How to recover deleted photos from the cart on Xiaomi: all working methods

You deleted important photos from Xiaomi and you don't know how to get them back? Even if you cleared the cart in the gallery, the chances of recovery remain — but you need to act quickly. In this article, we will analyze all the available ways to return deleted images, from standard MIUI features to professional tools. It is important to understand that the more time has passed since the removal, the lower the probability of success.

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones use the proprietary MIUI shell, where the shopping cart in the gallery works according to special rules. For example, depending on the firmware version, the storage period of deleted files can vary from 15 to 30 days. We will consider not only recovery from the basket, but also alternative methods: through Google Photos, MIUI backups and even specialized programs for deep memory scanning.

If you've tried to recover photos before and failed, don't despair. There's a section on hidden MIUI folders that can store thumbnails of deleted photos even after cleaning the cart, and for those who are afraid of making a mistake, we've prepared a checklist to set up automatic backups.

How does the basket in the gallery Xiaomi and how much there are stored photos

In Xiaomi smartphones, the shopping cart in the Gallery app is not just a folder, but part of the MIUI storage system. By default, deleted photos and videos remain in the basket for 30 days, but this period can be changed in the settings. Importantly, if you manually cleaned the cart or disabled it in the settings, the files are deleted irreversibly (at least through standard means).

Where to find the basket:

• 📱 Open the Gallery app (icon with multi-colored squares).
• 🗑️ In the upper right corner, press three dots (⋮) → pick the basket.
• ⏳ If the folder is empty, check the filter by date – it is possible that the photos were deleted long ago.

The storage period of files in the Recycle Bin depends on the version of MIUI:

⚠️ Note: If you use Google Photos as your main gallery, the shopping cart MIUI In this case, the deleted photos are searched in the Google Photos Recycle Bin (retention period - 60 days).

Method 1: Recover a photo from the MIUI basket (if not cleaned)

If less than 30 days have passed since the deletion, the easiest way is to return the photo directly from the MIUI basket, which works on all Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO models, unless the cart is disabled in the settings.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the Gallery app.
2. Tap it on three points (⋮) top-right → Basket.
3. Select the necessary photos (long press → tick the rest).
4. Click Restore (the icon with the arrow down).

If the Restore button is not:

• 🔄 Check if editing mode is enabled (click Ready at the top).
• 📂 Make sure you choose the photo instead of the video (they are restored separately).
• 🔧 Restart your phone – sometimes the basket hangs.

⚠️ Note: Recovered photos are returned to the same folder from which they were deleted. If the folder is no longer there (for example, you transferred the photo to a memory card that you then formatted), the pictures will be in the folder. DCIM → Camera.

Method 2: Restore through Google Photos (if synced)

If your Xiaomi enabled sync with Google Photos, the deleted images could be saved to the cloud, and the main advantage of this method is that the storage period in the Google Photos Recycle Bin is 60 days (versus 30 days in MIUI).

How to check:

1. Open the Google Photos app (if not, download from the Play Market).
2. Slip on the profile avatar in the upper right corner → Cart.
3. Find the right photos, highlight them and click Restore.

If the photo is not in the Google Photos Recycle Bin, but sync has been enabled:

• 🔍 Check the Archive folder (there may be hidden copies there).
• 📅 Search by date – maybe a photo saved in another album.
• 💾 Check out photos.google.com (sometimes the mobile app doesn't show all the files).

⚠️ Note: If you deleted photos from Google Photos more than 60 days ago and cleared the cart, you can only restore them through Google support - but the chances are minimal).

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To avoid losing photos in the future, turn on Google Photos setting Backup and Sync → High quality (free unlimited storage for photos up to 16 MP).

Method 3: Find hidden copies in MIUI folders (even after cleaning the cart)

MIUI creates thumbnails and temporary files to speed up the gallery, and even if you cleared the cart, you might find smaller copies of deleted photos in the back office folders, and this method won't bring back the originals in full resolution, but it will save at least the preview.

