Synchronization in the phone Xiaomi: why you need and how to set up

Introduction: Why syncing on Xiaomi isn’t just backup

Have you ever lost a phone or accidentally deleted important contacts? If so, you know how painful it is to recover lost data. Synchronization on Xiaomi smartphones solves this problem — but that’s not all it can do. Unlike primitive backup, synchronization works in real time, linking your smartphone, your Mi Account, and even other devices (like a laptop or tablet) into a single ecosystem.

For example, you added a new contact to your phone — and it instantly appeared in the Mi Cloud, where you can restore it on a new device or view it through the web version — or you took a picture of a document — and the photo automatically uploaded to the cloud, freeing up space on your phone. But how does this work in practice? And why Xiaomi users often have problems when setting up? Let's get this straight.

It's important to understand that synchronization on Xiaomi is not only convenient, but also safe. If the phone is stolen or it breaks, the synchronized data (contacts, notes, photos) will remain safe. But there is a downside: if you don't set it right, synchronization can drain the battery 15-20% faster due to constant activity of background processes. How to find balance? Read more.

What exactly syncs on Xiaomi: the full list of data

Not all data on your Xiaomi is syncable, some of it is stored locally, and here’s what you can save to the Mi Cloud (and automatically update when you change it):

• 📇 Contacts – including groups, contact notes and call history (if a separate setting is enabled).
• 📅 Calendar – Events, reminders and repetitive tasks.
• 📝 Notes – text recordings from the standard Mi Notes app (including drawings and attachments).
• 📸 Photos and videos – Automatic upload to Mi Cloud Gallery (with quality settings).
• 🔑 Passwords and Autocomplete Data – If you use Mi Browser or a standard password manager.
• 📱 System settings – wallpaper, sound profiles, screen brightness (when restored on a new device).
• 🎮 Game data – progress in supported games (e.g. Mi Game Center).

Here’s what NOT syncs automatically (requires manual backup):

• 💬 Communications SMS/MMS (Only through third-party applications of the type SMS Backup & Restore).
• 🎵 Music and podcasts (except playlists in Mi Music).
• 📁 Files in Download, Documents and other user directories.
• 🔄 Settings of individual applications (for example, WhatsApp or Telegram – they have their own clouds).

Note that the free cloud storage on the Mi Cloud is only 5GB. If you're actively taking pictures or taking videos, it won't last long. The 200GB expansion option costs a lot. ~1 500 ₽/year (current for 2026).

How to enable synchronization on Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions

The synchronization process does not take much more. 5 minutes, but there are nuances depending on the version MIUI. We will consider a universal method for MIUI 14/13/12 (It is important for Redmi Note models 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13T newer).

Step 1. Sign in to your Mi Account:

1. Open the Settings. → Mi Account.
2. If you do not have an account, click Create an account and follow the instructions (you will need an email or phone number).
3. If there is an account, but not tied - log in by entering the login and password.

Step 2. Activate synchronization:

1. Go to Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn on the Synchronization slider (at the top of the screen).
3. Choose which data to sync by ticking next to the desired items (see the list in the previous section).

Step 3: Set up automatic photo/video downloads (optional):

1. In the same section of Mi Cloud, tap the Gallery.
2. Turn on Autoboot and select quality: Original - no compression (clouds in a month); High - compression to 80% quality (recommended); Medium - economy option for slow Internet.

Please indicate whether to upload photos only over Wi-Fi or via mobile Internet.

Step 4: Check the synchronization operation:

1. Add the test contact to the phone book.
2. Open the web version of Mi Cloud on your computer and make sure the contact is displayed.
3. Take a photo and wait for the cloud upload notification (it can take up to 10 minutes).

⚠️ Note: If the data is not updated after synchronization is enabled, check: Traffic Saving Settings in Settings → Connections and Sharing – Mi Cloud should be in exceptions.Permissions for the Mi Cloud app in Settings → Annexes → Application management. Version. MIUI — on old firmware (below) MIUI (12) synchronization may not work smoothly.

Common sync issues on Xiaomi and how to fix them

Even after setting up correctly, sync on Xiaomi can fail, and here are the typical errors and ways to fix them:

If none of these methods worked, try resetting your sync settings:

1. Open the Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Slip on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Reset Sync.
3. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

⚠️ Warning: Resetting sync will remove all data from the cloud that was not copied to the device! Before the procedure, back up important files manually (for example, copy a photo to your computer).

Synchronization between Xiaomi devices: how to link a phone, tablet and laptop

One of the features of the Xiaomi ecosystem is cross-platform synchronization. For example, you can start reading a note on a Redmi Note 12 Pro phone and continue on a Xiaomi Pad 6 tablet or even on a Windows laptop (via the web version of the Mi Cloud).

1. Synchronization between two Xiaomi phones:

• 📱 On both devices, sign in to one Mi Account.
• 🔄 Enable synchronization in Settings → Mi Cloud on both phones.
• 🔄 Wait until the first synchronization is completed (it can take up to an hour depending on the amount of data).

2. Synchronization with the Xiaomi tablet:

• 📱 Make sure that the latest version is installed on the tablet. MIUI (For Xiaomi Pad 6, this is MIUI 14 or newer).
• 🔄 Turn on Mi Cloud and select the same data to sync as on your phone.
• 📁 For photos and videos, use the Gallery app – it will automatically pull up cloud albums.

Access to data from a computer:

• 💻 Go to i.mi.com and log in to your account.
• 📂 Here you will see all the synchronized data: contacts, notes, photos and even call history (if the option is enabled).
• 📥 To download a photo on PC, select an album and click Download (available in format) ZIP).

If you use Xiaomi Laptop (for example, Mi Notebook Pro), you can install the official Mi Cloud for app. PC You can download it from the official website to automatically synchronize screenshots and documents.

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If you work with documents often, turn on Documents folder sync in Mi Cloud. To do this, activate the Files option in the cloud settings and specify the path to the folder on your phone. PDF, DOCX and XLSX It will be available on any device.

How to turn off sync on Xiaomi: when it is necessary and how to do it correctly

Despite the obvious advantages, there are situations when it is better to turn off synchronization:

• 🔋 Battery savings – background activity of the Mi Cloud can eat up to 10% of charge per day.
• 📡 Restricted Internet – Autoupload photos “eat” traffic (up to 500 MB per month with active use).
• 🔒 Privacy – if you don’t trust cloud services (the data is stored on Xiaomi servers in Singapore).
• 📱 Selling a phone before transferring the device to another person.

How to completely disable synchronization:

1. Go to Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn off the main slider Synchronization.
3. For reliability, uncheck all points (contacts, gallery, etc.).
4. If you want to remove data from the cloud, click Delete Data (Warning: This is irrevocable!).

How to turn off synchronization selectively:

• For photo: in Mi Cloud → Gallery turn off Autoboot.
• For contacts: uncheck the box opposite Contacts in the synchronization settings.
• For notes: Open the Mi Notes app, go to Settings → Synchronize and turn it off.

⚠️ Warning: If you turn off sync before selling your phone, remember to log out of your Mi! account, otherwise the new owner will be able to recover your data. → Mi Account → Get out.

Mi Cloud Alternatives: Which Cloud Services Are Best for Xiaomi

If you’re not happy with Mi Cloud (short space, slow sync, privacy issues), there are alternatives:

How to transfer data from Mi Cloud to another service:

1. Download all data from Mi Cloud to your computer (via the web version).
2. Upload them to a new cloud service (like Google Drive).
3. On your phone, turn off Mi Cloud sync and set up an alternative service.

To automatically sync your contacts with Google:

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Add an account → Google.
2. Log in to your Google account and enable contact sync.
3. B Settings → Annexes → Contacts → Select Google Account by Default instead of Mi.

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If you use multiple cloud services at the same time (e.g. Mi Cloud for photos and Google for contacts), keep an eye on data duplication. To avoid chaos, choose one service as your primary service and disable the synchronization of duplicate data in the others.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions about Synchronization on Xiaomi