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

Removing photos from your smartphone is one of the most common problems faced by users of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO. Whether you accidentally clicked “Delete”, formatted a memory card or lost pictures after resetting your settings, there are almost always chances of recovery. In this article, we will discuss all the current ways to return deleted photos, including hidden MIUI functions, cloud services and third-party utilities.

It's important to understand that success depends on how long it's been since you deleted it and whether you've used your phone since then. New data written on top of old data can permanently destroy lost files. So you have to act quickly -- and start with the simplest methods.

We tested all of the methods described below on Xiaomi 13 Pro, Redmi Note 12 and POCO X5 models with the latest MIUI (14-15) instructions are universal and will be suitable for most of the brand’s devices released after 2018. If your model is older, check out the manual recovery section via PC.

1.Check the basket at MIUI Gallery

Modern versions of MIUI (starting with 12) automatically send deleted photos to an internal cart, where they are stored for up to 30 days, the first and easiest way to return photos without additional software.

To find the basket:

• 📱 Open the standard Gallery app (flower icon).
• 🗑️ Slip on three dots in the upper right corner and select the basket.
• ✅ Select the desired photos with a long tap and click Restore.

If the cart is empty or not on the menu, it means:

• 🔹 Photos were deleted more than a month ago (autocleaning worked).
• 🔹 You have used the function Clean the basket manually.
• 🔹 Photos were deleted through Explorer or third-party apps (e.g. Google Photos).

⚠️ Note: In some of the scoring for POCO The cart is disabled by default. To activate it, go to Gallery Settings. → Basket → Turn it on.

2.Restore via Google Photos

If your Xiaomi has Google Photos enabled, the deleted photos could be saved to the cloud, which works even if you deleted the photos years earlier, provided that the backup was activated.

Instructions:

1. Open the Google Photos app (if not, install it from the Play Market).
2. Slip on the profile avatar in the upper right corner → Cart.
3. Select a photo and click Restore. They'll be back in the main gallery.

If the Google Photos are empty:

• 🔍 Check the Archive folder – sometimes photos are moved there instead of deleted.
• 📅 Use the Search function by date or location of the shooting.
• 💾 Photos.google.com may have more recovery options in the web version.

⚠️ Google Photos Stores Deleted Files in the Recycle Bin for 60 Days (as opposed to 30 Days in a Recycle Bin) MIUI). Then they will be removed irrevocably.

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To avoid future losses, enable automatic sync in Google Photos: Settings → Backup and Sync → Enable. Select High (unlimited) quality to avoid wasting space in the cloud.

3.Using Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud)

Mi Cloud is Xiaomi’s proprietary cloud storage that automatically backs up photos if the feature is activated. Unlike Google Photos, it can recover not only images, but also other data (contacts, notes).

How to check:

1. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud.
2. Sign in if you are not automatically logged in.
3. Select the Gallery and check for backups.
4. To recover, tap on Download next to the desired album.

The limitations of Mi Cloud:

If Mi Cloud doesn’t have the right photos, but you’re sure that backup was enabled, try:

• 🔄 Update the cloud page (sometimes the data is loaded with a delay).
• 📧 Check the Hidden folder – some photos can move there.
• 🖥️ Sign in to Mi Cloud via your browser on PC: i.mi.com – there are more recovery tools.

4. PC recovery: programs for deep scanning

If previous methods didn't work, you'd have to connect your phone to your computer and use specialized tools that scan your internal memory and microSD card at the file system level, recovering even long-deleted data.

Top.-3 Photo recovery software with Xiaomi:

Step-by-step instructions for Disk Drill (recommended for beginners):

Enable USB debugging (Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → 7 times tap → Back to Additional → For Developers → Debugging by USB)

Connect Xiaomi to your PC via the original cable

Install ADB drivers (download here)

Run Disk Drill and select Recovery from Android

Follow the Connection Wizard (allow access on your phone)

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Once scanned, it will show all the photos you find, including the deleted ones. Mark them and click Restore. Save them on your PC -- not your phone -- to avoid overwriting them!

⚠️ Note: If Xiaomi is not defined by the program, try it: 🔌 Use the other USB-cable (preferably original). 🔄 Restart your phone and PC. 🛠️ Install drivers manually through Xiaomi PC Suite.

5. Manual recovery via ADB (for advanced)

If you’re familiar with the command line, you can try extracting photos directly through Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that works even if the phone doesn’t turn on (provided you have access to recovery).

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/Linux/macOS.
• 🔌 USB-cable-debugging USB (see previous section).
• 📦 Established ADB Tools.

Recovery teams:

adb shell


su




cd /sdcard/DCIM/Camera




ls -la | grep ".jpg" # View available files




exit




adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/ C:\Xiaomi_Photos\ # Copying on PC

If the Camera folder is empty, try searching in:

• /sdcard/DCIM/.thumbnails - miniatures of photos.
• /sdcard/Pictures/Screenshots – Screenshots
• /data/media/0/DCIM is the system partition (requires root).

⚠️ Note: Su commands require root rights. On modern Xiaomi, getting them can lead to a loss of warranty and blocking Bootloader. Without root, you can scan only an external memory card.

6.Recovery after a phone reset or breakage

If the phone was dropped to factory settings, dropped into the water, or stopped turning on, the chances of recovering the photo depend on where they were stored:

Scenario 1: The photos were in the internal memory

• 🔧 If the phone is turned on but reset, use the programs in section 4 (Disk Drill, EaseUS).
• 💽 If the phone is not turned on, but there is access to recovery – try connecting via ADB (see section 5).
• 🛠️ Xiaomi service centers can extract data using the help of JTAG Chip-Off, but it's expensive (from 5,000) ₽).

Scenario 2: Photos were on a memory card (microSD)

• 🔍 Connect the card to the PC through the card reader and scan the program Recuva (free).
• 🚫 Do not write new files to a map – this reduces the chances of recovery.
• 📁 If the card is not readable, try scanning it on another device (camera, other phone).

Scenario 3: Phone drowned or physically damaged

• 💧 Turn off the device immediately and don’t turn on – corrosion can destroy data.
• 🧊 Place your phone in a silica gel bag (from shoe boxes) for 24 to 48 hours.
• 📞 Contact the service with equipment for data recovery from damaged chips (for example, Dr.Phone in Moscow / SPb).

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If your phone doesn't turn on, but you've been syncing your photos regularly with Google Photos or Mi Cloud, you can recover the data even without access to your device, and the main thing is that the accounts are tied to your phone before they break.

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi