How to recover deleted photos from WhatsApp on Xiaomi Redmi: the complete guide

You accidentally deleted important photos from WhatsApp on your Xiaomi Redmi, and they disappeared from the gallery? Don't panic - there is still a chance to return them. Unlike standard images, media files from the messenger are stored according to special rules, and their recovery requires knowledge of the nuances of MIUI and WhatsApp itself.

In this article, we will analyze 5 proven ways to return deleted photos: from simple (check basket and cloud copies) to complex (use of specialized utilities and manual search in system folders). Particular attention will be paid to the unique feature of Xiaomi smartphones - automatic hiding of WhatsApp files from the gallery scanner, because of which many users mistakenly believe photos are irretrievably lost.

Importantly, the effectiveness of the methods depends on how long ago the files were deleted, whether you turned on the backup and whether you used the memory card, and let's start with the quickest solutions, maybe your photos are still in the folder, it's just that MIUI doesn't show them.

1.Check the WhatsApp Images folder on your phone

The first thing you need to do is manually check the system folders where WhatsApp saves media files, and even if the photos disappeared from the chat and gallery, they could remain in the device’s memory. On Xiaomi Redmi, the path to them is often hidden from the standard file manager.

How to find it:

• 📁 Open Files (File Manager app from Xiaomi) → Go to the internal memory.
• 🔍 Find the WhatsApp folder → Media → WhatsApp Images.
• 🔄 If the folder is empty, check WhatsApp Animated Gifs (sometimes photos are in the format). GIF).
• 📎 Enable the display of hidden files: click ⋮ → Settings → Show hidden files.

On Redmi with MIUI 12+, the WhatsApp folder can be hidden by the system as "protected."

1. Open Settings → Applications → Permissions → Files and folders.
2. Find WhatsApp and allow access to all files.
3. Reboot the file manager.

⚠️ Note: If you used the Clean Storage feature in WhatsApp itself (Settings) → Storage, files could be permanently deleted, in which case move on to the next method.

2. Recovery from the WhatsApp cart (if the deletion was recent)

WhatsApp has a built-in shopping cart where photos are stored 30 days after being deleted, which only works if you deleted the photo directly from the chat (not through a gallery or file manager).

How to restore:

1. Open the chat room where the photo was deleted.
2. Scroll up before the message you deleted this message (or similar).
3. Click on the message → Cancel Deletion (if the option is active).
4. If the photo has been removed from Status, check the WhatsApp/Media/.Statuses folder – the files are stored for up to 24 hours.

On Xiaomi Redmi with MIUI 13/14, the basket may not be displayed due to memory optimization.

• 🔧 Go to WhatsApp Settings → chat → Backup.
• 📥 Enable Save to Google Drive (even if you don’t plan to use it).
• 🔄 Restart the application - the basket should appear.

Open chat with deleted photo | Find the message "You deleted this message" |Click "Cancel deletion" |Check the folder.Statuses for photos from status |Activate backup to Google Drive (if the cart is not visible)

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If the cart is empty or the storage period has expired, proceed to the next method - restore from a backup.

3. Restore from a Google Drive backup or local backup

WhatsApp automatically backs up chats and media files, and Xiaomi Redmi can store these copies:

• 🌐 In Google Drive (if synchronization is enabled).
• 📱 Locally in the internal memory (/sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases).

Step 1: Checking a copy in Google Drive

If you have previously set up backups:

1. Remove WhatsApp from your phone.
2. Install it again from Google Play.
3. When you first start up, the system will prompt you to recover data from Google Drive – confirm.
4. After recovery, check the chat rooms for photos.

Step 2: Local backup (if Google Drive is not used)

Local copies are created daily at 2:00 a.m. and stored for 7 days.

1. Go to Files → Internal Memory → WhatsApp → Databases.
2. Find the file type msgstore.db.crypt14 (the most recent by date).
3. Rename it to msgstore.db.
4. Remove WhatsApp and install it again.
5. When requesting a recovery, select Restore from a local copy.

⚠️ Note: Xiaomi Redmi with MIUI 14 local backups may not be created due to battery optimization. Check settings: Settings → Annexes → WhatsApp → Battery → No restrictions.

4.Use of third-party recovery programs

If the previous methods did not work, there is specialized software for data recovery.

• 🛠️ DiskDigger (free version searches for photos, paid version restores).
• 🔍 EaseUS MobiSaver (works with internal memory and SD-map).
• 📱 Dr.Fone (paid but with high recovery rate).
• 💾 Recuva (requires root rights for deep scanning).

Instructions for DiskDigger (without root):

1. Download DiskDigger from Google Play.
2. Start the app → select Start a simple scan.
3. Mark the file types: JPG, PNG, WEBP (Whatsapp formats).
4. Wait until the scan is completed (it can take up to 30 minutes).
5. Select the photos you need → Click Restore and save them to the cloud or on PC.

For deep scanning (if photos are deleted long ago), root rights are required. On Xiaomi Redmi, you can get them through:

• Official unlocking of the bootloader (via Mi Unlock Tool).
• Magisk installation (requires an unlocked bootloader).

Before using paid software, check their reputation on forums (such as 4PDA or XDA-Developers) – some utilities may contain malicious code.

5. Manual recovery via ADB (for power users)

If you're familiar with ADB (Android Debug Bridge), you can try extracting files manually, which works even without root, but requires connecting the phone to a PC.

Step 1: Preparation

• 🖥️ Install. ADB Tools on PC (official website).
• 📱 On Redmi, turn on Debugging. USB: Settings → The phone. → Version. MIUI (press 7 times) → return to → For developers → Debugging by USB.
• 🔌 Connect your phone to your PC and confirm your device’s trust.

Step 2: Finding Deleted Files

Open the command line (or PowerShell) and type:

adb shell


su (if there is root)




cd /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media




ls -la

If the folder is empty, try to find the files by signature (for experienced ones):

adb pull /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media/ C:\WhatsApp_Backup\


adb shell "find /sdcard/ -name '.jpg' -o -name '.png' > /sdcard/found_files.txt"




adb pull /sdcard/found_files.txt C:\

These commands will copy all the images found to your PC, and note that without root, access to some system folders will be limited.

⚠️ Attention: Use ADB Xiaomi Redmi with a blocked bootloader can lead to data resets with incorrect commands. PC Suite.

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If ADB does not recognize the device, update the drivers via the Mi Flash Tool or install the Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Drivers manually.

6. Appeal in support of WhatsApp (extreme case)

If all methods are exhausted, you can try writing in support of WhatsApp. They don't have the tools to recover user data, but in rare cases they can:

• 🔄 Provide a chat archive (without media files) for the last 2 weeks.
• 📧 Confirm that photos have been uploaded to their servers (for example, if you sent them as photos in their original quality).
• 🔍 Redirect to data recovery specialists (paid).

How to contact support:

1. Open WhatsApp. → ⋮ → Settings → Reference → Contact us.
2. Describe the problem with the indication:

WhatsApp/Media

Usually, the response will come within 24-72 hours, and the chances of recovery are minimal, but if the photos were critical (such as documents), support may be met.

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The most reliable way to avoid losing a photo is to enable automatic backup in Google Drive (Whatsapp settings → Chat → Backup → Autosave).

FAQ: Frequent questions about recovering photos from WhatsApp

If none of the methods worked, the last hope is to contact the Xiaomi service center with a request to restore data from internal memory.

To avoid similar situations in the future, set up automatic backups in Google Drive and regularly check your WhatsApp/Media folder for important files. On Xiaomi Redmi, it is also useful to disable battery optimization for WhatsApp so that backups are created stably.