Where to look:

• 📁 The.thumbnails folder stores thumbnails for the gallery. → DCIM →.thumbnails
• 📁 folder MIUI → Gallery → Cloud – there may be copies uploaded to the Mi Cloud cloud.
• 📁 Pictures folder → Screenshots – sometimes screenshots are duplicated with photos.

How to open hidden folders:

1. Connect your phone to your PC via USB (select File Transfer Mode).
2. Enable the display of hidden files: – On Windows: View → Hidden Items. – On Mac: Finder → Command + Shift +.
3. Check the folders from the list above.

⚠️ Note: Do not rename or move files in.thumbnails or MIUI — This can disrupt the gallery, so you can copy the thumbnails you want to create into a separate folder, and then try to zoom in on them with services like Let's Enhance.

Method 4: Deep memory scanning with programs (if the basket is cleaned)

If standard methods don't work, the last chance is to use data recovery software that scans the phone's internal memory at the file system level and can find photos even after cleaning the cart, and the more you use the phone after deleting, the better the chances of success.

The best programs for Xiaomi:

Step-by-step instructions for DiskDrill (the most versatile option):

1. Download and install DiskDrill on PC (Windows/Mac).
2. Connect Xiaomi to your computer in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
3. Start DiskDrill → select your phone from the list of devices.
4. Click Search for Lost Data → wait until the scan is completed (it can take 10–30 minutes).
5. In the results, select Images → mark the desired photos → Restore.

⚠️ Note: If the program requires root access, be careful: unlocking the bootloader on Xiaomi resets all data. It is better to try root-free recovery first (for example, in EaseUS MobiSaver or DiskDrill).

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The faster you start recovering from deletion, the better the chances of returning a photo, and each new photo, video, or app you install rewrites the memory sectors where the deleted files were stored.

How to avoid future photo loss: set up automatic backup

To avoid losing photos, set up automatic backups. Xiaomi has three reliable ways to do this:

1. Google Photo (recommended):

• 📱 Open Google Photos → pop on the avatar → Photo settings → Backup and synchronization.
• 🔄 Turn on the switch and select High Quality (free) or Source Quality (counted in Google Storage).
• 📶 Make sure that backups are only running over Wi-Fi (so you don’t waste mobile traffic).

2. Mi Cloud (Xiaomi cloud):

• 📱 Go to Settings. → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
• 📁 Turn on the Gallery and select which folders to sync.
• ☁️ Free 5GB, but they are enough only for the most important photos.

3. Local backup on PC:

• 🖥️ Connect your phone to your computer and manually copy the folder DCIM hard-drive.
• 🔄 Use programs like Syncios to automatically synchronize.

⚠️ Note: If you use a memory card (microSD), set up the default photo to it: Camera settings → Warehouse → But remember, memory cards break more often than internal memory, so you still need backups.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Many Xiaomi users lose photos because of Typical mistakes that lead to irreversible data loss.

1. Hand-cleaning the basket

MIUI has a button to Clean the cart in the gallery settings, and if you click on it, you delete all the photos without the possibility of recovery through standard means.

• 🗑️ Restore the photo one by one or in packs.
• ⏳ Wait for automatic cleaning (after 30 days).

2. disable synchronization with Google Photos

If you have disabled your backup due to a lack of space in Google Drive, the photos remain vulnerable.

• ☁️ Buy an extra seat (100GB is worth it) ~139 ₽/month).
• 📁 Archive old photos in ZIP and remove them from the cloud.

3. Use of memory cleaners

Applications like Clean Master or Security (built into MIUI) can delete temporary files, including thumbnails from the.thumbnails folder.

• 🚫 Do not use "deep cleaning" in your security settings.
• 🛡️ Turn off automatic optimization in Settings → Battery and productivity → Optimization.

4. Formatting a memory card without a backup

If the photos were stored on a microSD and you formatted them (for example, because of reading errors), it will be extremely difficult to recover the data.

• 💾 Backup on your PC before formatting.
• 🔄 Try to recover data with DiskDrill or Recuva immediately after formatting.

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The most reliable strategy is a combination of three backups: Google Photos (cloud) + Mi Cloud (Xiaomi cloud) + local storage on your PC, so you are protected from data loss even if one of the services crashes.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions