How to completely clean the basket on Xiaomi Redmi Note 7: instructions with pictures and secret chips

Deleting files on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 often seems like a simple task — you swipe your finger on the screen and a photo or document disappears. But after a week, you suddenly find that the phone’s memory is clogged again, and the same files appear in the gallery or file manager. It’s all about the hidden MIUI basket, which works differently than on an iPhone or standard Android. It not only stores deleted data for 30 days, as Xiaomi claims, but also duplicates it in several system folders if you use proprietary applications like Gallery, Files or Records.

Complicating the problem is that after upgrading to MIUI 14/13, the bin cleaning interface changed, and some menu items moved or disappeared for additional settings. For example, in older versions of the firmware, the gallery basket was cleaned in two taps, and now this may require permission to access storage or even connect to the Mi Account. And this is not a bug — this is how accidental deletion protection works, but it also eats gigabytes of memory.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways to clean the Recycle Bin on Redmi Note 7, from standard to hidden, including commands via ADB and manual removal of system folders. You’ll learn why files are returned after deletion, how to turn off the Recycle Bin forever (and whether to do so), and what to do if the system says “Failed to clear the Recycle Bin.”

1. Standard cleaning of the basket through the "Gallery" and "Files"

So, to start with the obvious, the built-in MIUI tools, and even if you've never looked at the settings, it automatically saves deleted files to the bin for 30 days (for photos) or 10 days (for documents), but there are pitfalls here, like the Recycle Bin in the Gallery and the Recycle Bin in Files, which are different storages, and you have to clean them separately.

To remove files from the gallery cart:

1. Open the Gallery app (flower icon).
2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → select the basket.
3. Click Manage (or Edit in MIUI 12 and below).
4. Tick the files or tap Select Everything → Click Delete Forever.

For the Recycle Bin in Files (where documents, APKs, archives are stored):

1. Launch Files (Icon with folder)
2. Go to the Category tab → scroll down to the Cart.
3. Select unnecessary files → Delete.

⚠️ Note: If files still take up space after these actions, check Settings → Warehouse → Storage analysis. It can show a folder called.trash or MIUI/Trash, which is not visible through a standard conductor.

Close all applications (Gallery, Files, Records)

Connect to Wi-Fi (for sync with Mi Cloud)

Check the space available (less than 10% of memory can block the deletion)

Disable battery optimization for the Files app-->

2. Hidden.trash folder: How to find and remove manually

The most common reason the Recycle Bin on the Redmi Note 7 doesn’t clear is the.trash system folder, which neither Gallery nor Files show, which is created automatically when you delete a file for the first time and can weigh several gigabytes, even if you regularly clean the Recycle Bin through the interface.

To remove it:

1. Install any file manager with hidden folder support (such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Enable the display of hidden files in the manager settings.
3. Go to the root directory (/storage/emulated/0/) and find the.trash folder.
4. Remove it manually (superuser rights may be required).

If the folder is not deleted, try:

• 🔄 Restart the phone and try again.
• 📱 Connect the device to the PC through MTP and delete the folder from the computer.
• 🛠️ Use it. ADB (guideline).

⚠️ Note: Don’t confuse.trash with folder MIUI/Trash — The one that controls the shopping cart in the Gallery is cleaned through its interface, and the.trash is irreversible, and you can't recover files from it.

3. Cleaning the cart through ADB (for power users)

If the standard methods don't work and the.trash folder isn't deleted, you can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB), which is a method that is suitable for users who have worked with the command line at least once, and the advantage of the method is that it bypasses the limitations of MIUI and allows you to delete even protected system files.

Instructions:

1. Download ADB Tools and unpack into any folder on your PC.
2. On the phone, turn on Developer Mode (7 times tap the MIUI version in Settings → About phone).
3. In Settings → Additional → For developers, activate debugging over USB.
4. Connect Redmi Note 7 to your PC and enter in the command line (in the folder with ADB): Adb devices should appear the name of your device.
5. Give superuser permissions (if there is root): adb shell su Or delete the folder without root: adb shell rm -rf /storage/emulated/0/.trash

If the team doesn’t work, try an alternative route:

adb shell rm -rf /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Trash/

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB If you don't understand commands, you can lose data or crash. Don't delete folders with system, vendor, or data names, these are critical parts of Android.

Through the Gallery appendix

Through Files.

Manually deleting the.trash folder

Using ADB or root

I'm not cleaning, let him lie down.-->

4.How to turn off the cart permanently (and whether to do it)

MIUI by default includes a basket for all types of files, but it can be completely deactivated. This will free up space on the disk, but will deprive you of the ability to recover accidentally deleted photos or documents.

• 📱 You have less than 5 GB of free space.
• 🔄 You regularly do backups in Google Photos or Mi Cloud.
• 🛡️ You use third-party file managers (such as Total Commander) that are independent of the system basket.

To turn off the basket:

1. Open the gallery → three points → Settings.
2. Find the basket item and move the slider to the off position.
3. For Files: Open the application → I (bottom right) → Settings → Recycle Bin → turn off.

Once disabled, all new deleted files will be permanently erased, and existing files in the recycle bin will remain and need to be manually deleted (see Section 1).

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If you have disabled the cart but want to keep the recovery option, set up an automatic backup in Google Photos (Settings → Backup and Sync).

5 Why the basket doesn't clear: Common mistakes and solutions

Sometimes users find that when trying to clear the cart, they get an error: "Failed to delete", "No access rights" or the process just hangs. Here are the main reasons and ways to fix them:

If none of these methods helped, try resetting the app settings:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the Gallery and Files, tap three points → Reset settings.
3. Reboot the phone.

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If the cart is not cleared due to a No Access Error, the problem is likely to be the limitations of MIUI. The solution is to use ADB or temporarily obtain root rights through Magisk.

6.Alternative methods: cloud carts and third-party applications

In addition to the MIUI system basket, files can be duplicated in cloud storage:

• 🌥️ Mi Cloud: Check the Recycle Bin in the Web Version (i.mi.com) → Basket.
• 📷 Google Photos: Open the app → Library → Basket.
• ☁️ Yandex.Disk./Dropbox: Go to the web interface and clean the cart there.

If you prefer third-party file managers, they often have their own baskets.

• 📂 Total Commander: The cart is in Settings → Backup → Basket.
• 🗃️ ES Conductor: the basket tab in the side menu.

⚠️ Attention: Some applications (e.g, WPS Office or ZArchiver create their own hidden folders for temporary files. To find them, search by name in the root file manager.

7.How to recover files from the Recycle Bin if you need them

If you accidentally cleared the cart, but the files have not yet been overwritten with new data, you can try to restore them. Note that the odds depend on how long it has been since you deleted and how full the phone's memory is.

Recovery methods:

1. Through Mi Cloud: If sync was enabled, files could be saved to the cloud. Check i.mi.com → Recycle Bin.
2. Using Google Photos: The web version (photos.google.com) has a Recycle Bin section where files are stored for 60 days.
3. Third-party utilities: programs like DiskDigger or Recuva (for PC) can scan the memory of your phone. To do this: Connect Redmi Note 7 to your PC in File Transfer mode. Run a scan (select Deep Analysis). Save the recovered files to your computer.

⚠️ Warning: Don't install recovery software on the phone itself, they can overwrite deleted data, making recovery impossible. Always use a PC or other device.

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The faster you start recovering from deletion, the better the chances of returning files. After cleaning the trash, avoid writing new data (photos, videos, app installations).

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning the basket on Xiaomi Redmi Note 7