How to Transfer Apps from One Xiaomi Phone to Another: A Complete 2026 Guide

Why migrating apps to Xiaomi requires a special approach

Xiaomi smartphones are powered by customized MIUI shells, which offer unique tools for data migration. However, many users face problems: apps don’t recover from a transfer, settings are lost or account data disappears. Standard methods like Google Backup often work incorrectly with Chinese firmware, and the Mi Mover feature has limitations on the MIUI version.

In this article, we will look at all the current ways to migrate applications between Xiaomi devices in 2026, including hidden shell features, bypassing Google restrictions and manual methods for power users.

Before you start, check:

• 📱 Both phones must be charged at least 50% (when using Mi Mover, discharging during the process will cause a failure).
• 🔄 Versions MIUI If the difference is greater than 2 versions (e.g, MIUI 13 → MIUI 15), compatibility issues may arise.
• 📶 A stable internet connection (for cloud methods) or cable USB-C/Type-C Data transmission support (for Mi Mover).

Method 1: Mi Mover is the official tool of Xiaomi

Mi Mover is Xiaomi's built-in solution for migrating data between brand devices, and it works on a point-to-point (no cloud) approach, and it transfers not only apps, but also SMS, contacts, photos.

First, the feature is only available on smartphones with MIUI 9 and later. Second, if the old phone has global firmware (MIUI Global) and the new one has Chinese (MIUI China), the transfer can end in error. Third, some system applications (for example, Mi Fit or Mi Home) do not migrate due to the link to the Xiaomi account.

How to use Mi Mover:

1. On the new phone, open Settings → About Phone → Mi Mover (or search by settings).
2. Select "I am a new user" (if you transfer data to this phone).
3. On your old phone, start Mi Mover and select Send Data.
4. Connect devices via Wi-Fi Direct (automatically) or OTG cable (if supported).
5. Select the data to transfer (required to mark "Applications") and confirm the beginning of the process.

Identical firmware regions (Global/China/EU)|Compatible versions MIUI (difference 2-version)|Disconnected VPN firewalls|Free space on the new phone (minimum) 1.5× from the amount of data transferred)-->

⚠️ Warning: If the transfer is frozen during the Preparation phase, do not interrupt the process manually. Wait 10-15 minutes - often the system continues to work in the background. If there is no change after 20 minutes, restart both phones and try again with a different type of connection (e.g. Wi-Fi Direct on cable).

Method 2: Backup with Mi Account

Cloud-based backup to Xiaomi accounts is an alternative to Mi Mover if devices cannot be physically connected to each other, which saves the list of installed apps and some of their data (but not all!), as well as system settings, and the main advantage is that you can restore a backup to a new phone at any time, even a week after purchase.

Limitations of the method:

• 🚫 Not all applications support backup (for example, banking applications or encrypted messengers).
• 📦 Cloud storage is limited to 5GB for free accounts.
• ⏳ Recovery can take hours if the backup weighs more than 1GB.

Instructions for creating a backup copy:

1. On your old phone, go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Backup of the device.
2. Click "Create backup" and select "Applications" (you can also note "System settings" for porting wallpaper, sounds, etc.).
3. Wait for the process to be completed (time depends on the number of applications).
4. On the new phone, log in to the same Xiaomi account and restore data through Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Restore from a backup.

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If the backup doesn’t recover, try temporarily disabling two-factor authentication in your Xiaomi account, which sometimes blocks access to the cloud when you change your device.

Method 3: Move over Google Backup (with reservations)

Google’s standard backup feature (Settings → Google → Backup) should theoretically work for Xiaomi, but in practice, there are often problems:

• 🔄 On Chinese firmware (MIUI China: Google services can be disabled by default.
• 📵 Some apps (especially Chinese ones) don’t support Google recovery.
• 🔒 Application data is restored only if the developer has implemented support for Android Backup Service.

How to use Google Backup on Xiaomi as efficiently as possible:

1. Make sure both phones have Google services enabled (Settings → Apps → App Management → Google Play Services → Allow auto-run and background activity).
2. On your old phone, turn on backup: Settings → Google → Backup → Data Backup.
3. After setting up the new phone, select “You can’t copy” during the “Data Copy” stage (this is deceptive text – the recovery option from Google will appear later).
4. Log in to the same Google account and select the latest backup.

⚠️ Note: If after recovery applications do not appear in the menu, check the folder /Android/data/ Sometimes the data is restored, but no shortcuts are created, in which case restart the phone or manually run the application through Settings. → Annexes.

Method 4: Manual transfer APK-file

For power users who want complete control of the process, manual porting of.apk files and application data is a good option, which takes longer, but ensures that all data is safe (unless the application uses cloud encryption).

What you need:

• 📱 File Manager with access to root folders (e.g. Mi File Manager or Solid Explorer).
• 🔌 Cable USB OTG plug-in.
• 💾 Enough space on the external media (volume of all applications) + 20% on service files).

Step-by-step:

1. On your old phone, turn on “Debugging by USB” (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times click on the version, then go back to Settings → Additional → For Developers).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and copy folders: /data/app/ # APK-file /sdcard/Android/obb/ # Additional game files /sdcard/Android/data/ # Data from some applications
3. Transfer the copied files to the new phone to the same folders (root or other rights will be required). ADB-folder /data/).
4. Identify the missing ones. APK-files manually and restart the phone.

⚠️ Note: Not all apps work properly after manual data transfer, for example, WhatsApp or Telegram may require re-authorization, and online-based games (such as Genshin Impact) may require reinstallation through an official store.

Method 5: Using third-party applications (Titanium Backup, Swift Backup)

If Xiaomi's built-in tools fail, specialized backup utilities will come to the rescue.

• 🔧 Titanium Backup (requires root) – saves applications, data, and even system settings.
• 📱 Swift Backup (runs without root on some firmware) – supports cloud synchronization.
• 🔄 App Cloner – creates copies of applications with their data (useful for duplicate messengers).

Example of Swift Backup:

1. Install the app on both phones from Google Play or APKMirror.
2. On an old phone, back up: select apps → Save → specify the location (internal memory or cloud).
3. Transfer the backup file to your new phone (via cable, cloud, or other devices) SD-map).
4. On the new phone, restore data via Swift Backup by selecting the backup you have created.

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The backup app side is the only way to migrate data to applications that do not support standard migration methods (e.g. modified APKs or locally encrypted applications).

Note that some applications (such as banking or DRM-protected) block work on devices with unlocked bootloader or root rights. If after recovery, such an application does not start, try:

• Remove it and re-install it from the official store.
• Reset Settings → Applications → [app name] → Storage → Clear data.
• Disable Magisk (if used) before installation.

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even if you follow the instructions correctly, you can get errors, and let's look at the typical scenarios and how to fix them:

Problem 1: Mi Mover doesn’t see the old device.

⚠️ Solution: Check whether Wi-Fi Direct is enabled on both phones (Settings) → Connections → Reboot both devices and try again. If you use a cable, try another one (not all cables support data transfer).

Problem 2: Applications are moved, but not opened.

⚠️ Solution: Check the compatibility of the application version with new firmware (e.g. old firmware) APK It may not work on Android 14. Clear the app cache: Settings → Annexes → [name] → If the app requires a license (such as paid games), log in to the same account as your old phone.

Problem 3: Game data is not portable (e.g., progress in Genshin Impact or Honor of Kings).

⚠️ Solution: Use the built-in game backup feature (usually in account settings). For miHoYo games, link your account to an email or phone number - progress is synchronized automatically. If the game saves data locally, copy the folder /Android/obb/[packet name] by hand.

Problem 4: SMS or contacts are lost after the transfer.

⚠️ Solution: Check if your contacts are synchronized with your Google Account or Mi Account. SMS through specialized applications such as SMS Backup & Restore. If you used Mi Mover, repeat the transfer by selecting only "SMS call-book".

FAQ: Answers to popular questions