How to Move Xiaomi Contacts to Google: All Ways to Go to 2026

Losing contacts when changing your smartphone or resetting is one of the most frustrating situations for owners of Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO. Fortunately, syncing phone numbers with your Google account solves this problem once and for all. But how do you keep contacts if you've never done this? Or what do you do if the sync suddenly stops working?

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to transfer contacts from Xiaomi smartphone to Google account – from standard synchronization to manual export via.vcf. Particular attention will be paid to the nuances of MIUI, which often cause failures. And if you have already lost numbers – at the end of the article there is a manual for restoring remote contacts from the backup.

1. Standard synchronization of contacts with Google

The easiest way to save numbers is to enable automatic sync with your Google account.On Xiaomi smartphones, this feature works through the Contacts app, but there are a few pitfalls that few people are aware of.

First of all, MIUI By default, it can block the background activity of the Contacts app, which causes synchronization to be interrupted. SIM-cards, numbers can be saved to different accounts (for example, part in Google, part in Mi Account:

• 📱 Open the Contacts app on your Xiaomi.
• 🔧 Click on three dots in the upper right corner → Contact management → Synchronization of contacts.
• ☁️ Select your Google account (if it’s not listed, add it via Settings). → Accounts).
• 🔄 Enable the slider Synchronize contacts and wait for the process to be completed.

If the synchronization is not started, check:

• 🔋 Battery level of charge (MIUI blocks background processes at low charge).
• 📶 Internet connection stability (synchronization requires network connection).
• 🚫 Traffic Saving Settings in Settings → SIM-maps and mobile networks → Saving traffic.

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If not all contacts are displayed in your Google account after syncing, try manually updating the data: open Settings → Accounts → Google → Your account → Sync and click More → Sync Now.

2. Export contacts to VCF file (for manual reservation)

If you don’t trust cloud services or want to have a local copy of numbers, exporting to a.vcf file is the perfect solution. This method is suitable for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 and other models on MIUI 14/13. The main advantage is that the file can be saved to Google Drive, USB drive or even sent to mail.

Export instructions:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Click on three points → Contact Management → Import/Export Contacts.
3. Select Export to File (not to be confused with Import from File!).
4. Check the contacts you want to save (or click Allocate).
5. Click Export and select a save location (e.g., Internal Memory → Download).
6. The file will be saved as contacts.vcf.

Now you have to upload this file to Google Contacts:

1. Open on your computer contacts.google.com.
2. On the left menu, select Import.
3. Download the contacts.vcf file and wait for the import to be completed.

All necessary contacts (including hidden ones) are selected

The file is stored in an accessible place (not on the SD-card, if it's encrypted)

The file name does not contain Cyrillic or spaces (e.g, my_contacts_2026.vcf)

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⚠️ Note: If you are exporting your contacts to SD-card, make sure it is formatted as a portable storage, not as an internal memory, otherwise the file may not be available after the card is removed.

3.Transfer contacts over Mi Cloud (and why it’s not always reliable)

Xiaomi offers its own cloud storage, the Mi Cloud, which automatically backs up contacts, SMS and notes, but this method has serious drawbacks:

• 🔒 Contacts are only stored in your Mi Account, not Google.
• 🌍 If you change your account region (for example, from China to Global), backups may disappear.
• 📱 If you are switching to a smartphone of another brand (such as Samsung), it will be difficult to restore contacts from the Mi Cloud.

However, if you want to save numbers temporarily in Mi Cloud, do the following:

1. Go to Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn on the Contact Slider.
3. Press Sync and wait until it is completed.

To move your contacts from Mi Cloud to Google:

1. Export contacts from Mi Cloud to.vcf (via Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Contacts → Export).
2. Import this file to Google Contacts as described in the previous section.

Synchronization with Google

Export to VCF file

Mi Cloud

Other services (iCloud, Yandex, etc.)

I don't make backups.-->

4. Recovering Remote Contacts from Google

If you accidentally deleted your contacts from your Xiaomi smartphone but they were synced to Google, they can be restored within 30 days of deleting.

1. Open on your computer contacts.google.com.
2. In the left menu, select Cancel Changes.
3. Specify the time range (for example, 1 hour ago or custom to select a date).
4. Press Confirm.

If more than 30 days have passed, try to retrieve the contacts from the archive:

1. In the same menu, select Contact Management → Archive.
2. Find the right contacts and click Restore.

⚠️ Attention: Contact recovery from Google archive will overwrite current data on all synchronized devices. If you add new numbers after deletion, they may disappear.

5. synchronization of contacts with SIM-The cards (and why it’s a bad idea)

Many Xiaomi users keep contacts in the old-fashioned way SIM-But this method has some critical flaws:

• 📇 SIM-The card stores only the name and number (without email, addresses, photos).
• 🔢 Limitation on the number of contacts (usually no more than 250).
• ⚡ Risk of data loss during a reshuffle SIM elsewhere.
• 🚫 It is impossible to sync with the cloud.

If you want to transfer your SIM contacts to Google, do the following:

1. Put it in. SIM-map.
2. Open Contacts. → Contact management → Import/Export of contacts.
3. Select Import with SIM-map.
4. Please specify your Google account as the import target.

After importing, remove the contact with SIM-So, the maps are designed to avoid duplication:

1. Go to Contacts → Contact Management → Contact List.
2. Select the SIM filter.
3. Click Remove all (or highlight unnecessary ones and remove them one by one).

6. Automatic backup through Google One

If you use Google One (paid or free), you have an option that automatically backs up your contacts, SMS and app data, a method that is more reliable than standard sync, as it creates a full copy that can be restored even after a phone is reset.

To enable backup on Xiaomi:

1. Open Settings → Google → Backup.
2. Enable backup slider in Google Drive.
3. Click Create a copy now.
4. Make sure that Contacts and Application Data are included in the list.

To restore contacts from backup:

1. When you first set up a new smartphone, select Restore Data from a backup.
2. Log in to the same Google account as the old device.
3. Select the latest backup and confirm the recovery.

⚠️ Attention: Google One backups take up space in the cloud. If you have a free account (15GB), keep an eye on the free space, otherwise the copying will stop. To make up space, delete old copies in Google Drive (Section Backups).

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Automatic backups through Google One are the most reliable way, as they work even if the contacts sync is disabled, but you can only recover data when you first set up your device or completely reset it.

FAQ: Frequent questions about moving contacts with Xiaomi to Google