How to Open a Hidden Gallery on Xiaomi: Where to Store Your Miniatures and How to Manage Them

Have you ever noticed that Xiaomi (whether it’s Redmi Note 12, POCO X5 Or even the old Mi. A2) The gallery shows photos almost instantly, even though the originals weigh a few megabytes? the secret lies in the hidden folder.thumbnails, where the system stores thumbnails of all your shots. This folder is not visible in the standard file manager, but takes up gigabytes of memory – especially if you are actively taking photos.

In this article, we will learn how to find a hidden gallery on Xiaomi, why it is needed and whether it can be safely cleaned. DCIM/.thumbnails, How they affect smartphone performance, and why they are not visible in the MIUI And how to restore access to thumbnails if they disappeared after updating or resetting settings.

Spoiler: You can delete the contents of the.thumbnails folder, but there are nuances: for example, after cleaning the gallery will load longer until the system generates the thumbnails again. And on some models (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra), this can lead to camera malfunctions.

What is a hidden gallery on Xiaomi and why you need it

A hidden gallery is not a separate application, but a system folder. DCIM/.thumbnails, where MIUI It stores cached thumbnails of all photos and videos. These files have the.thumb extension and weigh from 5 before 50 Their main task is to speed up the loading of the gallery so that you do not have to wait for the smartphone to process the originals in high resolution.

For example, when you open an album with 2000 With photos, the system displays thumbnails from the.thumbnails folder rather than downloading the originals with resolution. 4032×3024 (like Xiaomi 12S Ultra. It saves CPU and battery life, but over time, the folder grows to a few gigabytes -- especially if you're a computer:

• 📸 Take a lot of photos in format RAW (on models that support Pro Mode).
• 🎥 You're filming in 4K/60fps Or use Slow Motion.
• 🔄 You often edit your photos in a standard editor. MIUI (Each change creates a new miniature).
• 📁 Store photos on a microSD card (miniatures are duplicated in internal memory).

Some models (e.g. Redmi Note 11 Pro)+) The.thumbnails folder can take up to 3-5 GB. It is not visible in the standard file manager. MIUI, because:

1. The folder begins with the point (.) that Linux/Android means "hidden file".
2. MIUI deliberately hides system directories so that users do not delete important data.
3. Miniatures don’t appear as separate files in the gallery – they are automatically downloaded.

Where is the hidden gallery: paths to the folder on different models

The thumbnail folder is always located in one of two ways:

1. /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails — Main storage for photos in internal memory.
2. /storage/{UUID}/DCIM/.thumbnails — If you are using a microSD card (where {UUID} — unique drive identifier).

However, on some Xiaomi models, the path may be different.

To see the folder, you need to turn on the hidden files.

Open any file manager (e.g. Files by Google or Mi File Manager)

Go to the settings (⚙️)

Activate the option “Show hidden files” or “Show hidden files”

Go back to the root directory and find the folder. DCIM

-->

If you are using a standard Mi File Manager, the path will be as follows:

Open Files → Categories → Images → More (⋮) → Show Hidden Files

⚠️ Note: On some firmware (for example, MIUI 14 for the global version), the option to display hidden files is blocked, in which case use third-party managers like Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer.

How to Open a Hidden Gallery: 3 Ways to Work

Now, to the main thing, how to access and manage the.thumbnails folder, we'll look at three methods: through the file manager, through the file manager. ADB through PC (if the smartphone does not turn on).

Method 1: Through a file manager (without root)

It’s the easiest method that works on 90% of Xiaomi models (including Redmi, POCO You'll need a little Mi:

• 📱 Smartphone with MIUI (version).
• 📁 File Manager with support for hidden files (for example, Files by Google).

Instructions:

1. Install Files by Google from the Play Market.
2. Open the application and go to the section "Collection» → «Images».
3. Tap it on three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select "Settings».
4. Activate the option “Show hidden files”.
5. Go back to the root catalogue (/storage/emulated/0/) and open the folder. DCIM.
6. There you will see a gray folder.thumbnails – this is the hidden gallery.

To clear the thumbnails:

• Select all files inside the folder (long press). → «Choose everything»).
• Click on the basket icon (🗑️).
• Confirm removal.

⚠️ Note: After cleaning the folder.thumbnails gallery MIUI It will load longer (up to 10-15 seconds) until it generates thumbnails again. 12T And new models, it can cause short-term lags when the album opens for the first time.

Method 2: ADB (for experienced users)

If the file manager does not show a hidden folder (for example, on the MIUI 14 with limitations, you can use ADB — Android debugging tool. This method requires a PC and enabled debugging. USB.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 USB-Type C Cable (original, undamaged).
• 🛠️ Google's Platform Tools utility.

Step-by-step:

1. Put the debugging on. USB on a smartphone: Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (Tap 7 times to become a developer → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB (turn on)
2. Connect your smartphone to your PC and confirm your trust in the device.
3. Open the command line (cmd) in the folder with the platform-tools.
4. Enter the command to view the contents of the folder.thumbnails: adb shell ls. /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails
5. To remove all thumbnails, do: adb shell rm -rf /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails/*

If you only need to remove thumbnails for a particular album (like Camera), use:

adb shell rm -rf /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails/large/Camera

adb pull /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails C:\Backup\thumbnails

This will help restore the miniatures if the gallery starts to work incorrectly.-->

Method 3: Through a PC (if the smartphone is not turned on)

If Xiaomi does not start (for example, after a failed update), but the files on the internal memory are intact, you can connect the smartphone to the PC in Fastboot mode or through the phone. TWRP (if a custom Recovery is installed).

Instructions for Fastboot:

1. Turn off your smartphone.
2. Press Power + Volume Down to log in to Fastboot.
3. Connect your device to your PC and check for detection: fastboot devices
4. mount the userdata section (where files are stored): fastboot mount userdata Note: On newer models (Xiaomi 13 and later), this method may not work due to encryption.
5. Use DiskInternals Linux Reader or Ext4Fsd, To access files and delete the.thumbnails folder.

For TWRP:

1. Enter the Recavérie (Power) + Volume Up).
2. Choose Mount → System and Data.
3. Connect your smartphone to your PC and use it ADB or file manager to access the /data/media/0/DCIM/.thumbnails.

💡

Deleting thumbnails via PC is a last resort. If the smartphone doesn't turn on, try resetting the settings via Fastboot with the fastboot erase userdata command. DCIM, but removes the system cache that may have caused the crash.

Can a hidden gallery be removed without consequences?

Deleting the.thumbnails folder does not delete the original photos, but can cause temporary lags in the work of the gallery. MIUI. The system will automatically restore thumbnails when the album opens next, but it will take time and processor resources. 9A) This could lead to hanging.

But there are also advantages:

• ✅ Frees from 1 to 5 GB of memory (depending on the number of photos).
• ✅ Reduced storage fragmentation, which speeds up the smartphone.
• ✅ Ghost files that take up space but don’t appear in the gallery disappear.

When removing miniatures can harm:

• 🚫 In the models with MIUI 13/14 HyperOS (for example, Xiaomi) 14) This can reset the camera settings.
• 🚫 If you use Google Photos in Original Quality mode, the thumbnails sync to the cloud, and if you delete them, you will re-upload them.
• 🚫 On some firmware (e.g, MIUI EU) After cleaning.thumbnails disappear previews in Google Drive.

To minimize the risks:

1. Before deleting, back up the folder. DCIM PC-based.
2. Delete only thumbnails, not the.thumbnails folder itself (it will be restored automatically).
3. After cleaning, restart your smartphone and wait until the gallery generates new previews.

How to turn off the creation of thumbnails on Xiaomi (forever)

If you do not wish to MIUI And you can turn off the thumbnails, and there are two ways to do that: through the gallery settings, and through the use of the thumbnails. ADB.

Method 1: Through Gallery settings (without root)

This method works on most models, but not on all firmware:

1. Open the standard gallery.
2. Tap on three points (⋮) → «Settings».
3. Find the “Show thumbnails” or “Fast Download” option and turn it off.
4. Reboot your smartphone.

On MIUI 14 and newer paths may differ:

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Gallery → Memory → Clear cache

Method 2: Through ADB (total shutdown)

To completely shut down miniature generation, you need to change the system settings. ADB:

adb shell settings put global thumbnail_generation_enabled 0

To get it back:

adb shell settings put global thumbnail_generation_enabled 1

⚠️ Note: On some models (Xiaomi) 12S, 13 Pro) this can cause camera malfunctions. Before executing a command, check if your firmware supports this change in thematic forums (for example, 4PDA or XDA-Developers).

Method 3: Use an alternative gallery

If you don’t like the standard gallery MIUI, You can install a third-party app that doesn't create thumbnails:

• 📂 Simple Gallery Pro – does not cache thumbnails, supports RAW.
• 🖼️ A+ Gallery – an easy alternative to open source.
• 🌐 Google Photos – Stores thumbnails in the cloud without clogging smartphone memory.

After installing an alternative gallery:

1. Open the settings of the standard gallery MIUI.
2. Clear the cache and application data.
3. Turn off auto-start for it in the battery settings.

Frequent problems with hidden gallery and their solutions

When you're working with the.thumbnails hidden folder, you're going to have a few common problems, and you're going to look at the most common ones and how to fix them.

Problem 1: Miniatures are not updated after photo editing

If you edited a photo (for example, cropped or applied a filter), and the gallery displays the old version, it means that the thumbnail has not updated.

1. Delete the thumbnail file for this photo manually (find it by name corresponding to the original).
2. Open the photo in the gallery and the system will generate a new thumbnail.
3. If it doesn’t help, clear the gallery cache in the app’s settings.

Problem 2: The.thumbnails folder takes up too much space

If the folder grew to 10+ GB, this could be related to:

• 📹 A lot of video in the 4K or 8K (Miniatures for them weigh up to 100 KB each).
• 🔄 Frequent editing of photos (each edit creates a new thumbnail).
• 🗑️ Mistakes in the work of the gallery, due to which miniatures are duplicated.

How to clean:

1. Delete all files in the.thumbnails folder (as described above).
2. Use it. SD Maid or Files by Google to search for duplicates.
3. Turn off automatic thumbnail creation (see previous section).

Problem 3: After removing miniatures, the gallery doesn't work

If the.thumbnails folder has been cleaned and the gallery has stopped opening or if it has an error, try:

• 🔄 Reboot your smartphone.
• 🧹 Clear cache and data of the Gallery application.
• 📥 Install an update to MIUI (Sometimes bugs are fixed in new versions).
• 🛠️ Restore thumbnails from backup (if backup was done).

If nothing helps, reset the gallery settings to factory:

Settings → Applications → Application Management → Gallery → Storage → Reset

Problem 4: Miniatures appear even after they are turned off

On some firmware (MIUI 14 for Xiaomi 13) system services ignore settings and continue to generate thumbnails:

1. Try turning off gallery optimization in the battery settings.
2. Use it. ADB, To block access to the folder: adb shell chmod 000 /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails Note: This will make the folder unavailable for recording, but may cause errors in the camera operation.
3. Install custom firmware (e.g. Pixel Experience) where there is no forced generation of thumbnails.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions