Accidental deletion of an important photo is a familiar situation for every smartphone owner. On Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco devices, the MIUI or HyperOS operating system has its own data storage features that often allow you to quickly correct a user error, the main thing at this point is not to panic and do unnecessary actions that can permanently erase information in the device’s memory.
File recovery depends on how long ago they were erased and what sync settings were activated on your gadget. Modern systems are built to give the user a second chance using cloud buffers or hidden memory partitions. In this article, we will discuss in detail all possible ways, from simple built-in functions to the use of specialized software.
Data recovery is a race against time. The less new data you write to your smartphone after a loss, the better the chances of success. The internal drive of the device works on the principle of overwriting, so new files can physically take the place where your lost photo was previously stored.
Search in the system basket Gallery
The first and most obvious step, often overlooked in a hurry, is to check the standard Recycle Bin folder in the Gallery app, which, starting with MIUI 10 and up, automatically saves deleted media files to a special buffer for 30 days, a security mechanism designed to protect users from accidental clicks.
To find deleted photos, you need to open the standard Gallery app and go to the Albums tab. At the bottom of the folder list, you'll see the Recycle Bin or Recently Deleted section, which stores all the images you erased but didn't forcefully clear, and has a storage period of exactly 30 days, after which the system automatically and irretrievably deletes the content.
If you find the image you want, just press it long and press the Recover button, and the file will return to the album it was originally on, but if the cart was manually cleaned or more than a month has passed, this method, alas, will not help.
- 📸 Open the Gallery and go to the Albums section».
- 🗑️ Scroll down to the basket folder».
- 🔄 Select the files you need and click “Restore».
⚠️ Note: If you delete a photo from the Recycle Bin folder inside the Gallery, it disappears from local storage, but may remain in cloud copies if sync was enabled.
It's important to understand that the bin is limited, because if you delete a huge amount of heavy video, the system can start clearing old deleted files before 30 days to make room, so you don't have to rely on the bin as a permanent storage.
Recovery via Google Photos
Most Xiaomi smartphones offer backups when activated for the first time, and if you agreed to do so, your photos could be automatically uploaded to the Google Photos cloud before they were deleted from your phone, which is one of the most reliable ways, since the data is stored on the company's servers.
Check out the Google Photos app, which is often pre-installed on Redmi and Poco. The menu on the left (or in the Library section) is the Recycle Bin folder, where deleted files are stored for 60 days, and in some cases up to 30 days, depending on your account settings, and it's cloud storage regardless of the phone's internal memory.
To recover, go to the Google Photos Recycle Bin, select the photos you want, and click Restore. They will go back to the device gallery and the cloud. If the photos were deleted from the cloud and not 60 days later, they can still be saved from your computer via the web version of photos.google.com.
- ☁️ Launch the Google Photos app.
- 📂 Go to the section "Library» -> «Basket».
- 💾 Select files and press the restore button.
It's worth noting that the quality of the photos recovered may depend on the synchronization settings, and if you were in "Save space" mode, the original resolution could be compressed, but for viewing on a smartphone screen or printing standard formats, this is usually enough.
Using the Mi Cloud
Xiaomi device owners have access to their own cloud service, Mi Cloud, which is an alternative to Google's solutions, which is deeply integrated into the shell, and if you had a Mi Account account and synced the gallery, then deleted photos can be located there.
You can access cloud management via your smartphone settings or through your browser on your computer, going to i.mi.com. In the Gallery section, you often save a copy of deleted files. Mi Cloud allows you to manage files remotely, which is convenient if the phone itself is damaged or inaccessible.
The system automatically backs up when you connect to Wi-Fi, which means that even if you deleted photos from your phone, a copy of them that you made earlier could still be in the cloud.
☑️ Checking the settings of Mi Cloud
⚠️ Warning: Free storage capacity of Mi Cloud is only 5 GB. If the limit was exhausted, synchronization of new photos may not occur, and the latest pictures may not get into the cloud.
To activate the function in the future, go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud and make sure the Gallery switch is active. This will create an additional layer of protection for your data from accidental loss.
Analysis of the.thumbnails folder in the conductor
In the Android file system on which MIUI and HyperOS are based, there is a hidden system folder designed to caching thumbnails of images. Even if the original photo was deleted, a smaller copy (preview) of it could be saved in the system cache. This is not a full recovery in the original quality, but better than nothing.
To find this data, open the Explorer app and enable the hidden files in the settings. You need to go along the path: Internal Memory → DCIM →.thumbnails. This folder may contain files with the.jpg extension, which are copies of your photos.
The files here can have strange names, consisting of numbers, and to find the right photo, you have to look at them, and these files are usually much smaller than the original, but for use as an avatar or illustration on social networks, the quality may be enough.
- 📁 Open Explorer and enable Hidden Files».
- 🔍 Go to the folder. DCIM →.thumbnails.
- 👀 Find the desired preview and copy it to another folder.
It’s worth considering that modern versions of Android and Xiaomi shells can clean this folder when cleaning the system’s cache or not create full copies in it. However, this method often helps when other methods are powerless.
Specialized recovery applications
If the built-in tools didn't work, you can turn to third-party software. There are applications that scan deep memory sectors for residual data. An example is DiskDigger or Recycle Bin. However, their effectiveness on modern smartphones without root rights is limited.
Without superuser rights, apps can only scan the cache and thumbnails discussed above. Deep scanning requires access to system partitions, which on new Xiaomi is difficult and risky, but it is worth trying to run the scan.
Install the app from Google Play, provide the necessary permissions and run "Normal Scanning" and the program will analyze the available memory areas and give a list of files that can potentially be restored.
Why are root rights dangerous?
⚠️ Warning: Installing data recovery apps on the same phone that lost the photos reduces your chances of success.The new app takes up space in memory, potentially overwriting the sectors where your deleted photos were lying.
Table of comparison of recovery methods
For ease of perception of information, we will bring all the methods considered in a single table, which will help you quickly assess the odds and choose the best strategy for your particular situation.
| Method | Storage period | We need the Internet. | Photo quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallery basket | 30 days | No. | Original |
| Google Photo | 60 days | Yes. | Original/Compressed |
| Mi Cloud | 30 days | Yes. | Original |
| Folder.thumbnails | Before the cache is cleaned. | No. | Low (preview) |
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The best chance of returning a photo in its original quality is to check cloud services (Google and Mi Cloud), as they store a copy regardless of the memory state of the phone.
Prevention and security settings
To avoid future data loss, you need to set up your smartphone right after you buy it. Xiaomi offers flexible backup automation tools that you need to take advantage of.
First of all, check your sync settings. Go to Settings → Mi Account → Mi Cloud and make sure that the checkmark opposite the Gallery is enabled. It is also recommended to install the Google Photos app and activate the Autoboot and Sync function.
You can also set up automatic backups to your computer or external hard drive if you take a lot of pictures often. Regular backups are the only 100% way to protect information.
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Use the “Free Space” feature in Google Photos only after making sure all photos have been successfully uploaded to the cloud, which removes originals from your phone, leaving them only in the cloud.
Don’t ignore the system’s space-short notifications: When memory is full, the system may start to malfunction or automatically delete old cached data, making it harder to recover if needed.