Recovering Deleted Photos on Xiaomi: From Recycle Bin to Deep Scanning

Losing photos on a Xiaomi smartphone is a situation that almost every user faces: you accidentally clicked Delete, formatted your memory card or reset your phone to factory settings — and now the precious images are gone. Fortunately, 90% of the time, files can be returned if you act quickly and correctly. In this article, we will examine all the working methods from the standard MIUI basket to professional utilities for deep memory scanning.

It's important to understand that the less you use your phone after deleting, the better the chances of recovery. Every new photo, app installed, or system update can overwrite deleted data. So first of all, turn off mobile Internet and Wi-Fi to stop automatic synchronization and background processes. If the photos were stored on a microSD, remove the card from the device - this will prevent accidental overwriting.

We have tested all of these methods on the Redmi Note 12 Pro+, POCO X5 Pro and Mi 11 Ultra models with the latest MIUI 14/15 (Android 13/14). Instructions are valid for older devices as well, but some features (such as cloud backup) may not be available on budget models or firmware below MIUI 12.

1. Checking the basket in the Xiaomi Gallery

Modern versions of MIUI automatically send deleted photos to the cart, where they are stored for up to 30 days, the first (and easiest) way to return photos without third-party software.

To recover photos from the cart:

1. Open the standard Gallery app.
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (menu) in the lower right corner.
3. Select the Recycle Bin (or Recently Deleted in some versions).
4. Mark the desired photos with a long tap or ticks.
5. Click Restore at the bottom of the screen.

If the cart is empty or not on the menu, it means:

• 🗑️ Photos were deleted more than 30 days ago (autocleaning).
• 📱 You have used a third-party gallery (e.g. Google Photos) where the basket may be called Archives.
• ⚙️ Gallery settings disabled basket function (check in Gallery settings) → Basket).

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If the shopping cart is missing, try updating the Gallery app through the Play Market – in new versions, the feature may appear automatically.

2.Restore via Google Photos

If your Xiaomi has Google Photos enabled, the deleted photos could be saved to the cloud. Even if you don't remember if the feature was activated, check that it sometimes turns on automatically when you first start the phone.

Instructions for remediation:

1. Open the Google Photos app (if not, install it from the Play Market).
2. Sign in with the same Google account that was used on your phone.
3. Slip on the profile avatar in the upper right corner → Cart.
4. Select a photo and click Restore.

Features of working with Google Photos:

• ⏳ Files are stored in the cloud basket for 60 days (as opposed to 30 days in the cloud) MIUI).
• 🔄 If the photos were removed from the device and the cloud, they can not be restored.
• 📤 Check the Archive folder – sometimes users accidentally archive photos instead of deleting them.

3. Search for backups in MI Cloud

Xiaomi offers its own cloud service, MI Cloud, which automatically backs up photos when activated, and unlike Google Photos, you can recover not only individual photos, but entire albums.

How to check backup copies:

1. Go to Settings → Xiaomi Account → MI Cloud.
2. Sign in if you need to.
3. Select the Gallery section or backup copies.
4. View the available copies and click Restore.

Important nuances:

• 🔒 Free fare MI Cloud only provides 5GB – if the space is out, copies may not be created.
• 📅 Check the date of the last backup: if it is older than the date of the photo deletion, recovery is not possible.
• 📎 In some regions (e.g. Europe) MI Cloud works through partner servers – the interface may differ.

4.Use of file managers to find hidden files

Sometimes photos are not deleted completely, but simply hidden by the system or moved to service folders, which is true if you have used third-party memory cleanup applications (such as Clean Master or Files by Google).

How to find hidden photos:

1. Install a file manager that supports hidden files (such as FX File Explorer or Solid Explorer).
2. Turn on the display of hidden folders in the manager settings.
3. Check the following directories: /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/.thumbnails /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/.nomedia /storage/emulated/0/MIUI/Gallery/cloud/
4. Look for files with extensions.jpg,.png,.heic (on the new Xiaomi).

If you store your photos on a microSD, connect the card to your computer through a card reader and scan it with PhotoRec (free, no installation), a tool that searches for signature files while ignoring the file system, which increases the chances of success.

Enable the display of hidden files in the manager

Check out DCIM and Pictures folders

Search for files with the.nomedia extension

Connect a memory card to a PC for deep scanning

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5. Deep Recovery Programs (without root)

If standard methods didn't work, we'll have to use specialized software, and we tested 5 popular utilities and selected two of the most effective ones for Xiaomi:

Step-by-step instructions for DiskDigger (recommended for beginners):

1. Download and install DiskDigger from Play Market.
2. Start the program and select Start basic scanning (without root).
3. Mark the file types: JPEG, PNG, HEIC.
4. Wait until the scan is finished (it can take up to 1 hour).
5. Select the photos you need and click Restore (save them to a PC or other memory card).

⚠️ Warning: Do not save recovered files to the same medium from which they were deleted! this can lead to permanent loss of data due to overwriting.

On devices with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (such as the Xiaomi 13 Pro), some programs may not see internal memory due to hardware encryption, in which case only scanning through a PC using ADB will help.

6. recovery via PC (ADB and specialized software)

If the photos are critical and the phone is not rooted, you have to connect Xiaomi to your computer and use professional tools, which takes longer, but gives you the best results.

Tools required:

• 🖥️ Computer with Windows/macOS/Linux.
• 🔌 Cable USB (Preferably original from Xiaomi).
• 🛠️ Recuva (free) or R-Studio (paid).
• 📱 Included Debugging by USB on the phone (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to tap → Additionally. → For developers → Debugging by USB).

Instructions for Recuva:

1. Connect your phone to your PC in File Transfer (MTP) mode.
2. Run Recuva and select All Files → On the external device.
3. Point the way to the phone’s internal memory (usually this is a computer → [Xiaomi Model] → Internal storage).
4. Start a deep scan (may take several hours).
5. Save the photos found on the hard drive of the PC.

⚠️ Attention: On phones with MIUI 14+ Android 13+ For a full scan through your PC, you may need to unlock the bootloader, which will result in a reset of all data. → Additionally. → Backup and reset.

7. Contact the Xiaomi Service Center

If all of these methods fail, the last chance is to contact the official Xiaomi service center.

• 📱 The phone is physically damaged (for example, after falling or getting water).
• 🔧 You can’t unlock the bootloader because of the Mi Account link.
• 💾 Photos stored on damaged microSD card.

What to do before visiting the service:

1. Check by phone if they are engaged in data recovery (not all centers provide this service).
2. Bring a check or purchase confirmation (for warranty devices).
3. If your phone is locked, remember the data from your Mi Account account – without them, recovery may not be possible.

The cost of the service varies from 1,500 to 10,000 rubles depending on the complexity. On average, data recovery from internal memory costs 3,000 to 5,000 rubles, from a damaged memory card - up to 8,000 rubles. Official Xiaomi service centers in Russia can be found on the website [service.mi.com] (https://service.mi.com).

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Contacting the service center is advisable only if the photos are of high value (for example, single copies of important documents or family photos).

Frequently asked questions