How to copy all the data to the new Xiaomi phone: 5 proven ways

The transition to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment. Even if you upgraded to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra or chose the budget Redmi Note 13, the main question remains: how to transfer all data from the old device without loss? Contacts, photos, messages, apps and even screen settings can be saved if you act correctly.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working ways to transfer data, including official Xiaomi tools and universal methods. You will learn how to avoid common mistakes (such as losing your WhatsApp chat history), which files are better transmitted over cable and which ones are better transferred over the cloud, and how to restore a backup if something goes wrong. MIUI 14/15 older versions.

Important: If you are switching from iPhone to Xiaomi, some of the instructions will be different – for this case, we have a separate section in the app. FAQ. We also took into account changes in Google’s 2026 policy that affected backups via Google Drive.

1. Official method: Mi Mover (transmission via cable)

Mi Mover is a Xiaomi app that automatically installs on all new smartphones of the brand, which allows you to transfer almost everything from contacts to call history, without having to connect to the Internet, the main advantage is that you retain the structure of folders and tags of photos from the Xiaomi gallery.

To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:

• 📱 Make sure that both phones have the latest version installed. MIUI (Update through Settings → The phone. → Updating the system).
• 🔌 Connect both devices to charging – the process can take up to 30 minutes.
• 🔗 Use the original cable USB-C (Micro-USB adapter if the old phone has a different connector).
• 🚫 Don’t connect your phones to your computer, just directly to each other!

Next:

1. On the new Xiaomi, run Mi Mover (you can find it in the Tools folder or through search).
2. Select "I am a new user" → "Android".
3. On your old phone, open Mi Mover and click Send Data.
4. Confirm the connection on both devices (the same should appear) PIN-code).
5. Select data types to transfer (we recommend leaving all check boxes except System Settings – they may conflict).
6. Press "Start" and wait until it's done. Don't interrupt.

Both phones are charged at least 50 times%|On new phones Mi Mover is preinstalled, on old – download from Play Market|High-quality cable (preferably original)|Power saving mode is disabled on both devices|The free space on the new phone exceeds the amount of data transferred-->

⚠️ Note: If you have an old phone MIUI 12 or older, and on the new — MIUI 14+, Some applications may be ported in error, in which case update the firmware on the old device first or use alternative methods (see Section 3).

2. Transfer via Mi Account (cloud backup)

If you have a Mi Account (which is created automatically when you first activate Xiaomi), you can use cloud redundancy, which is suitable if:

• 🔄 You don't have a cable on hand;
• 📶 There's stable Wi-Fi;
• 📁 You need to transfer only the basic data (contacts, notes, settings).

Instructions:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn on synchronization for all the necessary categories (required: "Contacts", "Notes", "Notepad").
3. Click "Backup" → "Backup of data" → "Create a backup copy".
4. Select data to save (e.g., System Settings, Applications and their Data) and confirm.
5. On the new phone, log in to the same Mi Account and restore the data from the backup (Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Restore).

⚠️ Note: If you used Google Photos to back up your photos, don’t enable photo sync in Mi Cloud – this will create duplicates!

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Before restoring data from the Mi Cloud, check to see if the settings of the old phone conflict with the new one, for example, if the old device was left-handed and the new one is not, it can cause interface failures.

3. Alternative ways: Google Account and third-party applications

If you don’t want to use Xiaomi services, you can transfer data through Google Account or specialized applications like SHAREit or Send Anywhere.

3.1 Transfer via Google Account

This method is suitable for basic data:

• 📇 Contacts;
• 📅 Calendar;
• 📧 Gmail mail;
• 🎮 Some application data (if it supports Google Drive Backup).

How it works:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Google → Backup.
2. Turn on “Google Drive Backup” and click “Create Backup Now”.
3. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select “Recover Data” and log in to the same Google Account.

Note that since 2026, Google has restricted free storage for backups to 15GB per account, and if you have a lot of data, you may have to buy extra space or use another method.

Rapid transmission applications

For transferring large files (video, music) it is convenient to use:

• 📲 SHAREit – works without Internet via direct Wi-Fi, speeds up to 20 MB / s.
• 🌐 Send Anywhere – You can send files via link or QR-code.
• 🔗 Xender – supports application transfer (.apk files).

Example of transfer via Send Anywhere:

1. Install the app on both phones.
2. On the old phone, select files and click "Send".
3. A 6-digit code or QR is generated.
4. On the new phone, enter the code or scan the QR.

Through the Cable (Mi Mover)|Through the Mi Cloud|Through Google Account|Annex side (SHAREit et al.)|Manual transfer (flash drive, computer)-->

4. porting applications and their data (including WhatsApp)

One of the hardest things to do is to migrate the apps and their data, like the history of WhatsApp chats or the progress of games, and there are a few nuances here:

4.1 WhatsApp portability

WhatsApp does not support direct transfer between Android devices via the cloud (unlike the iPhone).

1. Create a local backup on your old phone: Open WhatsApp → ⋮ → Settings → chat → Backup copy
2. Copy the folder. /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases New phone (via cable or cloud).
3. Install WhatsApp on your new phone and restore chats from your local copy.

⚠️ Note: If you use WhatsApp Business, backups are not compatible with the regular version of the app.

4.2. Portability of other applications

To transfer application data (such as games or banking programs) use:

• 🔄 Titanium Backup (requires root rights);
• 📦 Swift Backup (works without root on some firmware);
• 🖥️ ADB Backup (via computer, command: adb backup) -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab ).

For most users, it is easier to reinstall apps from Google Play and re-enter accounts, VK Telegram or Telegram are synced automatically through the cloud.

5. Manual transfer: flash drive, computer, Bluetooth

If automatic methods don't work (e.g., you don't have access to Wi-Fi or cable), you can manually transfer data, which takes longer, but gives you complete control over the process.

5.1 Computer-assisted transfer

Connect both phones to your PC and copy the files:

1. On your old phone, turn on the "File Transfer" mode" (MTP).
2. Copy the folders. DCIM (Photo/video, Download (download), WhatsApp (if necessary) to your computer.
3. Connect the new phone and paste the files into the appropriate folders.

5.2. Transfer via Bluetooth

Suitable for small files (up to 50MB):

• 📎 Turn on Bluetooth on both phones.
• 🔍 Find the old device in the list of available and connect.
• 📤 Select files to send (for example, contacts in.vcf format).
• 📥 Accept files on your new phone.

⚠️ Note: When transferring contacts via a.vcf file, check the encoding – sometimes Cyrillic characters are displayed by Krakozabras. In this case, open the file in Google Contacts and export again in the format UTF-8.

5.3. Transfer through the memory card

If your Xiaomi has a microSD slot:

1. Put the card in the old device.
2. Transfer files to the card (for example, through the "Conductor").
3. Insert the card into a new phone and copy the data into internal memory.

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Manual transfer is the most reliable way if you don't have enough data or are afraid of losing something important, but it does require more time and attention to detail (e.g., properly sorting photos by album).

6.Verifying and setting up a new phone after the transfer

After transferring the data, don't rush to reset the old device!

• 📞 All contacts have been displayed (especially check groups and attached photos).
• 📷 Photos and videos open without errors (sometimes file paths can break).
• 💬 Messages in messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS) restored.
• 🎵 Music and podcasts available in the player.
• 🔧 Screen settings (brightness, wallpaper, gestures) are applied correctly.

Typical problems and their solutions:

We also recommend:

• 🔄 Update all apps in Google Play (click on profile avatar) → "Application management" → "Update everything").
• 🛡️ Check the security settings (Settings) → Passwords and security) and enable "Virus scanner".
• 📡 Set up mobile internet and Wi-Fi (if you have access to it) SIM-New map, check it out. APN-operator settings).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions