Today’s smartphone users often face the need to transfer data when changing their device or after accidentally resetting their settings. Contacts are one of the most valuable categories of information, the loss of which can be critical for business or personal communication. Xiaomi’s ecosystem offers powerful cloud storage Mi Cloud, which by default saves the phone book if the appropriate option is enabled.
However, many device owners do not know where exactly the backup of numbers is located and how to access it through the browser or phone settings. In this article, we will discuss in detail all the ways to view stored data, how to upload it and solve common problems with displaying records.
Where is the data stored and why do you need a Mi Account?
The main place of personal information storage in Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices is the Mi Cloud service. This is analogous to Google Contacts, but integrated directly into the MIUI or HyperOS shell. When logged in, the user gets access to a single space where not only phone numbers, but also SMS, notes, voice recordings and device location are synchronized.
Cloud storage ensures data security even in the event of physical loss of the gadget, synchronization takes place in the background, so the current version of the phone book is always available on the company's servers, which allows you to log into your account from your computer or a new smartphone at any time and instantly restore all necessary connections.
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Check sync status regularly in your settings to make sure new numbers are saved in the cloud, not just in memory. SIM-map.
It's important to understand the difference between on-premises storage and cloud storage. SIM-A card or internal memory without synchronization, you can't see it through the web interface, which is why automatic synchronization with the Mi Cloud is a key condition for remote access to the phone book.
Viewing contacts through the web version of Mi Cloud
The fastest way to view saved numbers without using the smartphone itself is to log in via a browser on a computer or tablet, which requires you to go to the official website of the cloud service and log in using your Mi Account. The web version interface is fully adapted for data management and allows you to perform basic operations.
Once logged in, the user opens a control panel where they select Contacts, which displays a complete list of all the saved records that have been synced to the devices associated with that account, and the Web interface allows them not only to view numbers, but also to edit them, add new ones, or delete duplicates.
What if the list is empty?
The web version also includes the ability to mass manage records, so you can select multiple contacts at once, change their group or copy information, which is especially useful when preparing data for transfer to devices of other brands that do not use the Xiaomi ecosystem.
Checking synchronization in the settings of the smartphone
Before you try to recover data, you need to make sure that it has actually been sent to the cloud. To do this, take your smartphone and go to the settings menu. Find the account section, which in MIUI shells is usually called "Mi Account" or "Xiaomi Cloud."
Within this section, you should select Sync, and here's a list of all the types of data that can be stored in the cloud, and we're interested in Contacts, which should have an activity indicator or a sync mark next to it, and if the switch is off, the data is only stored locally.
☑️ Verification of synchronization status
Often users are faced with a situation where synchronization is enabled, but the data is not updated, in which case you need to click the "Sync" button manually, and it is also worth checking for an active Internet connection, since data exchange is impossible without access to a Wi-Fi network or mobile Internet.
| Parameter | "On" status | "Switched off" status | Action. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synchronization | Active. | Stopped. | Switch on. |
| Wi-Fi connection | There is. | No. | Connect the network |
| Last update | Just now. | Long time ago. | Manually upgrade |
| Warehouse | Available. | Overflowing. | Clear the place. |
Export and import of telephone book
One of the main reasons users need to view contacts in an account is to transfer them. Xiaomi’s ecosystem makes it easy to export data in a universal.vcf (vCard) format, which is supported by almost all modern smartphones, including iPhone, Samsung and other Android models.
To export through the Mi Cloud web interface, you need to select the right contacts (or select all at once), click on the menu icon and select the Export option. The file will be downloaded to the device from which the login is made, after which it can be transferred in any convenient way, which is the ideal method for creating a local backup.
The reverse process, import, is also easy. In the web interface or in the Contacts app on Xiaomi's smartphone, you need to select the "Import from a file" function and indicate the path to the previously stored archive, the system automatically recognizes the format and suggests that you allocate the numbers to the appropriate fields.
⚠️ Warning: When importing contacts from a third-party file, always check the encoding. If the letters are not clear characters, try changing the encoding of the file to UTF-8 before loading.
Recovery of deleted numbers
Accidental deletion of important numbers is a bad situation, but in the case of Mi Cloud, it is often fixable: the cloud service stores deleted items in a special basket for a limited time (usually 30 days), which gives the user the opportunity to restore contacts without losing data.
To use this feature, you need to log into the web version of the cloud, go to the contacts section and find the Recycle Bin or Recently Deleted button, and here you will see a list of all the records that have been erased in the last month, select the ones you need and click Restore.
If more than 30 days have passed since the deletion, standard methods will not be able to return data, in which case only having previously created backups on third-party media or in other accounts (for example, Google) can help, so regularly exporting important data remains the best security strategy.
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The Recycle Bin in Mi Cloud stores remote contacts for only 30 days, after which they are deleted irrevocably.
Solution: Contacts are not displayed
Sometimes users have a problem when there are contacts in the account, but they are not displayed on the phone, most often this is due to the filtering settings in the Contacts app. By default, only certain groups or sources can be displayed, for example, only with the contact information. SIM-map.
To rectify the situation, open the phonebook app, click on the menu (three dots or bars) and select Display Settings or Contacts to Display. Make sure it ticks against All Contacts or specifically Mi Cloud, which will force the list to be updated and show all available records.
⚠️ Note: If after turning on the display of all contacts they never appeared, try to clear the cache of the application “Contacts” through the system settings, but do not delete its data, so as not to erase the local database.
Another reason could be desynchronization due to a password change or login issues, in which case it is recommended to log out of Mi Account in the phone settings and log in again, which will trigger a forced status check and update all cloud data.