How to Change, Merge, or Delete Contact in Xiaomi Phone: All Ways

Contacts on Xiaomi smartphones are not just a phone book, but a full-fledged ecosystem integrated with the phone. MIUI, Google Accounts and services like Mi Cloud, but even experienced users have a problem: the contact is duplicated after synchronization, changes are not saved, then editing is completely lost. In this article, we will analyze all the ways to change contacts on Xiaomi devices – from basic editing to solving non-obvious problems with duplicates and synchronization.

Feature MIUI The contact can be stored in three locations at the same time: SIM-It gives you flexibility, but it also creates confusion, like if you change your number in Google Contacts, but the old version is displayed on your phone, so that's where you prioritize your local storage. We will show you how to force data to synchronize between all sources to avoid discrepancies.

Important: Instructions are relevant to MIUI 12-15 (including HyperOS for newer models). If you have an older firmware version, some menu items may differ, which we'll mention as well.

1. Basic editing of the contact: step-by-step instructions

So let's start with the simplest one, how to change a name, phone number, or email in an existing contact, and this method works for contacts stored in a phone's memory, and it works for those contacts that are stored in a phone's memory. SIM-map or Google Account.

Open the Contacts app (an icon with a person's silhouette on a green background) find the contact you want through a search or scroll through a list. Click on it, then tap on the pencil icon (✏️) If there is no edit button, the contact is protected from change (see the Restrictions section for more on this).

• 📱 For contacts in the memory of the phone: changes will persist immediately after clicking Ready.
• 📶 For contacts on SIM-map: After editing, it may be necessary to restart the phone so that the changes will show up in other apps (for example, WhatsApp).
• ☁️ For Google Contacts: Changes sync automatically to the cloud, but sometimes forced sync is required (see Section 4).

If you want to add a second number or email, click Add the field at the bottom of the edit screen, and you can select the data type: mobile, work, home, fax, and even Other (with an arbitrary name).

Duplicate numbers in one contact|Correctness of the phone format (for example, +7 instead 8)|Is the contact linked to the correct account (Google/Mi)|Is the photo displayed (if necessary)

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2. How to combine duplicate contacts

One of the most common problems with Xiaomi is that it has duplicate contacts, which are produced after importing from the company. SIM-Cards, syncs with multiple accounts or work failures MIUI. For example, the same person can be displayed twice: one contact from Google, another from the phone’s memory.

To combine the takes:

1. Open Contacts. → Three points (⋮) → Contact management → Connecting contacts.
2. The system will automatically find possible duplicates. Opposite each sentence will be a "Unite" button.
3. If the automatic pairing didn’t work, select the contacts manually: hold your finger on one contact, then tap on the others and tap Unite at the top.

Once combined, all data (numbers, email, notes) are merged into one contact, and it is important that if there were conflicting data (for example, different names) in the duplicates, the system will suggest choosing the right option.

If the duplicates appear constantly, check the synchronization settings:

1. Go to Settings → Accounts and Synchronization.
2. Select Google or Mi Account and turn off contact sync.
3. Remove duplicates manually, then turn on sync again.

3. Contact removal: nuances for different types of storage

There are several ways to delete a contact on Xiaomi, but the result depends on where it is stored:

If you delete the contact again, it's synced from another source, like you deleted it from your phone, but it stayed on your Google Account.

1. Check all accounts in Settings → Accounts and synchronization.
2. Turn off contact sync for all accounts.
3. Remove the contact.
4. Turn the sync back on.

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If you want to delete many contacts at once, use the web version of Google Contacts (contacts.google.com). There is a group removal tool and tag filters.

4. Contact synchronization: why changes don't persist

A frequent complaint from Xiaomi users is, "Changed number in contact, and WhatsApp or when you call, the old version is displayed." This is due to conflicting data sources. Here's how to force contacts to sync:

For Google Account:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Sync → Google → Your account.
2. Make sure the contact switch is on.
3. Click Sync (or More → Sync Now).

For Mi Account:

1. Go to Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Turn on contact sync if it is disabled.
3. Press Sync manually.

If synchronization doesn’t help, try resetting the Contacts app cache:

1. Settings → Annexes → Application management → Contacts → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
2. Reboot the phone.

In the memory of the phone|On Google Account|Nana SIM-map|In Mi Cloud|I don't know where it's stored.

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If the problem persists, it is possible that the conflict is caused by the priority of sources. MIUI There's a hidden setting that determines which account to display first, to change it:

1. Open Contacts. → Three points (⋮) → Settings → Display contacts.
2. Select a priority account (e.g. Google).
3. Reboot the phone.

5. Editing contacts via computer (web versions)

Sometimes it's more convenient to manage your contacts from the big screen, especially if you need to massively edit data, and you can use the web version of Google Contacts or Mi Cloud to do this.

For Google Contacts:

1. Go to contacts.google.com and log in.
2. Find a contact through a search or list.
3. Click on it, then on the pencil icon (✏️) editable.
4. After saving, the changes are synchronized with the phone for 5-10 minutes.

For Mi Cloud:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in to your Mi Account.
2. Select the Contacts section.
3. Edit the contact you need and save the changes.

The advantage of the web version is the ability to edit massively, for example, in Google Contacts you can:

• 🔍 Filter contacts by labels or groups.
• 📇 Combine duplicates automatically (Other actions) → Find and combine takes).
• 🗑️ Remove multiple contacts at the same time (check boxes and click Delete).

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Changes made through the web version of Google Contacts take precedence over local data on your phone. If your PC editing didn’t update your contact to Xiaomi, check your Internet connection and force your account to sync.

6. Export and import of contacts (backup)

Before mass editing or changing the phone, it is recommended to back up contacts. MIUI This can be done in.vcf (vCard) format, which is supported by all modern devices.

To export contacts:

1. Open Contacts. → Three points (⋮) → Contact management → Import/export of contacts → Exports to the vault.
2. Select an account (such as Google or Phone Memory).
3. Specify the folder to save (Downloads or Documents are recommended).
4. The file will be saved under the name contacts_YYYYMMDD.vcf.

To import contacts:

1. Place the.vcf file in the phone’s memory (for example, through Explorer or Google Drive).
2. In Contacts, select Import/Export → Imports from storage.
3. Specify the file and select an account to import (e.g. Google).

If there are errors in importation:

• 🔹 Check that the file is not corrupted (open it to the PC via Notepad – there should be readable text).
• 🔹 Make sure there is enough memory on your phone.
• 🔹 If you import a Google Account, check your internet connection.

7. Solving common contact issues

Even after editing correctly, Xiaomi users are faced with non-obvious bugs.

7.1. Contacts are not displayed in WhatsApp/Telegram

If you have added a new number but it does not appear in messengers:

• 📱 Check that the contact is saved in Google Account or phone memory (contacts on the phone) SIM-The card is often not recognized by messengers).
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.
• 📲 In the settings of the messenger, update the contact list (in WhatsApp: ⋮ → Update).

7.2. all contacts disappeared after the update MIUI

This happens if the sync settings are reset after the update.

1. Check if synchronization is included in Settings → Accounts and synchronization.
2. If the contacts were linked to Mi Account, log in again.
3. If there is no backup, try to restore contacts through Settings. → Memory. → Backup (if automatic backup is enabled).

Contact cannot be edited (Change button is inactive)

It means that the contact is protected from change.

• 🔒 Contact is tied to Mi Account, but sync is disabled. Enable it in the cloud settings.
• 📱 Contact saved on SIM-card and phone blocked editing (solution: copy contact to phone memory).
• 🛡️ Child Mode or Password Restrictions Enabled (check Settings) → Special facilities).

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If the contact cannot be edited due to the link to Mi Account, but synchronization does not help, try temporarily untie the account: Settings → Mi Account → Then the contacts will be local and editable.

8 Additional features: Groups, tags and fast dialing

V MIUI There are some useful tools for organizing contacts that many people don’t know about:

8.1 Contact groups

You can create groups (e.g., Work, Family, Friends) and send messages to all participants at once:

1. Open Contacts → Groups → Create a Group
2. Give me a name and add participants.
3. To send SMS Entire group, open it and press Send a message.

Tags (labels)

Labels help classify contacts without creating groups, such as labeling a contact as "VIP" or "Supplier":

1. Open contact. → Edit → Tags.
2. Select an existing label or create a new one.

Quick dialing

If you call the same person often, assign them a quick key:

1. Open the phone. → keyboard → Long press on the number (1–9).
2. Choose a link to tie.
3. Now, with a long press on this number in the application, the phone will automatically dial the number.

Also in MIUI There's a Favorite Contacts feature, which is displayed on a separate tab in the Contacts app and on the desktop widget. To add a contact to your favorites, open it and click on the asterisk (⭐) top-up.

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Groups and tags are synced only to Google Account, and if you use Mi Cloud, this data will only be available on Xiaomi devices.

FAQ: Frequent questions about contacts on Xiaomi