How to return photos from the cloud to the gallery on Xiaomi smartphones: all ways 2026

Did you accidentally delete photos from your Xiaomi phone relying on a backup in the cloud but now can't find them in the standard gallery? Or did you reset all the pictures missing even though they were definitely uploaded to the Mi Cloud, POCO Mi – Cloud services do not automatically restore media files to local storage.

In this article, we will discuss all the working ways to return photos from the cloud to the Xiaomi gallery, including official tools (Mi Cloud, Google Photos) and alternative methods (for example, through File Manager or third-party applications).

If you've tried standard settings before and nothing has worked, don't panic. 90% of the time, photos aren't lost, just get them right out of the cloud and move them to the right folder. We'll also tell you how to avoid quality loss when downloading from Mi Cloud (relevant to compressed copies) and what to do if the cloud shows files but they don't load onto the device.

Before proceeding with the instructions, check:

• 🔋 Battery level (the boot process can take time and consume energy).
• 📶 Stable Wi-Fi connection (mobile internet can interrupt downloading large files).
• 📂 Free space on your phone (photos take up more space than you think).

1. photo recovery via Mi Cloud (official method)

Mi Cloud is Xiaomi's proprietary cloud storage service that automatically syncs photos, contacts and other data. If you've previously enabled backup, your pictures should be there. Here's how to return them to the gallery:

Step 1: Check for photos in the Mi Cloud

• 📱 Open the Mi Cloud app (if not, download from Google Play).
• 🔑 Sign in to the same Mi Account that was used for backup.
• 🖼️ Go to Gallery or Photos section – all uploaded pictures should be displayed here.

Step 2: Download a photo to your device

If you have photos in the cloud but are not in the gallery:

1. Select the desired pictures (or click Select All).
2. Slip on the Download icon (usually it's a down arrow).
3. Wait until the download is complete – the files will be saved to the Download or Mi Cloud folder.

Step 3: Transfer the photo to the gallery

Downloaded photos don't always show up in a standard gallery immediately, so they can be displayed:

• 📁 Open File Manager (or any other file manager).
• 🔍 Go to Download or Mi Cloud (where files are saved).
• 🖼️ Select the photos → Move it → select a folder DCIM/Camera (Or create a new folder in Pictures).

Sign in to Mi Account that was used for backup|Check the free space on the phone (minimum 1 GB)|Connect to Wi-Fi for stable loading|Update the Mi Cloud app to the latest version-->

Problem: Are the photos downloaded but not displayed in the gallery?

This is because the standard Gallery app only scans certain folders.

1. Open the Gallery → click on the three dots in the upper right corner → Settings.
2. Select Show Hidden Folders or Add a Folder.
3. Specify the path to the folder where you saved the photos (for example, /storage/emulated/0/Download/MiCloud).

2. Recovery via Google Photos (if this service was used)

Many Xiaomi users prefer Google Photos over Mi Cloud because of the larger amount of free storage (15GB vs. 5GB for Xiaomi).

Step 1: Checking the backup copy

• 📱 Open the Google Photos app.
• 🔍 In the search bar, type Photo or Video – if there is a backup, the files will appear.
• 📅 Make sure the dates match the ones you took the pictures.

Step 2: Download to the device

To get the photo back to the gallery:

1. Select the appropriate photos (or album).
2. Click on three dots in the upper right corner → Download.
3. Files will be saved to the folder Pictures/Google Photos.

Step 3: Transfer to a standard gallery

Google Photos creates a separate folder that a standard Xiaomi gallery might not scan, so that the photos are displayed along with the others:

• 📁 Open the File Manager → cross over Pictures/Google Photos.
• 🖼️ Select the files → Copy → cross over DCIM/Camera → Insert.
• 🔄 Update the gallery (pull the screen down for an update).

💡

If you have a lot of photos, use the Archive feature in Google Photos so you don't upload everything at once. → "Add to the archives" → Download the archive to your PC and then transfer to your phone.

Attention! If you used the option to Free up space in Google Photos, the original photos could have been removed from the device but remained in the cloud, in which case they should be downloaded again according to the instructions above.

3. Manual recovery via File Manager (if the photo is on the phone, but not displayed)

Sometimes photos are physically present on the phone (for example, in the folder MiCloud or Download), but not shown in the gallery.

• 📁 Incorrect storage path (the gallery scans only certain directories).
• 🔍 Damaged cache of Gallery app.
• 📂 Hidden folders or files with non-standard extensions.

How to fix it:

1. Open File Manager and check the following folders: /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera /storage/emulated/0/Pictures /storage/emulated/0/Download/MiCloud /storage/emulated/0/MiCloud
2. If you find photos, they are not displayed in the gallery: 🖼️ Move them to DCIM/Camera. 🔄 Reboot the phone. 🧹 Clear the gallery cache: Settings → Annexes → gallery → Warehouse → Clear the cache.

If the folders are hidden:

In Xiaomi, some system folders can be hidden to see:

1. Open File Manager.
2. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner → Settings.
3. Enable the option to show hidden files.

4. PC recovery (if the phone can’t see the photo in the cloud)

If you can't download photos from the cloud (for example, because of synchronization errors), you can use your computer, which is suitable for Mi Cloud and Google Photos.

For Mi Cloud:

1. 🖥️ Go to i.mi.com and log in.
2. 🖼️ Select the Gallery section → highlight the necessary photos → Download.
3. 📁 Files will be uploaded to.zip archive – unpack it.
4. 📱 Connect your phone to your PC through USB (file transfer).
5. 🖼️ Copy the photos into a folder DCIM/Camera phone-on.

For Google Photos:

1. 🖥️ Open photos.google.com.
2. 🖼️ Select the photos → press three points → Download.
3. 📁 Transfer the downloaded files to your phone (similar to the instructions above).

Recovery annexes:

1. DiskDigger scans internal memory and finds deleted photos (even if they are not in the cloud).
2. Recuva (for PC) – if you connect the phone to the computer in drive mode.
3. Dumpster creates a “basket” for deleted files (you need to install it in advance).

How to use DiskDigger:

1. Download and install DiskDigger from Google Play.
2. Start the scan (select Full Scan for deep search).
3. After completion, select the necessary photos. → Restore.
4. Save files to the folder DCIM/Camera.

Attention! Recovery applications only work if:

• 📱 No new data was recorded on the deleted photos (otherwise they will be overwritten).
• 🔍 The phone was not formatted (after resetting the chances of recovery fall sharply).

Recovery from local backup:

If you have made backups through Settings → System system → Backup, the photos could have been archived to be retrieved:

1. Connect the phone to the PC.
2. Find the file. MIUI/Backup/AllBackup.
3. Copy the archive to your computer and unpack it (for example, through a computer). 7-Zip).
4. Find the photos in the unpacked files and transfer them back to your phone.

7.Prevention: How to avoid loss of photos in the future

To avoid having to deal with missing photos, follow these guidelines:

Backup settings:

• 🔄 Enable automatic sync in Mi Cloud and Google Photos:
• 📁 Check regularly that photos are actually uploaded to the cloud (open the app and make sure new pictures are available).

Additional security measures:

• 💾 Periodically copy important photos on a PC or external drive.
• 📱 Use it. SD-Media card (but don’t forget to back up your files as memory cards may fail).
• 🔐 Set up two-factor authentication for Mi Account and Google Account to avoid hacking and loss of cloud access.

What NOT to do:

• ❌ Delete photos from your phone without checking if they are uploaded to the cloud.
• ❌ Use functions like Free up space in Google Photos if you are not sure that the backup is created.
• ❌ Keep a single copy of important photos on your phone or one SD-map.

💡

The most reliable strategy is a combination of three copies: the originals on the phone. + backup in Mi Cloud + archive on a PC or external disk.

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi