Changing your smartphone is always accompanied by a desire to save all the important data, and messages are not the last place. Correspondence with family, confirmation codes from banks and work instructions often contain information that can not be restored again. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices have several proven tools for data migration.
Transfer process SMS-Messages on Xiaomi can be very different depending on which operating system is installed on your old device. If you move from Android, the problem is solved by regular means in a couple of minutes. iPhone owners will have to resort to third-party solutions or cloud services to export chat history.
In this article, we will take a detailed look at all the available methods, from the built-in Mi Mover app to using Google backups, and learn how to avoid data loss and what to do if standard methods fail.
⚠️ Before starting any data transfer operations, make sure that both devices are at least 50% charged to avoid a sudden shutdown at a critical moment.
Using the Mi Mover app to migrate from Android
The most efficient and quick way to send a text message to a new Xiaomi phone is to use the proprietary Mi Mover utility, which is pre-installed on all modern devices of the brand and allows you to transfer data over a local Wi-Fi channel without using Internet traffic, this solution is ideal for switching from an old Android smartphone to a new Xiaomi.
To get started, you need to open the app on both devices, and on the new phone, select Receiver, and on the old phone, Sender. The system will automatically create an access point or prompt you to scan. QR-Make sure that the old phone has all the necessary permissions to access messages and contacts.
Once you have established the connection, you will see a list of data categories, select the Messages (or SMS) section, and if you want to transfer media files from correspondence, make sure that the MMS option is activated, although this will significantly increase the transfer time.
☑️ Check before launching the Mi Mover
It's important to understand that the speed of the transfer depends on the amount of accumulated correspondence history. If you have thousands of conversations, the process can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, do not interrupt the connection and keep the screens on until the final completion report appears.
Transferring SMS from iPhone to Xiaomi via cloud services
The transition from iOS to Android, in particular to Xiaomi, is subject to certain limitations due to the closed Apple ecosystem. SMS-Messaging via cable or local connection is often impossible without the use of specialized paid programs on a PC.
The method is to first save all messages from your iPhone to the Google cloud, and then restore them to the new device. To do this, you will need to install the Google Drive app from the App Store on your iPhone. In the application settings, find the Backup section and activate contact and message sync.
Once the backup is created, take your new Xiaomi phone. When you initially set up or through the data recovery menu, log in to the same Google account. The system will prompt you to recover data from the last copy, and your SMS will appear in the standard messaging app.
⚠️ Note: iMessage (blue correspondence between iPhones) is not portable to Android devices. SMS and MMS (green-mail).
If the standard method through Google Drive didn’t work, you can use the “Move to iOS” app in the opposite direction, but this requires Xiaomi to reset to factory settings, which is not always convenient.
Why are messages from WhatsApp not being moved?
Recovery of correspondence from the Google cloud (Sync)
Modern versions of Android, including the MIUI shell and HyperOS, are closely integrated with Google services, which allows you to automatically save your SMS history to the cloud without user intervention. If your old phone was enabled sync, then it is easy to log in to your account to restore data on the new Xiaomi.
You can check if a backup was created on your old device. Go to Settings → Google → Backup. In this section, you will see the date of the last copy and a list of the devices for which it is relevant. Make sure that the Messages slider is activated.
When you set up a new Xiaomi phone, during the initial boot process, the system will ask if you want to restore data from the cloud. Choose the right backup and wait for the process to end. Messages will appear in the application automatically after sync is completed.
- 📱 This method does not require additional software installation, as it is part of the system.
- ☁️ Data is stored in Google’s secure cloud and does not take up space in your phone’s memory.
- 🔄 Sync occurs automatically when connected to Wi-Fi if the auto-update option is enabled.
It’s worth noting that it can take some time to recover from the Google cloud, especially if you have a slow internet connection, and it’s not a good option if your old phone didn’t have a Google account login or no internet connection.
Alternative methods: third-party applications and PC
If the regular funds fail or you need to transfer messages from a button phone, third-party solutions come to the rescue. SMS Backup & Restore. It allows you to create a universal XML-A file with all correspondence that can be opened on any Android device.
The process of working with this tool is simple: install the application on both phones. On the old device, back up and save it to Google Drive or locally. On the new Xiaomi, install the same application, specify the path to the file and start recovery. The program will redirect the messages to the system database.
For advanced users, there is a way to work through a computer, using tools like the Mi PC Suite (old models) or universal Android managers, you can upload an SMS database to a PC, but this method requires root rights or complex USB debugging configurations, which is not recommended for ordinary users.
| Method | Speed. | Difficulty | Support for MMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mi Mover | Tall. | Low. | Yes. |
| Google Drive | Medium | Low. | Yes. |
| SMS Backup & Restore | Medium | Medium | Yes. |
| Manual transfer (SIM) | Low. | Low. | No. |
Using third-party software gives you more control over the process, you can choose specific dialogs to migrate, which is impossible to do with a full system restoration, and this is especially true if you want to save only business correspondence, ignoring spam.
Transfer of messages through SIM-map
The oldest and least functional way is to copy SIM-It can be useful in emergency situations when there is no Internet, Wi-Fi router or computer at hand, but you need to urgently move the SIM to the new Xiaomi and save a few important numbers or short notifications.
Technology SIM-It's a very limited card, and it's usually a chip that can only hold 250 messages, and then only text messages. SMS And any attachments (photos, audio) will be cut off, and modern smartphones often don't have the SIM card recording feature in the standard menu at all.
To try this method, open the Messages app on your old phone, go to settings and select Copy on SIM-After repositioning the card to a new phone, in the Xiaomi Message Settings, select "Show Messages from the SIM-"Maps" and copy them to the device memory.
⚠️ Note: When copying the SIM-The card often loses the sender information (the contact can be displayed as a number) and the date of receipt of the message.
For button-phone owners who are switching to a Xiaomi smartphone, this method may be the only bridge to carry contacts and short text notes if other digital ways are not available.
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Save important codes from banks and two-factor authentication separately! When transferring messages to a new device, some security services may require re-verification, and old codes may cease to work or be unreadable by the new system.
Frequent problems and their solution
Despite the fact that processes are fine, users can encounter errors, most often the problem lies in the incompatibility of Android versions or insufficient access rights. For example, on Android 11 and above, the rules for accessing the file system have changed, which makes some backup applications unable to read the SMS database without special permissions.
If Mi Mover is stuck in the messaging phase, try turning off mobile internet on both devices, leaving only Wi-Fi. Sometimes background download updates interrupt the local connection, and it’s worth checking if one of the phones is in “Energy Saving” mode, which can limit background processes.
In case the messages are restored but appear as "Unknown Numbers", the problem may be synchronizing contacts. Make sure the phone book has also been moved and linked to a Google or Mi Account. Without matching numbers in contacts, the correspondence history may look anonymized.
- 🔋 Check if the phone is not "Flight" mode, which blocks the reception of SMS for confirmation.
- 📂 Make sure that the internal drive of the new Xiaomi has enough free space to unpack the archive of messages.
- 🔐 If device encryption is enabled, make sure you know the password as it may be required to access the recovered data.
In rare cases, cleaning the Messages app cache on a new device before starting the recovery procedure helps. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps → Messages → Clear the cache. This will not delete your data, but will reset temporary program errors.
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The golden rule of migration: always use a combination of methods. Try Mi Mover first, and for critical data, make an additional copy via SMS Backup & Restore on Google Drive.