How to change the contact on the smartphone Xiaomi: all the ways from A to Z

Editing contacts on Xiaomi smartphones only seems like a simple task — in practice, users are faced with the nuances of synchronization, duplication of records between accounts and hidden MIUI functions. For example, changing the number in the phone book may not affect WhatsApp or Telegram if the contact is tied to a Google account, not to a local database. Or you suddenly find that after updating the firmware, all profile photos have disappeared — this is a typical problem when changing the version of MIUI 14 → MIUI 15.

In this article, we’ll break down 5 working ways to change your contact with Xiaomi (including Redmi models, POCO And Black Shark, we'll explain why sometimes edits don't save, and we'll show you how to recover lost data. MIUI "Contacts Combination – it automatically merges duplicates, but often deletes important fields (such as additional phones or addresses) if you have ever lost contacts after resetting or changing settings SIM-maps - here you will find a solution.

1. Standard method: editing through the “Contacts” app

The most obvious method is to use the built-in Contacts app (an icon with a person's silhouette on a green background). However, even here there are pitfalls: for example, the Xiaomi 13 Pro with MIUI 14.0.5 is default to sorting by name, not by surname, which makes it difficult to search.

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Find the right contact through the search bar or scroll.
3. Touch the record - a card with details will open.
4. Press the Edit button (pencil in the upper right corner).
5. Make changes (number, name, email, etc.) and save.

⚠️ Note: If the Edit button is inactive (grey), then the contact is synced with Google or Mi Account. To unlock editing, go to Settings. → Accounts. → Google/Mi Account → Synchronize contacts and temporarily disable them.

Sync with Google/Mi Account disabled |Contact is not "read-only" (lock icon) |There is a backup of the phone book |Duplicate-->

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If no changes are saved, try clearing the Contacts app cache in Settings → Apps → Application Management → Contacts → Storage → Clear the cache.

2. Change contacts through Google account (web version)

If contacts are synced with Google, editing them is easier through the browser – especially when you need to massively fix errors (for example, after importing from the iPhone). This method is suitable for Xiaomi owners who use multiple devices (for example, Redmi Note 12 + tablet).

1. Go to contacts.google.com and log in.
2. Select the contact to edit (click on it).
3. Click Change (Crimea icon).
4. Make changes and save (Ctrl+S or Save button).

Changes are automatically synced to the phone within 5-10 minutes.

• 🔄 Check your internet connection (the phone should have an icon on it) 4G/5G/Wi-Fi).
• 🔧 Go to Settings. → Accounts. → Google → Synchronize contacts and turn it on again.
• ⏳ Wait up to 1 hour – sometimes Google servers delay updates.

3. Editing of contacts on SIM-map

Contacts saved on SIM-map, edited separately from the main phone book.This is relevant for owners of Xiaomi with two SIM-maps (e.g., maps, POCO X5 Pro 5G), where contacts can be scattered across different chips. SIM-storage:

• 📱 Maximum of 250-500 contacts (depending on operator).
• 📞 Only name and number are stored (without email, addresses, photos).
• 🔒 No synchronization with the cloud is supported.

To change the contact to SIM:

1. Open Contacts. → Three dots (menu) → Contact management → Imports/Exports → SIM-map.
2. Select the contact you need and click Edit.
3. Make changes and save.

⚠️ Note: When editing contacts on SIM-Xiaomi can automatically create a duplicate in the main phone book. To avoid this, before saving, disable the AutoSave option on the device in the Contacts app settings.

On the phone (locally)|On Google account|In Mi Account.|Nana SIM-map|I don't know.-->

Mass editing of contacts (export/import)

If you need to change dozens of contacts (for example, add a prefix) +7 to numbers or fix the format of names, manual editing will take hours, in such cases, export / import through the file will help. VCF. This method works for all Xiaomi models, including older models like Redmi. 4X.

Instructions:

1. Export contacts: Contacts → Three points → Contact management → Import / Export → Export to file (.vcf) The file will be saved in the Download folder.
2. Open the.vcf file on your PC using Excel or Google Tables (pre-converting to CSV).
3. Make massive edits (for example, replace 89xxxxxxxxxxx with +79xxxxxxxxxx).
4. Save the file back to.vcf and import it to your phone.

⚠️ Note: When importing, Xiaomi may create duplicates if the.vcf file contains contacts already existing in the phone book!

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VCF supports not only numbers and names, but also photos, addresses, birthdays and notes, but when you edit it on Excel, you can lose that data, using specialized programs like VCF Editor.

5. Hidden MIUI functions for working with contacts

MIUI offers some unique contact management tools that many Xiaomi users are unaware of.

• 🔍 Type the last 3-4 digits of the phone into the search bar - the system will find contact even without a name.
• 👥 Contact Groups: You can create groups (e.g., Work, Family) and send messages to all participants at once. → Groups → To form a group.
• 📎 File attachment: You can attach documents (for example, a passport scan) to the contact – they will be available only to you.
• 🔄 History of change: On MIUI 14+ You keep a log of the contacts' edits (where, when, and what fields have changed) and open the contact to see it. → three-point → Journal.

One of the most controversial features is Contact Connection, which automatically drains duplicates (e.g., if one contact is saved on both the phone and Google), and often deletes important data to disable auto-connection:

1. Go to Contacts → Three Points → Settings → Connecting Contacts.
2. Turn off the Automatic Connection option.
3. Manually check the proposed duplicates before the merger.

6.Restore Remote or Altered Contacts

If you've lost important contacts after editing, don't panic, you can restore them.

⚠️ Note: If you have used the cleaning function in MIUI (For example, through security. → Cleaning up, reconnecting, will be more difficult, and only backup or specialized programs like Dr.Fone (but they don’t guarantee 100% results) will help).

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To avoid losing contacts, set up automatic backup in Settings → Accounts → Mi Account → Backup. Select frequency (e.g. once a week) and enable Contacts.

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing contacts on Xiaomi