Where to Find Recently Deleted Photos on Xiaomi: A Complete Recovery Guide

Delete important photos on Xiaomi smartphone and don't know how to return them? Don't panic - you have a chance to recover photos even if they are missing from the gallery. Modern devices Redmi, POCO and Mi save deleted files in hidden memory, cloud services or system basket. In this article, we will discuss all possible ways to return photos, from standard MIUI functions to specialized applications.

It's important to act quickly: the less time has passed since deleting, the more likely it is to be successful. Android doesn't erase files immediately, it just labels them as "free space" that can be rewritten with new data. So avoid installing apps, taking new photos or videos until the recovery process is complete.

We tested all the methods on the current Xiaomi 14, Redmi Note 13 Pro+ and POCO F6 models with the latest version of MIUI 15 (based on Android 14).

1.Check the basket in the standard Xiaomi gallery

The first place to look is the built-in shopping cart in the Gallery app, where the deleted photos are stored for 30 days (some models have 15 days) and then permanently erased to find the shopping cart:

1. Open the Gallery app (icon with multi-colored squares).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (☰) lower-right.
3. Select the Recycle Bin (or Recently Deleted on some firmware).
4. Find the right photos, highlight them with a long tap and click Restore.

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

• 📅 The storage period has expired (photos deleted more than 30 days ago).
• 🗑️ You manually cleaned the cart through Settings → Warehouse → Cleanup.
• 🔄 The photos were deleted not through the gallery, but through the file manager (for example, Explorer).

On some models (e.g. Redmi 12), the cart is hidden by default.

1. Open the Gallery → Settings (cog at the top).
2. Go to General Settings → Basket.
3. Activate the switch Show the basket.

⚠️ Note: If you have used the function of optimization of storage in MIUI, The system could automatically delete old photos from the cart ahead of schedule. → Warehouse → Optimization.

2. Recovery via Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud)

If your Xiaomi had Mi Cloud sync enabled, the deleted photos could have been saved to the cloud, and this method works even after you reset your phone to factory settings, to check:

1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Make sure that the gallery synchronization slider is active.
3. Slip to the Gallery and select Photo Management.
4. Check the folder recently deleted or archived.

If your photos are not in the cloud, try to restore them via the web version:

1. Go to i.mi.com from your computer or phone.
2. Sign in with the same Mi Account as you do on your smartphone.
3. Open the Gallery section → Basket.
4. Select the desired photos and click Restore.

Please note the limitations of the Mi Cloud:

• 📦 The free rate only provides 5GB of space. If the memory is full, old photos could automatically be deleted.
• ⏳ Photos are stored in the cloud basket for 60 days (as opposed to 30 days in the local gallery).
• 🔒 If you changed your Mi Account password, access to old backups may be lost.

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Before recovering from the cloud, check if there is enough space on your phone. If memory is scarce, photos will not be loaded back. Free up space through Settings → Storage → Cleanup.

3. Search in hidden folders and cache

MIUI creates hidden folders with thumbnails and temporary copies of photos, which you can't see in standard Explorer, but you can find through a root file manager or special applications.

To access hidden folders:

1. Install a file manager with root support (such as Root Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Enable the display of hidden files in the manager settings.
3. Follow one of the paths from the table above.
4. Copy the files found to a secure location (e.g., a memory card).

⚠️ Note: Not all hidden files will be in readable format. The.thumbnails folder contains compressed previews that cannot be enlarged without loss of quality.

If you don’t have root rights, try an alternative way:

1. Connect your phone to your computer via USB (File Transfer Mode).
2. In the address bar of Windows Explorer, enter the path to the hidden folder (for example, \Internal storage\DCIM\.thumbnails).
3. Click Enter – sometimes Windows shows hidden files without additional permissions.

4.Use of third-party recovery applications

If previous methods didn't work, turn to specialized utilities. They scan the phone's memory at the binary data level and can find photos even if they don't show up in the gallery.

• 📱 DiskDigger — supports root-free recovery, but with limitations. Free version shows preview of found photos, you need a Pro version to save (~300 ₽).
• 🔍 Recuva (for PC) - works by connecting the phone to the computer. Effective for microSD memory cards.
• 🛠️ EaseUS MobiSaver is a paid application with a high recovery rate (up to 95% for recently deleted files).
• 📂 Photo Recovery – specializes in media files, supports formats JPEG, PNG, HEIC.

Instructions for DiskDigger (the most versatile option):

Download DiskDigger from Google Play|Launch the app and select Start a simple search|Select the type of image files|Wait for the scan to be completed (5-30 minutes)|View the photos found and save them to a memory card or cloud-->

Important nuances:

• 🔋 Battery charge should be at least 50% – scanning consumes a lot of energy.
• 📵 Do not interrupt the process: if the application is frozen, wait 5-10 minutes.
• 💾 Save recovered photos to a memory card or cloud, not internal memory – this will prevent overwriting.

⚠️ Note: Recovery apps can find photos deleted months ago, but the quality of the photos is often poor. The older the file, the more likely it is to be corrupted or fragmented.

If you are using Recuva on PC:

1. Connect Xiaomi to your computer in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Run Recuva and select the type of Image files.
3. Specify the path to the phone’s memory (usually this device → Internal storage).
4. Start the scan and wait for the results.

5. Recovery from a microSD card

If the photos were stored on a memory card, the chances of their return are higher. MicroSD cards do not support TRIM technology, so the deleted files remain in place until overwriting.

1. Remove the card from your phone and paste it into your computer through a card reader.
2. Use one of the utilities: Recuva (free, suitable for beginners), TestDisk (more complex, but more powerful - restores even damaged partitions), R-Studio (paid, but with a high success rate).

Select the memory card as the target disk for scanning.

Save the recovered files to your computer’s hard drive (not to the same card!).

Features of working with microSD:

• 🔄 If the card is formatted, it will be extremely difficult to recover data (especially when formatting in exFAT or in the form of a new format). NTFS).
• 🛡️ Supported maps A1/A2 (For example, SanDisk Extreme overwrite data faster, so act quickly.
• 📊 The larger the card capacity, the longer the scan lasts (for example, 256 GB can be analyzed for 2-3 hours).

If the card is not determined by the computer:

1. Try another card reader or USB port.
2. Check the card on another device (like a friend’s Redmi).
3. If the card is physically damaged (for example, after a fall), contact a service center - self-repair can aggravate the problem.

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MicroSD cards are the most reliable place to store photos if you're afraid of losing them, and unlike internal memory, they don't reset your phone to factory settings.

6.Prevention: How to avoid loss of photos in the future

To avoid looking for ways to recover, it is better to protect your photos in advance.

• ☁️ Automatic Cloud Sync: Enable Mi Cloud → Sync Gallery. Or use Google Photos (settings) → Backup and synchronization).
• 📁 Backups on PC: Monthly copy the photo to your computer via MTP or FTP-server (e.g., using Solid Explorer). Use Xiaomi PC Suite for automatic backup.
• 🔄 Duplication to memory card: In camera settings (Storage) → Select Memory Map or use the Google Files app to copy photos to microSD.
• 📱 Local Backups: Create Archives through Settings → System system → Backup. Use applications like Swift Backup (requires root).

Additional advice:

• 🚫 Avoid using functions such as Storage Optimization in MIUI — They can automatically delete old photos.
• 🔋 Regularly check the health of the memory card through Settings → Warehouse → Map. SD → Verification.
• 📅 Set up automatic removal of duplicates in the Gallery → Management → Search for duplicates.

Critical information: Xiaomi models with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra) use UFS 4.0 technology, which aggressively cleans deleted files to improve performance. It is almost impossible to recover photos on such devices 2-3 days after deleting - act immediately!

7 What NOT to do: Common mistakes

Many Xiaomi users make things worse with the wrong actions.

• 📲 Install new apps after deleting photos – they can overwrite lost data.
• 🔄 Formatting memory through settings → Warehouse → Formatting - this erases all chances of recovery.
• 🔋 Phone discharge to 0% – when you turn off the system there is a risk of damage to the file table.
• 🛠️ Using dubious “recoverers” from unverified sources – they may contain viruses.
• ☁️ Disabling sync with the cloud in an attempt to “free up space” will delete backups.

Also not worth it:

• 🔍 Try to recover the photo through ADB Inexperienced – Incorrect commands can damage the system.
• 📂 Move or rename folders DCIM And Pictures manually, it'll disrupt the gallery.
• 💾 Save recovered photos back to internal memory – use cloud or PC.

⚠️ Note: Forums often advise using the adb shell rm command -rf /data/media/0/DCIM You can use it to "clean up the gallery cache." Never do it, it will delete ALL of your photos without any recovery!

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi