How to transfer contacts with SIM-Maps to Google account on Xiaomi

Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphone owners often face the need to migrate data when switching to a new device or before performing a complete system reset. Contact information is one of the most valuable assets of the user, and its loss can be a serious problem. In the Android ecosystem, the most reliable and convenient way to store numbers is by linking to the Google cloud service, rather than storing it on a physical medium.

While SIM cards are reliable in terms of subscriber identification on the operator’s network, they have extremely limited storage capabilities. Older SIM formats do not support long numbers, Cyrillic names, or additional fields such as email or address. Moving records to Google’s cloud profile solves these problems by providing automatic synchronization between all your gadgets and instantaneous list recovery after reinstalling the system.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the migration process using standard MIUI and HyperOS shell tools. You will learn not only how to perform the transfer, but also how to avoid common mistakes such as creating duplicates or losing specific record fields. Data security and properly configuring an account are key factors for a successful operation.

Why it’s important to keep your contacts in the Google cloud, not SIM

A physical SIM card is a very small memory microchip developed in the early days of mobile communication. The current communication requirements vastly outweigh the capabilities of that medium. When stored on a SIM, you are limited by the number of characters in your name (usually 10-15 characters) and the lack of support for additional fields, making search and sorting inconvenient. In contrast, a Google account provides virtually limitless space.

Google Contacts cloud storage offers a number of undeniable advantages over local storage: first, it's independent of the physical device: even if the phone is lost, broken or stolen, your numbers will remain intact. Second, it's the ability to instantly transfer the entire phone book to a new smartphone just by logging into your account. Sync occurs in the background, updating changes in real time.

⚠️ Note: Keeping contacts exclusively on SIM-The card carries the risk of losing it completely if the chip is damaged or plastic is lost.

In addition, integration with Google services allows you to use smart features that are not available in local storage. Machine learning algorithms can automatically detect spam calls, offer contacts for calls based on context and search for people online. Only when synchronized with Google Contacts is the function of recovering deleted numbers for 30 days through the web interface available, which is a critical insurance against random user actions or software failures.

Cross-platform is also worth noting: If you ever decide to switch Xiaomi to Samsung or even an iPhone, your contacts will stay with you. Just add a Google account to your new device settings, and the entire phonebook will load automatically, making the migration between brands quick and painless, eliminating the need to manually interrupt hundreds of numbers or search for old SIM cards.

Preparing the device and account before the transfer

Before you start directly transferring data, you need to make sure that the device is ready for operation. First of all, check whether there is a stable connection to the Wi-Fi network or mobile Internet. Although the import process from the SIM card does not require much traffic, subsequent synchronization with Google servers may require data transfer, especially if you have a lot of records with photos.

The second critical step is to check the login credentials on your system: make sure your Xiaomi has a Google account added and active. Without this step, the device will have nowhere to store the imported data. Often users forget that a few acca-unts can be added to the device, and the data is stored in the wrong profile that they plan to use.

To check the current status of the account, follow the following steps:

• 📱 Open the Settings app on the main screen.
• 🔍 Find Accounts and Syncs (or just Accounts).
• 📧 Make sure your Gmail address is on the list.
• ✅ Click on your account and check that the Contacts switch is activated.

If you don't have an account, you need to add it through the Add Account button at the bottom of the screen. In the process of adding, the system will request a login and password. After successful authorization, make sure that contact synchronization is enabled, which will create a local copy of the cloud data on the device, which is necessary for the correct information merger.

Step-by-step: import contacts through the phone application

The fastest and standard way to transfer recordings to the MIUI shell is to use the built-in Phone application (callers). This method does not require installing third-party software and works on all Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco models. The interface may vary slightly depending on the OS version, but the logic of actions remains the same.

To start, open the Phone app and go to the Contacts tab. It's usually at the bottom of the screen or is accessible through the side menu. In the top right, look for the three-dot icon or the gear, which is the Contact Management Settings menu. We need Import/Export contacts.

After entering the control menu, select the Import option with SIM-The system will suggest selecting a SIM card if there are two on the phone (SIM 1 SIM 2) Choose the one that stores the numbers, then you'll be asked to choose your destination, and it's critical to choose your Google account, not your Phone or your Mi Account».

