How to return deleted photos on Xiaomi phone: the full guide 2026

Losing photos on a Xiaomi smartphone is a familiar situation, as you accidentally clicked Delete, formatted your memory card, or reset your phone to factory settings, and now valuable footage has disappeared without a trace. Fortunately, 90% of files can be recovered if you act quickly and correctly. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to return deleted images on Redmi, POCO and Mi devices, including hidden MIUI features, cloud services and professional tools.

It's important to understand that the less time has passed since deleting, the better the chances of success. MIUI (even in the latest versions 14/15) does not erase files immediately - it only marks them as "free" until new data is written on top of them. So the first rule is: stop using your phone (do not take photos, do not install apps, do not update the system) so as not to overwrite lost files.

We have tested all the methods on current models (Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Redmi Note 13 Pro+, POCO F6) and collected only working solutions - from basic (compare for a beginner) to advanced (for root-right users), and you will learn how to protect photos from loss in the future with automatic backup.

1.Check the basket at Xiaomi Gallery

Modern versions of MIUI (starting with 12) have a built-in shopping cart where photos are sent before final deletion. By default, files are stored there for 30 days, but this period can be changed in the settings.

1. Open the standard Gallery app (an icon with multi-colored squares).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (☰) lower-right.
3. Select the Recycle Bin (or recently deleted in some firmware).
4. Find the right photos, highlight them with a long tap and click Restore.

If the cart is empty or you can’t see this section, it means:

• 📱 Files deleted long time ago (more than 30 days ago).
• 🗑️ The basket is disabled in the gallery settings.
• 🔄 Photos deleted through file manager, not gallery.

💡

In MIUI 14+, the cart is hidden by default. To enable it, go to Gallery Settings → Recycle Bin → Enable the cart and set a shelf life (maximum 60 days).

If you don't have any photos in the cart, you can move on to the next method, but first check if they're hidden.

Settings → Applications → Gallery → Memory → Hidden files

2. Recovery via Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud)

If your Xiaomi has enabled sync with Mi Cloud, the chances of returning a photo are very high. The cloud automatically saves copies of the images (if the function is activated).

🔹 Phone from phone:

1. Open your Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Make sure that the gallery synchronization slider is turned on (green).
3. Slip to the Gallery and check the list of synchronized photos.
4. The files found can be downloaded back to the device.

🔹 Computer from computer:

1. Go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. Select the Gallery section in the left menu.
3. Tag the right photos and click Download.

If the sync has been disabled, try another method, but first check if the photos are saved in Google Photos (if installed):

• 📷 Open the Google Photos app.
• 🔍 Go to the Recycle Bin (photos are stored there for 60 days).
• 📥 Click Restore to return to the device.

3. Search for deleted files through the file manager

Sometimes photos don’t disappear completely, but simply move to hidden folders or get corrupted. Check the following directories through standard Explorer (Files) or a third-party manager (such as Solid Explorer):

🔍 How to look:

1. Open the files. → Internal memory.
2. Enable the display of hidden folders (in the menu or through Three Dots → Settings → Show hidden files).
3. Use a search for keywords:.jpg,.png, IMG_.

If files are found but not opened (damaged), try recovering them using apps like Photo Recovery or DiskDigger (for more on these in the next section).

4. Programs for recovery of deleted photos

If the previous methods didn't work, it's time to plug in specialized utilities that scan the phone's memory at a low level and find files even if they're not displayed in the gallery. We tested 5 popular programs, and the best results were:

• 📱 DiskDigger Photo Recovery (for phone) – does not require root, finds JPG/PNG.
• 💻 Recuva (for PC) – free, works with memory cards.
• 🔧 EaseUS MobiSaver – paid, but with a high recovery rate.

📌 Instructions for DiskDigger (on the phone):

Download DiskDigger from Google Play|Start the scan (select "Basic scan")|Mark the photos found.|Save them to a memory card or to the cloud|Do not keep it to internal memory!-->

⚠️ Note: If the phone is not rooted, the software will only be able to find thumbnails or low-resolution files.

💻 Instructions for Recuva (from computer):

1. Connect your phone to your PC in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Install Recuva and select the type of Image files.
3. Specify the phone disc (usually a portable device).
4. Start a deep scan (it will take 10–30 minutes).
5. Save the recovered photos to your PC hard drive.

💡

The faster you start your recovery, the better the chances of returning the photo in its original quality, and after 2-3 weeks of using the phone, the probability of success drops to 20-30%.

5. Recovery through ADB (for Advanced)

If you have experience with ADB (Android Debug Bridge), you can try extracting deleted files directly from your phone’s memory, which works even without root, but requires technical skills.

🔧 What's the matter:

• 💻 Computer with installed ADB Tools.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Tap 7 times, then additionally → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 Cable USB (preferably original).

📝 Step-by-step instruction:

1. Connect the phone to the PC and allow debugging.


2. Open the command line (Windows) or the terminal (Mac/Linux) in the folder with ADB.




3. Enter the command to create a backup copy of the photo section:




adb backup -f C:\backup.ab -shared




4. Confirm reservation on the phone (do not set a password!).




5. Use the Android Backup Extractor program to extract files from backup.ab.

⚠️ Note: This method creates a complete copy of user data, including messages and applications. Do not share backup.ab with third parties, it contains confidential information!

If ADB It doesn't find deleted files, and the last chance is physical recovery through a memory chip, which is handled by specialized service centers (costs starting at 3,000). ₽).

6. How to prevent future loss of photos

The best protection against data loss is regular backups, here are 5 reliable ways to save photos on Xiaomi:

• ☁️ Mi Cloud: Enable automatic synchronization in Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → Gallery. 5GB is free.
• 📁 Google Photos: Install the app and activate Backup and Sync. Free - 15GB.
• 💾 Local Copy: Once a month, transfer a photo to a computer or external disk through Files → Internal memory. → DCIM.
• 🔄 Duplication to memory card: In camera settings (Storage) → Memory card: Select the photo to be saved simultaneously to your phone and SD.
• 📧 Email: Send important photos to your email (e.g. Gmail or Yandex).

🔐 Additional security measures:

• 🚫 Turn off automatic cleaning in Settings → Memory. → Autocleaning.
• 🔒 Set the password on the folder. DCIM File Manager (for example, File Hide Expert).
• 📲 Use apps to hide photos (GalleryVault, KeepSafe).

💡

In MIUI 15, you have Secure Albums (in the gallery) feature, and you can transfer important photos there, they won't show up in the main feed, and they won't be deleted when you reset your settings.

7. Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

Many Xiaomi users lose photos due to errors. Here's what you can't do when you restore:

⚠️ Note: If you deleted the photo and immediately reset your phone to factory settings (Settings) → The phone. → Reset settings, chances of recovery are close to zero.Reset completely overwrites user data.

🔍 Myths of recovery:

• ❌ "Photos can be returned in 6 months" → After 1-2 months of active phone use, the odds are close to 0.
• ❌ "All recovery programs are the same" → DiskDigger and EaseUS show different results.
• ❌ "Root access guarantees 100% recovery" → Even with root, not all files can be returned if they are overwritten.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions