How to Clean the Cart in Xiaomi Phone: Full Instruction with Nuances

Why Xiaomi’s Recycle Bin is Clogged and How to Fix It

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often face a problem: the phone’s memory runs out, even though the user has long deleted unnecessary files, the reason for this is the basket, which by default gets all deleted photos, videos and documents. Unlike a computer where the basket is cleared automatically when overflowing, on Xiaomi it can store files for up to 30 days, taking up gigabytes of precious space.

The problem is especially relevant for budget models with 64 or 128 GB of memory, where every megabyte counts. For example, in the Redmi Note 10 or POCO X3 Pro, the basket can eat up to 5-10 GB if not cleaned in time, and the system does not always notify the user about overflows - files simply remain in the background, slowing down the phone.

In this article, we will examine:

• 📂 Where is the basket on Xiaomi and how to open it
• 🧹 How to Clean Your Cart Completely or Selectively
• ⏳ Why do files not get deleted from the cart right away?
• 🔄 How to Recover Accidentally Deleted Data
• ⚙️ Autocleaning settings and alternative ways to free up memory

Where is the basket on Xiaomi: 3 ways to open

Depending on the phone model and the MIUI shell version, the path to the cart may be different. Let's look at all the options.

📌 Method 1. Through the Files app (Gallery)

This is the most versatile method that works on most Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices:

1. Open the Gallery app (camera icon).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (☰) lower-right.
3. Select Recycle Bin (or Remote in some versions of MIUI).

📌 Method 2. Through "File Manager»

If you have MIUI 12/13/14 installed, the basket can be hidden in a standard file manager.

1. Launch the Files app (folder icon).
2. Go to Categories → Images or Videos.
3. In the top menu, click on three dots (⋮) and pick the basket.

📌 Method 3. For older versions MIUI (11)

On devices like the Redmi 5 or Mi A2, the basket may be called differently:

• 🔍 Open the gallery. → Albums. → Scroll down to the Remote section.
• 📁 In the File Manager, check the.trash folder (hidden, you need to enable the display of hidden files in the settings).

How to clean the cart on Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions

Once you find the basket, you have to clear it, and there are two options: delete everything at once, or select specific files to restore/delete.

🔹 Complete cleaning of the basket

1. Open the cart in any of the ways above.
2. Press three points (⋮) top-right.
3. Choose to Clean the Cart or Remove Everything.
4. Confirm the action in the pop-up window.

🔹 Selective deletion of files

1. In the basket, tick off unnecessary files (or tap on the file for preview).
2. Click on the basket icon at the bottom of the screen (or select Remove from the menu).
3. Confirm removal.

⚠️ Note: After cleaning the cart, files are permanently deleted (unless backups are used in Mi Cloud), and can only be restored with third-party software - but success is not guaranteed.

Check if there are any important files|Make a backup copy in Mi Cloud|Make sure your memory is really full.|Close all applications to speed up the process-->

Why Files Aren't Deleted From Xiaomi's Recycle Bin Immediately

Many users wonder why files still take up space after clicking Delete?

Important: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi 12T or Redmi K50) have a cart split into two parts: for photos and for documents.

How to recover files from Xiaomi shopping cart

If you accidentally delete important data, it can be returned within 30 days.

1. Open the cart through the Gallery or Files.
2. Select the files you want (you can use the Allocate Select Mode).
3. Click on the Restore icon (a down arrow or folder icon).
4. Files will return to the original folder (e.g. Camera or Downloads).

⚠️ Note: If the recycle bin has been cleaned, file recovery cannot be done by standard means, in which case only specialized software like DiskDigger or Recuva (root rights for deep scanning are required).

💡 Tip: To avoid data loss, enable automatic synchronization with Mi Cloud:

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Mi Cloud.
2. Activate the Synchronization Gallery option.
3. Install Autoboot for photos and videos.

💡

If you are recovering photos, check the DCIM/.thumbnails folder – sometimes thumbnails remain even after the originals are deleted.

Set up auto-cleaning basket on Xiaomi

To avoid manually cleaning the bin, set up automatic file deletion.

1. Open the gallery. → Basket.
2. Tap it on three points (⋮) → Recycle bin settings.
3. Select the storage period: 🗓️ 1 day to save space (risk of data loss) 🗓️ 7 days - the best option 🗓️ 30 days - default 🚫 Never – files will be stored indefinitely

Autocleaning with a lack of memory

🔧 Additional settings:

• 📥 Limit the size of the cart: in Settings → Warehouse → The basket can be set a limit (for example, 1 GB).
• 🔄 Enable Cart Overflow Notifications: Settings → Notifications → gallery.

Alternative ways to free up memory on Xiaomi

If the basket is empty but the memory is still running out, check these sections:

• 🗑️ App cache: Go to Settings → Warehouse → Cache data and clear unnecessary files.
• 📁 Hidden folders: In File Manager, enable the display of hidden files (in settings) and check the folders.thumbdata,.nomedia.
• ☁️ Cloud Copies: Remove duplicates in Mi Cloud or Google Photos (Section Free Space).
• 🎮 Games and Applications: C Settings → Sort programs by size and remove unnecessary ones.

📊 How to check what is taking up memory:

1. Open the settings → About the phone → Storage.
2. Click on the category (such as Images or Videos) for detail.
3. Use memory analysis in the File Manager (Analysis section).

💡

Regular cleaning of the basket and cache can free up to 15-20 GB of memory on a loaded smartphone.

FAQ: Frequent questions about the cart on Xiaomi