How to Transfer WhatsApp from Xiaomi to Xiaomi: Complete Guide

Changing a smartphone, even within a single brand, often raises concerns about preserving important data, and WhatsApp comes first. Xiaomi device owners are in a better position than users of different ecosystems, thanks to the built-in MIUI and HyperOS tools that allow you to automate the migration process. However, there are subtleties associated with access rights and Android versions that can turn a simple procedure into a complex quest to recover correspondence.

In this article, we will discuss in detail all the current ways to transfer watsap from shaomi to shaomi, including the use of local copies, cloud services and specialized utilities from the manufacturer. You will learn why the standard method through Google Drive may not work on a new device without prior configuration and how to avoid losing media files when changing the device. Proper preparation of an old phone will save you hours of time and nerves when setting up a new gadget.

Before taking action, make sure both devices are ready to sync. It is critical that both smartphones have the same version of the WhatsApp Messenger or WhatsApp Business app installed. Version differences can lead to errors when reading backup files, especially if the database format was changed by developers in a recent update.

Preparing devices and accounts for migration

Successful data transfer begins long before the copying process is complete. The first step is to check your associated phone number and Google account. Make sure that on your old WhatsApp device, in the Settings section. → chat → The backup of the chats is the Google account you have access to on your new phone, a basic requirement that makes cloud recovery impossible to ignore.

Also worth paying attention to the free space in memory: local backups of WhatsApp take up a significant amount, especially if you actively share videos and photos. Before starting the procedure, free up a few gigabytes on the internal drive of the new Xiaomi smartphone, so that the system can unpack archives with the history of correspondence.

⚠️ WARNING: If you use two-factor authentication on WhatsApp, be sure to remember or write it down. PIN-Without it, it will be impossible to restore access to your account on a new device, even with a full backup.

Be sure to connect both devices to a stable Wi-Fi network. Download backup from the cloud or transfer data through Mi Mover consumes traffic, the volume of which can be significant. Using a mobile network is not recommended, as the process can be interrupted by unstable signal, which will damage the archive.

Method 1: Use of local backups

The most reliable and quick way to move watsap from shaomi to shaomi, regardless of Internet speed and cloud storage, is to use local backups. WhatsApp's Android app defaults to create a copy of the database on the internal drive every day at 2:00 a.m. These files are stored in the folder /Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases (on newer versions of Android) or /WhatsApp/Databases (on older versions).

The method is to manually copy these files to a new device, and you'll need a file manager, like the one built into MIUI Explorer or a third-party File Manager. Find a file with the name msgstore.db.crypt14 (the number may vary) is your last backup. Copy this file and the entire WhatsApp folder to the new phone in a similar directory.

It is important to keep the folder structure in mind. If a new phone has a folder created after the first application is installed, replace the contents with your files. After copying, install WhatsApp on the new device, but don't open it yet. First, make sure the files are on the right path. When you first start, the messenger will find a local copy and prompt you to restore the data from it.

Method 2: The Mi Mover utility

Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone owners are more fortunate than others, as the MIUI/HyperOS shell preinstalled the Mi Mover app, which is designed specifically for data migration between brand devices and is able to correctly transfer data from apps, including WhatsApp, along with the history of correspondence.

To start, run Mi Mover on both devices. On the old phone, select "I send" and on the new phone, "I accept." After pairing through the phone, select "I send" QR-code or manual code, in the data list to transfer, find the "WhatsApp" section. Make sure that the tick is not only on the application itself, but also on the "App Data" item, if such option is displayed separately.

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When using Mi Mover, do not lock your phone screens during transmission, which can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour depending on the amount of media you have accumulated.

Once the transfer is complete, take your time to open WhatsApp on your new device. Give the system a few minutes to index files in the background. In some cases, especially on Android 11 and above, direct data transfer via Mi Mover may not be picked up automatically by the messenger due to system security limitations.

If the chats are empty after installing the app, you will still have to use the method with a local copy described above. Mi Mover in this case will help quickly transfer “heavy” media files (photos and videos), and the text base is better restored through the standard WhatsApp mechanism to ensure the integrity of encryption keys.

Method 3: Recovery via Google Drive

The classic method, which works on all Android smartphones, including Xiaomi, requires a stable Internet connection and enough space on Google Drive, which is ideal if you don't have the ability to connect your phones with cable or Wi-Fi Direct.

On your old device, go to Settings → Chats → Chats → Backup Chats and click “Backup.” Make sure the copy is completed successfully and you see the current date and time. Also check if the tick on “Add Video” is important if you want to save video messages and videos from chats.

On the new phone, log in to the same Google account, install WhatsApp from the Play Market, and enter the same phone number. The app will automatically detect the backup in the cloud and prompt you to recover data, a process that can take a long time, as files will be downloaded from the Internet.

⚠️ Note: Google Drive backups do not take up space in your storage only if they are created before November 12, 2026 or you have a Google One subscription.

The main drawback of the method is that it cannot tolerate the application’s settings, such as the theme, notifications for specific contacts or privacy settings, and you will have to reconfigure them manually.

Solving access rights issues on Android 11-14

With the release of new versions of Android, Google has tightened security policies by restricting application access to the file system, and this has also affected WhatsApp on Xiaomi smartphones, and now the app can’t just read the backup folder unless you give it special permission.

When you try to restore a local copy on a new phone, you may see a message that WhatsApp does not see backups, in which case the system itself will prompt you to go to the settings and give permission to access files, you need to find the "All Files" or "Manage all files" option in the permission list and activate it for WhatsApp.

Sometimes standard resolution is not enough, and you might need to use a third-party file manager with extended rights, like Total Commander or Files by Google, to force files to be moved to the right system folder, where the messenger has access.

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On Android 11 and up, the path to backups has changed. The old path /WhatsApp/ is no longer the main one, the system requires you to place files in /Android/media/com.whatsapp/ to work properly.

Also, consider that the MIUI shell is aggressively power-saving. If the recovery process is interrupted in the middle, go to Settings → Battery and Performance, find WhatsApp and select No Limits mode, which will prevent the system from closing the process in the background.

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