Where on Xiaomi to find deleted photos: search in the cart, cloud and system folders

Have you accidentally deleted important photos from your Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphone and now you don’t know how to get them back? Don’t panic – you have at least 5 ways to recover photos even if they are missing from the gallery. In this article, we will analyze all possible places where deleted photos can be stored, from the standard MIUI basket to hidden system folders and cloud backups.

It’s important to understand that recovery success depends on three factors: time (the faster you start acting, the better the odds), sync settings (whether Mi Cloud or Google Photos are enabled), and type of deletion (regular gallery erasure or full memory formatting).

If you use a smartphone on MIUI 12-14, the algorithm for finding deleted photos will be different from the old versions of firmware. There are also nuances for devices with dual SIM or extended memory Xiaomi Hybrid Storage, all of which we will take into account in the instructions below.

1.The basket in the MIUI Gallery: the first step to recovery

The most obvious place to look for deleted photos on Xiaomi is the built-in shopping cart in the Gallery app, where files are stored there for 30 days (some models have 15 days), after which they are permanently deleted, to check the shopping cart:

1. Open the Gallery app** (camera icon).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (☰) top-left.
3. Select the option “Baskbasket”** (or Trash in the English version of MIUI).

If the cart is empty or not on the menu, it can mean:

• 🔹 The photos were deleted over a month ago and were automatically cleaned.
• 🔹 You use a third-party gallery (such as Google Photos) that has its own shopping cart.
• 🔹 Recycle Bin settings have been changed (for example, backup disabled).

⚠️ Note: On some models POCO The custom-built basket firmware may be called Recently Deleted and may be in another section. If you don't find it, check the settings of the gallery (Settings). → Additionally. → Basket).

2. Cloud Storage: Mi Cloud and Google Photos

If your Xiaomi enabled cloud sync, deleted photos could be saved to Mi Cloud or Google Photos, which is the most reliable way to recover, since files are stored on servers even after cleaning the basket on the phone.

Search for Mi Cloud

To check backups in Mi Cloud:

1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Make sure that the “Gallery Synchronization” function is enabled.
3. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
4. In the Gallery section**, find the Remote or Trash folder.

In Mi Cloud, photos are stored for up to 60 days after deletion (depending on the region).If you can't find a folder with deleted files, try:

• 🔍 Use search by shooting date (for example, June 2023).
• 📁 Check the folders Autoboot or Screenshots – sometimes photos get there mistakenly.

2.2 Restoration via Google Photos

If you use Google Photos, the algorithm is different:

1. Open the Google Photos app.
2. Slip on the avatar in the upper right corner → “Basket”**.
3. The photos are stored there for 60 days (unless manually cleaned).
4. Select the desired pictures and click "Restore"**.

⚠️ Note: If you delete a photo from the Google Photos Recycle Bin, you can only restore it within 25 days via the web version (Archive section.

💡

If you don’t remember which cloud you used, check your sync settings in Settings → Accounts → Sync. It will display all the connected services (Mi Cloud, Google, Yandex.Disk, etc.).

3. Hidden folders and system storage

Sometimes photos are not deleted completely, but moved to hidden system folders.

• 🔧 Used memory optimization functions (Settings) → Memory. → Cleanup).
• 📱 Connected the phone to the PC and transferred files through MTP.
• 🔄 Update the firmware or reset the settings.

To find the hidden photos:

1. Connect your phone to your computer or use a file manager (such as Mi File Explorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Enable the display of hidden files: Manager settings → Show hidden files
3. Check the following folders: /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/.nomedia /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/cloud/

If you find files with the.nomedia or.tmp extension, you can rename them.jpg/.png using the file manager.

1. The long tap on the file → “Rename”**.
2. Remove the extension and add.jpg.
3. Open the file through the gallery – if it is not corrupted, the photo will appear.

4.Recovery through MIUI backups

If you've ever backed up your photos through Local Reservation in MIUI, there's a chance you can get them back from the archive, which works even if they've been deleted a long time ago, but requires a backup.

To recover the photo from backup:

1. Open Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset.
2. Select “Local reservation”** → find the right backup by date.
3. Click Restore and select only Gallery (to avoid erasing other data).

If there are no local backups, check the cloud backups:

• 🔄 In Mi Cloud, go to Devices section → Backup copies.
• 📱 On Google Drive (if you used Google Photos) check the Backup folder.

⚠️ Attention: Backup recovery will overwrite the current data in the gallery. If you take new pictures after deleting the photo, they may disappear.

Save current photos on PC|Check the free space on the phone|Disconnect Wi-Fi (to avoid interruption)|Charge your phone at least 50 times%-->

5. Third-party programs for deep scanning

If all previous methods failed, the last option is to use specialized data recovery utilities, which scan the phone’s memory at a low level and can find photos even after formatting (provided that new files were not written on top of them).

The best programs for Xiaomi:

• 📱 DiskDigger (there is a version for Android, does not require root).
• 💻 Recuva or EaseUS Data Recovery (for PC scanning).
• 🔧 Dr.Fone (paid but with high recovery rate).

Instructions for DiskDigger (without root):

1. Download the app from Google Play (or APK from the official website).
2. Run the Full Scan (may take 1-2 hours).
3. After scanning, mark the desired photos and click "Restore"**.
4. Save files to SD-Map or cloud (not internal memory!).

For scanning via PC:

1. Connect Xiaomi to your computer in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Start Recuva and select your phone’s drive.
3. Specify the type of Images files and start scanning.
4. After completion, save the restored photos to the hard disk.

💡

The faster you start scanning, the better the chances of recovery, and each new file recorded on your phone reduces the likelihood of successful return of deleted photos.

6. Features for different Xiaomi models

The algorithm for searching for deleted photos may vary depending on the model and version of MIUI. Below are the key nuances for popular devices:

For custom firmware devices (e.g. Xiaomi.EU or LineageOS):

• 🔧 Recycle Bin May Not Be There – Check the Cloud and Hidden Folders.
• 📂 Use Root Explorer to access system partitions (root permissions required).
• 🔄 If the firmware is unstable, first create a backup through TWRP.

7. What should I do if nothing has worked?

If you have tried all the methods, but the photo was not restored, there are the last options:

• 🔍 They have specialized tools to recover data from internal memory (but it is paid and does not guarantee 100% result).
• 💾 Trying professional utilities like this UFS Explorer or R-Studio (requires phone connection in mode) EDL).
• 📧 Check other devices. Sometimes photos are sent over Bluetooth, Telegram or Email — look in the history of shipments.

If the photo was very important (such as documents or unique photos), you can try:

1. Contact data recovery specialists (e.g. LabData or Hetman Recovery).
2. Check out social media – photos may have been uploaded to VK, Instagram or WhatsApp.
3. If the pictures were taken on another phone (e.g., Mi Remote), check the gallery of that device.

⚠️ Warning: If you plan to bring your phone to a data recovery service, don't write new files to it or update your firmware. Each new record reduces your chances of success.

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi