Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone users often find their folder structure suddenly changed after a new system update, the standard MIUI shell or the new HyperOS is constantly being improved, and their navigation paths may disappear or move, causing a natural confusion, especially when it is urgent to find a specific image or folder with screenshots.
In this article, we will take a closer look at where Xiaomi Redmi albums are located, how to change the view of the display, and where your favorite folders have gone. We will look not only at standard navigation, but also at hidden features that allow you to manage the media library more efficiently. Understanding the structure of the file system will help you navigate the thousands of stored files faster.
And you'll also learn about the nuances of the Mi Cloud and the local memory of the device, and often the problem with finding it isn't the lack of folders, but the wrong sync settings or Wi-Fi Only mode on, so let's get it all straight, so that your digital archive becomes a pattern of order again.
The main interface of the Gallery and the tab of the album
The standard Gallery app on Xiaomi smartphones has two main viewing modes: Photos and Albums. It's in the second tab that the main content organization takes place. Here images are grouped not by date, but by source folders, which makes navigation much easier. If you can't see your folders, you may be in time feed viewing mode.
To move to folder structure, you need to open the app and click on the corresponding icon at the bottom of the screen. In some versions of the firmware, this section may be called Albums or Folders. Local folders are those directories that are physically on your device or memory card, and this is where you store instant messenger shots, screenshots and photos from the camera.
The interface may vary depending on the version of MIUI. In older versions, the folder list was immediately visible when you log in, and in newer versions it is sometimes hidden under an additional menu or requires scrolling. It is important not to confuse system albums such as "Recent" or "Favorites" with real file system directories.
⚠️ Warning: Deleting the system album (e.g., Screenshots) through the application settings may cause new screenshots to no longer be saved to their usual location or disappear.
If you upgrade to HyperOS, look at the top of the screen, and there may be a switch between Gallery and Cloud, and make sure you select local storage to see all the folders that the apps have created.
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Use the Hide Albums feature in the gallery settings to remove unnecessary system folders (such as remote games or apps) that clutter the list.
Why albums are missing and how to get them back
One of the most common problems faced by owners of Redmi Note and other series is the sudden disappearance of some albums from the list, most often due not to deletion of files, but to the display settings, the system can automatically hide empty folders or those that contain less than a certain number of media files.
To return all directories, you have to go to the settings of the Gallery itself, usually through a three-dot menu or a gear in the corner of the screen, and look for Hide Albums or Display Settings, and here you will see a list of all the folders available with switches opposite each.
The second reason could be cloud sync, where if you have the "Free Space" option enabled, the original photos can be deleted from the device and stored only in the Mi Cloud, in which case the local albums will be empty or absent until you turn on the download over the network.
- 🔍 Check the visibility settings in the Gallery menu and enable the display of hidden folders.
- ☁️ Make sure you sync with Mi Cloud if photos are missing after changing your device.
- 🗑️ Clean the Recycle Bin if the albums were accidentally deleted in the last 30 days.
It’s also worth checking whether Traffic Savings or Background Restrictions are enabled for the Gallery app, which can prevent you from updating your album list when you connect new devices or install new programs.
Hidden Album: Where to Find and How to Open
Xiaomi smartphones have a separate level of privacy, the Hidden Album, and the photos and videos placed there are not displayed in a shared feed or visible during normal viewing, but are protected by a password, a pattern lock or a fingerprint.
To find this album, open the Gallery app and go to the Albums tab. Then swipe (swipe) from the bottom up the screen and hold your finger for a few seconds. If you have a password set, you will see an input window. If not, the system will prompt you to create it.
In new versions of HyperOS, the path may be slightly different, and sometimes the hidden album is accessed through the Security app -> Hiding -> Hidden Album, which is designed to unify privacy settings throughout the system.
⚠️ Note: When you reset your phone settings to factory without first unlocking and transferring data, access to the Hidden Album will be lost irrevocably along with the photos.
Inside a hidden album, you can create your own folders to sort through private photos, which is convenient for storing documents, personal correspondence, or just photos that you don't want to show to others when you unlock your phone.
What happens if you forget the password from the hidden album?
Set up sorting and grouping photos
Managing the order of the albums is an important part of the interface setup, and in the standard state, folders are sorted by time of creation or by name, but the user can change this order for their own convenience.
Go to the Gallery settings and find the Sorting of Albums option, where you can select the sorting by name (A-I or I-A), by update date or by size, which is especially useful if you have a lot of folders from different applications.
There's also a manual order change feature available, which in some versions of MIUI requires you to press the album icon for a long time and drag it to the right place on the list, which allows you to take commonly used folders, such as Camera or WhatsApp, to the top.
| Type of sorting | Description | What's the point? |
|---|---|---|
| Timely. | Sorting from new to old | Search for latest photos |
| Named | Alphabetic order | Searching for a specific folder |
| By size. | From the hardest to the easy | Cleaning up memory |
Remember that date grouping in Photo mode can give the false impression of no albums. Always switch to the Albums tab to work with folder structure.
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Sorting albums correctly saves up to 30% of the time when searching for the right image in a large archive.
Working with files through a conductor
If the standard Gallery doesn’t display the right folders or doesn’t work properly, you can always use the File Manager system app, which gives you access to a clean Android file system where you can see all directories without filters.
Open the Explorer app and go to Internal Drive, where you will find root folders. Camera photos are usually in DCIM/Camera, screenshots in Pictures/Screenshots or MIUI/Gallery/cloud/cache, and instant messenger images in Android/media folders or root directories with app names.
You can create new folders through Explorer, move files between them, and rename them, and any changes you make here will instantly impact the Gallery when it's updated, and it's a powerful tool for ordering.
- 📂 The path to photo: Internal Storage/DCIM/Camera.
- 📸 The Way to Screenshots: Internal Storage/Pictures/Screenshots.
- 💬 The Way to WhatsApp: Internal Storage/Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Media.
Using Explorer also allows you to see hidden folders whose names start with a dot (e.g.,.thumbnails) that are usually hidden from the average user, but take up space on the disk.
Frequent problems and their solution
Despite the stability of Xiaomi’s system, sometimes indexing errors occur, and the gallery may not see new photos or show old deleted albums, in which case cleaning the app’s cache helps.
Go to Settings -> Apps -> All Apps. Go to Gallery and click Clear Data -> Clear Cache. This won't delete your photos, but it will force the system to rescan the memory and build a current list of albums.
Another problem is the conflict with third-party galleries (Google Photos, QuickPic), if you installed other apps to view photos, they could intercept the rights to display media files. Check the default settings in the Default Apps section.
☑️ Diagnostics of missing albums
If nothing helps, the.mediastore media content database file may have been corrupted, in which case a deeper cleaning or resetting may be required, but this is a last resort.