How to open hidden files on Xiaomi phone: the full guide

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face the need to find a specific document, media file or system folder that is not displayed by default in the gallery or standard manager. This can be due to privacy settings, the features of the Android operating system, or the specific parameters of the MIUI and HyperOS shell. Hiding files is a standard practice of protecting important data from accidental deletion or prying eyes, but sometimes it creates inconvenience for the owner of the device.

To access hidden files, it is not enough to simply flip through folder screens; you often need to activate special display modes or use third-party tools with advanced rights. In this article, we will examine in detail all the ways to see the hidden content of your storage, from simple conductor settings to connecting to a computer. You will learn to manage the visibility of data and understand which files you can touch and which you should not disturb.

Reasons for hiding files in Android and MIUI

The Android operating system has a built-in mechanism that marks certain files and folders as invisible to the average user. This is usually done by adding a dot at the beginning of an object name, such as.nomedia or.config. This approach allows the application developer and the system itself to store service data, cache and settings without cluttering the user interface with unnecessary information noise. On Xiaomi devices, this logic is complemented by branded shell add-ins that can hide entire media sections.

In addition to system limitations, users often hide photos or documents themselves using the Hidden Album feature or creating secure folders. This is a useful option to increase privacy, but it causes files to stop showing up in standard galleries and conductors without entering a password or fingerprint. Sometimes files become invisible after updating the firmware or installing a new application that changes the attributes of access to the root directory.

⚠️ Attention: Mindlessly deleting files with a point at the beginning of the name (for example,.android or.data) can lead to malfunctioning of applications or loss of system settings. Always check the purpose of the file before modifying it.

Also, it is worth considering that some file managers by default ignore system hidden files for the sake of security. If you use a third-party application to manage files, it may not have the necessary permissions to display all the contents of internal memory.

It is called the built-in Explorer tool from Xiaomi, which has deeper access to the directory structure.

Activation of the display of hidden files in a standard conductor

The easiest and safest way to see hidden objects is to use the File Manager app, which is pre-installed on all Xiaomi smartphones. By default, it hides files that start from a point so as not to overload the user with technical data. However, by changing a couple of settings, you can make them visible. To do this, launch the application and go to the Overview or Folders tab.

In the top right corner of the screen, you'll usually find a three-dot or gear menu icon, and you'll click on it and see a list of actions that you can take. You'll need to look for Settings or Settings. Inside that menu, you'll find a switch called Show Hidden Files. Activating this slider will instantly update the folder list, and you'll see all the objects that were previously marked as hidden. They're often displayed semi-transparently to visually differ from normal files.

Once this option is enabled, new folders will appear on the SD card and the root of the internal memory, including.thumbnails (gallery sketches),.Trash (basket), or folders from specific applications that store the cache. You can now manually manage their contents, copy or move files. If the standard Explorer for some reason does not display files even after you turn on the setting, try clearing its cache through the application menu.

For images and videos, there is a separate hiding mechanism associated with the.nomedia file. Even if you see a folder with photos in the explorer, the gallery can ignore its contents if this special marker lies inside. Deleting.nomedia will force the system to re-scan the media files and display them.

Using a Hidden Album Mode for Personal Data

In the Xiaomi ecosystem, there is a separate, more robust file-hiding mechanism known as the Hidden Album, and the files placed there are not just hidden from view — they are encrypted and only made available after successful authorization. This method is often confused with conventional concealment, but technically they are different processes. To access such data, you need to know a special gesture or password.

To enter a hidden album, open the standard Gallery or Explorer app, and on the home screen with a list of albums or folders, you need to swipe from the bottom up with two fingers, and a password field will appear, PIN-Once successful, a separate space will open up where you can move photos, videos and even document files.

The files inside the hidden album are completely isolated from the rest of the system. Even if you connect your phone to your computer in file transfer mode (MTP), you won't see the contents of the hidden album in the directory list. This ensures a high level of security for personal data. However, if you need to "disclose" these files back to the public, inside the hidden album interface there is a "Delete from the hidden album" function that will return them to the regular folder.

⚠️ Warning: When you reset your phone to a factory setting without first uploading the data from a hidden album, you will lose access to it forever. Always back up important hidden files before flashing it.

Access to system folders through PC connection

If the built-in smartphone can't open certain system directories, or the phone's interface is unstable, the best solution is to connect to a computer. When you connect a USB cable and select File Transfer (MTP) mode, the computer sees the phone's file system as an external drive, which allows you to use the power of the desktop Explorer (Windows Explorer or macOS Finder) to manage data.

You need to turn on the hidden items on your computer. In Windows, this is done through the View tab in the top of the Explorer, where you need to tick Hidden Items. Then the phone that's open in the computer window will show all the folders with a dot at the beginning, you can rename them by deleting a dot, or copy content. This method is especially useful for editing configuration files of games or applications that do not have their own settings interface.

However, it is important to consider the limitations of the protocol. MTP. It doesn't give you full access to all parts of the Android file system, particularly the folder. /Android/data on new versions of Android (11 It can be restricted even when connected to a PC for security reasons, in which case direct copying of files to this directory can be blocked by the system.

Advanced Methods: Root Rights and ADB

For users who need full control of the file system, including access to secure system partitions, the usual methods are not to be avoided, with the advent of Root rights and ADB debugging, which allows superuser rights to modify, delete and open any files, including those critical to MIUI.

Use of the ADB It allows you to connect to your phone from your computer and execute commands directly, which is useful if the GUI is not working or you need to massively change file attributes. USB» Then, by connecting the phone, you can use commands to view and change access rights.

adb shell


ls -la /sdcard/Android/data




chmod 777 /sdcard/Android/data/com.example.app

The ls-la command will show all files, including hidden ones, with their access rights. chmod allows you to change these rights to make the folder readable and writeable. But beware: changing the rights of system files can lead to a phone bootloop. Changing the permissions to the /system or /data folder without knowing the consequences can irreversibly damage the operating system.

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Use Root-enabled file managers like Root Explorer or Mixplorer if you already have superuser rights, and they have a built-in interface to securely edit system files.

If you're not a power user, you'd better limit yourself to Root-free methods. Modern versions of Android are becoming more closed, and the need for deep file system intervention is becoming less and less common. Most tasks can be solved by standard means or through cloud services that synchronize data without the need for manual file management.

Frequent problems and their solution

Even following the instructions, users may encounter situations where files remain invisible. One common problem is that the Android media database is damaged. If the gallery or explorer doesn't see new files or hides old ones, perhaps the media file indexer is "hang-up," in which case cleaning the Media Storage app's data through the application settings helps, and after rebooting, the phone will scan the memory again.

Another reason is file system errors: if the phone was removed from the computer incorrectly or it suddenly turned off, logical errors could occur. You can check through the computer: disk properties → service → error check. On the phone, you can try to run the diagnosis through the engineering menu by typing a special code in the “ringer”, for example, # # # # # # # #6484# (code may differ from region to region).

⚠️ Warning: If files are missing after a virus attack or a questionable app is installed, don't try to open them right away. Check the device with antivirus. Some viruses hide files by assigning them the Hidden and System attributes, and just removing the visibility tick will not be enough.

It’s also worth checking if the.nomedia file is in the folder where the images should be. As mentioned earlier, this file tells the system to ignore the media content in this directory. Deleting it (or renaming it nomedia.txt for verification) often solves the problem of missing photos from the gallery, although they can be seen in the explorer.

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Most hidden file problems are solved by checking visibility settings in the explorer or deleting the.nomedia file. Radical measures like resetting are rarely needed.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions