Many Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone users face a common problem: accidentally deleted an important file or photo and rush to find a basket to restore it. Unlike the Windows operating system, where the basket is a standard desktop system element, in the Android mobile environment, the situation is somewhat different.
It's important to understand that MIUI and pure Android are application-isolated, which means that the gallery has its own temporary buffer and the file manager has its own. Deleted files don't disappear instantly, but move to hidden areas of specific applications where they are stored for limited time, so you need to look for a place to recover lost data inside the application through which they were deleted.
In this article, we will take a look at all the possible places where the cart can be on your device. We will look at standard system tools, gallery settings, cloud services and third-party solutions. You will learn not only to find remote, but also to correctly configure automatic backup to protect yourself in the future.
Standard basket in the Xiaomi Gallery
The most common way users delete photos and videos is by design. In the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS, the built-in mechanism for protecting against accidental deletion is implemented quite competently. The album “Recently Deleted” (or “Basket”) is available by default and does not require activation, although some users may accidentally turn off its display in the settings.
To find this section, open the Gallery app and go to the Albums tab. Scroll down to the bottom and you'll see a folder with the appropriate name. It stores all media files removed from the main tape, which are stored for 30 days, after which they are deleted irrevocably.
If you can't see this folder, it may be hidden. Go to the gallery settings (three dots or a gear in the corner) and find "Show recently deleted albums." Make sure the switch is active. It's also worth remembering that if you used the "Clear Recycle Bin" feature or deleted the file using a combination of "Shift + Delete" buttons (in some file managers), it could have bypassed this buffer.
- 📸 Open the Gallery app on the home screen.
- 📂 Go to the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen.
- ⬇️ Scroll down to the "Other Albums" section».
- 🗑️ Click on the “Recently Deleted” folder to view the contents.
⚠️ Note: The files in the album "Recently Deleted" take up space in the memory of your smartphone. If you run out of space, the system may suggest that you clean this album, which will lead to complete loss of data.
Search for deleted files through Explorer
The situation with documents, apk files, archives and music is different. The standard file manager MIUI ("Conductor") also has a recycle bin function, but it does not work as clearly as in the gallery. Often users, when they delete files through the Manager, do not suspect that they are not gone, but simply moved.
To access deleted files in Explorer, you need to open the Explorer app (folder icon). At the top of the screen, there are usually tabs or category menus. You need to find the Recycle Bin section. In some versions of the shell, the path may be different: click on the three bars menu in the upper left corner and select the appropriate item.
The same rules apply here: files are stored for 30 days, but if you've used the "Never Removal" function or cleared the conductor cache immediately after deleting, you can't restore data with regular means. It's important not to confuse the conductor basket with the.Trash folder at the root of internal memory that can be created by third-party applications.
The table below compares the recovery capabilities in different parts of the system:
| Parameter | gallery | Conductor | Google Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage period | 30 days | 30 days | 30/60 days |
| Type of file | Photos, Videos | All types of files | Photos, Videos |
| Dependence on the cloud | No (locally) | No (locally) | Yes (sync required) |
| Recovery | Instantly. | Instantly. | Requires a network |
Why do files disappear before 30 days?
The Role of Mi Cloud Service
Xiaomi heavily relies on its proprietary cloud service. If you have Mi Cloud sync enabled, deleted files can be saved there even after cleaning the local shopping cart on your phone.
You can check for deleted files via your computer or phone browser by going to i.mi.com. Sign in to your Mi Account and go to Gallery or Files, and there's also a tab called Recently Deleted, and the advantage of the cloud is that it doesn't depend on the physical condition of your smartphone.
However, there is a caveat: free space in the Mi Cloud is limited (usually 5 GB).If the limit is exhausted, synchronizing new files and saving deleted files to the cloud basket is stopped. → Mi Account → Cloud.
- ☁️ Go to your phone settings and select “Mi Account».
- 🔄 Make sure that the synchronization of the Gallery is enabled.
- 🌐 Go to i.mi.com to access the web version.
- ♻️ Check the “Recently Deleted” section in the web interface.
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Enable automatic recycle bin cleanup in Mi Cloud so that old deleted files don’t take up precious space in cloud storage unless you plan to restore them.
Google Photos and Google Drive as an Alternative
Remember that any Android smartphone, including Redmi, has Google services pre-installed. The Google Photos app often duplicates the standard gallery and has its own, very robust shopping cart. Even if you deleted a photo from the Xiaomi gallery, it can stay in Google Photos.
The Google Photo Recycle Bin has a storage life of 60 days for photos and 30 days for other files if backup is enabled, and you can find it by opening the app, going to the Library tab, and selecting Recycle Bin, which is one of the most reliable ways to recover, because the data is stored on Google servers.
The same thing happens with Google Drive: Deleted documents, PDFs and archives end up in a 30-day drive cart, and the way to that is to open Google Drive → menus (three bars) → Recycle Bin, which is especially true for those who use their phones to work with documents.
Importantly, these functions require an active Internet connection to function, and if a file has been deleted offline, it will disappear from local storage, but the deletion tag will only sync with the server when the network appears, until that point the file can be accessed in the application cache.
⚠️ Note: If you delete a file from the Google Photos Recycle Bin or Google Drive, it is impossible to restore it using standard methods.
Third-party recovery applications
If standard methods do not help, users often turn to third-party software. In the Play Market, there are many shopping cart applications (for example, Dumpster, Recycle Bin) that intercept the deletion process and store a copy of the file in their secure storage.
However, these applications must be installed in advance, and if you install a shopping cart after you delete an important file, it cannot recover data that disappeared before you install it, and it relies on making a copy of the file before you actually delete it from the system.
There are also sophisticated PC programs (such as Dr.Fone, DiskDigger) that try to scan the phone’s memory directly. They often require obtaining Root (superuser) permissions and enabling USB debugging. Without Root rights, these programs only see thumbnails or cache, not original files.
☑️ Check before installing the restorer
Prevention of data loss and settings
The best way not to look for a cart is to set up automatic backups. In modern Xiaomi smartphones, this is done. Check your sync settings regularly and make sure that important data is duplicated in the cloud or on your computer.
It is also recommended to periodically check the folder “Recently deleted” and manually clean it only after you are sure that the desired files are restored, this will help keep the device memory in order and avoid a situation where the system itself deletes the desired one due to lack of space.
Remember that physical memory damage or a viral attack can make it impossible to recover even from a shopping cart, so the three-copy rule (main, local backup, cloud) remains the gold standard of digital hygiene.
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Regular sync with Mi Cloud or Google Photos is the only guaranteed way to not lose data forever, as the local shopping cart is limited in time and volume.