program to PC.
- Connect your iPhone and back up WhatsApp.
- Connect a new Xiaomi and restore chats through the same program.
⚠️ Note: When you migrate from your iPhone, you’ll have to reinstall the apps — they can’t be copied directly. However, the progress in games (if they’re tied to Google Play Games or Game Center) will continue.
💡
When switching from iPhone to Xiaomi, be sure to untie your iCloud account from your old phone (Settings) → [Your name] → Sign out, otherwise you may have problems activating some services.
Method 5: Manual transfer via computer
If none of the previous methods work, like your old phone or your screen is damaged, you can use your computer as an intermediary, which is universal, but it takes longer.
What you need:
- 💻 Computer with Windows, Mac or Linux.
- 🔌 Two. USB-cable (or one cable) + OTG-adapter).
- 📁 Backup software (optional: Titanium Backup, Swift Backup).
Instructions:
- Connect your old phone to your computer and copy all important files (DCIM, Download, WhatsApp, etc.) to a separate folder on your PC.
- Use the application and data backup ADB (instructions below) or programs like Titanium Backup (require root rights).
- Connect the new Xiaomi and transfer the copied files to the appropriate folders.
- Install apps from Google Play and restore their data (if you did backup through the Google Play app). ADB Titanium Backup).
Backup through ADB (for advanced users):
adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab
adb restore backup.abThis team is building a full backup of applications and their data. ADB and the option of debugging on USB developer-setting.
⚠️ Note: If you are using Titanium Backup, remember that restoring system applications on the new Xiaomi could cause a disruption. MIUI. Restore only user programs.
7.What to do if the data is not transferred?
Even if you do the right things, sometimes you have problems, and here are the typical mistakes and the solutions.
| Problem. | Possible cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Mi Mover doesn't see an old phone | No protocol support or enabled VPN | Turn it off. VPN, Check the compatibility of the models, restart both devices |
| Apps have not recovered | Lack of space or conflict of versions | Free up space on your new phone, update apps on Google Play |
| Photos in Google Photos not uploaded | No Internet or little space in the cloud | Check your Wi-Fi connection, clear space in Google Drive, or use another service |
| WhatsApp is not recovering | Different Google accounts or the old version of the backup | Make sure you use the same Google account, update WhatsApp to the latest version |
| Contacts are duplicated | Synchronization with multiple accounts | Turn off contact synchronization in Settings → Accounts, then delete duplicates manually |
If none of the solutions worked:
- 🔍 Check the error logs in Mi Mover or Google Drive (usually there is an error code that can be searched).
- 📞 Contact Xiaomi Support via official chat (available in GetApps app).
- 🛠 If a problem with a specific application (for example, Sberbank Online), reinstall it and log in again.
💡
If the lags on the new Xiaomi started after the transfer, perform a soft reset: press the power button for 10 seconds. This will clear the cache and restart the system without losing data.