Keeping Contacts on Xiaomi Before Resetting to Factory Settings: The Complete Guide

Resetting Xiaomi to factory settings is a radical but sometimes necessary step to solve software problems, prepare a device for sale or eliminate viruses. However, along with settings and applications, such a reset inevitably erases all contacts if not saved in advance. Statistically, 68% of users lose important phone numbers precisely because they do not have a backup before hard reset.

In this article, you’ll find all the current ways to save contacts on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones, from cloud services to manually exporting to a file. We’ll break down the nuances for different versions of MIUI (including MIUI 14 and HyperOS), explain how to avoid typical errors, and give a checklist for checking before reset.

Why Contacts Disappear After Resetting and How to Prevent It

When you run Wipe Data (full reset) in the Recovery menu or through Settings → About Phone → Reset settings, the Xiaomi device deletes:

• 📱 Local contacts stored in the phone memory (in the folder) /data/com.android.providers.contacts)
• 📧 Call logs and messages (unless sync with Google is enabled)
• 🔄 Synchronization settings, which can temporarily hide even cloud contacts

The main user error is the confidence that contacts will “automatically save to the cloud.” In practice, sync with Mi Account or Google is often disabled by default, especially after MIUI updates. For example, in MIUI 13 and later, autosynchronization only works when you are actively connected to Wi-Fi and battery charge above 20%.

Another pitfall is duplicate contacts, and if you sync your data with Mi Cloud and Google Contacts at the same time, up to 3-4 copies of a single number can appear after you restore it, and to avoid this, turn off sync in one of the services before reset (more on this in the section on cloud copies).

Method 1: Synchronization of contacts with Mi Account (the most reliable for Xiaomi) Cloud Mi Cloud is a native service for Xiaomi devices, which offers a unique experience. 200 Free storage for contacts, notes and photos (at the time) 2026 The advantage of this method is that it automatically restores data when you first log in to your account after you reset.|Check the Wi-Fi connection|Charge your phone at least to 30%|Open Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Contacts|Insert the slider “Contact synchronization"--> To enable synchronization: Open Settings → Mi Account (or Accounts and Synchronization) → Mi Account in new versions MIUI). Make sure you're logged in to your account. If not, click Login and use. email/phone tied to the device. Go to Mi Cloud → Contact and activate the slider Contact synchronization. Wait for the process to be completed (the top panel will see a notification Contacts synchronized). ⚠️ Note: If you have not previously used Mi Cloud, the system may request confirmation by SMS Don't miss this step, sync won't start without confirmation, and make sure your account settings don't include Delete Contacts from your device after sync (hidden in Additional Settings). → Data management). Advantages of Mi Cloud Disadvantages Automatic Recovery Requires a stable Internet for the first synchronization of 200 GB of free storage Can duplicate contacts while synchronizing with Google Saves the history of changes (you can roll back deleted numbers) In some regions (for example, the EU) functionality is limited due to GDPR Works even if Google services are disabled When changing devices to non-Xiaomi contacts will have to export manually

Method 2: Export contacts to a VCF file (for manual redundancy)

If you don’t trust cloud services or want a physical copy of your contacts, exporting to.vcf is the perfect solution, a format that is supported by all modern phones and email clients (e.g. Outlook or Yandex Mail), the main advantage of the method is independence from the Internet and accounts.

Instructions for MIUI 12-14 and HyperOS:

1. Open the Contacts app (an icon with a person’s silhouette).
2. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner → Contact management.
3. Select Import/Export Contacts → Export to File.
4. Check all contacts (or select specific ones) → Export.
5. Specify a folder to save (such as Downloads or Documents) and confirm.

Contacts.vcf file can be:

• 📁 Save to a computer or flash drive
• ☁️ Upload to Google Drive/Yandex Disk
• 📧 Send an email to yourself
• 🔄 Import back after discharge through the same Import/Export section

💡

If you have a lot of contacts (500+), break the export into parts of 200-300. Large VCF files may not be imported correctly on some devices.

⚠️ Note: The.vcf file is not encrypted. If you save it to a public cloud (like Google Drive), archive it with a password through an app like this. RAR or 7-Zip. For that:

Install Archiver → Select Contacts.vcf → “Add to Archive” → Set a Password

Method 3: Sync with Google Contacts (universal method)

If you use Google services (like Gmail or YouTube), syncing contacts with Google Contacts is the most versatile way.It works on any device (including iPhone), and data will be available even after you switch from Xiaomi to another brand.

How to turn on synchronization:

1. Open Settings → Accounts and Synchronization.
2. Select Google and log in to your account (if not previously logged in).
3. Activate Contacts slider (you can also enable Autosynchronization of data).
4. Wait for the process to be completed (check at contacts.google.com).

Important nuances:

• 🔄 If contacts are not synced, check Settings → Annexes → Application management → Contacts → Permits (contacts and storage must be included).
• 📵 On some firmware MIUI (for example, MIUI 13 Global) Google Sync is locked in the background. To fix this, add the Contacts app to Settings → Battery → No restrictions.
• 🔍 After the reset, don't log in to your Google account immediately. First connect to Wi-Fi, then add an account, which will speed up your reconnection.

Method 4: Backup via MIUI Backup (full copy of the system)

Xiaomi’s Backup feature allows you to create a full system snapshot, including contacts, messages, settings, and even installed apps, a method that is suitable if you plan to restore the phone to the same state after a reset (for example, for flashing).

How to make a backup:

1. Go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Local Backup.
2. Click Backup and select Contacts (you can also note Messages, System Settings, etc.).
3. Specify the location of the storage (internal memory or SD-map) and confirm.
4. Wait until the process is completed (the process can take 10–30 minutes depending on the amount of data).

⚠️ Attention: The local backup is not protected from physical damage to the phone. If you reset the device due to a malfunction (for example, a broken screen), copy the backup file to the computer in advance:

/MIUI/backup/AllBackup/

To recover data after resetting:

1. Move the backup file back to /MIUI/backup/AllBackup/.
2. Open Settings → About Phone → Backup and Reset → Restore.
3. Select the right backup and confirm the recovery.

💡

Local backup MIUI is the only way to save your call history and SMS along with your contacts, and cloud services (Google or Mi Cloud) do not reserve this data.

Method 5: Transfer of contacts to SIM-map (obsolete but working method)

Maintaining contacts SIM-The card is a method left over from the era of button phones, but it still works on Xiaomi, the main advantage is independence from the Internet and accounts, and the minus is a restriction on the number of characters (for example, on the number of characters). SIM-The card will not retain the postal address or contact notes).

How to export contacts to SIM:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Press. ⋮ → Contact management → Imports/Exports → Exports to SIM-map.
3. Choose contacts for export (maximum – 250 pieces).
4. Confirm and wait until completion (may take 1-2 minutes).

Limitations of the method:

• 📛 SIM-The card saves only the name and number (without photo, email, addresses).
• 🔢 The maximum length of the name is 14 characters (Cyrillic names can be cut off).
• 📵 On some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi Note 12), the feature is hidden. To see it, switch to Classic Mode in the contact settings.

After reset, import contacts back through Import with SIM-But remember, duplicates don't automatically get deleted, you have to manually clean them.

Checklist before reset: how to make sure contacts are saved

Before performing a hard reset, be sure to check:

Make sure contacts are displayed in Mi Cloud (contacts.cloud.mi.com)|Check sync with Google (contacts.google.com)|Download the file VCF computer|Disable two-way synchronization in Mi Account (if not necessary)|Get out. SIM-card (if no contact is required)|Sign up for a username/password from Mi Account and Google-->

Additional steps for reliability:

• 🔍 Take screenshots of your contact list (in case recovery doesn’t go according to plan).
• 📡 Check Wi-Fi connection – without it, cloud sync may be interrupted.
• 🔋 Charge your phone at least 50% (resetting when charged low can lead to errors).

If you are selling a phone, remember to log out of all accounts (Mi Account, Google, Samsung Account if you have) and format data in the Recovery menu, which will remove all traces of your data, including hidden files.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced users sometimes lose contacts due to minor errors.

⚠️ Warning: If your contacts are not recovered from the cloud after reset, don't panic:

1. Sign out of Mi Account/Google and log in again.
2. Clear the cache of the Contacts app.
3. Install an alternative contact application (such as Truecaller) and synchronize data through it.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions