Where to look for a shopping cart on Xiaomi Redmi phone: a complete guide to recovering deleted files

Why you can’t see the cart on your Redmi and where to look for it

You accidentally deleted an important photo or document on Xiaomi Redmi — and now you can’t find a basket to recover a file? — This problem is familiar to many Xiaomi smartphone users, especially after upgrading to MIUI 14/15. The fact is that unlike Windows or macOS, where the basket is always in sight, on Android (and in the shell of MIUI in particular), its location depends on the file type and firmware version.

In this article, we’ll look at all the possible places that the Recycle Bin can hide on your Redmi Note 12/13, Redmi 10/11 or other model, from the standard Files app to the Mi Cloud, and explain why files sometimes disappear from the Recycle Bin ahead of time and how to fix it.

Spoiler: If you're looking for a photo and video basket, it's not where the document basket is, and it's not a system bug, that's what MIUI's designed to do.

Photo and video shopping cart: where to look at Redmi

On Xiaomi Redmi smartphones, deleted photos and videos are placed in a special basket inside the Mi Gallery app.

1. Open the Gallery app** (an icon with multi-colored squares).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (☰) lower-right.
3. Select the “Basket” option** from the menu (or Trash if you have English firmware).

In this basket, files are stored for 30 days, and then automatically deleted. If you don't see the Recycle Bin item on the menu, check:

• 📱 Version MIUI: in old firmware (up to) MIUI (12) the basket may not have been available.
• 🔧 Gallery settings: go to Gallery settings → Recycle Bin and make sure the function is enabled.
• 🗑️ Manual Deletion: If you manually cleaned the Recycle Bin, files cannot be restored.

💡

If the gallery doesn’t have a Recycle Bin item, try updating the app via Google Play or installing an alternative gallery (like Google Photos).

Important: The cart in the gallery doesn't sync with the Mi Cloud, and if you delete a photo from your phone and then turn on sync, you won't see files in the cloud.

Recycle Bin for Documents and Other Files

For all other file types (PDF, DOCX, APK, ZIP, etc.), Xiaomi Redmi uses a basket in the standard File Manager application to open it:

1. Launch the Files app (folder icon).
2. In the lower menu, select the "Basket" tab** (dumpster icon).
3. If there is no tab, tap on three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select the basket.

The same rules apply here as for the gallery:

• ⏳ Storage period: 30 days (configured in Settings) → Basket).
• 🔄 Recovery: Select files → «Restore».
• ⚠️ Cleanup: If the shopping cart is empty, check the filters (maybe the files are sorted by date).

Is the Files app open (not a third-party manager) |

Have all categories (images, videos, documents) been checked)|

The latest version of MIUI| is installed

Sync with Mi Cloud enabled (if you need to restore cloud files)-->

If you use a side file manager (like Total Commander or Solid Explorer), it may have its own basket — or it may not have one at all — in which case it will be harder to recover deleted files.

Why the Redmi cart can be empty

You opened the cart and it's empty -- although you remember exactly what you deleted recently? Here are 5 of the most common reasons:

Critical nuance: if you delete files through Windows Explorer (by connecting Redmi to your PC as a flash drive), they will not get into the MIUI basket and will be deleted irrevocably.

Once a week |

Only when memory ends|

Never cleaned |

I don't know where she is.-->

How to recover files if the basket is empty

If there is nothing in the Recycle Bin but the files have been deleted recently, try these methods:

1.Recovery through Mi Cloud

If you have Mi Cloud sync enabled, check:

1. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Select “Gallery” or “Files”.

2. Recovery programmes

For deep scanning of the phone memory suitable:

• 📱 DiskDigger (no root rights required for photos).
• 💻 Recuva or EaseUS (if you connect your phone to your PC).
• 🔍 Undeleter (working with the SD-map).

⚠️ Warning: the more you use your phone after deleting files, the lower your chances of recovery.New data overwrites old ones.

3. Google Backup Photos

If you have used Google Photos with autosynchronization:

1. Open the Google Photos app.
2. Put it on the avatar. → «Basket»**.

How to set up a basket on Xiaomi Redmi

By default, the basket in MIUI works with the basic settings, but they can be changed:

1. Change the retention period of files

For the gallery:

1. Open the Gallery» → ⋮ → «Settings».

For the file manager:

1. Launch the Files» → ⋮ → «Settings».

2. Delete folders from the basket

If some files should not be included in the shopping cart (for example, work documents), add their folders to the exceptions:

1. In Files, go to Settings → Recycle Bin → Excluded folders.
2. Click Add and select the directories you want.

⚠️ Attention: If you delete the folder DCIM/Camera, Photos from the camera will be removed irrevocably.

3. Clean the basket manually

To make room:

1. In the “Gallery” or “Files” open the basket.
2. Tap “Clean” or highlight files → “Delete forever”.

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Customizing the cart in MIUI avoids losing important files, recommends setting a maximum storage period (60 days) and disabling auto-cleaning if the phone's memory allows.

Frequent mistakes when working with a basket on Redmi

Even experienced Xiaomi users sometimes make mistakes that cause them to lose data.

• 🚫 Delete via PC: files erased from the phone like flash drives do not fall into the basket MIUI.

If you often work with important files, we recommend:

• 📲 Set up an automatic backup in Google Drive or Mi Cloud.
• 💾 Use an external drive for backup copies.
• 🔍 Before cleaning the cart, check its contents through keyword search.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions about the Xiaomi Redmi Recycle Bin