How to recover deleted photos on Xiaomi Redmi smartphones: from the basket to deep scanning

Removing photos from your smartphone is one of the most painful mistakes, especially if the images capture important moments: the first birthday of a child, a wedding or a trip to an exotic country. Owners of Xiaomi Redmi (be it Redmi Note 12 Pro+, Redmi 10C or older models like Redmi 5) face this problem more often than others: the MIUI interface offers too convenient tools for mass removal, and cloud backups are not always turned on by default.

Fortunately, the chances of getting back lost images remain high, even if you’ve cleared your cart or formatted your memory card. In this article, we’ll look at 5 recovery methods, from basic (cloud and cart checkers) to advanced (PC and specialized software), and focus on the nuances for Xiaomi devices: where temporary files are stored, how to get around the limitations of MIUI, and why some methods only work on rooted phones.

Important: The effectiveness of each method depends on how long it has been since you deleted it and how much you've been using your phone since the incident, and the faster you start recovering, the better the chances of success.

1.A check of the basket at MIUI Gallery

The first thing you need to do is to look into the built-in Recycle Bin of the Gallery app, and in MIUI, deleted photos are not erased immediately, but are placed in a temporary storage facility that lasts from 15 to 30 days (depending on the model and firmware version).

1. Open the standard Gallery app (not third-party managers like Google Photos).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (menu) in the upper right corner.
3. Select the Recycle Bin (on some versions – Recently deleted).
4. Find the right photos, highlight them and click Restore.

⚠️ Warning: If you have cleaned the basket manually or use Redmi with firmware older MIUI 12, this method won't work. It can also be turned off for photos that are deleted from the memory card, which are erased immediately.

💡

On some models (e.g. Redmi Note 11 Pro), the basket is hidden. To turn it on, go to Gallery Settings → Recycle Bin → Enable the cart and set a shelf life (maximum 60 days).

If the cart is empty, don't despair, move on to the next method, but first check if your phone is syncing with Mi Cloud (more on that below).

2. Recovery via Mi Cloud (Xiaomi Cloud)

Mi Cloud is a cloud storage from Xiaomi that automatically backs up photos if the feature is enabled. Even if you deleted photos from your phone, copies of them could be saved to the cloud.

• 📱 Open the Settings. → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud.
• 🔍 Make sure the gallery sync switch is active (green).
• 🖼️ Go to the Gallery section inside Mi Cloud and check the Remote or Archive folders.
• 🔄 If there are photos, highlight them and click Restore on the device.

⚠️ Note: Mi Cloud only provides 5GB of free service by default. If the space is out, sync may have stopped long before photos are deleted. Also check if Xiaomi has been disabled - without authorization, access to the cloud is closed.

If the cloud didn’t help, go to recovering through Google Photos (if you have one installed) or locally scanning your phone’s memory.

3. Using Google Photos to Restore

Many Xiaomi Redmi users are installing Google Photos as an alternative to the standard gallery, which also has a shopping cart and cloud storage to check for deleted photos:

1. Open Google Photos.
2. Slip on the profile avatar in the upper right corner → Cart.
3. The photos are stored there for 60 days (as opposed to 30 days in MIUI). highlight the desired ones and click Restore.

If the cart is empty, check the archive (Bibliography → Archive) – sometimes the photos are moved there instead of being deleted. Also look at Settings → Backups to make sure autosynchronization has been enabled.

Mi Cloud|Google Photo|Yandex Disk|iCloud|Don't use the cloud.|Other-->

A critical nuance for Xiaomi is that if you deleted photos through the standard MIUI gallery, they might not be in the Google Photos Recycle Bin, even if sync is enabled, in which case the built-in MIUI storage takes priority.

4. Local recovery via PC (without root)

If you can't find the photos in the baskets and the clouds, you'll need to connect the phone to your computer.

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 Cable USB (Preferably original from Xiaomi).
• 🛠️ Recovery software (recommended by DiskDigger, Recuva or EaseUS MobiSaver).

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Redmi to your PC in File Transfer (MTP) mode (select this option in the phone notification curtain).
2. Install and run a recovery program (e.g., DiskDigger).
3. Select the drive that matches the phone’s internal memory (usually Portable Device or Xiaomi Redmi).
4. Run a deep scan – it will take from 30 minutes to several hours.
5. After scanning, filter the results by formats.jpg,.png,.heic.
6. Select the files you need and save them to your PC.

Disable Wi-Fi and mobile data on your phone|Charge your phone at least 50 times%|Use the original USB-cable|Do not connect your phone to other devices during scanning|Allocate enough space on the PC to save files-->

⚠️ Note: Do not save recovered files back to your phone, this can overwrite the remaining "traces" of deleted photos. Also avoid using your phone while scanning: new data (for example, messenger cache) can make it difficult to recover the deleted photos.

If the software doesn’t find the photos, it could mean that:

• 🗑️ The data was overwritten with new files (for example, after updating). MIUI).
• 🔒 The photos were stored on a memory card, not in internal memory (see next section).
• 🛡️ Encrypting the device is enabled (then root will be required).

5. Recovery from a microSD card

If the photos were stored on a memory card, the chances of recovery are higher - flash memory cards are less often overwritten by system processes.

1. Remove the card from your phone and connect it to your PC via a card reader (not your phone!).
2. Use programs like Recuva or TestDisk to scan the map.
3. Select the Deep Recovery mode (deep scan) and specify the.jpg,.png formats.
4. Save the recovered files to the PC hard drive.

⚠️ Warning: Never save recovered files back to the same memory card - this will lead to data loss! Also avoid formatting the card before recovery: even if the phone suggests "fix errors", refuse.

💡

ExFAT memory cards (often used in Redmi Note 10 Pro and later) recover worse than FAT32. If the card is formatted in exFAT, try R-Studio, which works better with this format.

If the card is defined as "unformatted" or "damaged," don't panic. Use PhotoRec, which ignores the file system and scans sector by sector.

photorec /d D:\recovered_photos /c D:\sdcard.img

(where D:\recovered_photos — file for preservation, and D:\sdcard.img — The image of the map, if you created it).

6 Advanced methods (require root)

If all previous methods failed, root access remains, and allows you to access system parts where temporary copies of photos can be stored, but this method is only suitable for advanced users and has risks:

• 🔓 Loss of warranty (if the phone is under warranty).
• 🚨 The risk of “bricking” the phone in case of an error.
• 🛡️ Security breach (some banking applications will stop working).

If you are ready for this, follow the instructions:

1. Unlock the bootloader through the official Xiaomi website (it takes 7-15 days to wait).
2. Install TWRP Recovery and run Magisk to get root.
3. Use Root Explorer or DiskDigger with root access to scan the /data partition.
4. Look for files with.thumb extensions or in /dcim/.thumbnails folders.

Critical: on phones with Snapdragon chip 8 Gen 1/2 (Like Redmi. K50 Pro) unlocking the bootloader may result in hardware locking the camera. XDA Developers for your model.

Frequent Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Many Xiaomi Redmi users make critical mistakes that reduce the chances of recovery to zero.

• 📸 Taking new photos – they will rewrite deleted data.
• 🔄 Update MIUI — System update can clear cache and temporary files.
• 🧹 Clean Memory Through Settings → Storage – This removes residual data.
• 🔌 Connect your phone to charge without a PC – some “optimizers” like the Security App automatically clean up garbage when charging.

Also avoid using cleaners like CCleaner or Files by Google, which aggressively delete temporary files that could help with recovery.

💡

If you delete photos from Redmi and plan to take it to a recovery service center, turn off your phone and don't turn it on until you're handed over to the technicians. Every second of work reduces your chances of success.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions