Transferring WhatsApp correspondence to another Xiaomi phone: all ways of 2026

Moving to a new Xiaomi smartphone is always exciting, but losing valuable WhatsApp chats can cloud the joy of updating, especially if you have important documents, photos or memories in your correspondence. Fortunately, transferring your message history between Android devices is possible — and we’ll show you how to do it without losing it.

Many users mistakenly believe that it is enough to simply copy the WhatsApp folder to a new phone, which in practice only works in 30% of cases, most often leading to recovery errors or loss of media files. MIUI (Xiaomi firmware has features of working with storage, and the messenger itself uses backups to the Google account and device ID. In this article, current ways of transfer, including bypassing typical problems on Redmi smartphones, POCO mi.

If you move from an iPhone to Xiaomi, the process is different — we'll talk about this separately — and this is just about transferring between Android devices, including when the old phone is lost or not turned on, and starting with the most reliable method, official backup through Google Drive.

1.Preparation for the transfer: what to do before changing the phone

WhatsApp chat transfer requires some pre-preparedness, so you could lose some data or experience some recovery errors, starting by checking the key parameters on your old phone:

✅ Update WhatsApp to the latest version.Odd versions of the messenger (especially below 2.23.12) may not support modern backup protocols. Check up to date on Google Play or through Settings → Help in the annex itself.

✅ Free up space on Google Drive. The backup of chats takes from 100MB (text only) to 10MB+ GB (with media files) Make sure there is enough space in your Google account or you won't create a copy. Clean your cart or buy extra space if you need to.

✅ Connect your old phone to Wi-Fi. Mobile backups may be interrupted due to traffic restrictions or unstable connections. Use a stable Wi-Fi network at a speed of at least 5 Mbps.

⚠️ Note: If the old phone has encrypted chats (the option is Encrypted backup in WhatsApp settings), you will need to remember the password. Without it, it will be impossible to restore a copy on the new Xiaomi - the messenger does not provide mechanisms for resetting this password.

• 📱 Check the version. MIUI On the new Xiaomi: go to Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI. It is recommended for successful recovery MIUI 12.5+.
• 🔄 Sync your contacts with your Google or Xiaomi account, without which the names of the interlocutors in the chats will appear as phone numbers.
• 🔋 Charge both phones to a minimum. 50%. The transfer process may take up to 1-2 clocks with a lot of data.
• 📁 Make sure there's enough memory on the new phone. WhatsApp's history with media files may be taking 5-15 GB.

If you use two-factor authentication on your Google Account, temporarily disable it or prepare backup codes. MIUI You can request confirmation when you first sign in to Google Drive on a new device.

2.Official method: backup through Google Drive

It is the most reliable method recommended by WhatsApp itself, and works on all Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi, POCO and Mi) and guarantees the transfer of all history, including media files, stickers and voice messages, the main condition is that both phones must be linked to the same Google account.

Instructions for the old phone:

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the ⋮ → Settings → chat → Backup copy of the chat.
2. Click Create a copy (if you have recently created a copy, select Backup in Google Drive).
3. Select the Google account that the new Xiaomi is linked to.
4. Specify the network to copy (only Wi-Fi is recommended).
5. Wait until the process is complete. The time depends on the amount of data (from 5 minutes to 1 hour).

Once you have created a copy, don’t delete WhatsApp from your old phone or log out of your Google account – this may interrupt the sync process.

Instructions for the new Xiaomi:

1. Install WhatsApp from Google Play and open it.
2. Check the phone number (should match the old device!).
3. When a request for recovery appears, click Restore.
4. Select the same Google account as on your old phone.
5. Wait until the download is complete. Don't close the application during the process!

⚠️ Note: If you have already installed WhatsApp on the new Xiaomi and you are logged in to your account, delete it completely (including the folder). /sdcard/WhatsApp) Otherwise, the messenger may not offer the recovery option.

WhatsApp removed from the new phone?|Is the same Google account being used?|Is there enough space for the new Xiaomi?|Is the phone connected to Wi-Fi?|Does the phone number match?-->

3. Alternative method: transfer via local copy (without Google Drive)

If you don't have access to Google Drive or you don't have a backup, you can transfer chats through local storage, which is suitable for root-access devices or when you use Xiaomi with an unlocked bootloader, but it works on standard firmware as well. MIUI.

You'll need:

• 📱 Xiaomi’s Old and New Phone (or Other Android).
• 🔌 Cable OTG file-transfer.
• 📁 File Manager (e.g. Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).

Step 1. Create a local copy on your old phone:

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the ⋮ → Settings → chat → Backup copy of the chat → Local backup.
2. Click Create a copy. The file will be saved in the folder. /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases name-name msgstore.db.crypt14 (or crypt12/13 old-form).

Step 2. Move your files to the new Xiaomi:

1. Connect your old phone to your computer and copy the entire WhatsApp folder (including Media and Databases subfolders) to your PC.
2. Connect the new Xiaomi and paste the WhatsApp folder into the root directory of internal memory (/sdcard/).

Step 3: Restore chats on your new phone:

1. Install WhatsApp on the new Xiaomi (but don’t open it!).
2. Rename the backup file with msgstore.db.crypt14 on msgstore.db.crypt12 (This bypasses the restriction on the encryption version).
3. Launch WhatsApp, confirm your phone number, and wait for suggestions to restore chats from your local copy.

⚠️ Note: If the new Xiaomi has already installed WhatsApp and you are logged in to the account, be sure to delete the folder /sdcard/WhatsApp Otherwise, the messenger will ignore the local copy and create a new empty base.

4.Chat transfer if the old phone is lost or broken

It gets more complicated if you don't have access to your old device, but even then you can still recover the correspondence, provided you have backed up your Google Drive or your computer.

Option 1: Restore from Google Drive

1. Install WhatsApp on the new Xiaomi.
2. When you first start, enter the same phone number as the old device.
3. When a request appears, select Restore from Google Drive.
4. Please specify the Google account that was used for the copy.

Option 2: Retrieval of data from a damaged phone

If the old phone turns on but doesn't respond to touch:

• 🔌 Connect it to the computer through USB-cable.
• 🖥️ Use it. ADB-Extract WhatsApp folder commands: adb pull /sdcard/WhatsApp C:\Backup\WhatsApp (substitute C:\Backup\ pathway).
• 📁 Transfer data to the new Xiaomi and restore it through a local copy (see Section 3).

⚠️ Note: If encryption was enabled on the damaged phone MIUI (In the security settings, you can't get the data out without unlocking it, and then you can only hope to back up your Google Drive.

5. Typical errors and their solutions

Even with the exact instructions, Xiaomi users have problems migrating WhatsApp, and let’s look at the most common errors and how to fix them.

If none of these methods worked, try alternative tools:

• 🛠️ Dr.Fone – WhatsApp Transfer (Payable PC Software, Supported by Xiaomi).
• 📱 Samsung Smart Switch Backup & Restore (Works on Xiaomi via Samsung Smart Switch) APK).
• 🔧 Titanium Backup (requires root but stores 100% of data).

1. delete your Google account and add it again to Settings → Accounts.

2. Clear the Google Play Services cache in Settings → Annexes → Application management → Google Play Services → Warehouse → Clear the cache.

3.Use VPN (Sometimes it helps with regional restrictions).-->

6. Features of transfer to Xiaomi with custom firmware

If your Xiaomi is running on unofficial firmware (like LineageOS, Pixel Experience or Google). MIUI by xiaomi.eu), the WhatsApp port process may differ:

🔹 No Google Services. Some custom firmware doesn't include Google services by default:

• Set it open. GAPPS or NikGApps through TWRP.
• Use local backup (see Section 3).

🔹 Altered storage structure. Some firmware folders /sdcard/ It may be called otherwise (for example, /storage/emulated/0/). Make sure you copy WhatsApp to the correct directory.

🔹 Problems with the storage permit. MIUI by Xiaomi.eu may need to manually issue permits:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management → WhatsApp → Permissions.
2. Turn on Warehouse, Contacts and Microphone.
3. Activate the option to Change System Settings (if available).

⚠️ Note: On firmware without Google Play Services (such as MicroG), backup in Google Drive will not work, in which case only local porting or using third-party tools like Swift Backup (requires root root).

1. Google Services (if you need Google Drive)

2. Correct folder structure of the storage.

3. Permissions for WhatsApp to access contacts and files.-->

7.How to keep a backup for the future

To avoid data loss in the future, set up an automatic backup on WhatsApp.This is especially true for Xiaomi users, as it is a very important tool for users. MIUI tends to clear the app cache in the background.

Set up automatic reservation:

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the ⋮ → Settings → chat → Backup copy of the chat.
2. Click Backup on Google Drive.
3. Choose the copy frequency: Daily, Weekly or Monthly.
4. Specify a Google account to store copies.
5. Activate the option Only when connected to Wi-Fi to avoid wasting mobile traffic.

🔹 Additional precautions:

• 📅 Manually create a local copy once a month (via Settings) → chat → Backup copy of the chat → Local backup).
• ☁️ Store copies in two clouds: in addition to Google Drive, download the file msgstore.db.crypt14 in Yandex Disk or Dropbox.
• 🔐 If you use an encrypted copy, save the password in the password manager (for example, Bitwarden or KeePassDX).

⚠️ Note: WhatsApp only stores the latest backup in Google Drive. If you create a new copy, the old one will be overwritten. To save multiple versions, manually copy the file. msgstore.db.crypt14 to the computer after each important backup.

FAQ: Frequent questions about moving WhatsApp to Xiaomi