Switching to a new smartphone or accidentally resetting settings often becomes stressful if you don’t take care of the phone book. Xiaomi device owners have a powerful backup tool, the Mi Cloud cloud service, which synchronizes important data by default. However, knowing how to extract this information in a universal format is a critical skill for any user.
Exporting contacts not only allows you to transfer them to a device of another brand, such as a Samsung or iPhone, but also create a local copy on your computer, which ensures that even if you have an account problem or lock your device, your important numbers will remain safe.
In this article, we will look at all the ways you can save your phone book: through the web interface of the cloud, directly from your phone, and using third-party tools. We will focus on the technical details of VCF and CSV formats so you can choose the most suitable option for your tasks.
⚠️ Warning: Before starting mass export or import, make sure that your device has a stable internet connection, as interrupting the download may damage your contact database file.
Preparing a Mi Account and checking synchronization
Before you start uploading data, you need to make sure that your contacts are actually in the cloud. Often users assume that sync works automatically, but in practice it may turn off or interrupted due to space shortages. Status verification is the first and most important step that should not be ignored.
Go to your Xiaomi smartphone settings and find the section that handles your Mi Account, which is usually located at the top of the settings menu or in the About subsection. Make sure you’re logged in to the correct account, especially if you’ve previously used multiple mailboxes to sign up.
Inside the cloud service menu, look for Contacts and check if the sync switch is active. If the slider is turned off, turn it on and wait for the update to complete. The system can request confirmation of action, after which the background loading of numbers to Xiaomi servers will begin.
☑️ Pre-export verification
For visual confirmation, you can open the Contacts app on your phone, go to the display settings and select the cloud contacts only. If the list is empty, then the sync has not yet passed or there are no stored records in the cloud, in which case, first perform manual sync through the account menu.
Exporting contacts via i.mi.com web interface
The most universal way to save contacts is to use the official website of the cloud service, which is convenient because it does not require the phone itself at hand and allows you to work with data directly from the computer. i.mi.com is adapted for desktop browsers and provides full access to management functions.
Open your browser on your computer and go to https://i.mi.com. Enter your Mi Account credentials. To improve security, the system may request a confirmation code that will come in SMS or in an authenticator application tied to your phone number.
Once you have successfully logged in, select the Contacts icon on the home screen, and you will see a complete list of all saved numbers. At the top of the screen or in the settings menu (usually indicated by a gear or a tripod), find the Import/Export Contacts feature.
| Parameter | Description | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| VCF format | Universal format of business cards | Best choice for transfer |
| CSV format | Table format of data | For editing in Excel |
| All contacts. | Unloading the full base | Use it for a full backup. |
| Selected | Only marked numbers | For partial transfer |
The most compatible format is VCF (vCard), which is supported by almost all operating systems, including Android, iOS and Windows. The CSV format is more suitable for those who plan to edit the list of numbers in tabular editors, since it presents data in the form of structured text.
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When exporting via a web interface, it is recommended to choose the VCF format if you plan to further import contacts into another smartphone, as it saves photos and additional fields better than CSV.
Offloading contacts directly from Xiaomi device
If you don't have access to a computer, you can export directly from your phone. The built-in Contacts app in the MIUI or HyperOS shell has powerful recording management functionality, ideal for fast data transfer to another device via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct.
Open the Contacts app and click on the menu button or three dots in the corner of the screen. Select "Import and export contacts." Here you will be offered several options, including sending to the Internet. SIM-map or preservation.
Select Export to Memory or Export to Drive. The system will create a file with the.vcf extension that will contain all the selected contacts. You will be asked to choose a save location; by default, this is internal memory in the MIUI/Contacts or root folder.
- 📱 Local save: The file is stored in the phone’s memory, from where it is easy to copy to the PC via a phone. USB-cable.
- 📤 Sending via instant messengers: Immediately after creating a file, the system will offer to send it via Telegram, WhatsApp or mail.
- 💾 Use of the SD-Cards: If the device has a memory card, you can choose it as a target storage for greater reliability.
It is important to note that when exporting SIM-The card may be shortened by long names and additional fields such as email addresses or photos, so this method is recommended only in extreme cases or for very old phone models that do not support modern file formats.
File formats: VCF vs. CSV
Understanding the difference between file formats is critical to successful data transfer. The Virtual Contact File (VCF) format is the industry standard for e-business cards, and is a text file where each record contains structured data: name, number, address, photo and other fields in a special encoded form.
By contrast, the CSV (Comma Separated Values) format is a simple table where data is separated by commas or other separators, making CSV a great choice for mass editing lists in programs like Microsoft Excel or Google Tables, but it can display special characters or Cyrillic if encoding is incorrect.
Technical details of encoding
If you plan to just save contacts for yourself or transfer them to another smartphone, definitely choose to use them. VCF. This format ensures that the data structure remains unchanged and that all fields are recognized correctly by the receiving device. CSV Leave it for analytics or complex sorting of large databases of contacts.
When importing a VCF file into a new phone, the system automatically recognizes the format and suggests spreading the data across fields. In the case of CSV, it often requires manual adjustment of column matching, which can take time and lead to errors if the field names do not match the operating system standards.
Solving synchronization and export problems
Sometimes the export process can run into errors. The most common reason is overcrowded cloud storage. The free Mi Cloud tariff provides a limited amount of space, and if it is exhausted, synchronizing new contacts or exporting old ones can be blocked.
Check the status of the storage in your account settings. If the space is over, you will either have to delete unnecessary files (such as old photo backups) or temporarily disable the synchronization of heavy media files, leaving only contacts.
⚠️ Note: If there is an error “Not enough space” or “network failure” during export, do not immediately try to repeat the operation many times – this may temporarily block your business. IP-address.
Another common problem is desynchronizing time on your device: If the date and time on your Xiaomi differ from the real one, the security certificates may fail to pass the verification and the connection to the cloud will be severed. Make sure that the date and time settings include the option “Use Network Time”.
In some cases, cleaning the cache of the Contacts app and Mi Cloud services helps. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find the relevant services and select Clear Cache. Don't confuse it with Clear Data, as this can remove local sync settings.
Alternative methods and importation into other systems
If standard methods don’t work or you need to move contacts to the Google ecosystem, you can use an intermediate: Export contacts from Xiaomi Cloud in CSV format, then upload them to Google Contacts via the web interface contacts.google.com. This will allow you to combine the databases and sync them with any new Android device.
For users switching to iPhones, the process is also not complicated. After unloading a VCF file from i.mi.com, go to icloud.com, select Contacts, click on the gear at the bottom left, and select Import vCard. After that, the contacts will automatically appear on your new iOS device.
- 🔄 Google Contacts: Ideal for those who frequently change smartphones to Android.
- 🍏 iCloud: A Necessary Step to Move into Apple’s Ecosystem.
- 💻 Outlook/Thunderbird: Suitable for corporate users who keep contacts in email clients.
Using third-party backup apps like Super Backup or Titanium Backup (for root rights) is also possible, but requires caution.These tools can create complete database images, but restoring them to devices with newer versions of Android sometimes causes conflicts.
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The most reliable migration route is exporting to VCF via the web interface and then importing it to a Google or iCloud account, which guarantees cross-platform compatibility.