How to transfer contacts from Xiaomi phone to Google Account: all ways + problem solving

Introduction: Why sync your contacts with Google

Losing contacts when changing your smartphone is one of the most frustrating situations for a user. Even if you carefully save numbers to the Xiaomi phone book, without a backup, the risk of being left out of touch with important people remains. Google Account solves this problem: it automatically synchronizes contacts between all your devices, whether it is a new Redmi Note 13 or a tablet on Android.

But how do you move your contacts from Xiaomi to Google if you haven’t done it before? This article provides three working methods (including the hidden method for older versions of MIUI), a breakdown of common bugs, and tips for process optimization. The instructions are relevant for all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models on MIUI 12-15 and Android 11-14.

Before you start, check two things: 1) The phone should have an active Google account (you can add it to Settings → Accounts and Sync). 2 Make sure the phone is connected to the Internet (better via Wi-Fi to avoid traffic).

Method 1: Automatic synchronization through MIUI settings

The easiest method is to enable contact sync directly to the Xiaomi menu, which is suitable for most users and takes no more than 2-3 minutes.

1. Open the settings on your smartphone.
2. Go to Accounts and Sync (in some versions of MIUI, it may be called Passwords and Accounts).
3. Tap your Google Account (if not, add it through Add Account).
4. Activate the slider opposite Contact (and other data if necessary).
5. Click Sync Now (or More) → Synchronize in older versions).

After that, all contacts from the Xiaomi phone book will start uploading to Google Contacts, and you can check the result at contacts.google.com ( log in under the same account).

Internet connection (Wi-Fi/mobile data)

Google account added to phone settings

There is plenty of free space in the Google cloud (contacts take up little space, but it’s better to make sure)

Google Play Services Restrictions in Battery Settings Disabled-->

If the contacts are not synchronized, try:

• 🔄 Rebooting your phone – sometimes helps to reset temporary errors.
• 📱 Update Google Play Services in the Play Store.
• 🔧 Clear the cache of the "Contact" application (Settings) → Annexes → Contacts → Warehouse → Clear the cache).

Method 2: Exporting contacts to a VCF file and importing them to Google

If automatic synchronization doesn’t work (for example, due to the limitations of a corporate account), you can manually transfer contacts through a.vcf file. This method is universal and works even on older Xiaomi models (for example, Redmi 4X or Mi A1).

Instructions:

1. Open the Contacts app on your Xiaomi.
2. Press three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select Contact Management (or Import/Export).
3. Select Export to File → Specify a save location (e.g., Internal Memory).
4. Confirm export. The contacts.vcf file will appear in the Download or MIUI folder.

Now import the file to Google Contacts:

1. Open contacts.google.com on your computer or phone.
2. In the side menu, select Import → download the contacts.vcf file.
3. Wait until the import is complete (may take a few minutes if there are many contacts).

Advantages of this method:

• 🔐 It works without Internet connection at the export stage.
• 📁 You can back up contacts on your computer.
• ⚙️ Allows you to edit contacts before importing (e.g., delete duplicates).

Disadvantages:

• ⏳ It takes longer than automatic synchronization.
• 📱 Requires manual control (e.g., file encoding checks).

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If you have Xiaomi with global firmware (like Redmi Note 12 Global), the export menu may not have VCard 3.0 options. Select VCard 2.1 – this format is also supported by Google.

Method 3: Sync through the Google Contacts app (for MIUI with restrictions)

On some MIUI firmware (especially Chinese or custom) the standard Contacts app can block synchronization with Google, in which case the official Google Contacts app, which can be installed from the Play Store, will help.

How to do this:

1. Install the Google Contacts app.
2. Open it and log in to your Google Account.
3. In the upper right corner, click on the profile icon → Contact Synchronization settings.
4. Enable the option of Automatic Synchronization.
5. Return to the main menu and wait until the process is complete (it can take up to 10 minutes).

This method is especially useful if:

• 📵 It's on the phone. MIUI without Google services (e.g., Chinese version).
• 🔒 The standard Contacts app does not allow data export.
• 🔄 Only the selected contacts need to be synchronized (Google Contacts has filters).

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Google Contacts does not replace the standard Contacts app on Xiaomi, but runs in parallel. Once synchronized, you can use any of them – the data will be the same.

Table: Comparison of contact transfer methods

Typical errors and their solutions

Even when following the instructions, Xiaomi users sometimes encounter problems, and here are the most common mistakes and ways to fix them:

⚠️ Attention! If you have duplicates after syncing in Google Contacts, don't manually delete them. Use the Combine and Correct tool in Google Contacts settings, it will automatically find and combine the duplicate entries.

Problem 1: Contacts are not synchronized, even though the slider is on.

• 🔋 Check the battery limitations: go to Settings → Annexes → Application management → Google Play Services → Battery and disable Battery Optimization.
• 📶 Turn it off. VPN Proxies – they can block access to Google servers.
• 🔄 Update Google Services: Open the Play Store, search for Google Play Services and click Update.

Problem 2: Not all numbers are displayed in Google Contacts.

• 📇 Check the Contact Source: In the Contacts on Xiaomi app, open your settings and make sure that your contacts are displayed from your Google Account, not just your Phone.
• 🔍 Use the filter: in Google Contacts, click on three lines (☰) → Display contacts and select All contacts.

Issue 3: When importing VCF-The file is made with an error "Inadmissible format".

• 📄 Check the file encoding: open contacts.vcf in a notebook and save it in encoding UTF-8.
• 🔧 Remove unnecessary characters: sometimes service tags are added at the beginning of the file (for example, X-MIUI-VERSION). Remove them manually.

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If you change your smartphone frequently, set up an automatic backup of your contacts in Google. Go to Settings → Export in Google Contacts and enable periodic export to Google Drive.

How to check if your contacts have been successfully transferred

After synchronization, it's important to make sure that all the data is transmitted correctly.

1. Open contacts.google.com in your browser.
2. Check the number of contacts – it should match the number in the phone book Xiaomi (net of duplicates).
3. Open 2-3 random contacts and make sure they are saved: 📞 Phone numbers (including additional numbers). 📧 E-mail addresses. 🏠 Addresses and notes. 👤 Profile photos (if any).

Delete the test contact on your phone and check if it has disappeared in Google Contacts (this will confirm two-way sync).

If something doesn’t match, repeat the synchronization or use manual import (method 2).

Additional verification:

• 📱 On another device: Sign in to the same Google Account on another smartphone or tablet and make sure contacts are displayed.
• 🔄 Turn off the internet on Xiaomi and check if contacts are still there (if so, they are stored locally and in the cloud).

What to do after transferring contacts

Now that your contacts are safely saved in your Google Account, you can optimize your use of them:

• 🔄 Set up automatic synchronization: in Settings → Accounts and synchronization → Google Enables Autosynchronization of Data.
• 📁 Create Contact Groups: Google Contacts allows you to categorize numbers (e.g., Work, Family, and Family").
• 🔒 Set up backup: in Google Settings → Backup Enable Save Contacts in Google Drive.
• 📱 Remove Doubles: Use the Combine and Fix tool in Google Contacts.

Xiaomi user tip: If you use Mi Accounts often, export your contacts there. To do this, in Settings → Accounts and Sync → Mi Account, enable contact sync. So you have a double backup.

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After transferring contacts to Google, it is recommended to remove them from the local storage of the phone to avoid duplication. To do this, in the Contacts app on Xiaomi, select Contact Management → Delete contacts from the phone (but only after checking sync!).

FAQ: Frequent questions about moving contacts with Xiaomi to Google