Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always an exciting moment, but data porting often turns into a headache. Contacts, photos, messages, apps and settings all need to be saved to not start from scratch. Fortunately, Xiaomi has several built-in migration tools, as well as universal methods that work on any Android device.
In this article, we'll look at 5 proven ways to transfer data, from the official Mi Mover service to manually copying via cable. You'll learn which method is the fastest, which stores the most information, and how to avoid typical errors. And if you have data on your old iPhone - no problem, we'll tell you how to transfer it to Xiaomi without loss.
Important: Before you migrate, make sure that the new phone has enough free space (especially if you are transferring photos and videos in high resolution) and that both devices are at least 50% charged, which will prevent disruptions in the process.
1.The official way: Mi Mover by Xiaomi
Mi Mover is a proprietary application from Xiaomi that automatically transfers data between the brand’s phones. It is preinstalled on all modern models (Redmi Note 12, Xiaomi 13, POCO F5, etc.) and supports transmission over Wi-Fi Direct. The main advantage is the preservation of folder structure and even some system settings.
To use Mi Mover, follow the following steps:
- 📱 Install the Mi Mover app on both phones (if it's not on the menu) and it usually starts automatically on the new device when you first turn it on.
- 🔄 On the old phone, select the role of "Sender", on the new one - "Receiver".
- 📶 Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network or use the hotspot on one of the phones.
- 📁 Select data types for transfer: contacts, messages, photos, video, audio, applications (APK-files) or notes.
- ⏳ Wait until the process is complete. Time depends on the amount of data (for example, 30 GB photos can be transmitted up to 1-2 hours).
Limitations of Mi Mover:
- ❌ Does not transfer data from some third-party applications (for example, WhatsApp or Telegram – they need separate backups).
- ❌ On devices with MIUI 14+ You may need to confirm via your Xiaomi account.
- ❌ If there is little memory on the old phone, the application may freeze when scanning files.
⚠️ Note: If the new phone already has data (for example, you have partially configured it), Mi Mover may suggest resetting the device to factory settings before transferring!
2.Move over Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud Storage)
Mi Cloud is a cloud service from Xiaomi that automatically syncs contacts, notes, photos and even SMS. The advantage of the method is that data can be transferred remotely, without physically connecting phones. However, the free tariff is limited to 5 GB, so you will have to buy additional space for large volumes.
Instructions for transfer via Mi Cloud:
- On your old phone, open Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
- Enable synchronization for the desired categories (contacts, gallery, notes, etc.).
- Wait until the data is uploaded to the cloud (check the progress indicator).
- On the new phone, log in to the same Xiaomi account and enable sync in the Mi Cloud.
- The data will start to load automatically. Connect to Wi-Fi to speed up.
What can be transferred through Mi Cloud:
| Type of data | Is it supported? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | ✅ Yes. | Synchronized with the phone book |
| Photographs and videos | ✅ Yes. | The original quality is maintained only when paying the tariff. |
| SMS and MMS | ✅ Yes. | Text messages only, no attachments |
| Notes | ✅ Yes. | Only notes from the standard Notes app |
| Annexes (APK) | ❌ No. | Only the list of installed programs (without data) |
If you use Google Photos to back up, you can link it to Mi Cloud: go to Settings → Google Account → Sync and enable Autoboot. Then the photos will be duplicated in both clouds.
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Before transferring, check if the old phone has the option “Optimize charging” enabled (in Settings → Battery).
3. Data transfer via OTG cable or adapter
If you don't have access to Wi-Fi or the cloud, the most reliable way to do this is to connect your phones directly through a cable.
- 🔌 Cable OTG (If the new phone has a connector USB-C, And the old one is Micro-USB).
- 🔄 Adapter (e.g., adapter, USB-C → USB-C, If both phones are modern).
- 📂 File Manager (e.g., standard Explorer or Solid Explorer).
Step-by-step:
- Connect the old phone to the new one via cable. On the screen of the old device, select File Transfer (MTP) mode.
- On your new phone, open the file manager and find the connected device in the Devices or USB section.
- Copy the right folders: 📞 Contacts: /storage/emulated/0/Contacts (or export through the "Contact" app"). 📷 Photos and videos: /DCIM/Camera and /Pictures. 🎵 Music: /Music. 📄 Documents: /Documents or /Download.
/data/app
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Challenges and solutions:
- ⚠️ Phone's not recognized, check if debugging is on. USB (Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times click on the build number, then return to the Additional → For developers → Debugging by USB).
- ⚠️ No folder access? An old phone might have encryption on. Try temporarily disabling the screen lock.
- ⚠️ Slow transmission? Use the cable. USB 3.0 (blue connector) and connect to the charger – this will speed up the process.
Make sure the cable supports data transfer (not just charging)
Disable screen lock on both phones
Check the free space on the new device
Enable debugging over USB (if necessary)
Copy data to the cloud in case of a crash-->
4.Moving from iPhone to Xiaomi (for Apple users)
If you're switching from an iPhone to Xiaomi, standard methods like Mi Mover won't work, like Google's "Switch to Android" app or manual data export, and the main challenge is migrating iMessage and WhatsApp, because Apple doesn't provide direct access to that data.
Ways to transfer from the iPhone:
- 📱 The Android Transition app: Download it from the App Store to your iPhone. On the new Xiaomi, when you first turn on, select Copy Data from your iPhone. Connect both phones to the same Wi-Fi network and follow the instructions. Contacts, photos, videos, calendars, free apps from the App Store (analogues will be downloaded from Google Play).
- ☁️ iCloud + Google Account: On iPhone, enable contact and calendar sync with iCloud. Export contacts in.vcf format via iCloud.com. Import file to Xiaomi via Google Contacts.
- Back up your chats in iCloud (in WhatsApp settings).
- Install WhatsApp on Xiaomi and sign in to the same account.
- When you request, restore the history from Google Drive (pre-download the backup from iCloud to your computer and go to Google Drive).
Comparison of alternative methods:
| Method | Speed. | Max. Volume. | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | ⚡ Slowly. | Up to 1GB | ⭐⭐ (simple) |
| SD-map | ⚡⚡ Middle-Average | Up to 1 TB | ⭐⭐⭐ (need an adapter) |
| Computer | ⚡⚡⚡ Quickly. | Unlimitedly | ⭐⭐⭐ (PC) |
| Send Anywhere | ⚡⚡⚡⚡ Very quickly. | Up to 10GB | ⭐⭐ (You need Wi-Fi) |
How to transfer passwords from Chrome from iPhone to Xiaomi?
6.What to do if the data is not transferred?
Sometimes, after migration, some of the data may be missing or corrupted, and here are the typical problems and solutions.
- 📵 Contacts not moved: Check if sync is enabled in Google Contacts or Mi Cloud. If contacts are lost, restore them from a backup (in Google Drive or iCloud).
- 🖼️ Photos and videos won't open: Maybe the files weren't fully copied. Check their size: if it's 0 KB, repeat the transfer. Also try to open files through Google Photos - sometimes they are automatically restored.
- 📱 Applications are not working: If you have moved APK-files, they may not be running because of version incompatibility. Delete them and reinstall them from Google Play.
- 🔒 Phone asks to reset: This can happen if the new Xiaomi has already set up an account. In this case, back up the current data, then reset to Settings. → The phone. → Resetting settings.
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If SMS is missing on the new Xiaomi after the transfer, check if the synchronization of messages in Google is enabled. Sometimes they are saved in the Messages Archive.