Xiaomi’s Mi Mover: A Complete Data Portability Guide

If you've recently purchased a new Xiaomi smartphone, or just want to migrate data from your old device to your new one, you've probably come across the name Mi Mover. It's a Xiaomi-branded app that's designed to make it easier for people to migrate contacts, photos, messages and other important files between devices. But how does it work? What data does it support? And why does it sometimes end up with a mistake?

In this article, we’ll take a look at Mi Mover in detail, from basic features to hidden features that the manufacturer doesn’t always advertise, how to properly prepare both smartphones for portability, what file formats are supported, and what to do if the application is “hanging” during the transfer stage, and we’ll also compare Mi Mover with alternative migration methods, from cloud services to physical copying via cable.

We will focus on the hidden limitations of the program, which Xiaomi does not mention in the official instructions, for example, why it can take 2-3 times longer to transfer some applications than stated, or why on devices with a mobile device. MIUI 14+ The Mi Mover algorithm has changed, so if you're planning to change your smartphone or just want to back up, this guide will help you avoid mistakes.

What is Mi Mover and why is it needed?

Mi Mover is a standard application from Xiaomi, preinstalled on all smartphones of the brand under the control of the smartphone. MIUI. Its main task is to transfer data between devices over a wireless network (Wi-Fi Direct) or through a cable:

• 📱 Contacts (including call history)
• 📸 Photos and videos (with the preservation of folder structure)
• 💬 Communications (SMS/MMS, and chat rooms of some messengers)
• 🎵 Music and audio files
• 📄 Documents (PDF, Word, Excel, etc.)
• 📌 Notes and calendar
• 🔧 System settings (wallpaper, sound profiles, some parameters) MIUI)

It’s important to understand that Mi Mover isn’t just a clone of Google Drive or Samsung Smart Switch, but it has unique features:

• 🔄 It works without the Internet (data is transmitted directly between devices).
• 🚀 Supports portability between Android devices of different brands (not only Xiaomi).
• 🔒 Encrypts data during transmission (although the level of protection is inferior to cloud services).
• 📦 Can restore data from a backup created earlier.

But Mi Mover has limitations, like, you know, it can't stand:

• 🎮 Installed applications (only their data if the application is already installed on the target device).
• 🔐 Passwords from Wi-Fi (starting with the MIUI 13).
• 💳 Banking Application Data (due to security policy).

How Mi Mover works: Technical details

Mi Mover uses a combination of technologies to transfer data. Let's take a closer look at this process.

1. Connection: Devices connect to each other via Wi-Fi Direct (if wireless mode is used) or via cable USB-C/OTG. In the first case, a local network is created without access to the Internet.
2. Scanning: The program analyzes files on the original device, determining their type and size, at which point an error may occur if there is not enough free space on the smartphone.
3. Transmission: Data is broken into packets and sent to the target device. Speed depends on version MIUI and smartphone models (on Xiaomi 13 Pro process is faster than on the Redmi Note 8).
4. Recovery: On a new device, files are unpacked and integrated into the system, such as adding contacts to a phone book and photos to a gallery.

The data transfer speed in Mi Mover varies:

Please note: if the original device is installed MIUI 12 or older, but on target — MIUI 14, you may need to update Mi Mover via Google Play. Otherwise, the program will give an error "Incompatible versions".

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Before transferring data, turn off battery optimization for the Mi Mover app in Settings settings → Annexes → Application management → Mi Mover → Battery → No restrictions, it will prevent the connection from breaking during transmission.

Step-by-step: how to transfer data through Mi Mover

To successfully transfer data from one smartphone to another, follow this instruction. We will look at the wireless method (the most popular).

Step 1: Device preparation

Before starting, make sure that:

• 🔋 Both smartphones have a battery charge of more than 50%.
• 📶 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth included.
• 📱 There is enough free space on the target device (at least 10% more than the amount of data transferred).
• 🔒 Disabled. VPN Firewalls (they can block the connection).

Step 2: Launching the Mi Mover

1. Open the Mi Mover app on both devices.

2. On the old smartphone, select "I send" and on the new one, "I receive."

3.Push "Next" and wait until the new device appears on the screen QR-code.

Step 3: Connecting and selecting data

1. Scan it. QR-code from an old smartphone.

2. After successful connection, select data types to transfer (you can mark everything or select selectively).

3. Click "Start" and wait for the process to be completed.

If the transfer is interrupted, try:

• 🔄 Restart the application on both devices.
• 📶 Switch from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz in Wi-Fi settings.
• 🔌 Use the cable USB-C/OTG wirelessly.

What data Mi Mover transfers and what data it does not

Despite its stated versatility, the Mi Mover has limitations on data types, and here is a complete list of what can and cannot be moved.

