How to find a shopping cart on Xiaomi Redmi 5: where to store deleted files and how to restore them

Have you accidentally deleted important photos, videos or documents on your Xiaomi Redmi 5 and now can’t find a shopping cart to return them?The problem is that the standard MIUI file system doesn’t always display the Recycle Bin folder on the home screen — you need to search for it manually or through special applications. In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to find deleted files on Redmi 5, including hidden system folders, Mi Cloud storage and third-party recovery utilities.

It’s important to understand that on Redmi 5 (as on other Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 9-11), the shopping cart can work differently depending on how you delete it, for example, files deleted through the gallery go to one folder, and those deleted through the file manager to another, and we will analyze each scenario in detail so that you can quickly recover lost data.

1. Standard shopping cart in the Xiaomi gallery: where to look for deleted photos and videos

If you delete photos or videos through the standard Gallery app, they automatically move to the hidden Recycle Bin folder to find it:

Open the Gallery app (icon with multi-colored squares).
Slip on three horizontal lines (menu) in the upper right corner.
Select Recycle Bin (may be called Recently Deleted in older versions of MIUI).
Hold your finger on the file you want to restore and click Restore.

⚠️ Note: The files in the gallery basket are only stored for 30 days, and then they are deleted irrevocably. If the folder is empty, try other ways from this article.

If the Recycle Bin item is not on the menu, update the Gallery app via Google Play or check the settings:

📱 Go to Settings. → Annexes → Application management → gallery → Warehouse.
🗑️ Click Clear Data (this will reset the gallery settings, but won't delete files).
🔄 Reboot your smartphone and check the gallery menu again.

Check out the Gallery app updates in Google Play|

Clear cache and gallery data in settings|

Reboot your smartphone |

Try an alternative file manager (e.g. Files by Google)-->

2. System basket in the file manager Mi File Explorer

Redmi 5 has the default file manager Mi File Explorer (or Files in newer versions of MIUI) which also has its own shopping cart, but it works differently than in the gallery:

Open the Files app (folder icon).
In the bottom menu, select the Categories (or Review) section.
Scroll down and find the Recycle Bin folder (sometimes hidden under the Still item).
Hold the file and click Restore or Return.

Note: in MIUI 9, the Recycle Bin in the file manager is disabled by default. To activate it, go to Settings → Additional → Enable Recycle Bin.

If the folder is empty, check:

🔍 Date filter: Files may have been deleted more than a month ago.
📁 Recycle Bin folder in the root directory through ES Conductor.
🌐 Mi Cloud (if synchronization was enabled).

💡

If you lose files frequently, enable automatic sync with Mi Cloud in your Xiaomi account settings, which will save backups of photos and documents.

3. Search for hidden folder Recycle Bin via ES Explorer or Root Browser

Sometimes the Recycle Bin on Redmi 5 doesn't show up in standard apps, but it's physically in the memory of the device.

Install ES Explorer or Root Browser from Google Play.
Open the app and allow access to the storage.
Go to the root directory (/storage/emulated/0/).
Find the Recycle Bin,.Trash, or MIUI/Recycle folder.

If there is no folder, try to enable the display of hidden files:

🔧 V ES Conductor: Settings → Display hidden files.
🔍 In Root Browser: Click on three dots → Show hidden files.

⚠️ Note: Do not delete files from Android folders, MIUI or system, which can cause a malfunction of your smartphone. If you are not sure which file to restore, it is better to use specialized programs (see section 5).

Basket folder	Way	File retention period
Gallery basket	/storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/Recycle	30 days
File Manager Recycle Bin	/storage/emulated/0/Recycle Bin	15 days
The Hidden Cart of Mi Cloud	/storage/emulated/0/MiCloud/Backup/Recycle	60 days
Temporary files	/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery/cache	7 days

4. File recovery via Mi Cloud: if the Recycle Bin is empty

If you've previously enabled sync with Mi Cloud, deleted files could be saved to the cloud to find them:

Open the Mi Cloud app (or go to i.mi.com).
Sign in with the same Xiaomi account that was used on Redmi 5.
Select the Gallery or Files section.
Find the Recycle Bin (or Recently Deleted) folder.
Select the files you need and click Restore.

If there are no files in the cloud, check:

📅 Last synchronization date in Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud.
📱 Availability of backup copy in Settings → Additionally. → Backup.
🔄 Try logging into an account on another device – sometimes files are only displayed there.

Yes, I sync files regularly |

Backup only |

No, I don't trust clouds.|

I don't know how it works.-->

⚠️ Warning: The free version of Mi Cloud only has 5GB of storage, and if the space is out, new files will not sync and cannot be restored through the cloud.

5. Deleted file recovery software: if the Recycle Bin didn’t help

If you don't find any files in any of the bins, you have one last chance to use specialized utilities. Redmi 5 is suitable for:

📱 DiskDigger – Restores photos and videos without root rights.
🔧 Recuva (requires a PC connection).
📁 GT Recovery – Works with documents and archives.
🛠️ EaseUS MobiSaver – supports recovery from memory cards.

Instructions for DiskDigger (the easiest option):

Install the app from Google Play.
Choose Basic Scan (without root) or Full Scan (with root).
Wait until the scan is completed (it can take up to 30 minutes).
Tick the required files and press Recover.
Save the recovered data to a memory card or to the cloud.

💡 Tip: The less you use your smartphone after deleting files, the better the chances of recovering them. New data can overwrite old ones, making recovery impossible.

What if the program does not find the files?

If the scan failed, try 1. Connect your smartphone to your PC and scan through Recuva or PhotoRec. 2. Check the memory card (if it was inserted at the time of deletion). 3. Contact the service center - sometimes files are restored through a memory chip (expensive but effective).

6. How to prevent future file loss: settings for Redmi 5

To avoid losing important data, set up Redmi 5 in advance.

🔄 Enable automatic sync with Mi Cloud: Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → Synchronization → Gallery/Files
📁 Use an external memory card to store important files.
🔒 Set a password to folders with sensitive data (for example, through AppLock).
📱 Make backups regularly through Settings → Additionally. → Backup.

It's also useful to know:

📌 Files deleted through Google Photos are stored in the recycle bin of this application (not in the system system).
🔍 Videos from the camera can be saved in a folder DCIM/.thumbnails — Check it before you recover.
🚫 Do not use the garbage cleaning function in MIUI — They often delete files from the cart ahead of time.

💡

Redmi 5's recycle bin works differently depending on how you delete it: the gallery, the file manager and the cloud store files in different folders. Always check all three sources!

FAQ: Frequent questions about the cart on Xiaomi Redmi 5

Can I recover files if the cart is empty?

Yes, but the odds depend on how long it's been since you deleted it, and if you didn't overwrite the files with the new data, you can get them back through programs like DiskDigger or Recuva, and if it's been more than a month, you have minimal success rates.

Why isn't my Redmi 5 folder a basket?

Probable reasons: Recycled Recycle Bin feature in MIUI settings (includes in Settings → Additional → Recycle Bin) was removed through a third-party application (e.g. Google Photos) that has its own shopping cart, and files are permanently deleted (e.g., through Security Garbage Cleanup).

How to increase the storage time of files in the basket?

The standard 30-day deadline cannot be changed, but it is possible to: Manually transfer files from the basket to another place (for example, to a memory card); use cloud services (Mi Cloud, Google Drive) with a longer shelf life; install a third-party file manager (for example, Solid Explorer), where the settings of the basket are more flexible.

Can I recover files after resetting settings?

After hard reset, it's almost impossible to recover files from internal memory. Exceptions: If Mi Cloud was turned on and files were synchronized. If files were stored on a memory card (it's not affected by reset), If the reset was done via Fastboot, rather than through the settings menu (in this case, deep scanning through a PC sometimes helps).

Where are the deleted messages and contacts stored?

Messages and contacts are deleted without a shopping cart, but they can be restored through: Mi Cloud (if sync was enabled). → Additionally. → Backup. Third-party programs like Dr.Fone (require root rights). ⚠️ Attention: Recovery SMS After the procedure, it is recommended to clear the cache of the application Messages.