Where to find and how to recover deleted photos from the cart on Xiaomi Redmi: a complete guide to 2026

Deleting photos on a Xiaomi Redmi smartphone is a familiar situation. One careless tap, and valuable photos disappear from the Gallery, going to the virtual basket. MIUI There are built-in security mechanisms, and third-party tools that can help you recover lost files.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can recover photos from your Redmi Recycle Bin, from standard features to advanced methods for power users, where deleted photos are physically stored, how the 30-day limit works in the Recycle Bin, and what to do if files are lost early, and what Redmi models (from the Note 8 Pro to Redmi 13) support recovery methods.

The important thing is that the sooner you start to act, the better the chances of success. Once you delete the photos from the cart, they don't disappear from memory immediately - the system only marks them as "free" to overwrite. So avoid installing new apps or shooting videos before you recover.

1.Where is the Recycle Bin in Xiaomi Redmi: The Path to a Hidden Folder

Unlike iOS or some versions of Android, where the cart can be hidden deep in the settings, the user can also use the same software. MIUI It's integrated right into the standard Gallery app, but not everyone knows how to get there, especially after system updates when the interface changes.

To open the basket on Redmi:

1. Launch the Gallery app (an icon with multi-colored squares).
2. Slip along three horizontal lines (menu) in the lower right corner.
3. Select the Recycle Bin (on some firmware - Recently deleted).

If the item is not on the menu, check:

• 🔹 Version MIUI: in old assemblies (below) MIUI (12) the basket may not have been available.
• 🔹 Gallery settings: go to Settings → Memory and Recycle Bin and Make sure the function is enabled.
• 🔹 Deletion type: Photos deleted through the File Manager or third-party apps (such as Google Photos) may be stored in other shopping carts.

The cart stores photos for 30 days (by default), after which they are automatically deleted.

1. Open the gallery. → Settings (cogs at the top).
2. Choose Memory and Recycle Bin. → Basket management.
3. Set the storage period: from 1 day to 60 days.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI for POCO (for example, POCO X3 or POCO F5) The path to the basket may be different. If you don't find it in the gallery, try using the File Manager and manually navigate along the way. /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/.trash.

2. How to recover photos from the Xiaomi cart: step-by-step instructions

If the images are still in the cart, it'll take less than a minute to recover them.

Open annex "Gallery"|Go to the "Baskbasket" section"|Select the necessary photos (long press)|Press "Restore" (indicator with an arrow up)|Confirm the action-->

Nuances of the process:

• 📱 Multiple selection: To recover multiple photos, hold your finger on the first picture, then tap on the rest. Maximum at a time - 50 files.
• 🔄 Album Recovery: Photos will return to the same folders they were deleted from (e.g. Camera or Screenshots).
• ⏳ Time limit: If more than 30 days have passed since the deletion, the photos will disappear from the cart without the possibility of standard recovery.

On some Redmi models (e.g. Redmi) 9A or Redmi 10C) After recovery, the photos may not appear in the gallery immediately:

1. Close and open the Gallery app again.
2. Check the folder. DCIM/.thumbnails — Sometimes the miniatures are updated with a delay.
3. Reboot your phone if the photo never shows up.

If the cart is empty but you are sure that the photos were deleted recently, try updating the contents:

1. In the basket, pull the screen down (pull-to-refresh gesture).
2. Or click on the three dots in the top right corner. → Update.

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Once you recover your photos from the cart, back them up in Google Photos or on your computer, which will protect your photos from being lost again when you reset your settings or update your firmware.

3. Where do photos go if the basket is empty: possible reasons

The situation when deleted photos are not displayed in the cart is more common than it seems, the reasons can be both software and hardware.

If your Redmi has Mi Cloud or Google Photos enabled, the photos could only have been deleted from local storage but saved to the cloud.

• 🌐 Mi Cloud: Settings → Accounts. → Mi Cloud → gallery.
• 🖼️ Google Photos: Open the app → Library → Basket.

⚠️ Attention: On devices with MIUI Global and MIUI China's shopping cart algorithms may differ, for example, the Chinese version has the cart disabled by default, so you need to manually activate it in the gallery settings.

4. Recovery via Mi Cloud: if photos are synchronized

If your Redmi has been enabled to sync with Mi Cloud, the chances of returning a photo are much higher. Xiaomi cloud stores backups of the gallery even if the files are deleted from the device.

Step 1: Check for a backup copy

1. Open your Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud
2. Make sure the switch in front of the Gallery is on.
3. Stick around the gallery. → Management of backup copies.

Step 2: Recovery of photo

• 📁 If you have a backup, select a date (for example, Automatic copy from 15.05.2026).
• 🔍 Click View to see the contents of the copy.
• ⬇️ Select the desired photos and click Restore.

Important: Mi Cloud provides 5GB of free storage, and if the space is over, old copies can be automatically deleted.

• 💾 Clean up unnecessary files in the cloud regularly.
• 📦 Archive important photos on a computer or external disk.

If the photo is not in Mi Cloud, but sync has been enabled, try:

1. Sign in to your Xiaomi account on another device (or via i.mi.com).
2. Check the Deleted Files folder in the cloud storage.

5. Programs for recovery of deleted photos: top-5 utility

If standard methods don't work, specialized programs will come to the rescue, scan the internal memory or microSD card, finding files that haven't been overwritten by the system. Importantly, don't install programs on the same phone that deleted the photos, which will reduce the chances of recovery. Use a computer or other device.

The best tools for Xiaomi Redmi:

Recuva Recovery Instructions (as in the Redmi Note 11):

1. Connect your phone to your PC in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Run Recuva and select the type of Image files.
3. Enter the path to the phone’s internal memory (usually this computer) → [Model Redmi]).
4. Start a deep scan (may take 1-2 hours).
5. After completion, select the desired photos and click Restore.

⚠️ Note: When restored via PhotoRec, photos may lose their original names and be saved in format. f1234567.jpg. To identify them, sort by date of creation or use a batch renaming program, such as Bulk Rename Utility.

If you're using a Mac, Disk Drill or Stellar Data Recovery is the best option for Recuva. For Linux, PhotoRec and TestDisk are the same.

6. Recovery of photos from a microSD memory card: nuances for Redmi

If the photos were stored on a memory card, the recovery process is different from working with internal memory, and the main rule is: do not use the card after deleting the files to avoid overwriting the data.

Step-by-step instructions for microSD:

1. Remove the card from your phone and connect it to your computer through a card reader.
2. Run a recovery program (e.g., Recuva or EaseUS).
3. Select the memory card as the target disk for scanning.
4. After the scan is completed, save the recovered photos to another disk (not the same card!).

Features of working with cards on Redmi:

• 📱 On some models (e.g. Redmi) 9T or Redmi A2) map FAT32, This limits the file size to 4GB. If the photo weighs more, it can be corrupted.
• 🔄 If the card was used in the Internal Memory mode (in the Warehouse settings), it will be more difficult to restore data - root rights will be required.
• 🛠️ If the card is not determined by the computer, try connecting it through another card reader or using an adapter. USB-C/OTG.

If the recovery program finds photos, but they do not open:

• 🔧 Try changing the file extension from.jpg to.png (sometimes programs get the format wrong).
• 🖼️ Use Photoshop or GIMP Trying to open corrupted files.
• 📥 Upload your photo to an image recovery service, such as Online Photo Recovery.

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If the memory card has been formatted, the chances of recovery are reduced to 30-50%, in which case use PhotoRec with the option of deep scanning (Whole disk).

7 What to do if nothing helps: extreme measures

If all of these methods don't work, there are radical ways that require technical skills or a service center, but sometimes only they can help.

Method 1: Recovery through ADB (power-user)

If you have access to ADB (Android Debug Bridge, you can try manually extracting files from your phone’s memory:

adb shell


su




cd /data/media/0/Pictures




ls -la

If the.trash folder exists, copy its contents to your PC:

adb pull /data/media/0/Pictures/.trash C:\Redmi_Recovery

Method 2: Contact Xiaomi Service Center

If photos are critical (such as documents or unique photos), contact Xiaomi's official service. They have tools for low-level data recovery, but:

Method 3: Hardware Recovery (Chip-off)

In extreme cases (for example, after physical memory damage), the chip-off method is used.

1. Removing the memory chip from the phone board.
2. Connect it to a special programmer.
3. Bit-by-bit reading.

This method is expensive (from 10 000). ₽) It is only used in desperate situations.

⚠️ Note: If you decide to contact the service, do not try to disassemble the phone yourself - this can lead to irretrievable data loss. Also avoid using "folk" methods such as freezing the phone (this is a myth that does not work on modern smartphones).

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi Redmi