How to remove all photos from the Xiaomi gallery: safe methods

Deleting all photos from Xiaomi Gallery can be necessary in a variety of situations, from freeing up memory before selling your phone to wanting to get rid of unnecessary pictures after a vacation. However, standard allocation of files one by one takes hours, and the “Delete All” function is often hidden or not working correctly. In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to mass delete photos – from built-in MIUI tools to hidden file manager functions and even commands through ADB.

The feature of Xiaomi, Redmi, Poco and Black Shark smartphones is that the gallery is closely integrated with the Mi Cloud service, which means that simply removing files from a device does not always lead to their complete disappearance - photos can remain in the basket or sync again.

1. Standard method: Mass removal through MIUI gallery

The most obvious method is to use the built-in features of the Gallery app, but many users find that the "Share All" option is either missing or not working properly.

Open the Gallery app and go to Albums → All photos. It's important to take your time here: if you have date sorting enabled, the system can split the images into individual events, so you can see all the photos at once:

• 📅 Click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Show by: All (not Monthly or Event-By-Events").
• ✅ Now, tap and hold your finger in any shot to activate the selection mode. The top panel will display the All-Specify icon (if not, read the next paragraph).
• 🗑️ Once you've selected, click on the basket icon. The system will prompt you to confirm the deletion, agree.

If you don't have the All-Seize button, you have an old version of MIUI (up to 12.5) or you have an album grouping enabled.

1. Return to the gallery's main screen.
2. Slip on the albums → Camera (here usually stored all photos from the main module).
3. Repeat the extraction attempt.

⚠️ Attention: The photos that are deleted through the gallery are put in the cart and stored there for 30 days. → Basket and clean it manually.

2. Through the file manager: where are the photos stored and how to delete them

The Gallery app is just an add-on to the real file system. All photos are physically stored in /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera/ (for the main camera) and /DCIM/Screenshots/ (for screenshots). By deleting files directly through the file manager, you bypass gallery restrictions.

Instructions:

1. Open the built-in Explorer (or install Solid Explorer if the standard manager doesn’t like it).
2. Go to the internal drive → DCIM → Camera.
3. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner and select Highlight All.
4. Click Delete and confirm the action.

The advantage of this method is that you can see all files, including hidden ones (for example, thumbnails with the.thumb extension or backups from editors).

Backup important photos | Check free space on your device | Disable sync with Mi Cloud | Close all applications using the gallery-->

If you delete a photo before selling your phone, after cleaning the DCIM folder, it is also recommended to go to Settings → Memory → Cleanup and start a deep garbage cleanup. This will remove thumbnails and temporary files that may have been left.

3. Using Google Photos for Mass Deletion

If your photos are synced to Google Photos, you can delete them centrally via a web interface or a mobile app, which is convenient because it allows you to manage your photos on all devices at the same time.

How to delete all photos via Google Photos:

• 🌐 Open photos.google.com in your browser or launch the app.
• 🔍 In the search bar, enter photos from:camera (this will filter only the photos from the camera, eliminating screenshots and uploaded images).
• ✅ Click on the profile avatar → Photo settings → Storage management.
• 🗑️ Choose Delete all photos in the cart (if they have already been deleted) or use mass highlighting in the album.

Google Photos stores deleted files in the trash for 60 days to erase them forever:

1. Go to the basket section in the side menu.
2. Press Clear the basket.
3. Confirm the action (it is irreversible!).

⚠️ Note: If you have backup and sync enabled in Google Photos, new images will automatically be downloaded back. Before mass deletion, turn off this option in the app settings.

4.Reset gallery through MIUI settings (without data loss)

When standard methods don't work (for example, a gallery freezes when you're taking mass allocation), you can reset the Gallery app to factory settings, which won't delete the photos themselves, but will clear the cache, thumbnails and temporary files, which sometimes solves the problem of "invisible" images.

Step-by-step:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find the gallery in the list and tap it.
3. Select Warehouse → Clear cache and Clear data.
4. Confirm the action. The app will restart.

After discharge:

• 🔄 The gallery will re-build the photo index (it can take a few minutes).
• 📁 Temporary files (e.g. edited copies) will be deleted.
• ⚙️ All personal settings of the gallery (sort, hidden albums) will be reset.

If the goal is to make room, re-check the DCIM folder through the Explorer after the gallery is reset, often with duplicates or files with the.nomedia extension that do not appear in the gallery, but take up memory.

💡

Before you dump the gallery, export important albums: open the album you want → three dots → Export. This will save copies of the photo in a separate folder.

5. The radical method: ADB-crews to clean up

For power users who want to be guaranteed to delete all photos without recovery, the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) method is suitable, which requires connecting the phone to a computer, but allows you to erase files at a low level, bypassing the limitations of MIUI.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB on Xiaomi (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI — Tap 7 times, then return to the additional → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original).

Instructions:

1. Connect the phone to the PC and confirm the debugging permission.
2. Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (macOS/Linux) in the adb folder.
3. Enter the command to check the connection: Adb devices must display the serial number of your device.
4. Run the command to delete all photos from the DCIM/Camera folder: adb shell rm -rf /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/*
5. To remove screenshots: adb shell rm -rf /sdcard/DCIM/Screenshots/*

Warnings:

• 🚨 This command irreversibly deletes files bypassing the basket.
• 🔒 If you have storage encryption enabled, you may need to unlock your phone before executing a command.
• 📁 Commands do not affect cloud copies in Mi Cloud or Google Photos – they must be removed separately.

💡

ADB-A command error (such as an extra space or symbol) can result in the deletion of the NOT-so-called files. Always double-check the paths!

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

When you delete a photo on Xiaomi, users often face typical problems, and here are the most common ones and how to solve them:

Another common problem is that photos remain in search results even after they are deleted, because MIUI indexes files for quick search, to update the index:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Search.
2. Choose Clear Data.
3. Reboot the phone.

If you delete a photo before transferring your phone to another person, remember to:

• 🔐 Log out of Xiaomi account (Settings) → Xiaomi account → Get out).
• 🧹 Clear the application data Messages, Contacts and Browser.
• 🔄 Perform reset to factory settings (Settings) → The phone. → Resetting settings).

FAQ: Answers to popular questions