How to Keep Contacts with Xiaomi in Google Account: The Complete Guide to 2026

Losing contacts when changing your phone or resetting your settings is one of the most frustrating situations for a Xiaomi owner. Fortunately, syncing with a Google account solves this problem once and for all: your numbers, email addresses and contact notes will automatically be backed up in the cloud and available on any device. But how to set up this sync correctly on Redmi, POCO or Mi smartphones? Because the MIUI interface has its own features, and the standard instructions for “pure” Android often do not work here.

In this article, we’ll look at 5 proven ways to transfer contacts, from automatic synchronization to manual export via.vcf files, and focus on common errors (such as when contacts are duplicated or not synced at all) and nuances for different versions of MIUI 14/15. And if you’ve already lost contacts, at the end there’s a section on how to restore them from a backup of Google Contacts.

Why Xiaomi Contacts Are Better Stored in Google than in Google MI-account

Many Xiaomi users default to retain contacts in the company’s MI Cloud, but this approach has critical flaws:

• 🔒 Linking to the ecosystem: Contacts in MI Cloud is difficult to transfer to another brand’s phone (such as Samsung or iPhone). With a Google account, this problem is not — sync works on any Android device.
• 📱 Limited functionality: B MI Cloud does not have tools to clean duplicates, restore remote contacts, or export to.csv (unlike Google Contacts).
• 🌍 Geographical restrictions: In some countries (e.g. India), Xiaomi services are unstable due to local regulations.

Also, when you reset your phone to factory settings, contacts from MI Cloud may not automatically recover – you need to re-authorize your Xiaomi account. With Google, it’s easy to log into your profile when you first set up the device.

Method 1: Automatic synchronization through MIUI settings

The easiest method is to enable synchronization of contacts with the Google account in the phone settings, which works on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models with MIUI 12 and later (including MIUI 15 based on Android 14).

Instructions:

1. Open the Settings app (cog on the desktop).
2. Go to Accounts and Sync (or Passwords & Security → Accounts on new versions).
3. Select your Google account (if not, add it through Add Account).
4. Activate the slider opposite Contacts (or Sync Contacts in English firmware).
5. Click More (three dots in the upper right corner) → Sync now.

After that, all existing contacts (even those that were saved locally) will be uploaded to your Google account.

⚠️ Note: If duplicates appear in Google after synchronization, use the tool to Combine and Correct on the Google Contacts site. MIUI There is no built-in duplicate merging function, so you will have to do it manually.

Method 2: Manually export contacts to file.vcf and import to Google

If automatic sync doesn’t work (for example, because of the “Sync Stopped” error), you can export contacts to a.vcf file and upload it to your Google account manually.

Steps for export:

1. Open the Contacts app (phone book icon).
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner → Contact management → Import/Export contacts.
3. Select Export to File → tick All contacts (or select the ones you need manually).
4. Click Export and save the file to Internal Memory or to SD-map.

Now import the file to Google Contacts:

1. Open contacts.google.com on your computer or phone.
2. On the left menu, select Import.
3. Download the saved.vcf file and confirm the import.

Method 3: Sync through the Google Contacts app

If standard MIUI settings do not allow synchronization (for example, due to customized firmware), use the official Google Contacts app. It bypasses the shell restrictions and directly communicates with Google servers.

How to set up:

1. Install Google Contacts from the Play Market.
2. Open it and log in to your Google account.
3. Click on the profile avatar in the upper right corner → Contact settings → Contact synchronization.
4. Turn on Automatic Sync and select your account.

The advantage of this method is that the Google Contacts app can detect duplicates and offer them to be combined directly on your phone, and it also has the Recovery feature (up to 30 days ago) available if you accidentally deleted important numbers.

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If the Google Contacts app doesn’t display all your numbers, check if they are saved to your Xiaomi account. → MI Cloud → Contact and disable synchronization with MI-account.

Method 4: Transfer contacts using MI Mover (to change phone)

If you’re buying a new Xiaomi phone and want to move contacts from your old device, it’s convenient to use the branded MI Mover app, which copies not only contacts, but also SMS, photos and even app settings. However, saving data to your Google account will require an additional step.

Instructions:

1. Install MI Mover on both phones (old and new).
2. On the old phone, choose I am the sender, on the new phone, I am the receiver.
3. Connect devices to a single Wi-Fi network or use Hotspot.
4. Select data for transfer (be sure to mark Contacts).
5. After the transfer is completed on the new phone, enable synchronization of contacts with the Google account (see Method 1).

⚠️ Attention: MI Mover transfers contacts locally, meaning they don't automatically go to Google. If you don't turn on sync after the transfer, the next time you reset your phone, the contacts will be lost.

Method 5: Recover remote contacts from Google (if sync is not working)

If you lost contacts due to a phone reset or accidental deletion, they can be restored from a backup of Google Contacts.The service is free and allows you to roll back to the contact version in the last 30 days.

How to restore:

1. Open the website contacts.google.com on your computer.
2. In the left menu, select Cancel Changes.
3. Specify the time range (for example, 1 day ago or 1 week ago).
4. Click Confirm – all remote contacts will return.

If you don’t remember when your contacts disappeared, check the history of the changes:

1. In the same left menu, select More → History.
2. View the list of actions (deletions, changes, additions).
3. Find the date when the contacts were still in place and restore the condition at that point.

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Google only keeps a history of contact changes for 30 days, and if you lost your data earlier, you can't recover it through standard tools, and only a local backup (.vcf) will help.

Typical errors and their solution

Even after setting up sync correctly, Xiaomi users often encounter problems, and here are the most common errors and ways to fix them:

• 🔄 "Sync stopped": Go to Settings → Annexes → Application management → Google Contacts and clear the cache. Then reboot the phone.
• 📵 Contacts are not displayed on Google: Check if they are saved in the MI Open the Contacts app, click on three dots. → Settings → Show contacts from and select Google.
• 🔒 You can’t edit contacts: This happens if the contact is saved in the MI Cloud, but sync with it is disabled. Move the contact to Google account manually.
• ⚠ Duplicate contacts: B MIUI There is no built-in tool to merge duplicates. Use the web version of Google Contacts or the Contacts app+.

If none of these methods helped, check:

• 📶 Internet connection stability (synchronization requires access to the network).
• 🔋 Adequate battery level (at low charge) MIUI It can suspend background processes).
• 📅 Date and time on the phone (incorrect settings can block sync).

FAQ: Frequent questions about synchronizing Xiaomi contacts with Google