✅ Supported data

❌ Unsupported data

• 🔐 Passwords from Wi-Fi (starting with the MIUI 13).
• 🎮 Save games (requires a separate backup through Google Play Games).
• 💳 Data of banking applications (SberBank Online, Tinkoff, etc.).
• 📅 Calendars and tasks from Google Calendar (you need to sync through your Google account).
• 🔊 Notification settings and audio profiles (partially ported).

Important! If you migrate data from your iPhone to Xiaomi, Mi Mover won’t be able to read the iCloud backup, in which case use Move to iOS (for reverse porting) or cloud services.

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Mi Mover does not replace a full backup! For critical data (such as passwords or documents), use additional backup methods such as Google Drive or local copying on your PC.

Common Mi Mover Errors and How to Fix Them

Even with proper preparation, Mi Mover can produce errors, and let's look at the most common problems and their solutions.

🔴 Error: "I failed to connect"

Causes and solutions:

• 📶 Wi-Fi Direct disabled: Check settings on both devices (Settings) → Connections → Wi-Fi Direct).
• 🔄 Incompatible versions MIUI: Update Mi Mover via Google Play or App Store.
• 🛡️ Antivirus Block: Temporarily disable protection (e.g. Avast or 360 Security).

🔴 Mistake: “Not enough space"

If there is little memory on the target device:

• 🗑️ Remove unnecessary files or applications.
• 🔄 Transfer data partially (for example, first contacts, then photos).
• 📁 Use it. SD-card (if the device supports it).

🔴 Error: Transmission has stalled at 99%"

This is one of the most common problems.

• 🔋 Check the battery power (if it is below 20%, the process may be interrupted).
• 📶 Switch from Wi-Fi Direct to Cable USB-C/OTG.
• 🔄 Restart Mi Mover and start the transfer again.

⚠️ If photos are not displayed on the new device after transfer, check the folder MIUI/Backup/AllBackup Sometimes files are copied there, but they don't automatically integrate into the gallery.

Mi Mover Alternatives: What’s the Best Way to Use

If Mi Mover is not up to the task or you want to migrate data that it does not support, consider alternative ways.

🔹 Google Account (for contacts, calendar, email)

Pros:

• ✅ Synchronization in the background.
• ✅ Access from any device.
• ✅ Support for Gmail, Google Contacts, Google Calendar.

Cons:

• ❌ Cannot tolerate photos and videos in original quality.
• ❌ It requires a stable internet.

🔹 Cable USB + PC (for large amounts of data)

Pros:

• ✅ Maximum transmission speed.
• ✅ Suitable for transferring all types of files.

Cons:

• ❌ Requires a computer.
• ❌ You need to manually copy and restore data.

🔹 Cloud services (Yandex.Disk, Dropbox, Mega)

Pros:

• ✅ Convenient for backup.
• ✅ You can transfer data between different OSes (Android, iOS, Windows).

Cons:

• ❌ Volume limit (usually free 5-15 GB).
• ❌ Long loading time with slow internet.

🔹 Applications from other manufacturers

If Mi Mover is not suitable, try:

• 📱 Samsung Smart Switch (works with Xiaomi devices).
• 📱 Huawei's Clone Phone.
• 📱 SHAREit or Xender (for Wi-Fi transmission).

Comparison of the 10 GB data transfer speed:

Hidden Mi Mover features that few people know about

Mi Mover has more than it seems, and here are some hidden features that may be useful:

🔹 Transferring data from iPhone to Xiaomi

While Mi Mover doesn’t officially support iOS, there’s a workaround:

1. On iPhone, back up your iCloud.
2. Download files from iCloud.com to your PC.
3. Move them to Xiaomi via Mi Mover (selecting the Restore from File option).

🔹 Backup of the SD-map

If your smartphone has a slot for SD-Maps, you can create a local backup:

1. Open Mi Mover and select "Backup".
2. Indicate. SD-map as target storage.
3. Once completed, the backup will be available in the folder MIUI/Backup/AllBackup.

🔹 Transferring data between devices of different brands

Mi Mover can also work with other Android devices (such as Samsung or Huawei) if:

• The target device has the Mi Mover app installed (available on Google Play).
• Both smartphones are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

🔹 Data recovery after resetting

If you have done a Hard Reset, but you have created a backup via Mi Mover before, you can restore it:

1. After the first setup of the smartphone, select "Restore from backup".
2. Specify the path to the backup file (on internal memory or SD-map).
3. Confirm recovery.

⚠️ Attention, backups created for MIUI 12, may not recover on MIUI 14 due to changes in file structure. Check version compatibility before reset!

FAQ: Frequent questions about Mi Mover