Losing photos from your phone is one of the most painful situations for owners of Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphones. Pictures from important events, family archives or work materials can disappear in an instant: accidentally clicking, resetting, a virus or even a banal malfunction of the drive. Fortunately, 80 percent of the time deleted photos can be returned - the main thing is to act quickly and correctly.
In this article, we’ll look at all the current recovery options, from standard MIUI features to professional tools. You’ll learn how the Xiaomi Recycle Bin works, when Mi Cloud cloud storage will help, and when a PC connection will be needed. And how recovery on Snapdragon phones differs from MediaTek models when using ADB.
1.Check the cart in the Xiaomi Gallery - the first step
Most users don't know that the standard MIUI gallery has a built-in cart where photos are stored 30 days after being deleted, the easiest way to get back pictures without any additional software.
To find the basket:
- 📱 Open the Gallery app (icon with colored squares)
- 🔍 Slip on three horizontal lines in the lower right corner
- 🗑️ Select the Recycle Bin (may be called Recently Deleted on new versions) MIUI)
- 🖼️ Click on the desired photo and select Restore
If the cart is empty or you have manually cleaned it, then you can go to the following methods. Note that on some models (for example, Xiaomi 12T or Redmi Note 11 Pro+), the cart can be disabled by default, in which case it can be activated in the gallery settings.
⚠️ Warning: After cleaning the cart or automatically emptying it (after 30 days), files are deleted from the phone irrevocably for standard methods.
2. Recovery via Mi Cloud – if synchronized
The Mi Cloud cloud storage automatically saves copies of photos if this feature has been activated, and you can check for backups from another device:
Instructions for remediation:
- 🌐 Go to i.mi.com from any device
- 🔑 Sign in with the same Xiaomi account as you do on your phone
- 📁 Select the Gallery or Photos section
- 🔍 Use the date filter to find the right pictures
- 💾 Click Download to save to the device
On the phone, the path will be different: Settings → Xiaomi Account → Mi Cloud → Gallery. Here you can enable automatic synchronization for the future. Note that Mi Cloud only provides 5 GB for free – if the space is over, new photos will not sync.
| Xiaomi model | Free amount of Mi Cloud | Max: resolution of synchronized photos |
|---|---|---|
| Redmi 9/10 series | 5GB | Original (up to 16 MP) |
| Xiaomi 11/12 Series | 5GB | Original (up to 108 MP) |
| POCO F3/F4 | 5GB | Original (up to 64 MP) |
| Xiaomi Pad 5/6 | 5GB | Original (up to 200 MP) |
If the cloud doesn’t have the right photos, check your sync settings: it’s possible that the feature was disabled or only worked over Wi-Fi, and you deleted the pictures offline.
3.Using Google Photos – an alternative cloud service
Many Xiaomi users are installing Google Photos as an alternative to the standard gallery, offering more flexible backup settings and 15GB of free space (together with other Google services).
How to recover photos via Google Photos:
- Open the Google Photos app on your phone
- Slip on the profile avatar in the upper right corner
- Select the cart (photos are stored there for 60 days)
- To recover from backup, go to Photos → Archive
- Use a search by date or keyword (e.g., “beach”, “New Year’s Eve”)
If the app is not installed, download it from Google Play. On new Xiaomi models (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra or Redmi K60), Google Photos can be pre-installed but disabled.
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In Google Photos settings, you can enable Mobile Backup to save photos to the cloud even without Wi-Fi, which will save your photos if you travel frequently.
4. Connection to PC and Recovery through the Program
If the photos aren't found in the cart and clouds, the next step is to connect the phone to the computer and use specialized software, which works even if the photos were deleted months ago, but doesn't guarantee 100% results, depending on whether the memory sectors have been overwritten.
The best recovery programs:
- 🛠️ DiskDigger – supports Xiaomi on Snapdragon and MediaTek chips, there is a free version
- 💻 Recuva – a simple interface that works with internal and external memory
- 🔍 EaseUS MobiSaver – Deep Scanning, but Paid License for Full Recovery
- 📱 Dr.Fone supports more than 6,000 models, including all Xiaomi, Redmi and other models. POCO
Step-by-step instructions for DiskDigger:
- Download and install the program on your PC from diskdigger.org
- Connect your phone to your computer through USB-cable (select File Transfer Mode)
- Launch DiskDigger and select your phone from the list of devices
- Press Full Scan (full scan) – the process can take 1-3 hours
- After scanning, mark the desired photos and press Recover.
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-->
⚠️ Note: When connecting to a PC, do not format the drive if the system suggests it. Formatting will destroy any chances of recovery. Also avoid using your phone to take new photos / videos - this can overwrite deleted files.
5. ADB Recovery – for Power Users
If standard methods didn’t work, and photos are critical, you can try recovery via ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires an unlocked bootloader and enabled USB debugging, but allows you to access raw memory data.
Advantages of the method:
- ⚡ It works even if the phone is not turned on (provided that the fastboot is working)
- 🔧 Allows you to recover files from damaged partitions
- 📊 Supports deep scanning at the file system level
Instructions for models on Snapdragon (e.g. Xiaomi 12 Pro, POCO F4 GT):
adb shell
su
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0pXX of=/sdcard/recovery.img bs=4096
exit
adb pull /sdcard/recovery.img C:\backup\For MediaTek (e.g. Redmi 10C, POCO M4 Pro), the command will be different:
adb shell
su
cat /proc/mtd
dd if=/dev/block/mtdblockX of=/sdcard/recovery.img
exitOnce a memory image is created, it can be analyzed by programs like Autopsy or FTK Imager, a method that is recommended only for advanced users, as incorrect commands can lead to complete data loss.
What if the ADB can’t see the device?
6. Contacting a service center - when nothing helps
If all of these methods failed, and the photos are critical (for example, these are the only photos from the wedding or documents), you should contact the authorized service center Xiaomi.
What can be done in the service:
- 🔬 Recovery from damaged memory chip (chip-off method)
- 🛠️ Repair of the memory controller in case of physical damage
- 📀 Retrieval of data from a broken phone (if not enabled)
- 🔧 Recovery after a failed update or firmware
The cost of these services starts from 3000 In Moscow and St. Petersburg, official Xiaomi service centers are in each district - addresses can be found on the website. mi.com/ru/service.
Before the service visit:
- Don’t try to take your phone apart by yourself.
- Do not turn on the device if it has been flooded or fallen
- Tell the experts as much as possible what happened.
7.Photo Loss Prevention – How to Avoid Future Problems
The best way to combat data loss is to prevent it, and here are proven methods to help you save your photos:
Cloud backups:
- ☁️ Set up automatic sync in Mi Cloud and Google Photos
- 🔄 Enable backup over mobile network (in case there is no Wi-Fi)
- 📅 Check for copies once a month.
Local storage:
- 💾 Regularly copy the photo to a PC or external disk
- 📁 Use a separate microSD card for important photos
- 🔄 Enable the function "Export in original quality" in the settings of the gallery
Additional measures:
- 🛡️ Install an antivirus (such as Avast or Dr.Web)
- 🔋 Watch for battery health – a sudden shutdown can damage files
- 📱 Avoid “memory cleaners” – they often delete important data.
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Even if you use cloud services, store your most valuable photos in two places at once, and the clouds can crash and your local media can fail.