Lost access to photos on Xiaomi Redmi 9 or can’t find a folder with personal pictures? This problem is familiar to many users of Xiaomi smartphones, where the MIUI interface sometimes hides or moves media files in an unobvious way. Unlike “pure” Android, here photos can be stored in several places, from the standard Gallery to secure system folders.
In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can find a personal album on Redmi 9: through built-in apps, file manager, connection to your computer, and even restore deleted files. Particular attention will be paid to hidden MIUI folders that don’t show up in standard view mode but contain backups and cached images. If you find photos “disappeared” after updating or resetting, here’s the solution.
1. Search through the standard MIUI Gallery
So, to start with the obvious, the Gallery app is built in, and in MIUI, it has advanced sorting features, but sometimes photos are hidden in unexpected sections. Here's how to find them:
- 📂 Main album: Open Gallery, go to Photos tab. This shows all the images grouped by date. Check folders with Camera, Screenshots and Downloads names.
- 🔍 Keyword search: At the top of the screen, click on the magnifying glass icon and enter a query (e.g., “sea” or “2023.
- 👁️ Hidden Albums: Tap on three dots in the upper right corner → Hidden albums: This can store photos that are hidden manually or automatically (e.g. screenshots with confidential information).
- 📁 Device folders: In the Albums tab, scroll down to the Device Folder section, and it shows all the folders with media files, including those that created third-party apps (such as WhatsApp or Telegram).
If the Gallery doesn't have the right photos, don't panic. MIUI has a feature: some files may not be displayed due to caching or indexing errors.
- Open the gallery → three points → Settings.
- Select Clear the cache and confirm the action.
- Reboot your smartphone and check the albums again.
⚠️ Note: If the photos are gone after cleaning the cache, do not do any other actions with the device memory. This may be a sign of file system damage - go to the section on data recovery.
2. Verification through File Manager
If the Gallery doesn’t show you the photos you want, try to find them manually through the File Manager, which can help you find hidden folders and files that aren’t indexed by the system.
Instructions:
- Open the Files app (folder icon).
- Go to the Device section → Internal memory (or SD-map if the photos were saved on it).
- Open the DCIM folder, which stores all the photos taken by the camera, and inside it should be subfolders: Camera, the main pictures; Screenshots, the screenshots;.thumbnails, the thumbnails.
DCIM
- Pictures – here can be images from the Internet or saved from instant messengers;
- Download – downloaded files;
- MIUI → Gallery → Cloud – backups from Mi Cloud
DCIM/Camera folder – the main photos
Pictures folder - images from the Internet
Download folder – uploaded files
Hidden folders (include in settings)
folder MIUI/Gallery — backup-->
| folder | Contents | Visibility in the Gallery |
|---|---|---|
| DCIM/Camera | Photo and video from the camera | Yes. |
| Pictures | Images from the browser, messengers | Yes (partially) |
| .thumbnails | Miniatures to speed up loading | No (hidden) |
| MIUI/Gallery/cloud | Backups from Mi Cloud | No (only upon restoration) |
| Android/data | Media from apps (such as Instagram) | No (only via appendix) |
If you find photos in the File Manager, but they don't show up in the Gallery, the reason could be the.nomedia file. This is a special file that prevents applications from scanning the folder. Delete it (if any) and restart the device.
3. Connection to a computer: search through a PC
Sometimes it's easier to find photos by connecting Redmi 9 to your computer, which is especially useful if your smartphone has a damaged file system or a default application.
Step 1. Connect your smartphone to your PC:
- Use the original. USB-cable (low-quality cables may not transmit data).
- On your smartphone, select File Transfer (MTP) mode in the connection notification.
- If the mode does not appear, go to Settings → Connection and Sharing → USB and select File Transfer.
Step 2: Search for photos on PC:
- 🖥️ Windows: Open This Computer → Find the Redmi 9 device → Go to the internal memory or SD-The path is the same as in the file manager: DCIM, Pictures, etc.
- 🍎 Mac: Use Android File Transfer (download from official website.
- 🔍 Date Search: If there are many photos, sort them by date of change (in Windows Explorer: right click) → Sorting → By date).
Step 3: Photo export:
You can copy the files you find to your computer for backup. If the photos don't open on your PC, check their extension:
- 📷.jpg,.png,.heic - standard formats;
- 🔄.nomedia – delete this file if it interferes with the file;
- 🚨.db or.thumbdata – system files that do not contain images.