Owning a modern smartphone like the Xiaomi Redmi involves using the device to communicate, but users often find that after buying a new gadget or flashing an old number list is empty, and the question of how to properly maintain contact in the memory of the phone becomes critical to restoring the familiar circle of communication.
The MIUI operating system installed on Redmi devices offers flexible address book management mechanisms, so you can store data locally, link it to a Google account, or use the manufacturer’s cloud services, and understanding the differences between these methods will help you avoid losing information in the future.
In this article, we will discuss in detail all available ways of importing, exporting and manually entering numbers. SIM-It's mapping, internal storage, and cloud syncs, and it allows you to structure your call database as efficiently and securely as possible.
Manual addition of a number through a standard application
The most basic way to enter information about a person is to create a new entry manually. To do this, on the home screen or in the application menu, look for the Contacts or Phone icon, which usually looks like a phone handset or a human silhouette. After you start the application, go to the Contacts tab and click on the plus icon (+), which is most often located in the lower right corner of the screen or at the top.
A form will open to fill in the data. Here, it's important to choose the right place to save. At the top of the screen, under the name field, often the current account or device memory is displayed. Click on this line to see the drop-down list of available options. You can choose a phone (local storage), SIM-Map or your Google account.
The choice of storage location determines the fate of the number. If you keep a contact in the memory of the phone, it will be available only on that particular device. If you lose or break your smartphone, it will be difficult to restore data without first backing up. Saving in your Google account provides automatic synchronization.
⚠️ Note: When you save contacts exclusively to your phone’s local memory (“Phone”), the risk of losing them when you reset or break your device is 100.
Once you have selected the storage, fill in the fields: name, phone number, email address, and other details. The system allows you to add multiple numbers for a single contact (mobile, work, home), complete the process by pressing the Save button or ticks in the corner of the screen, and now the recording is securely fixed in the selected section.
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Use the “Company” and “Office” fields while maintaining working contacts – this will make it easier to find the right person through a global search on the phone.
Import of contacts with SIM-card
Often users switch to Xiaomi Redmi from button phones or old smartphones, where all the numbers were stored on the phone. SIM-To transfer them to the memory of the new device, you need to perform an import procedure, which is an action that copies the data from the card chip to the internal storage of the smartphone or the cloud, freeing up space on the SIM and making the information more accessible for editing.
To start, open the standard Contacts app. In the upper right corner of the screen, click on the menu icon, which looks like three vertical dots or three horizontal bars. In the list that opens, select Import and Export. Next, the system will prompt you to select the data source – click “Import with” SIM-map».
Once you have selected the source, the phone will prompt you to specify your destination, and it is recommended to choose your primary Google account or device memory if you plan to export further. SIM-If you have a map, the system will ask you to choose which card to read the data from.
- 📱 Open the Contacts app on the home screen.
- 📂 Go to the settings menu through three dots in the corner.
- 📥 Select the option “Import with” SIM-map».
- 💾 Specify the target storage (Google or Phone).
The copying process usually takes a few seconds. Once you're done, you'll see a list of numbers you found. You can select all contacts at once or check only the ones you want. Confirm the action, and the numbers will appear in your shared address book. Now they're available for calls even without a checkmark. SIM-slot-card.
☑️ Import verification with SIM
Sync with Google Account and Cloud
Xiaomi smartphones are built around the Google ecosystem, and using this service to store contacts is the most reliable method. If you save a number in Google Contacts, it automatically syncs with the server, which means that if you lose your phone, buy a new device, or accidentally delete data, you can restore the entire database in a couple of minutes.
To make sure sync is enabled, go to Settings on the main menu of the system. Find Accounts and Sync or just Accounts. From the list, select your Google account. Make sure the switch opposite Contacts is active (blue or green). If it's off, turn it on.
Also worth paying attention to is the Mi Account. Although Google is the standard for Android, Xiaomi cloud also allows you to store backups. However, for cross-platform (for example, if you decide to upgrade to an iPhone or another Android brand), Google Contacts remains a universal solution.
What to do if the synchronization is suspended?
When you create a new contact, always look at the top line of the input form, if your email is listed, your number will be saved in the cloud. If you say "Phone", the data will remain local. Regularly checking this setting will save you from unpleasant surprises.
Export and backup of data
Regular backups are the golden rule of digital hygiene, and even with cloud services, it's useful to have a local copy of your contact database in.vcf. This universal format is supported by almost every phone book in the world and email clients, and you can create one right in the MIUI interface.
For export, go to the Contacts app and open the settings menu. Select Import and Export and then Export to Memory. The system will suggest selecting contacts for export (all or selected) and where to save the file. By default, a file named contacts.vcf is created in the root folder or MIUI folder.
You can send the file to yourself by email, save it to the cloud (like Google Drive or Yandex.Disk), or transfer it to your computer. In the event of catastrophic failure, this file will be your salvation, just open it on any Android device, and the system will suggest importing the records contained in it.
| Method of conservation | Availability of data | Risk of loss | Convenience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone memory | Only on the device. | High-pitched | Average. |
| SIM-map | Only on a SIM device | Medium. | Low. |
| Google Account | Everywhere (online) | Minimum | High. |
| File.vcf | Locally or in the cloud | Depends on storage. | High. |
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Regularly exporting contacts to the.vcf file is the only way to restore the database, even if you completely block your Google account.
Managing duplicates and combining records
With frequent shifts SIM-You can see duplicates in the Xiaomi Redmi phone book, or sync with multiple sources, and the same person can be listed as "Alexei," "Alexei Mob," and "Alexei" and "Google." This clutters the list and makes it difficult to find. MIUI It has a built-in tool to solve this problem.
Go to the contact settings and find “Clear duplicates” or “Contact merges.” The smartphone will analyze the database by comparing phone numbers and names. You will be asked to combine the matches found. This action will create a single contact card that will collect all the numbers and addresses previously scattered across different records.
You can also manually combine contacts. Open a duplicate card, click the menu (three dots) and select "Combine." Then select the second contact from the list. After that, the two entries will merge into one. This is especially useful when the person has changed the number but the old record is still there, or when you want to add a work number to an existing personal contact.
- 🔍 Open the "Contact" app».
- ⚙️ Go to the settings via the menu.
- 🧹 Select the function “Clear duplicates».
- ✅ Confirm the combination of found pairs.
Once cleaned, it's recommended to check your favorite contacts list. Sometimes, when you combine, "Favorites" shortcuts can get lost, and important numbers have to be added to Favorites again. A clean database speeds up the phone's search algorithm.
Recovery of remote contacts
Accidental deletion of an important number is a frustrating situation, but often fixable. If you delete a contact that has been synced to Google, it can be restored via the web interface. Go to contacts.google.com from your computer or phone browser. From the menu on the left, select Recycle Bin.
Remote contacts are stored in the Recycle Bin for 30 days. Find the right entry, tick it and click Restore. Contact will return to general and automatically synchronize with your Xiaomi Redmi if you have Internet connection enabled. This works like a time machine for your phone book.
If the contact was only stored in the phone's memory and not synced, the chances of recovery are lower. However, if you backed up through Mi Cloud or created.vcf files, you can try to recover data from these sources. In the Mi Cloud settings, there is a Recovery section where you can select the date to roll back the data.
⚠️ Note: The Recover feature in Google Contacts returns contacts to the state at the time of deletion. If you managed to edit the number after it was created, but before deletion, the last version will be restored before deletion.
To prevent this from happening in the future, set up automatic backups: In Google One or Xiaomi’s standard Backup app, you can set the frequency of copy creation, which ensures that even if you lose your device, your communications history will remain with you.