Accidental resets or the need to flash your smartphone often result in the loss of precious images. Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO devices face panic when the gallery is empty and the phone’s memory is cleared. However, modern file systems and cloud technologies often leave the chances of saving data, even if the user did not make a manual backup.
The recovery process depends on whether sync services were activated before the reset, and cloud storage is the first and most reliable source to turn to, and if you relied on on local storage alone, the situation becomes more complicated, but it does not become impossible, because there are specialized algorithms for finding remote fragments.
In this article, we will look at all possible scenarios, from simple checks in the Google Photos app to using professional software on your computer. It is important to act quickly and not write new information to disk so as not to overwrite lost memory sectors. Below are step-by-step instructions to help you recover lost moments.
⚠️ Warning: Stop using your smartphone immediately. Any new photo, downloaded app or message can overwrite the memory sector where your deleted photos were stored, making it impossible to recover them.
Checking the cloud service Xiaomi Cloud
The first step in the recovery algorithm is to check the manufacturer’s native cloud. Xiaomi smartphones often activate sync with Mi Cloud by default. Even if you don’t remember to enable this feature, it’s worth checking the status, since the system could activate it automatically when you first log in to your Mi Account.
To check, go to your phone's settings and select Mi Account. Next, find the Xiaomi Cloud section and click on the gallery icon. If your photos are synced, they will show up there, even if they are not locally on the device. Sync in the background could save your pictures until the moment of reset.
Alternatively, you can use a web version of the service on your computer, go to the official i.mi.com website and log in to your login. In the interface, select the Gallery section, which often stores copies that are not displayed in the preview on the phone itself due to caching errors after reset.
- 📸 Check the “Recently Deleted” section inside the cloud web interface, files are stored there for up to 30 days.
- ☁️ Make sure you sign in to the account that was the main one on the device before the reset.
- 🔄 When you find a photo, use the function “Restore” or download the archive to your computer.
What to do if the cloud is full?
Recovery via Google Photos and Google Drive
Google’s ecosystem is the standard for the Android platform, and many users are unaware that their photos are automatically copied to a cloud profile.The Google Photos app is often pre-installed on Redmi and POCO and takes precedence over the system gallery when searching for backups.
Open the Google Photos app on your smartphone or go to photos.google.com. Notice the top right corner: it displays your account avatar. Make sure you logged in to the profile you used on your phone. Backups could work over Wi-Fi even if mobile internet was disabled.
Inside the app, go to the Library section and select Recycle Bin. Deleted photos are stored there for 60 days (for users of a Google One subscription, the period can be increased to a year). If the photos were deleted with the reset, but were in the basket earlier or synced before that, they will be available for return.
☑️ Checking Google accounts
It is also worth checking Google Drive. Sometimes users or third-party apps back up archives. Type the word "backup" or "photo" into the disk search to find possible compressed files. The files in the Google Drive Recycle Bin are permanently deleted after 30 days, after which it is impossible to restore through regular funds.
Analysis of SD memory card and internal partitions
If your Xiaomi has a MicroSD card installed, the chances of data recovery are significantly increased. resetting to factory settings most often affects the internal data partition (/data), but external drives can remain intact if you did not choose the option of completely cleaning up all storage.
Remove the memory card and connect it to your computer through a card reader. Use deep scanning software like Recuva or PhotoRec. These ulites are able to find tracks of deleted files if new information has not been written on top of them. The card file system can mark deleted files as free space, but the data itself remains readable until overwriting.
In the event of absence SD-You can try connecting your phone to your PC in File Transfer mode (MTP). Run internal memory scanning. However, modern versions of Android on Xiaomi use encryption, making it difficult for third-party programs to directly scan internal memory without rooting permissions.
| Connection method | Effectiveness of recovery | Conditions required | Risks. |
|---|---|---|---|
| SD+PC card | Tall. | Cardreader, recovery software | Minimum |
| USB Cable (MTP) | Low/Mediocre | ADB drivers, Root (preferably) | Encryption of data |
| Wi-Fi transmission | Medium | Specialized software on PC | Instability of connection |
Use of specialized software for PC
When cloud services are powerless, powerful data recovery software comes to the rescue, programs like Dr.Fone, Tenorshare UltData, or DiskDigger (PC) scan a device for residual digital footprints, and they run deeper than standard file managers.
For the effective operation of most of these programs on the phone should be enabled debugging mode on the phone USB. To activate it, go to Settings. → On the phone and press quickly 7-10 once by “Version” MIUI» (or "OS version"). In the "Developers" menu, activate Debugging by USB.
Connect your smartphone to your computer with a cable and start a recovery program. Follow the instructions on the screen. The process can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours depending on the amount of memory. Deep scanning takes time, but allows you to find fragmented images.
⚠️ Warning: Installing recovery programs directly on the phone (internal memory) can destroy the chances of saving data. Always install software on your computer and connect the phone as an external device.
💡
Use the original USB cable that came with your phone. Cheap charging cables often don't support data transfer, which will cause a connection error in the recovery program.
Recovery from local MIUI backups
MIUI and the new HyperOS have a built-in local backup feature, and even if you’ve done a full reset, you can find hidden folders with backups when you reset your phone or through the file manager, unless they’ve been manually deleted.
Check the way. MIUI → backup → AllBackup in internal storage or on SD-If the folder exists, it means that the backup was created earlier, through the phone recovery menu (item "Additional» → «Recovery ) You can select this file and return the data.
It's also worth checking the.thumbnails folder in the DCIM directory. It stores thumbnails of photos. The quality of these images is low, but it's better than no pictures at all. To view hidden folders, turn on the hidden files in the Explorer settings.
- 📂 Look for files with the.bak or.zip extension in the root directories.
- 🕵️♂️ Use a file manager with access to system folders to look for traces of backup.
- 💾 If you find a backup, do not restore it immediately, copy it to the PC for security.
Prevention and setting up of auto-saving
To prevent the loss of a photo from happening again, you need to set up your auto-save system correctly. Xiaomi owners must first take care of synchronization. This does not require complex actions, but guarantees the safety of data in the event of any failure.
It is recommended to use a dual strategy: the manufacturer’s cloud for fast synchronization and a third-party cloud (Yandex, Google, Dropbox) for mission-critical photos. Automating the process will save you from having to remember to create copies manually.
Check your backup status regularly. Make a full copy to an external hard drive or computer once a month. Physical storage on a separate medium is the only way to protect yourself from account problems or cloud shutdowns.
💡
Setting up automatic synchronization in the background is the only guaranteed way to protect against data loss when a device is reset or broken.