Transferring data from Xiaomi to a new phone: the full guide 2026

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but transferring data from an old device can become a headache if you do not know the proven ways. In 2026, owners of Redmi, POCO or Mi have at least 5 working methods of migration: from the official Mi Mover tool to manual copying through ADB. The main thing is to choose the right option depending on the amount of data, phone model and availability of backup.

In this article, we will explore the unique portability nuances of MIUI 14/15 firmware, including bypassing common errors (for example, when Mi Mover does not see an old device) and optimizing the process for phones with different versions of Android.

1.Preparation for transfer: what to do before the beginning

Before you start migrating, follow the mandatory steps on your old Xiaomi phone:

• 🔋 Charge both devices to at least 50% – the process can take up to 2 hours with a large amount of data.
• 📶 Connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network (for wireless methods) or check up on performance USB-OTG (cable-carrying).
• 🔐 Make sure the new phone has power saving turned off (Settings) → Battery → Energy saving regime).
• 📱 Update. MIUI on both devices up to the latest version (relevant to Redmi Note 12 and later).

A critical mistake many users make is to ignore cleaning the cache before transferring. If your old phone is using more than 80% of the memory, delete the unnecessary files via Settings → Storage → Cleanup. This will speed up the process and reduce the risk of crashes.

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If you migrate data from Xiaomi to POCO (or vice versa), pre-disable the function Data Migration to Settings → In addition, on a new device – this will prevent firmware conflicts.

For models older than the Redmi Note 10 (released before 2021), you may need to manually enable debugging over USB:

1. Go to Settings. → The phone.
2. Tap 7 times on the MIUI version.
3. Return to Settings → Additional → For developers and activate Debugging over USB.

2. Method 1: Mi Mover is the official tool of Xiaomi

Mi Mover is a built-in solution for transferring data between Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices. It supports transfer of:

• 📞 Contacts, messages (SMS/MMS), call-book
• 📷 Photo, video, audio files
• 📱 Applications (including some game data)
• 📋 System settings (wallpaper, sound profiles)

However, there are limitations:

Step-by-step:

1. On the new phone, when you first turn on, select Data Transfer (or find Mi Mover in Settings → More).
2. On your old phone, open Settings → Memory → Data Transfer.
3. Select the role: New phone (for receiving device) or Old phone (for sending).
4. Connect via Wi-Fi Direct (automatically) or QR-code (for models with MIUI 14+).
5. Select the data to transfer and confirm the start of the process.

Both phones are connected to charging|Wi-Fi is enabled on both devices|There is plenty of free space on the new phone.|Disabled. VPN firewalls-->

⚠️ Warning: If the Mi Mover is hanging out in the "Data Preparation" phase, restart both phones and try again. 9A/9C You may need to reset your network settings (Settings) → SIM-maps and networks → Resetting network settings).

Method 2: Transfer through Google Account (for contacts and applications)

Syncing through Google Account is a universal method that works even between different brands (for example, with Xiaomi on Samsung).

• 📇 Contacts (including groups and labels)
• 📅 Calendars and reminders
• 📱 List of installed applications (without data)
• 🖼️ Photos and videos (via Google Photos)

How to set up:

1. On your old phone: Settings → Accounts → Google → Account Sync → Turn on all the switches.
2. On your new phone: When you first turn on, select Copy Data → From Cloud Storage → Sign in to the same Google account.
3. For photos: Install Google Photos and activate Backup and Sync.

An important nuance: application data (e.g., game progress) is not portable via Google, but requires separate backups:

• 🎮 For games: use Google Play Games (if the game supports cloud-based saves).
• 📱 For apps: check for the export feature in the settings (e.g. Telegram or WhatsApp).

Mi Mover|Google Account|Cable OTG|Manual copying|Other-->

⚠️ Warning: If a new Xiaomi phone has already added a Google Account, delete and add it again before syncing. This will reset cache conflicts that may not show contacts.

4. Method 3: OTG cable and manual file copying

For users who prefer full control of the process, manual transfer via USB-OTG or computer is suitable, which guarantees the safety of all files, but requires more time.

What you need:

• 🔌 Cable OTG (for direct telephone connection) or USB-cable + PC.
• 📂 File Manager (built-in in the MIUI Or Solid Explorer).
• ⏳ Time: 20 minutes (for 16 GB of data) to 2 hours (for 128 GB)+).

Instructions for connection via OTG:

1. Connect your old phone to your new one OTG-cable.
2. On the new phone, select File Transfer (USB) mode.
3. Open File Manager and copy folders: DCIM (photo/video), Download (download), Pictures (images from apps) WhatsApp/Media (media from chats)
4. For applications, use ADB backup (requires a PC).

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ Full control over selected files.
• ✅ It works even on older models (e.g. Redmi). 4X).
• ✅ There are no limits on the amount of data.

Disadvantages:

• ❌ System settings and data of some applications are not transferred.
• ❌ Requires technical skills to work with ADB.

5. Method 4: Transfer over a computer (for large volumes)

If the data is over 64GB and Wi-Fi speeds are poor, the best option is to use a PC (Windows, macOS or Linux), which is also suitable for backing up before selling an old phone.

Step-by-step:

1. Connect your old phone to your PC via USB and select File Transfer mode.
2. Copy all the necessary folders to the hard drive (we recommend creating a separate folder, for example, Xiaomi_Backup_2026).
3. Turn off the old phone and connect the new one.
4. Move the data back by following the folder structure (for example, DCIM/Camera should stay in DCIM/Camera).

To transfer applications and their data, use ADB:

adb backup -apk -obb -shared -all -f backup.ab


adb restore backup.ab

Tip: If your PC can’t see your Xiaomi phone, install Mi PC Suite drivers or turn on Developer Mode (as described in Section 1).

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When copying via PC, do not use formats. FAT32 For flash drives/discs, they do not support files >4 GB: The best option is exFAT or NTFS.

Method 5: Cloud Services (for selective transfer)

If you only need to transfer photos, documents or music, it is more convenient to use cloud services. Xiaomi offers its own solution - Mi Cloud, but it has a limit of 5 GB of free space.

* - when using Telegram Premium - up to 4 GB.

How to transfer data via Google Drive:

1. On an old phone: upload files to Drive via the app.
2. On a new phone: download files and unpack them in the appropriate folders.

For Mi Cloud:

1. Register a Xiaomi account (Settings → Mi Account).
2. Turn on sync: Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Sync.
3. On the new phone, log in to the same account and wait for the download to complete.

⚠️ Note: When using Mi Cloud to transfer photos, check the compression settings: by default, images are loaded in resolution 2048×2048 (even if the original 4K). To maintain quality, disable the option to save traffic in the cloud settings.

7.Typical errors and their solutions

Even when following the instructions, users face problems.

• 🚫 Mi Mover doesn't see old device: Check that both phones are disabled VPN Reboot your router or use a mobile hotspot. For Redmi Note 8 Pro and older, update MIUI last-minute.
• 🔄 Data has moved but apps are not working: Remove and reinstall problematic apps via Google Play. check permissions: Settings → Annexes → Permits.
• ⚠️ Lack of space on your new phone: Use an external memory card (if supported) and move some of the data to the cloud (e.g. old photos).

For models with unlocked bootloader (for example, after the firmware Xiaomi.EU) may require manual recovery of IMEI after data transfer.

1. Install the MTK Engineering Mode application (for MediaTek processors).


2. Go to Engineer Mode → Connectivity → CDS Information → Radio Information.




3. Enter commands to restore IMEI (unique to each model!).

8. Transfer data from Xiaomi to another brand (Samsung, iPhone)

If you are switching from Xiaomi to iPhone or Samsung, standard methods (such as Mi Mover) will not work.

• 📱 For iPhone: Move to iOS (transfers contacts, messages, photos) iTunes for manual transfer of music and video.
• 🤖 For Samsung: Samsung Smart Switch app (similar to Mi Mover) Cable USB-C to USB-C direct-connect.

Important: when transferring to the iPhone:

• 🚫 WhatsApp is not officially portable (use iMazing or Backuptrans).
• 📱 Apps from Google Play will have to be installed again (if there are analogues in the App Store).

For Samsung:

• 🔄 Smart Switch may not migrate Xiaomi settings (for example, themes) MIUI).
• 📁 Photos and videos will be copied, but albums will have to be recreated.

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When switching to an iPhone, be sure to untie your Google account from the old Xiaomi, otherwise you may have problems syncing contacts.

FAQ: Frequent questions