How to transfer notes from one Xiaomi to another: all ways with pros and cons

Transferring notes between Xiaomi smartphones may seem like a trivial task, but in practice users face nuances from the lack of synchronization through Mi Account to problems with exporting to third-party services. MIUI Up to workaround solutions for devices without access to the cloud.

The peculiarity of notes in the Xiaomi ecosystem is that they are tied to the proprietary Notes app (or Notes in global firmware). If you use alternative programs like Google Keep or ColorNote, the transfer process is simplified but requires other actions. We will consider both scenarios, and also give recommendations for saving formatting and attachments (photo, audio, checklists) during transfer.

Important: the methods vary in speed, reliability and Internet connection requirements, for example, synchronization through Mi Cloud takes seconds but requires authorization, and manual export to.zip is suitable for offline transfer, but may lose some data. Choose the method based on your situation.

1. Transmission via Mi Cloud (fastest method)

Sync via the Xiaomi cloud is the standard and most reliable method if both devices are tied to the same Mi Account. the process takes no more than 1-2 minutes, but has limitations: notes must be created in the proprietary Notes app, not in third-party services.

To move the data:

• 📱 Open the app Notes on the original smartphone.
• 🔄 Go to Settings. → Sync and enable the Mi Cloud option (if disabled).
• ☁️ Wait for the synchronization to be completed (the indicator in the upper right corner should disappear).
• 📱 On the new device, log in to the same Mi Account and open Notes – the data will be downloaded automatically.

⚠️ Note: If the notes didn't appear on the new phone, check:

1. Notes App Version – Both devices must have the same version (update via Play Market or App Store). 2. Account Region – in some countries (e.g. India) Mi Cloud functionality is limited. 3. Internet availability – synchronization works only via Wi-Fi or mobile data.

If sync is stalled, try manually updating the data: pull-to-refresh (pull-to-refresh gesture) and in rare cases, reinstall the Notes app – but make sure to check that the data is stored in the cloud before doing so (check out i.mi.com in the Notes section).

2. Export of Notes to File and Manual Transfer

If the cloud is not available (for example, due to Mi Account blocking or lack of Internet), you can export notes to a file and transfer it to another smartphone. MIUI 10–12.

Instructions:

1. Open your notes. → press three points (⋮) top-right → Choose Exports.
2. Select the necessary notes (or click Select All) → confirm the export.
3. The file is saved in.zip format in the folder. Download/Notes (or Downloads/Notes in Russian-language firmware).
4. Transfer the archive to a new smartphone in any convenient way: via Bluetooth, Telegram, Google Drive or cable USB-OTG.
5. On the new device, open notes. → Imports → point the way to the file.

⚠️ Note: When exporting to.zip, you may be lost:

• 🎨 Formatting (bold text, italics, labeled lists).
• 📎 Attachments (photos, audio, scans) – they will be saved as separate files in the archive, but will not be attached to notes automatically.
• 🔗 Links to other notes (if the linking function was used).

To minimize losses, before export:

• 📂 Rename the notes (longer titles will be saved more correctly).
• 🖼️ Remove important attachments manually (they are stored in a folder) MIUI/Notes/pictures).

3. Transmission via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct

If both smartphones are nearby, you can use direct transmission over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct. This method does not require Internet, but is only suitable for a small number of notes (up to 20-30 pieces), since the transmission is one at a time.

Step-by-step:

1. On the original phone, open a note. → Click Share (Share icon).
2. Choose Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct (depending on the model, it may be called Quick Transfer or Mi Share).
3. Turn on Bluetooth on the new device and confirm the file acceptance.
4. Repeat for each note (or use batch submission if supported by your version) MIUI).

🔍 Method nuances:

• 🐢 Speed: Transfer of 10 notes takes ~5-7 minutes vs. 30 seconds via Mi Cloud).
• 📶 Limitations: In some firmware MIUI Wi-Fi Direct is unstable – use Bluetooth as a backup option.
• 📄 Notes are transmitted as text files.txt, without attachments.

💡

If Bluetooth doesn’t find the device, try rebooting both smartphones or enabling Visible for All mode in Bluetooth settings.

To speed up the process, you can use a package shipment:

1. In the Notes app, highlight several entries (clasp your finger on one, then mark the rest).
2. Press Share → Bluetooth.
3. The files will merge into a single.zip archive that will need to be unpacked on a new device.

4. Use of third-party services (Google Drive, Telegram, Evernote)

If proprietary methods don’t work (for example, due to a phone reset or account lock), you can transfer notes through third-party services, which is universal, but requires additional actions to convert formats.

Option 1: Google Keep (for notes without attachments)

• 📱 Install Google Keep on both devices.
• 📝 On the source phone, copy the text of the note and paste it into a new entry in Keep.
• ☁️ Sync your Google account – a note will appear on your new device.

Option 2: Telegram (for photo/audio notes)

• 📱 Open the note. → Share. → Choose Telegram.
• 💬 Send the record to yourself in Save Messages.
• 📱 On the new phone, open Telegram, copy the text and paste it into the Notes app.

Option 3: Evernote (for complex notes with formatting)

• 📱 Export notes from Xiaomi Notes to.enex file (via Export) → Evernote).
• 📤 Upload the file to Evernote on your new device.

⚠️ Note: When transferring through third-party services:

- Tags and categories of notes will not be saved (they will have to be restored manually). - Attachments (photos, audio) may shrink or lose quality (especially when transmitted via Telegram). - Some characters (for example, characters or emojis) may be displayed incorrectly.

5. Sync through Google account (for global firmware)

On smartphones with global firmware (MIUI Global) Notes can sync with Google Account, which is convenient if you are actively using Google services (e.g. Gmail or Google Drive).

How to turn on synchronization:

1. Open the Notes. → Settings (or Settings).
2. Choose Backup & Sync → Google Account.
3. Log in to your Google account and enable sync.
4. On the new device, repeat steps 1-3 – the notes will be downloaded automatically.

🔍 Features of the method:

If sync with Google is not running:

• 🔄 Reboot both devices.
• 📱 Check if sync is enabled in Google account settings (Settings) → Accounts. → Google → Synchronization).
• 📋 Delete and re-add your Google account in your phone settings.

6. Note Transfers with PC (for advanced users)

If none of the above methods worked (for example, due to data corruption or lack of access to the cloud), you can extract notes through a computer. MIUI.

Method 1: Through a backup of MIUI

1. Connect the original smartphone to the PC and create a backup through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.
2. Copy the backup file (usually in a folder) MIUI/Backup/AllBackup) new phone.
3. Restore data through the same backup menu.

Method 2: Through ADB (root-based)

adb pull /data/data/com.miui.notes/databases/notes.db

This command will copy the note database on your PC, and to restore it to a new device, use:

adb push notes.db /data/data/com.miui.notes/databases/

⚠️ Attention: Working with ADB root rights can cause data loss or system failure. Use this method only if other options are exhausted.

💡

Backing up via PC is the only way to recover notes after a full phone reset if sync with Mi Cloud has been disabled.

Comparison of all methods: which one to choose?

To facilitate the choice, brought all methods in a table taking into account their pros, cons and requirements:

💡 Recommendation: If you plan to move notes frequently between Xiaomi devices, set up automatic sync via Mi Cloud in advance. Bluetooth or Telegram will do the job for a one-time transfer of a small number of records. For backup before resetting your phone, use export to file.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the transfer of notes