How to remove sorting by date in the Xiaomi gallery: the complete guide

The standard MIUI gallery on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones automatically sorts photos by date of creation, from new to old. For many users, this is an inconvenient procedure: it is difficult to find the right pictures if they are taken at different times, but they are related to the same topic (for example, documents or screenshots), Fortunately, you can disable this sorting in several ways, both through built-in settings and using third-party applications.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current techniques, from simple changes to gallery settings to the use of alternative image viewers, and focus on the nuances of the different MIUI versions (from MIUI 12 to MIUI 15) and smartphone models. If you want to bring back manual control of the order of photos, read on.

Why Xiaomi Gallery Sorts Photos By Date and Can It Be Fixed?

Automatic date sorting is a MIUI feature that developers have put in place for the convenience of most users, and the logic is simple: new photos are usually more important than old ones, so they should be visible, but this approach ignores other criteria for organizing files:

• 📁 Thematic folders – when photos from a single event are scattered by dates (e.g. recipes, checks, memes).
• 🔍 Search by file name – if you rename pictures for convenience (e.g. Passport_2026.jpg).
• 📌 Manual order – when you need to fix a certain sequence (for example, for a presentation or album).

Can you turn off the date sorting completely? No, there's no standard MIUI gallery option.

1. Use alternative display modes (e.g. albums).
2. Set up a third-party app to view the photo.
3. Change the metadata of the files (date of creation) manually.

Method 1: Change the display mode in the standard gallery

The easiest method is to switch from All Photos to Albums, where images are grouped by folder (e.g. Camera, Screenshots, Downloads) and you can sort by file name inside the folder.

How to do this:

1. Open the Gallery app (flower icon).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (☰) top-right.
3. Select the "Albums" item.
4. Open the folder you want (like Camera).
5. Press three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select "Sort» → «Named».

⚠️ Note: In some versions MIUI (for example, MIUI 14 for Xiaomi 13) the "Name" option may not be available, in which case only a third-party gallery will help.

Check the version of MIUI in Settings → About the phone

Update the gallery via Google Play (if available)

Backup important photos in Mi Cloud or on PC

Make sure there are no hidden files in the folder (turn on display in settings)-->

Method 2: Using third-party galleries (Google Photos, Simple Gallery)

If the built-in settings don't help, install an alternative photo viewing app.

We recommend Simple Gallery, which supports manual sorting by drag and drop and does not require Internet.

1. Install Simple Gallery Pro from Google Play.
2. Open the application and give access to the files.
3. Go to the folder you want (for example, DCIM/Camera).
4. Press three points (⋮) → «Sorting» → Select “By name” or “Manually».
5. For manual order, hold the photo and drag it to the right place.

💡

If you use Google Photos, turn on the “Show Hidden Files” option in the settings to see all images from the phone’s folders.

Method 3: Change the date of creation of files (for power users)

If you're critically interested in the order of the photos by date, but it doesn't match the actual chronology, you can change the metadata of the files, for example, make the pictures from one event have the same date of creation.

This will require:

• 📱 File manager with access to metadata (e.g. Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
• 🖥️ PC (optional, for mass editing).
• 📅 Programme for change EXIF (ExifTool or Bulk Image Date Changer).

Step-by-step instructions for Solid Explorer:

1. Open the file manager and go to the photo folder (e.g. /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera).
2. Select the files you want (hold your finger on the first, then tap on the rest).
3. Press three points (⋮) → «Properties» → «Change the date».
4. Set a new date/time of creation (for example, 01.01.2026 12:00 for all selected photos).
5. Save the changes and restart the gallery.

⚠️ Note: Changing the date of creation may disrupt some functions MIUI, For example, "Memories" in the gallery or backup in Mi Cloud. Before mass editing, back up your photo on your PC.

Method 4: Reset gallery settings (if sorting is lost)

Sometimes the problem is not the sorting settings, but the cache or the application errors, for example, after the MIUI update, the gallery can show the photo in a chaotic order, in which case the reset will help:

Instructions:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the gallery in the list and tap it.
3. Select "Storage» → «Clear the cache».
4. Then click “Settings Reset” (if available).
5. Reboot the phone.

If the reset didn’t help, try removing gallery updates:

1. In the same “App Management” menu, look for “Gallery”.
2. Tap it on three points (⋮) top-right → «Remove updates».
3. Confirm the action and restart the application.

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Gallery reset does not remove photos from your phone, but can reset custom albums and tags.

Method 5: Disable automatic sorting via ADB (for advanced)

For users with an unlocked bootloader and access to ADB, there is a radical method of disabling the built-in sorting at the system level, which does not work on all models, but can help if other methods have not worked.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB Tools.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times tap on the assembly number → Go back to Settings → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).

Commands to execute:

adb shell


su




settings put global gallery_sort_order 0

If the team doesn’t work, try an alternative:

adb shell am start -n com.miui.gallery/.setting.SettingActivity

⚠️ Attention: Misuse of the right ADB If you are not sure about your actions, skip this method or ask for help in forums (for example, 4PDA or XDA Developers).

Frequent problems and their solutions

Even after one of these methods, sorting may not work properly, and consider typical situations and their solutions:

If neither method worked, it may be the firmware that is the problem, and some models (such as the Xiaomi 12T or POCO F5) are hard-sewn into the system, so you can wait for Xiaomi to update or use third-party solutions.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions