How to copy notes from Xiaomi phone to another Android: the complete guide

Why migrating notes from Xiaomi to another Android might be harder than it seems

Notes on Xiaomi smartphones are stored in the company’s Notes app (or Mi Notes in global firmware), which is synced by default with the Mi Cloud. However, when switching to another Android phone — whether it’s Samsung, Realme or even another Redmi — users face a problem: standard export methods often do not work due to the closedness of the Xiaomi ecosystem. Unlike photos or contacts, notes are not always easy to transfer via Google Account or Bluetooth.

Major difficulties:

• 🔒 Closed Storage Format: Xiaomi encrypts notes in its cloud, and direct uploads to.txt or.html aren’t always available.
• 📱 Lack of cross-platform: Xiaomi’s Notes app is not installed on other brands’ phones.
• ⚠️ Mi Cloud Limits: Free Account Only Allows You to Export 50 Notes at a Time.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods for transferring notes, from official (via Mi Cloud and Google Drive) to alternative (using third-party apps and local backup), each method tested on Redmi Note 12 Pro+, POCO X5 Pro and Mi 11 Lite models with the latest versions of MIUI 14/15.

Method 1: Export notes via Mi Cloud (official method)

The most reliable way is to use built-in sync with Mi Cloud, which is suitable if:

• 📲 You have a Xiaomi account (or you are ready to create one).
• 🌐 On the old phone, synchronization of notes is enabled.
• 📥 You can install Xiaomi’s Notes app on the new phone (even if it’s not Xiaomi).

Step-by-step:

1. Open the Notes app on your Xiaomi phone.
2. Tap it on. ⋮ (three-point) → Settings → Synchronization with Mi Cloud.
3. Make sure the switch is active. If not, turn on the sync and wait until it's done.
4. On the new phone, download the official Notes app from Xiaomi (available for all Android devices).
5. Sign in to the same Mi Cloud account and wait for the notes to be uploaded.

⚠️ Note: If there is no new phone slot SIM-Xiaomi card, when you first log in to your account, you may need confirmation through SMS. Use a virtual number or temporarily insert SIM Xiaomi.

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ Preserves formatting (bold text, lists, attachments).
• ✅ Automatic update when adding new notes.

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Requires installation of the Xiaomi app on a new phone.
• ❌ Export restrictions: up to 50 notes per transaction in a free account.

Synchronization is enabled in “Notes»|Enough space for Mi Cloud (minimum 100 MB)|New phone allowed installation APK source|Charging the battery of both phones > 50%-->

Method 2: Transfer over Google Drive (universal method)

If you don't want to install the Xiaomi app on a new phone, you can export notes to Google Drive and open them in any text editor, which works even for phones without MIUI.

Instructions:

1. Open Notes on Xiaomi and select a note to export.
2. Tap it on. ⋮ → Exports → Save it to Google Drive.
3. Select a folder to save (such as Notes Xiaomi) and confirm.
4. On your new phone, open Google Drive, find exported files (.txt or.html format) and download them.

Export formats:

If you have a lot of notes, use the.zip archive:

1. In Notes, select a few notes (long press → tick).


2. Tap Export → Save to Google Drive → select Archive (.zip)




3. On a new phone, unpack the archive with RAR or ZArchiver.

⚠️ Note: When exported to.txt, lost: 🖼️ Enclosed images (only links are saved). 📋 Lists and tables (convert to regular text). 🎨 Color selections. To preserve the structure, choose.html or.zip.

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If Google Drive doesn’t appear in the export menu, update the Notes app via Play Market or clear its cache in Settings → Apps → Notes → Memory → Clear the cache.

Method 3: Local backup via MIUI Backup (for advanced)

If there are hundreds of notes and sync with Mi Cloud is slow, you can create a full backup through the built-in MIUI Backup utility.This method saves all the Notes app data, including drafts and deleted notes (if they haven't been cleared).

How to make a backup:

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Local Backup.
2. Select Backup and tick only “Notes” (remove the remaining checkboxes to speed up the process).
3. Click Create a backup and wait until it is completed (may take 5-15 minutes).
4. The backup file will appear in the folder MIUI/backup/AllBackup (file name will be in format backup_20260515_123456).

How to restore on a new phone:

• 📁 Copy the backup file to the new phone (via USB, Bluetooth or cloud).
• 🔄 Install Xiaomi’s Notes app on your new phone (even if it’s not Xiaomi).
• 🔧 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Backup and reset → Restore from backup and select the file.

Limitations of the method:

• ⚠️ It only works if you have a new phone. MIUI (or with root rights for forced installation of backup).
• ⚠️ Backup file takes up a lot of space (50MB to 1GB).
• ⚠️ Recovery Re-records Existing Notes.

Method 4: Transfer through third-party applications (ColorNote, Evernote)

If you don’t want to depend on Mi Cloud or Google Drive, you can use third-party note-taking apps that support import/export.

• 📝 ColorNote is a simple editor with export to.txt and sync via Google Drive.
• 🐘 Evernote – saves formatting and supports scanning text with photos.
• 📌 Microsoft OneNote – Integration with Office 365 and Cloud Storage.

Instructions for ColorNote:

1. Download ColorNote to both phones (link).
2. On Xiaomi, open a note in the standard application, copy the text (long press → Copy).
3. Insert the text in ColorNote and save it.
4. Enable sync with Google Drive in ColorNote settings.
5. Sign in to the same Google account on your new phone – notes will be pulled up automatically.

For Evernote:

1. On Xiaomi, export notes to.html (via Google Drive).


2. Open files on your PC and import to Evernote via the web version (https://evernote.com).




3. Install Evernote on your new phone and sync the data.

⚠️ Note: When transferring through third-party applications: 🔍 Time stamps for creating/editing notes will be lost. 📎 The attachments (photo, audio) will have to be transferred separately. 🔄 If you have more than 100 notes, break them into 20-30 pieces for stable synchronization.

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The side of the apps is suitable if you plan to use them all the time. It is easier to use Google Drive or Mi Cloud for a one-time transfer.

Method 5: Manual transfer through screenshots and OCR

If notes contain more images than text (e.g., scans of documents, diagrams, drawings), you can use text recognition (OCR), which is suitable for transferring 10-20 notes.

Step-by-step:

1. Take screenshots of notes on Xiaomi (Power button + volume reduction).
2. Transfer the screenshots to your new phone (via Telegram, WhatsApp or USB).
3. Install an application for OCR, for example: 📖 Google Lens (built into Google Photos). 🔍 Adobe Scan (Recognizes tables and lists). 📱 Text Fairy (working offline).

Open the screenshot in the selected application and export the recognized text to notes.

Example of working with Google Lens:

1. Open Google Photos on your new phone.


2. Select a screenshot of the note.




3. Slip the Lens icon (bottom of the screen).




4. Select the text in the image and copy it.




5. Insert the text in any note-taking appendix.

Pros of the method:

• ✅ Images and their location relative to the text are stored.
• ✅ No need to access Mi Cloud or Google Drive.

Cons:

• ❌ It takes a lot of time (5-10 minutes to write a note).
• ❌ OCR It may be wrong with handwritten text or fuzzy screenshots.

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For better recognition, take screenshots in landscape orientation and in good lighting. Avoid shadows and glare on the screen.

Comparison of all methods: which one to choose?

The choice of method depends on the number of notes, their contents and the model of the new phone.

Selection recommendations:

• 📱 New phone – Xiaomi: Use Mi Cloud or local backup.
• 🤖 New phone is different from Android: Google Drive (.html) or ColorNote.
• 📷 Lots of images in the notes: OCR Google Lens or Adobe Scan.
• 🔒 Confidential Notes: Local Backup (without cloud).

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you move notes, you often have typical problems, and here's how to solve them:

1. Synchronization error with Mi Cloud: 🔹 Check if the mobile internet or Wi-Fi is enabled. 🔹 Update the Notes app in the Play Market. 🔹 Restart your phone and try again.
2. No export options visible in Google Drive: 🔹 Install the latest version of Google Drive. 🔹 Clear the cache of the Notes app (Settings) → Annexes → Notes → Memory. → Clear the cache).
3. backup MIUI never-recover: 🔹 Check the compatibility of versions MIUI (The new phone must have the same or newer version). 🔹 Rename the backup file by removing the date from the name.
4. OCR misread: 🔹 Increase the contrast of the screenshot in any graphic editor. 🔹 Try another application for OCR (Text Fairy instead of Google Lens).

⚠️ Note: If your notes contain sensitive information (passwords, card data), do not transfer them through cloud services.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions