How to Clean Your Recycle Bin in Xiaomi Phone: 3 Ways to Delete Files Permanently

Why Clean the Recycle Bin on Xiaomi and What Happens If You Don’t

The Recycle Bin on Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones is a temporary storage for deleted files, similar to the Recycle Bin on your computer. When you delete photos, videos or documents through the standard Files app or Photo Gallery, they don't disappear immediately, but they end up in this folder, where they are stored for 15 to 30 days (depending on the version of MIUI), taking up precious space in the device's memory.

According to Counterpoint Research (2023), up to 40% of Xiaomi users do not know that the basket exists on their phones, as a result of which gigabytes of junk files accumulate: old screenshots, duplicate photos, unnecessary documents. For example, a basket with 500 photos at a resolution of 12 MP can take up to 1.5-2 GB of memory. And if you actively use instant messengers and save media files, the volume of “invisible garbage” grows to 5-10 GB.

What happens if you don't clean the basket?

• 📉 Slowing down your phone: the system spends resources on indexing unnecessary files.
• 🚨 Errors in updating MIUI: Lack of memory can interrupt firmware installation.
• 🔋 Fast battery discharge: background processes of scanning the basket consume charge.
• 📸 Camera problems: if memory is not enough, Xiaomi may issue an error “Not enough space to save photos».

In this article, you will learn how to find a shopping cart on Xiaomi, clean it manually or automatically, and recover accidentally deleted files — even if they have already disappeared from the shopping cart. The instructions are relevant for all models, from the Redmi Note 12 to the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra, running on MIUI 12-14 and HyperOS.

Where is the basket on Xiaomi: 4 storage places for deleted files

Unlike an iPhone or a Samsung, where you have one basket, on Xiaomi, deleted files can be stored in four different places, depending on which application you used when you deleted them. Let's look at each one.

1. The Recycle Bin in the File Explorer app is the primary storage for all file types (photos, videos, documents, APKs) to open it:

1. Launch the Files app** (a blue background folder icon).
2. In the bottom menu, tap on the "Basket"** (dumpster icon).

2. The basket in the gallery "Photo" (Mi Gallery) - only media files (photo, video, GIF) are stored here.

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Slip on three dots in the upper right corner → «Basket».

3. Google Photos Recycle Bin - if you sync with Google Photos, deleted files are placed in a separate shopping cart of the cloud service to open it:

1. Run Google Photos.
2. In the menu (three lines), select “Basket”.

4. Hidden messaging basket – Telegram, WhatsApp and Viber have their own junk folders for media files, for example, in Telegram the path to it:

Memory of the device → Telegram → Telegram Images →.trash

⚠️ Note: If you don't find the basket in the Files app, check if it's disabled in the settings. → Additionally. → Recycle cart and enable the option “Show cart».

Method 1: How to clean the cart on Xiaomi manually (Step-by-step)

Manual cleaning allows you to selectively delete files or free up space completely, a method that is suitable if you want to save some files (such as important documents) and delete only unnecessary ones.

Instructions for the Files app:

1. Open the Files** (Folder Icon).
2. Go to the “Basket” section** (the bin icon at the bottom).
3. Slip on "Edit" in the upper right corner.
4. Select the files you want to delete permanently (checks left).
5. Click “Delete”** at the bottom of the screen and confirm the action.

Instructions for the gallery "Photo":

1. Launch the Photos app.
2. Tap it on three points. → «Basket».
3. Select “Clean”** (in some versions of MIUI – “Delete everything”).

Check if there are any important files in the cart|Create a backup copy of the required documents|Make sure your phone is at least 20 times charged%|Close the background applications to speed up the process-->

If you want to delete all files from the Recycle Bin at once, use the “Clean the Recycle Bin” button in the upper right corner (in the Files app) or the “Delete Everything” button in the gallery. MIUI 14 and HyperOS also have the “Autoclean” option, which allows you to set up automatic deletion of files older than 30 days.

⚠️ Note: Files deleted manually from the Recycle Bin cannot be restored by standard means MIUI. If you accidentally erase something important, immediately go to the section “How to recover files after cleaning the basket».

Method 2: Automatic cleaning of the basket (scheduled setting)

MIUI 12 and later has a cart autoclean feature that lets you delete files older than 30 days automatically, which is handy if you don't want to manually monitor the cart. Here's how to set it up:

1. Open the Files** → go to the Recycle Bin.

You can also set exceptions for certain file types, for example, if you don't want.pdf documents or.zip archives automatically deleted, add them to the exception list:

1. In the basket settings, select “Exceptions”.
2. Tap “Add file type”** and specify extensions (e.g. pdf, zip, docx).

In HyperOS (the new shell for Xiaomi 14 and later), the autocleaning algorithm has become “smarter”: the system analyzes which files you most often restore, and can extend their storage life to 60 days.

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If you often take photos of documents (passports, checks, tickets), add the.jpg and.png extensions to the auto-clean exceptions, which will save important files from accidental deletion.

Method 3: Cleaning the Recycle Bin via PC (for power users)

If the basket on Xiaomi’s phone doesn’t open (for example, because of a Files app failure), it can be cleaned through a computer, which is also useful if you want to make room for internal memory when the phone produces an error “Not enough memory.”

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows or macOS.
• 🔌 USB-cable (preferably original from Xiaomi).
• 📱 Included mode "File transfer»** (MTP) phone-on.

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Xiaomi to your PC via USB.
2. On the phone in the notification curtain, select File Transfer mode** (not Charging).
3. On your computer, open "This Computer" (Windows) or "Finder" (macOS).

For the gallery, the path will be different: Internal Storage → DCIM →.trash or Internal Storage → Pictures →.trash. Note that the folders with a dot at the beginning (.trash) are hidden by default.

• In Windows: open “Folder Settings” → “View” → uncheck the “Hide Protected System Files” box.

⚠️ Note: Do not manually delete.trash or Trash folders – this can cause the basket to fail in the system. MIUI. Delete only the contents of the folders!

How to recover files from Xiaomi Recycle Bin (if they are still there)

If you accidentally delete important files, but they're still in the recycle bin, they can be easily recovered, and the recovery time depends on which application you used when you deleted them.

Recovery through the Files app:

1. Open the Files»** → «Basket».

Restoration through the Photo Gallery:

1. Run "Photo" ** → three dots → "Basket"

Recovery from Google Photos:

1. Go to Google Photos** → Menu → “Basket”

If files have been deleted from the Recycle Bin or it has been cleared, try specialized recovery programs:

• 📱 For phone: DiskDigger, Undeleter (require root rights).
• 🖥️ For PC: Recuva, EaseUS Data Recovery (scan the phone's internal memory through the phone's internal storage system) USB).

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The faster you start recovering from deletion, the better the chances of returning files, and each new file saved (photo, video, app update) reduces the likelihood of successful recovery by 10-15%.

What to do if the Xiaomi cart is not cleaned

Sometimes users find that the cart is not cleaned or opened, this can be due to a system application failure, memory shortage or errors in MIUI. Here are 5 working ways to solve the problem:

1. Phone reboot

A banal but effective way. Press the power button → "Reset." After the reboot, try cleaning the basket again.

2. Cleaning the cache of the Files app

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Files (Mi File Explorer) → Storage.

3. Resetting the settings of the Files application

If cleaning the cache did not help, reset the settings:

1. In the Files app settings**, select “More”.

4.Update MIUI

Recycle bin errors are often fixed in new firmware versions. Check for updates:

1. Settings → About the phone → System update.
2. If an update is available, install it.

5.Use of an alternative file manager

If the standard Files application is not working properly, install a third-party manager (such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer) and delete the folder contents through it:

Internal Storage → MIUI → FileExplorer → Trash

⚠️ Note: If none of these methods worked, the problem may be related to file system damage, in which case only resetting the phone to factory settings (with loss of data) or flashing through Fastboot will help!

FAQ: Frequent questions about cleaning the cart on Xiaomi