Where to find a shopping cart in a Xiaomi phone: a complete guide to recovering deleted files

Many users, when they first encounter a MIUI or HyperOS shell, often wonder about the location of the system basket. Unlike desktop computers, where this interface element is present on the desktop by default, the situation is different in smartphones. The file deletion function here is implemented with the features of touch control and saving space on the screen.

It's important to understand that there's no single system storage for all garbage. The basket in Xiaomi's phone is spread out to specific applications: separately for photos, separately for documents, separately for notes. If you delete an image, you need to look it up in the gallery, and if you have a document in the file manager, which is a fundamental difference that often confuses beginners.

The system automatically cleans these temporary storages 30 days after deletion, making room for new data, which is why file recovery needs to be done as quickly as possible before they are overwritten by new data or deleted by optimization algorithms.

Recycle Bin in Xiaomi Gallery and MIUI

The most common use case is the recovery of accidentally deleted photos and videos. The standard Gallery app on Xiaomi smartphones includes a special album that acts as a clipboard. To get there, you need to open the application and go to the Albums tab, which is usually located at the bottom of the screen or at the top of the menu, depending on the version of the shell.

Scroll down the album list, and you'll see a section called "Deleted" or "Recently Deleted," and that's where all the media files you've erased from the main tape, but haven't been permanently destroyed by the system, are stored for a standard 30 days, and then they disappear forever.

• 📸 Open the Gallery app on the home screen.
• 📂 Go to the tab “Albums” in the lower interface menu.
• 🗑️ Scroll down to the "Remote" section».
• ✅ Click "Select", mark the desired photos and click "Restore».

If you haven't found this section, it may be hidden by privacy settings or synchronization. In some versions of MIUI, access to deleted photos may be protected by a privacy password. Check the gallery settings to make sure that the remote element display feature is activated.

⚠️ Note: If you have deleted photos from the Deleted section inside the gallery or more than 30 days have passed, it will not be possible to return them by standard means.

Search for deleted files in the Explorer

The situation with documents, APK installation files, and archives is different. The built-in MIUI file manager (often referred to as simply Explorer) also has its own shopping cart, but it works independently of the gallery, and you can find it through the main menu of the application.

Open the Explorer app and look at the top of the screen or the side menu (hamburger menu) and it should have a basket icon. In newer versions of the shell, the path might look like: menu on the left → Recycle Bin. It stores files deleted through this particular manager.

However, there is an important caveat: Many users use third-party file managers, such as Files by Google or Total Commander, in which case the Xiaomi system explorer basket will be empty, since the deletion took place in another application with its own buffer. Always check which tool you used to remove.

To restore a file in the Explorer, the algorithm is simple: press and hold your finger on the desired object until it stands out, then select the Restore button in the bottom toolbar. The file will return to the same folder where it was before deleting.

Features of the basket in different versions of MIUI

The interface and layout of the controls can vary significantly depending on the version of the firmware installed. On older versions of MIUI 10 or MIUI 11, the logic of the operation may differ from the current MIUI 14 and HyperOS.

In some regions and global firmware versions, the shopping cart functions can be implemented through cloud services by default, while in Chinese versions (CN ROM), local storage is more aggressive. Users of Chinese versions often have to manually enable synchronization or install additional plugins to fully work the clipboard.

If you’ve recently upgraded and can’t find the usual menu items, try restarting your device. Sometimes, after you upgrade, you need to restart your system folders and albums to properly display them.

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Tip: Check the Deleted folder regularly before major system updates. Sometimes, during the installation process of a new firmware version, temporary files may be cleared to free up space.

Third-party applications for data recovery

If the built-in tools don't work, Google Play apps come to the rescue. There are many utilities that position themselves as the Android shopping cart. They work on the principle of intercepting the deletion command: when you delete a file, the application stores a copy of it in its secure storage.

But these applications have to be installed before they're lost, and if you're looking for a way to recover a file that's already been deleted, and you don't have any pre-installed software, they're not going to help. They're not going to be able to recover data that's been deleted before they're installed.

• 📦 D Dumpster is one of the most popular analogues of the Windows basket for Android.
• ♻️ Trash (Recycle Bin) – a simple tool with minimalist design.
• 🛡️ ES File Explorer (older versions) – had a built-in basket function, but is now less relevant.

Using third-party file managers gives you more control over deleted files, you can set up automatic cleanup after 7, 15 or 30 days, and set a password to access the contents of the shopping cart, which increases data privacy.

⚠️ Warning: Be careful when installing "recovery" applications that promise to return any data without rooting permissions. Often it is fraudulent software that may contain viruses or intrusive advertising. Trust only trusted developers.

Cloud storage as an alternative

The most reliable way to avoid losing important files is to use cloud technology. Xiaomi smartphones have Xiaomi Cloud integrated by default, as well as Google services. When synchronization is enabled, deleted photos are often stored in the cloud basket, even if they were erased on the device itself.

To check the cloud, go to your Mi Account settings or go to the cloud service site via your browser. The Gallery or Files section may also have a Deleted tab. The cloud storage period is sometimes different from the local one and can be up to 60 days for subscription users.

The way to check Google Photos:


Open the Photos app → Library → Recycle Bin

The advantage of the cloud is that files don't take up space on the phone's internal storage, so you can store large amounts of data without worrying about memory shortages, and you can still access them even if you lose or break your smartphone.

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Cloud sync is the only guaranteed way to save files forever, as the local shopping cart of a phone always has a time and volume limit.

Frequent problems and their solution

Users often experience a situation where the Recycle Bin appears to be empty or files are not restored, which may be due to file system damage or application cache errors, in which case cleaning the Gallery or Explorer app cache through settings helps.

To do this, go to Settings → Applications → All applications, find the desired application (for example, Gallery), select Memory and click Clear Cache. It is important not to confuse with the Clean All Data button, as this will reset the settings of the application itself.

Another reason could be the formatting of the memory card, if the files were deleted from the external SD-The card, the phone's built-in basket may not see it, and that would require connecting the card to a computer and using specialized software to scan the media deeply.