Where on Xiaomi looking for deleted photos: cart, cloud and hidden folders

Have you accidentally deleted important photos on a Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphone and now you don't know where to look for them? Don't panic: MIUI devices have several mechanisms to protect against irretrievable data loss. In this article, we will analyze all possible storage locations for deleted images, from a standard basket to hidden system folders, and explain how to restore files if they have not already been overwritten.

It’s important to understand that recovery success depends on how long it’s been since you deleted it and whether you’ve been using your phone actively (new photos, videos, or app updates can overwrite deleted data), starting from the most obvious places and moving on to more sophisticated methods.

1.The basket in the MIUI gallery: the first place to search

Most Xiaomi users don't even know that the standard gallery has a built-in cart where photos are stored 30 days after being deleted.

1. Launch the Gallery app (an icon with colored squares).
2. Slip along three horizontal lines (menu) in the lower right corner.
3. Select the basket item (urn icon).
4. Find the right photos, click on them and select Restore.

If the cart is empty or there are no pictures of you, then:

• 🗑️ You deleted the photo over a month ago, it was automatically cleaned.
• 🔄 You manually cleaned the basket through the Control menu. → Clean the basket.
• 📱 You used a third-party gallery (like Google Photos) that has its own shopping cart.

If you don't have photos in your cart, don't despair, move on to the next section, and maybe they're saved to the cloud or a hidden folder.

2. Cloud services: Mi Cloud and Google Photos

Modern Xiaomi smartphones sync photos with cloud services by default, and even if you deleted a picture from your phone, a copy of it could be saved to Mi Cloud (Xiaomi cloud) or Google Photos.

Recovery through Mi Cloud

If you logged into your Mi Account and backed up, the photos could be saved to the cloud to check:

1. Open the Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Check if the synchronization of the gallery is enabled.
3. Go to i.mi.com from your computer or phone.
4. Log in and open the Gallery section.

Mi Cloud also has a cart where photos are stored 10 days after being deleted.

1. On the Mi Cloud website, go to the Gallery → Cart.
2. Select the desired photos and click Restore.

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If you don’t remember whether Mi Cloud was enabled, check your sync settings in Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → Gallery. Even if the option is disabled now, photos may have been saved earlier.

2.2 Restoration via Google Photos

Google Photos was another reliable source of backups, and if the app was installed and configured, all the photos could be automatically uploaded to the cloud to check:

1. Open the Google Photos app (if not, install it from the Play Market).
2. Sign in with the same account you used on your phone.
3. Go to the Library. → Basket.
4. The photos are stored there for 60 days - if not two months, they can be restored.

If the cart is empty, try searching by date or keyword in the main Google Photos section.

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Cloud services are the most reliable way to recover if sync is enabled in advance, and without backup, the chances of returning a photo are dramatically reduced.

3. Hidden folders: DCIM,.thumbnails and others

MIUI creates a number of hidden folders where thumbnails or temporary copies of photos can be stored, and these files are not displayed in the standard gallery, but they can be found through the file manager.

• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails — Photo miniatures are stored here (size is reduced, but sometimes better than nothing).
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/Screenshots — If you took screenshots of deleted photos, they could have been saved here.
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/cloud/ — Temporary cloud synchronization files.
• 📁 /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery/ — cache gallery (sometimes contain fragments of deleted images).

To access hidden folders:

1. Use a file manager that supports hidden files (such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Turn on the display of hidden folders in the manager settings.
3. Follow the above paths and look for files with.jpg,.png, or.thumb extensions.

Note: The files in the.thumbnails folder are low resolution (usually 200×200 pixels), but sometimes this is enough to remember the contents of the lost image.

4.Recovery via PC: programs for scanning memory

If the photo is not found in the cart, cloud or hidden folders, the last chance is to scan the phone's internal memory using specialized software.

• 🔋 The phone was not actively used after deletion (new data did not overwrite old data).
• 📱 There are no root rights on the device (they can interfere with the recovery).
• 💾 You are ready to connect your phone to your computer.

The best programs for photo recovery with Xiaomi:

Instructions for recovery through DiskDigger:

1. Install DiskDigger on your PC from [diskdigger.org](https://diskdigger.org)

2. Connect Xiaomi to your computer in File Transfer (MTP) mode

3. Launch DiskDigger and select your phone's drive

4.Push Dig Deep (deep scan)

5. Wait for the process to end and select a photo to recover

6. Save them to your computer (not to your phone!)

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Warning: Never save recovered files back to your phone - this can overwrite the remaining unrecovered data.

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If the phone is not detected in MTP mode, try enabling USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (tap 7 times according to version, then go back to Additional → For Developers).

5. Specific models: where to look for photos on different Xiaomi

Depending on the Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO model, the location of photos and their storage mechanisms may differ, for example, on flagships (Mi 11/12/13), more aggressive cache cleaning is used, and on budget models (for example, Redmi Note 10), the basket can store files longer.

Let’s look at the features for different lines:

• 📱 Flagships (Mi) 11/12/13, Mix 4/5): The basket is cleaned strictly through 30 Hidden.thumbnails folders can contain thumbnails in high resolution (up to the top). 1024×1024). Support for Mi Cloud with Extended Storage (up to) 100 GB).
• 📱 Mid-size segment (Redmi Note) 11/12, POCO X4/F4): The basket sometimes fails, and the photos may disappear early. DCIM/Camera Temporary files with the.tmp extension can remain. Google Photos support by default (unless manually disabled).
• 📱 Budget models (Redmi) A1, POCO C40): The cart can store photos for up to 45 days (depending on version) MIUI). There is no automatic sync with Mi Cloud, you need to manually enable it, and hidden folders are often empty due to limited memory capacity.

On models with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/2 chips (such as Xiaomi 13 Pro), photos can be temporarily cached in the /data/media/0/Android/obb/ folder - check it through root conductor.

6.If nothing has worked: Professional services

If all of these methods have failed, you should consult a professional, and this is true if:

• 💔 The photos were of high value (wedding, documents, unique personnel).
• 🔧 Phone is physically damaged (not turned on, broken screen, water).
• 📉 You tried to recover the data yourself and made the situation worse.

Specialized laboratories (for example, Hetman Recovery or ACE Data Recovery) can extract data even from damaged drives, but this is an expensive service (from 5,000 to 30,000 rubles), and success is not guaranteed.

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Before contacting the service center, do not turn on the phone and do not try to sew it - this can irretrievably destroy the remaining data.

What to do before visiting the laboratory:

1. Turn off the phone and remove it. SIM-map (if possible).
2. Do not connect it to a charger or computer.
3. Pack in an antistatic bag (you can use a package from a new technique).
4. Prepare a check or a warranty card (if the phone is guaranteed).

Average prices for data recovery in Moscow (2026):

7 How to Avoid Losing Photos in the Future: 5 Rules

To never again experience the problem of losing photos, follow these guidelines:

1. Turn on automatic synchronization: 🔗 Mi Cloud: Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud → gallery. 🔗 Google Photos: Open the app → Profile → Photo settings → Backup.
2. Regularly transfer the photo to an external medium: 💾 Use a microSD (if your phone supports) or connect your phone to your PC once a month. 🖥️ Save copies to a hard disk or SSD.
3. Don't clean the basket manually: 🗑️ Wait for automatic cleaning in 30 days - in case the photo is still useful.
4. Use reliable file managers: 📂 Apps like Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer shows hidden files and allows you to backup.

Check the default settings

• ⚙️ After resetting the phone or updating MIUI Synchronization settings can be reset.

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The most reliable way to protect is a combination of cloud backup (Google Photo + Mi Cloud) and local backup on a microSD or PC.

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi