Accidental deletion of photos is a stressful situation that is familiar to every smartphone owner. When you find that valuable footage has disappeared from the gallery, the first reaction is often panic. However, in the Android operating system that runs Xiaomi devices, data does not disappear without a trace in the same second.
Recovery of information on Redmi is possible through built-in tools, cloud services or specialized software. The effectiveness of the method depends on how long it has been since the deletion and whether backup was maintained. In this article, we will discuss in detail all available methods, from simple actions in the gallery to the use of computer programs.
The main rule to learn right away is that once you find a missing device, you need to minimize your use. Any new recording to the disk, whether it's installing an app or shooting a new video, can overwrite the memory sectors where your old photos are still physically stored.
Check the built-in basket in the MIUI gallery
The first and easiest step to take is to check the standard Recycle Bin folder. Starting with certain versions of the MIUI shell and HyperOS, the developers have implemented a clipboard for deleted media files, where photos are stored for 30 days before final erasure, and to get there, open the Gallery app and go to the Albums tab.
Scroll down the album list, and you'll find a folder called Deleted or Recently Deleted, and you can have files that you accidentally erased inside, and if you want to see the image there, just highlight it and click Restore. The photo will return to your original album.
However, the limitations of this method should be taken into account. The storage life of the cart is limited, and if you manually clean it or more than a month has passed, the files will disappear forever. It is also important to note that on some older Redmi models or in certain regions this feature may be disabled by default.
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Turn on the date display in the gallery to quickly navigate a large number of deleted files. To do this, go to the gallery settings and activate the corresponding slider.
If the cart is empty, don't despair. There are other levels of data protection. Often users forget that synchronization could have happened automatically in the background. Next, we'll look at cloud solutions that could have saved your situation without you knowing.
Using Xiaomi Mi Cloud Cloud
Xiaomi's ecosystem offers a powerful backup tool, Mi Cloud. If your device had Mi Account enabled and gallery synced, all your images could be automatically uploaded to the company's servers, and this happens via Wi-Fi to avoid wasting mobile traffic.
To check, go to your smartphone settings, select your account at the top of the menu and click on "Mi Cloud." Make sure the Gallery switch is active. If sync is working, your photos are available even after you completely reset your device. You can view them directly on your phone or through your browser on your computer, going to the official website of the cloud service.
- 📸 Open your browser on your PC and go to i.mi.com.
- 🔑 Sign in using the same Mi Account as on your phone.
- 🖼️ Select the Gallery icon and check for missing photos.
- ⬇️ Select the necessary files and press the download button on the computer.
Cloud storage has a free space limit, which is usually 5 GB. If the space is over, the sync of new photos may have stopped, but the old ones remain in the cloud. Regularly check the status of the storage to be sure of the security of the data. In the case of overflow, the system usually gives a notification.
The advantage of using the Mi Cloud is that it is seamlessly integrated, without the need to connect cables or install drivers, but if the Internet connection was unstable at the time of removal, the photo may not have time to download to the server.
Recovery via Google Photos and Google Drive
Since Android is a Google product, Google Photos is pre-installed on Redmi devices. It's one of the most secure ways to store it. Even if you delete a photo from your phone's gallery, it can stay in the Google cloud if you have autoloaded it. Open the Google Photos app and check the Library -> Recycle Bin.
Unlike the standard gallery, Google stores deleted items for up to 60 days, and for Google One subscribers, this period can be extended: Find the desired file, click on three dots in the corner and select Restore.
It's also worth checking Google Drive. Sometimes users manually upload archives of photos there. Search the disk for a file extension like "jpg" or "png" to find possible backups. This is especially true if you've been backing up before you flash it or sell your old phone.
⚠️ Note: If you delete photos from the Google Photos Recycle Bin, it will not be possible to restore them using standard methods.
It's important to distinguish between free space and deletion. Google Photos has a feature that removes images from your device that have already been uploaded to the cloud, and if you use it, the photos will physically disappear from your phone, but they will remain available in the app if you have the Internet, and it's not data loss, it's optimization.
Analysis of SD memory card and external drives
Many Xiaomi Redmi users use microSD cards to expand storage. If your photos were saved to an external medium, the recovery process can be even easier, since the card file system works less aggressively with rewriting in the background.
On your PC, run the command prompt (cmd) on behalf of the administrator. We use the built-in chkdsk utility to check the file system for errors that may have occurred when the failure occurred. Enter the command chkdsk X: /f, where X is the letter of your flash drive. This will correct logical errors, after which the hidden files can become visible.
chkdsk H: /fIf a simple check doesn't work, you'll need specialized software, software like Recuva or PhotoRec can scan sector by sector. USB-Adapter directly to the computer port, avoiding use USB-Hubs that can give unstable food.
- 💾 Connect the memory card to the PC through the card reader.
- 🔍 Run a program to restore data in deep scanning mode.
- 💾 Choose the path to save the found files (not on the same card!).
- ✅ Check the restored images for damage.
When working with memory cards, it is important not to format them, even if Windows suggests that you do this when you find errors. Formatting will create a new file table, which will make it much more difficult or impossible to return data. Try to restore files first, and then format the media for further work.
☑️ Memory card check
Third-party apps for Android
When embedded tools are powerless, Google Play apps come to the rescue. There are many utilities that promise miracles, but not all of them are effective. The principle of their work is to scan the SQLite database, which stores thumbnails and paths to files, and search for “simmering” clusters in memory.
One popular solution is DiskDigger, which has two modes: basic (no root rights) and full (root rights). In basic mode, the app looks for cache and thumbnails. The quality of the recovered photos will be lower than the original, but it's better than nothing.
Other applications, like Undeleter or Dumpster, work in a similar way: they create a virtual bin and try to intercept file deletion in real time, but to recover the already deleted one requires deep access to the system, and installing such programs on the phone itself, from which you need to recover data, is risky, because the application takes up space and can overwrite the desired sectors.
| Annex | Needs a Root-Right. | Quality of recovery | Type of scan |
|---|---|---|---|
| DiskDigger | Partially. | High (with root) | Deep/Surface |
| Undeleter | Yes. | Original | Full memory scan. |
| Recuva (PC) | No (for cards) | High. | Sector scanning |
| Google Photo | No. | Original | Cloud search |
Use of third-party software requires caution: Never install recovery programs in the same memory you are trying to save. It is best to perform the recovery procedure by connecting to a computer or using cloud versions of services, if they are available.
Professional recovery through PC (ADB and software)
For advanced users who are not afraid of the command line, there is a method of connecting the smartphone in debugging mode. This allows you to use powerful desktop snails. First you need to activate the developer mode. Go to Settings. → About the phone and quickly press 7 times on the item "Version" MIUI".
Then in the menu "For developers" include "Debugging by" USB". Connect your phone to your computer with a cable. If you see a request for debugging permission on your smartphone screen, press OK. Now the computer has direct access to the file system, allowing programs like Dr.Fone or Tenorshare UltData to do deep scanning.
These programs are often paid, but they allow you to (preview) the files you find before you buy a license, which is convenient because you can see what you find, and the scanning process can take anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours depending on the amount of memory you have.
⚠️ Attention: Getting root permissions for deep scanning may void the device warranty and result in some banking applications being blocked.Weigh the risks before the procedure.
If none of the software methods worked, the last option is to go to a service center, so that people can pay off a memory chip and read data directly to the programmer, which is an expensive procedure that only makes sense for truly unique, irreplaceable data.
Why are the photos not restored after resetting?
In conclusion, the best protection is regular backups. Set up automatic uploads to the cloud, and lost photos will no longer be a problem for you. Technology is changing, but the importance of saving memories remains unchanged.
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The highest chance of returning a photo is to act in the first minutes after deleting and have cloud sync enabled.