How to transfer contacts with Xiaomi Redmi Note 9: all ways with photos and nuances

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 remains one of the most popular smartphones in the budget segment, but even its owners face the need to transfer contacts. Whether you buy a new phone, make a factory reset or just want to create a backup — without the right instructions, you can lose important numbers. In this article, we will analyze all the current ways to copy contacts, taking into account the features of MIUI and the hardware limitations of the Redmi Note 9.

The main problem is that users don't know the synchronization nuances, for example, many people don't understand why contact photos disappear after exporting to the SIM- card or why Google transfers duplicate entries. We'll go through each method in detail, identify the hidden settings of the MIUI that affect the result, and warn against typical errors, and you'll learn how to restore contacts if something goes wrong.

1. Preparation before copying contacts

Before you start the transfer, make sure your contacts are stored in the right place.On the Redmi Note 9, they can be:

• 📱 Locally on the phone (in the device memory)
• 📧 Google account (synchronized with the cloud)
• 📞 On the SIM- card (limited to 200-250 contacts)
• 💾 In a backup MIUI (.vcf or.bak file)

To check the current storage location:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Press three points (⋮) top-right → Contact management.
3. Select Import/Export → here will be the default source.

Important: If contacts are only stored on the SIM- card, if you replace or lose them, all numbers will be lost without recovery, so we recommend you to duplicate them in at least one of the cloud services.

2. Copying contacts on the SIM- card

This method is suitable if you want to transfer contacts to another phone via SIM or backup without the Internet. Note that Redmi Note 9 supports SIM- cards of nano-SIM and micro-SIM formats (via an adapter), but the memory capacity on them is limited.

Export instructions:

1. Open Contacts → Press ⋮ → Contact Management.
2. Select Export on Export SIM-map.
3. Tick the required contacts (or click Select All).
4. Click Export and select the SIM- card (if there are two).
5. Confirm the action. The process will take 10-30 seconds depending on the number of contacts.

Make sure that SIM-The card is inserted into slot 1 (main card)

Free space on SIM (maximum of ~250 contacts)

Contacts do not contain special symbols (may not be saved)

Disable dual SIM- cards if export is not launched-->

⚠️ Warning: When exported to SIM- the card is lost:

• 📸 Contact photos;
• 📍 Addresses and additional fields (email, birthday)
• 🔢 Second/third phone numbers (only the first one is saved).

3. synchronize contacts with Google account

The most reliable way is to link your contacts to a Google account, which will allow you to:

• 🔄 Automatically synchronize changes.
• 📲 Quickly transfer contacts to a new phone.
• 💾 Restore data after reset.

How to turn on synchronization:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Synchronization.
2. Select your Google account.
3. Activate the switch opposite Contact.
4. Press Sync (or wait for automatic sync).

If you already have contacts on your phone but not on Google, export to your account:

1. Open the "Contact» → ⋮ → Contact management.
2. Select Import/Export → Export to file.
3. Specify the.vcf format and save the file to the phone’s memory.
4. Import this file to Google Contacts via the web version.

1. Internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data).

2. date and time on the phone (must be relevant).

3. Battery settings: disable optimization for the "Contact" application".-->

⚠️ Warning: When synchronization is first enabled, MIUI may create duplicate contacts.

1. Before synchronization, export all contacts to the.vcf file.
2. Remove all contacts from your phone (via Contact Management → Delete everything).
3. Import contacts from the.vcf file to your Google account.

4. Transfer contacts via VCF file (vCard)

The.vcf (vCard) format is a universal way to export/import contacts. It stores all data: numbers, email, addresses, photos and notes. On the Redmi Note 9, you can create such a file and transfer it to another phone or to the cloud.

Export instructions:

1. Open the "Contact» → ⋮ → Contact management.
2. Select Export to file.
3. Please specify your export contacts (or select All).
4. Click Export and save the file to a convenient location (such as Downloads).

How to import to another phone:

• 📱 On Android: Open the.vcf file → select Contacts to import.
• 🍎 On iPhone: Send the file to an email, open it on your iPhone and click Add All Contacts.
• 💻 On PC: Import through Google Contacts or Outlook.

⚠️ Attention:.vcf files may not display correctly if:

• Contact names contain emojis or special symbols.
• The file was edited manually (for example, through a notebook);
• The file size exceeds 10 MB (break into several parts).

5. Copy contacts via MIUI Backup

Xiaomi offers its own backup solution, MIUI Backup, which not only saves contacts, but also saves SMS, call log, system application settings, but also has some nuances:

How to create a backup copy:

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset.
2. Select Local Backup.
3. Check Contacts (you can also select SMS, call log).
4. Click Backup and wait until it is completed.

The backup file will be saved along the way:

/MIUI/backup/AllBackup/

The file name will be in backup_20260515_123456.bak format.

How to restore contacts from backup:

1. Copy the.bak file to the same folder on the new phone.
2. Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset.
3. Select Restore and specify the desired file.
4. Confirm the recovery (the process will take 1-2 minutes).

💡

MIUI Backup is only suitable for data transfer between Xiaomi devices, and other brands will not be able to restore a backup copy of.bak.

6. Transfer of contacts through third-party applications

If the standard methods don't work, you can use third-party tools, and we tested a few and selected the most reliable ones.

1. My Contacts Backup (Android)

• 📥 Free on Google Play;
• 🔄 Exports contacts to.vcf and sends them to email.
• 🛡️ No registration required.

2. Super Backup & Restore

• 📥 Reference to the annex;
• 💾 Stores contacts, SMS, call log;
• 📤 You can download a backup to Google Drive.

3. Copy My Data (for porting to iPhone)

• 📱 Works between Android and iOS
• 🔗 Transmits data over Wi-Fi without clouds.
• 📌 Stores photos of contacts.

⚠️ Note: When using third-party applications:

• 🔒 Verify permissions (the application must not request access to SMS or geolocation without reason);
• 📡 Avoid data transmission over public Wi-Fi networks.
• 🗑️ Remove backups from your phone’s memory after transfer.

7. Recovery of lost contacts

If the contacts were deleted or lost after reset, try the following recovery methods:

1. via Google Contacts (if synchronized)

1. Go to contacts.google.com.
2. In the left menu, select Cancel Changes.
3. Please indicate the time range (up to 30 days ago).

2. Through a backup of MIUI

If you have a.bak file, restore it as described in Section 5.

3. Using recovery applications

• 🛠️ DiskDigger – looks for deleted.vcf files in the phone’s memory
• 🔍 GT Recovery - Recovers contacts and SMS (requires root permissions for deep scanning).

⚠️ Warning: When recovering through third-party utilities:

• 🚫 Do not save new data to your phone until the process is complete.
• 🔋 The battery must be at least 50% charged;
• 📴 Avoid using your phone while scanning.

FAQ: Frequent questions about contact transfer