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If you have two SIM cards with contacts, repeat the import procedure for each of them separately so as not to lose any number.

The algorithm of actions can be represented in the form of a list:

• 📞 Open the phone application and go to Contacts.
• ⚙️ Click on the menu (three dots) and select Import/Export contacts.
• 📲 Select Import with SIM-cards and specify the desired slot.
• ☁️ Select your Google account (Gmail address).
• ✅ Confirm the action by pressing OK or Import.

Once confirmed, the copying process will begin. The progress bar may appear on the screen; when the operation is completed, the system will notify you of the successful import; now all the numbers previously on the SIM have been copied to the cloud; however, at this stage they can exist on the SIM and in the cloud, which requires further verification.

Alternative method through the Contacts and Settings app

If for some reason the standard call app doesn’t display the menu items you want, you can use the Contacts system app (a yellow icon with a human silhouette) or direct access through system settings, which is sometimes more informative, as it shows detailed storage statistics.

In the Contacts app, you also need to find the management menu (three points -> Import with SIM-The only difference is the contact selection interface, where you can tick specific numbers visually, unless you plan to carry the entire list.

The third option is through deep system settings, which is useful if the application shortcuts are hidden or deleted. Go to Settings -> Apps -> All Apps. Find Contacts. Inside the app menu, select Storage (or Memory). There's often an Import/Export button.

Regardless of the path you choose, the key is to choose the right storage location. In MIUI, it often looks like a list of radio buttons. Make sure you pick a line with the Google logo and your email address. If you choose Phone, the contacts will only be stored in the device's memory and not protected from reset.

Removal of duplicates and verification of results

Once imports are complete, there are often situations where double entries appear in the phone book, one from the SIM card, the other from the cloud, which happens if you have previously synced some numbers or if the import was incorrect, duplicates make it difficult to find and can lead to confusion when calling.

Google Contacts has a built-in tool to merge records. Open your browser on your computer or phone, go to contacts.google.com and log in. From the menu on the left, select Combine and Correct (or Similar Contacts).

⚠️ Attention: When automatically combining contacts, always check the result. Sometimes the system may mistakenly combine different people with the same names (for example, two different "Alexei") if they have the same parameters.

On the Xiaomi device itself, you can also filter the contacts you display, go to the contact display settings and select only those in your Google account to show you if the transfer has been successful, and if you see numbers that should have been moved but are not in the cloud, repeat the import procedure.

For manual cleaning on the phone:

• 🧹 Open the Contacts app.
• 🔍 Click on the search or control menu.
• 🔗 Select the option to Combine Duplicates (if available in your version) MIUI).
• 👀 Visually check the list for repeating names.

Once cleaned, it is recommended to perform forced synchronization. Go to Settings -> Accounts and Sync -> Google. Click on three dots in the corner and select Sync. This ensures that all changes made on the device are transmitted to the server, and vice-versa.

Frequent mistakes and ways to solve them

Users may encounter various technical problems in migrating data, and one of the most common mistakes is to say, “Can’t import contacts,” which is often due to overflowing SIM card memory (if you’re trying to export it) or having trouble reading damaged SIM memory cells.

Another common problem is that contacts are imported with strange characters instead of letters (crackets). This is a question of encoding. SIM cards often use outdated text encoding standards that can be misinterpreted by modern smartphones when reading directly, in which cases manual brute force or the use of an intermediate step (for example, importing into the memory of the phone, correcting names, and then transferring to Google).

If the import is interrupted in the middle, don't panic. Check the contact list on Google's web version. Most likely, some of the records have already been saved. Don't try to start the process again immediately so as not to create chaos from the takes. First remove partially imported records from the cloud (via the web interface to do this faster), and then try again.

Also worth mentioning is the problem of long numbers: If a SIM card has an international number with extra characters (for example, through dashes or brackets that the SIM does not support), it can be cropped or recorded incorrectly. Google Contacts allows you to edit the number after import, adding the country code (+7 or +380, etc.) for the correct operation of the messengers.

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Regularly checking the web version of Google Contacts (contacts.google.com) is the best way to make sure your data is secure and properly sorted.