Blurred thumbnails in the Xiaomi Redmi 8 gallery: 7 reasons and 5 ways to fix

Why Xiaomi Redmi 8 is blurring photos and videos?

You open a gallery on your Redmi 8, and instead of clear sketches, you see vague silhouettes? This is a common problem faced by owners of Xiaomi smartphones based on MIUI 10-12. The blurring of thumbnails (previews) does not occur due to damage to the original files, but due to malfunctions in system services or gallery cache. In 80% of cases, the problem is solved without resetting the phone to factory settings, just clear temporary data or update the firmware.

It’s important to understand that blurred previews are not a defect in the camera matrix or damage to files on the memory card. The original photos/video remain intact, and the problem lies in how MIUI generates and displays smaller copies (thumbnail) for quick viewing. Next, we will discuss the exact reasons for blurring thumbnails in Redmi 8 (model M1908C3JG/M1908C3JH) and how to fix them – from simple to radical.

1. Reasons for blurring thumbnails on Redmi 8: from cache to hardware limitations

MIUI creates thumbnails to speed up the loading of the gallery, and these sketches are stored in a separate database, and if they get damaged, the previews are displayed in low resolution or disappear altogether. Here are the key reasons for the problem on Redmi 8:

• 🗑️ Overflowing gallery cache: Miniature files take up to 500 MB and when the limit is exceeded, they begin to shrink with loss of quality.
• 🔄 com.miui.gallery: Responsible for generating previews; when crashed, shows blurred or black sketches.
• 📱 Lack of RAM: Redmi 8 has 3/4 GB of RAM - with multitasking, the system forcibly compresses the cache.
• 🔧 File system errors: Partition damage /data/media/0/DCIM/.thumbnails (for example, after extraction SD-cards without safe shutdown).
• 📲 Conflict with the shell MIUI: Bugs in versions MIUI 11.0.2–11.0.5 for Redmi 8 (official complaints on Xiaomi forum known).
• 🔋 Battery savings: Ultra-economy mode turns off background miniature generation.
• 🛠️ Rooting or modified firmware: Incorrect permissions to access the.thumbnails folder.

In practice, the most common fault is the cache of the gallery or the failure of the media scanning service. Less often - hardware restrictions (for example, if you use the device). SD-Class 4 card that doesn’t have time to process thumbnail reading requests).

2.How to check if the original files are damaged?

Before you fix the thumbnails, make sure the photos/videos themselves are not damaged.

1. Open the file directly through Explorer → DCIM folder (not through the gallery!).
2. Check the resolution of the original: click on the file → Properties → Details. If it matches the expected (for example, 4000×3000 for a 12-megapixel Redmi 8 camera), the file is intact.
3. Copy multiple files to your computer and open them through Windows Photos or FastStone Image Viewer.

If the originals are clearly displayed, the problem is precisely in the thumbnails, and if the originals are blurred, a defect in the camera (for example, lens contamination) or a failure in saving a file (often when shooting in HEIF format on older versions of MIUI) is to blame.

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To rule out hardware problems, take a test shot in Professional mode (open the camera → swipe up → select "Pro"). If the new photo is also blurry, check the lens for scratches or dust.

3. Method 1: Clearing the cache of the gallery and media service

The fastest and safest method is to reset the temporary data of the Gallery app and related services, which will not delete your photos, but will recreate the thumbnails.

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Gallery (com.miui.gallery) → Warehouse → Clear the cache.
3. Do the same for: Media Storage (com.android.providers.media) Downloads (com.android.providers.downloads.ui)

Reboot the phone.

After the reboot, MIUI will automatically recreate the thumbnails, which can take 5-15 minutes (depending on the number of files), during which time, do not open the gallery or connect the phone to the PC.

Close all applications through the multitasking menu

Connect your phone to charge (the process can drain the battery by 10-15%)

Make sure that at least 1 GB of memory is available on your phone

Don't take it out. SD-mapping before completion of the process-->

4. Method 2: Remove the.thumbnails folder manually

If cleaning the cache didn't work, delete the thumbnail folder manually.

/storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC via USB (in File Transfer mode).
2. Enable the display of hidden folders (in Windows: View → Hidden Items).
3. Delete the.thumbnails folder (if not, check the path /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/.thumbnails).
4. Turn off the phone and restart it.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete other hidden folders (such as.nomedia) – this may disrupt the application.

Once deleted, MIUI will create a new.thumbnails folder and generate the preview again. If the folder does not appear within an hour, check the storage permissions (Settings → Permissions → Storage for the Gallery application).

5. Method 3: Reset the settings of the Gallery application

If the cache is cleared and the thumbnails are blurred anyway, reset the Gallery app settings to factory settings, which will return all display parameters (sorting, albums, effects) to default values, but will not delete the files themselves.

How to reset:

1. Open Settings → Applications → Application Management → Gallery.
2. Click Additional (three dots in the upper right corner) → Reset settings.
3. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

After the reset, check:

• 🔍 Is the option to show hidden files in the gallery settings enabled.
• 📂 Whether folders are displayed correctly (sometimes the reset "resets" the binding to the SD-map).
• 🔄 Have the miniatures been updated after the gallery reopened.

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Resetting gallery settings does not delete photos, but can reset album sorting and hidden folders. After the procedure, it is recommended to manually check the display settings in the Gallery → Settings → View.

Method 4: Update MIUI or rollback to stable version

If the problem occurred after the MIUI update, the cause may be a firmware bug. Redmi 8 is known to have problems with thumbnails in versions:

How to update MIUI:

1. Go to Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. Click Check Updates and install the latest stable version.
3. If the update is not available, download the firmware manually from the official Xiaomi website (select the Redmi 8 model and region).

To revert to the previous version:

1. Download the required firmware (e.g. MIUI 11.0.4.0) in.zip format.
2. Rename the file to update.zip and place it in the root of the phone’s memory.
3. Press Volume Up + Power to enter Recovery.
4. Select Install update.zip and confirm the installation.

⚠️ Attention: Firmware rollback erases all data unless you use Fastboot mode. Pre-backup through Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

Method 5: Alternative galleries and radical measures

If the system methods did not help, try:

• 📱 Install a third-party gallery: Google Photos (automatically creates thumbnails in the cloud). Simple Gallery (regardless of services) MIUI). QuickPic (allows you to manually update previews).
• 🔧 Turn off optimization MIUI: Activate Developer Mode (7 times click on Version) MIUI Include Debugging on the phone. USB and Do not disable background processes.
• 🔄 Factory reset (extreme): Save data to your PC or cloud. Go to Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset → Resetting settings.

Third-party galleries often solve the problem, as they are not dependent on MIUI bugs. For example, Google Photos uses its own algorithms for generating previews that do not conflict with Xiaomi system services.

FAQ: Frequent questions about blurred miniatures on Redmi 8