How to completely remove a photo from the cart on your Xiaomi phone: 5 working ways

Have you accidentally deleted an important photo on Xiaomi and now you don't know how to restore it or finally clean the cart? Or just want to make space by removing unnecessary photos forever? In this article, we will discuss all the ways to work with the cart in the standard Gallery app on Redmi, POCO and other devices running MIUI.

Unlike computers where files are sent to the Windows Recycle Bin after deletion, Xiaomi's mechanism works differently: Photos and videos first go to a temporary storage (gallery basket), where they stay from 15 to 30 days, depending on the settings, during which time they can be restored. But what if you want to erase files without recovery or, conversely, return accidentally deleted photos?

1.How the cart works in the Xiaomi Gallery: Key Points

Before you delete files, it's important to understand how the garbage storage in MIUI works. Unlike Google Photos, where the basket syncs to the cloud, Xiaomi's trash storage works locally.

📱 Files are only stored on your device – if you delete them from the Recycle Bin, they will disappear forever (without a backup in the cloud).
⏳ The default storage time is 30 days, but it can be reduced to 15 or increased to 60 in the settings.
🔄 Autoclean: If the phone’s space runs out, the system can automatically remove old files from the cart.
🚫 Not all files fall into the Recycle Bin: Photos deleted through the File Manager or third-party apps (such as Google Photos) will bypass this storage.

On devices with MIUI 14 and later, the Recycle Bin is smarter: it analyzes frequently used files and can suggest that they be restored even after cleaning, but this only works if you haven’t used deep cleaning or memory formatting features.

📊 How often do you clean your phone basket?

Once a week.

Only when memory ends

Never clean.

I don't know where she is.

2. Step-by-step instructions: how to remove a photo from the cart forever

If you are sure that the files are no longer needed, you can delete them without the possibility of recovery.

Open the Gallery app (icon with multi-colored squares).
Slip on three horizontal lines in the lower right corner (menu) and select the basket.
Press Control in the upper right corner.
Tick the files you want to erase or click Select All.
Remove and confirm the action.

The files will then be physically deleted from the device, but there's a caveat: if you're using Mi Cloud or Google Photos, the copies may have been saved to the cloud.

🌐 For Mi Cloud: Go to Settings → Accounts. → Mi Cloud → gallery.
📤 For Google Photos: Open the app, go to the Library → Basket.

Make sure files are not needed to work | Check backups in the cloud |Free up enough space on your device (at least 10% of storage) |Close all applications that work with the gallery-->

⚠️ Note: If you delete files from a microSD, they can stay in the cart as long as the card is connected to the phone.

3. How to recover photos from the Xiaomi cart

If you accidentally delete the photos, they can be returned within the retention period (by default - 30 days).

Open the Gallery and go to the Recycle Bin.
Select the files you want (or click Select All).
Restore – the photos will return to the original folder.

If there is no Restore button, it means:

🕒 Expired storage period (files deleted automatically).
🗑️ You've already cleaned the basket manually.
📱 Files were deleted through a File Manager or a third-party application.

In such cases, try recovery software (e.g. DiskDigger, Recuva for PC), but the chances of success depend on how long it has been and whether new data is written to the phone.

What if the cart is empty but the files are missing?

If the photos disappeared without a trace, check: 1. Hidden folders: in File Manager, turn on the display of hidden files (in settings). 2. Cloud services: perhaps the pictures were synced with Google Photos or Mi Cloud. 3. Other devices: if you used the function Mi Share or Quick transfer, the files could go to another gadget.

4.Setting up the basket: how to change the shelf life and turn it off

By default, the basket in MIUI is active, but its parameters can be changed.

Open the Gallery → Settings (cog in the upper right corner).
Pick the basket.
Options are available here: 🗓️ Storage period: 15, 30 or 60 days. 🚫 Disable the Recycle Bin: Files will be deleted immediately, without the possibility of recovery. 📤 Autoclean: Enable the system to delete old files when memory is scarce.

Parameter	Default value	Recommendation
Storage period	30 days	If you delete files often by accident, set 60 days. If memory is always scarce, 15 days.
Auto-cleaning	Off.	Turn it on if you don't want to manually monitor the basket.
Notifications	Included	Turn it off if you don’t want to receive reminders about files in the cart.
Display on the album	Hiddenly.	It is better to keep it hidden so as not to get confused in the files.

⚠️ Note: If you turn off the Recycle Bin, all files will be permanently deleted. This setting does not apply to cloud services (Google Photos, Mi Cloud), where the Recycle Bin operates according to its own rules.

5. Alternative ways to delete photos without a basket

If you don’t want files to get into the trash, use these methods:

📁 Through File Manager: Open File Manager → Find the folder with the photo (usually) DCIM/Camera). Select the files → Delete → confirm.

⚠️ Files will be deleted bypassing the basket!

Computer from computer

Connect your phone to your PC via USB (select File Transfer Mode).
Open the Internal Storage folder → DCIM.
Delete files via Windows Explorer or Finder (Mac).
🧹 Through ADB (If you want to delete files without a trace, use the command: adb shell rm -rf /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/name file.jpg ⚠️ This method is irreversible and requires developer rights.
🗑️ Files not deleted from the Recycle Bin: Possible reasons: Files protected from writing (try renaming them before deleting); Memory card damaged (check it on PC); Lack of rights: give gallery permission to Warehouse in settings.

Recovered photos damaged

This happens if the files have been partially overwritten. Try recovering them via PC using Recuva or PhotoRec.

💡

If the shopping cart is acting strange (not updated, showing a void), reset the settings of the gallery: Settings → Apps → Gallery → Reset. This will not delete files, but return the standard settings.

7.Security: How to protect photos from accidental deletion

To avoid losing important photos:

☁️ Enable autosynchronization with Google Photos or Mi Cloud: For Google Photos: Open the app → Profile → Photo settings → Backup and sync. For Mi Cloud: Settings → Accounts. → Mi Cloud → gallery → Synchronization.

Hide important photos

In the MIUI gallery you can hide files:

Select the photo → More. → Hide.
To see hidden files, enter a password (if installed) or use a fingerprint.
💾 Make regular backups to your PC or external drive.

Use programs like DiskDigger (for Android) or Recuva (for PC).

Why does the MIUI cart not show all deleted photos?

Probable reasons: Files deleted through File Manager or a third-party application (they don't make it to the gallery basket); you used Clear Everything in the storage settings; the files were on the memory card you retrieved; the storage period expired (default 30 days).

How to remove the basket completely so that it does not take up space?

The Recycle Bin is a virtual folder, it doesn't take up extra space, but if you want the files deleted right away, open the Gallery. → Settings → Bag. Select Unplug the basket. Confirm the action. ⚠️ After that, all deleted files will be erased irrevocably!

Can I set up a separate cart for a memory card?

No, MIUI has a basket that's shared between internal and external memory. However: If you delete files from a card via a PC, they don't get into the phone's basket. When you extract the card, the basket clears automatically.

How do I know how much space the basket takes up?

To check the volume of the Recycle Bin: Open Gallery → Recycle Bin. In the upper right corner, click three dots → Information. The system will show the number of files and their total size. You can also see the occupied space in Settings → Warehouse → Other → Recycle Bin.