Accidental deletion of an important photo is a stressful situation that every smartphone owner knows, when a finger slips and you see a message "Delete Forever" or just notice a file is missing, panic is the first thing to happen. However, the Android operating system, and especially the MIUI or HyperOS shell, has a number of mechanisms to protect against such errors.
Data recovery is only possible until the file's space is overwritten with new information, which is why speed is critical, because the less you use your phone after you lose a picture, the better the chances of a successful return.
In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can do it, from built-in system tools to using custom PC software, where to look for “recently deleted” files and how to properly configure sync to avoid problems in the future, and the key is not to ignore the standard backup features that are often already enabled by default.
Check the built-in basket in the Xiaomi Gallery
The first and most obvious step is to check the system folder "Deleted": in modern versions of the shell MIUI and HyperOS deleted photos are not permanently erased immediately, they are moved to a special buffer, where they are stored for 30 days.
To get there, open the standard Gallery app and go to the Albums tab. Scroll down to the Other Albums section. That's where the Deleted folder hides. If you don't see it right away, click on the menu icon (three dots or gear) in the top right corner and make sure that the hidden albums are displayed on.
Inside this folder, files are sorted by deletion date, you can select a specific photo, click the Recover button, and it will return to the main album, and if you click Delete Forever or clear the basket, you can't get it back with standard methods.
⚠️ Note: The file storage period in the Xiaomi Gallery Recycle Bin is limited to 30 days, and after this period, the system automatically and irrevocably cleans the contents of the folder.
It's worth noting that the cart is also limited in size, and if you delete a lot of photos, the old ones can be replaced by new ones, even if the 30 days have not passed, so checking this section regularly is a good habit for any user.
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Turn on the display of hidden albums in the Gallery settings so that the Deleted folder is always in sight and you do not forget to check its contents.
Recovery through Google Photos
Most Xiaomi smartphones offer setting up a Google account when you first activate, and if you agreed to sync, your photos could automatically be saved to the Google Photos cloud. This service has its own shopping cart, independent of the phone's system gallery.
Open the Google Photos app (a color propeller icon) and go to the Library tab in the lower right corner, and you'll find the Recycle Bin, which, unlike MIUI, can hold files for up to 60 days, and for Google One subscribers, it can last even longer.
Find the image you want, pin it to highlight, and click the Recover button. The photo will return to the device gallery and the cloud album. If you delete the photo from the cloud, too, the chances of recovery drop dramatically, but within 60 days the file is still available in the service basket.
- 📸 Open the Google Photos app on your smartphone.
- 🗑️ Go to the section "Library» → «Basket».
- ✅ Select a photo and click "Restore».
It's important to understand the difference between deleting from a device and deleting from the cloud. If you cleared your phone's memory but sync was enabled, the copy could have stayed online. Conversely, deleting from the cloud often entails deleting on the device.
Use of Mi Cloud Services
Xiaomi's ecosystem offers its own cloud service, Mi Cloud. If you have a Mi Account enabled on your device and have Gallery Sync activated, the deleted images may be there, which is especially true if you haven't used Google services.
You can check for backup in two ways: through your smartphone settings or through your web interface. In your phone settings, go to the "Mi Account" section, then select "Mi Cloud" and click on the Gallery icon. Here you can see all synchronized albums.
If your phone is not on hand or it is damaged, use the browser on your computer. Go to i.mi.com, log in to your Mi Account. From the menu, select Gallery. There's also a Deleted folder where files go after cleaning the device.
⚠️ Warning: Free volume of Mi Cloud is limited to 5 GB. If the limit was exceeded, synchronization of new photos could stop, and the last pictures may not have time to save in the cloud.
The Mi Cloud web interface allows you not only to view but also to download photos back to your device or computer, a convenient way to recover data in bulk without having to connect a cable.
How to increase the limit of Mi Cloud?
Analysis of local folders and hidden partitions
Sometimes users confuse deleting a file with moving it, and the photo could be accidentally transferred to the Favorites folder, the Hidden Album, or even the messenger archive. In the Android file system, each application creates its own directories.
Use the built-in Explorer (the Explorer app or Files app). Go to the DCIM root folder. This is where the camera snaps are stored by default. Check also the Pictures folder, where social media images and screenshots are saved.
If you've used the Hidden Album feature in Xiaomi Gallery, you can find it by opening Screenshots or any other album, and pulling the album list down until the password field appears. Enter your password or fingerprint to see the hidden files.
| The way to the folder | Type of contents | Probability of recovery |
|---|---|---|
| /DCIM/Camera | Photo from the main camera | Tall. |
| /Pictures/Screenshots | Screenshots of the system | Tall. |
| /MIUI/Gallery/cloud/cache | Cash cloud miniatures | Low (preview only) |
| /Android/media | Application files | Medium |
And you can see the.thumbnails folder inside DCIM, which is a hidden system folder that stores thumbnails, and if the original is deleted, you can only find a blurry, low-resolution image, but sometimes that's better than nothing.
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Android system folders have a complex structure, so using a file manager with the feature “Show hidden files” significantly increases the chances of finding lost data.
Specialized software for deep recovery
If standard methods fail, you have to resort to "heavy artillery" programs for deep memory scanning, which are not looking for files, but for their residues in the file table, but on modern Xiaomi smartphones, this is difficult because of the encryption of data.
One popular program is DiskDigger. To work without root rights, it can conduct a “Basic Scan” that looks for cache and thumbnails. Full scanning requires superuser rights, which are difficult or impossible to obtain on new Xiaomi models without unlocking the bootloader.
Other programs, such as Dr.Fone or Tenorshare UltData, work via a connection. USB. They require the inclusion of the debugging mode on USB. To activate this mode, you need to go to Settings → About the phone and 7 times quickly click on the "Version" MIUI», designer.
- 💻 Connect your phone to your computer via the original cable.
- 🔌 Enable debugging mode on USB menu "For developers».
- 🔍 Run the scan in the program on PC.
Be careful with free versions of these programs. Often they find files but require payment to actually restore them. Also, the effectiveness of such methods on Android 10 and higher is extremely low due to changes in the file system.
⚠️ Warning: Installing recovery programs directly on your phone may result in the deleted data being overwritten by new application files.
☑️ Checking before using the software
Prevention of data loss and setting up autosave
The best way to deal with loss of photos is to prevent the situation. Set up automatic sync right now so you don't have to worry about the future of recovery. It'll only take a few minutes, but it'll save your memories.
In the Xiaomi Gallery app, click on the cloud icon or go to settings. Activate sync with Mi Cloud or Google Photos. Select Wi-Fi Only mode to avoid wasting mobile traffic, but make sure the phone connects to the home network regularly.
It's also useful to make manual copies to your computer periodically, connect your phone with a cable, select file transfer mode (MTP), and copy the DCIM folder to your hard drive, and regularity is a key factor in data security.
Remember to check if sync is working, sometimes it can stop because of cloud overflow or password change, and regular visual monitoring of cloud albums will help you notice the problem in time.