Recovery of deleted photos on Xiaomi Redmi Note 9: from the cart to deep scanning

Why the photos are missing and can they be returned?

Deleting photos on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 is a situation that almost every user faces. The reasons for losing photos can be different: accidentally clicking “Delete”, resetting to factory settings, file system damage or even a virus attack. Fortunately, in 90% of cases, deleted photos can be restored if you act quickly and correctly.

Xiaomi Android smartphones use a F2FS or ext4 file system that doesn’t erase data immediately after deletion. Instead, the system labels the memory area as “free,” and until new files overwrite it, the chances of recovery remain high. However, every hour after deletion, the likelihood of success decreases — especially if you’re actively using your phone to shoot or install apps.

In this article, we will discuss 5 working methods for returning photos - from simple (checking the basket and cloud copies) to complex (deep scanning of memory via PC). MIUI and branded services Xiaomi.

Method 1: Checking the basket in the MIUI Gallery

The fastest way to return deleted photos is to use the built-in shopping cart in Xiaomi’s standard Gallery app**. Unlike stock Android, the MIUI shell saves deleted images in the cart for up to 30 days (by default), and can be restored in several taps.

How to do this:

• 📱 Open the Gallery app** on your Redmi Note 9.
• 🗑️ Tap it on three points (⋮) in the upper right corner and select "Basket»**.
• 🔍 Scroll through the list and tick the photos you need (you can use the "Select All" button»**).
• ↩️ Click "Restore" ** - the pictures will return to the original albums.

If the shopping cart is empty or the 30-day deadline has expired, move on to the following method. Please note: the shopping cart function only works for photos deleted through the standard gallery. Pictures erased through the file manager or third-party applications (such as Google Photos) are not displayed there.

⚠️ Note: In some versions MIUI (Especially on firmware for the global market, the cart can be disabled. To activate it, go to Gallery Settings. → Recycle Bin and enable the option “Save deleted files»**.

Method 2: Restore through Google Photos (if synchronized)

If your Redmi Note 9 has been enabled to sync with Google Photos, the chances of returning images are close to 100%, the service automatically saves copies of all photos in the cloud, even if the originals are removed from the device, the main condition is the presence of a Google account and an active Internet connection at the time of deletion.

Instructions for remediation:

• 🌐 Open the Google Photos app or go to photos.google.com from any device.
• 🔍 On the menu, three lines ☰) Select "Basket"** - here you can store deleted photos for up to 60 days.
• 📤 Tick the pictures and click "Restore" and they go back to the main library and sync back to the phone.
• 📥 If the basket is empty, check the Archive folder – sometimes photos are moved there instead of deleting.

If the sync hasn't been set up, try another method. To avoid future losses, turn on automatic backups:

1. Open Google Photos → Click on the account avatar → “Photo settings”**.
2. Select “Backup and Sync”** and activate the switch.
3. Specify the quality of the save ("Original" or "High") and enable backup over the mobile network if necessary.

💡

On the Redmi Note 9 with MIUI 12+ You can set up automatic uploading of photos to Google Photos only over Wi-Fi, so as not to waste mobile traffic. → Annexes → Application management → Google Photo → Transfer data and select “Wi-Fi only»**.

Method 3: Use of third-party applications (without ROOT)

If the cart is empty and there are no backups, you can use dedicated data recovery tools to help you. For Android without ROOT, applications like DiskDigger, Dumpster or EaseUS MobiSaver can do this, and they scan the phone's internal memory and restore files until they're overwritten.

Let’s look at the DiskDigger (free version with limitations):

• 📥 Install DiskDigger from Google Play.
• 🔍 Launch the application and select “Start Basic Scan”** (without the option). ROOT).
• 📂 Specify the memory partition to search (usually “Inner Memory»**).
• 🖼️ After scanning, mark the found photos (preview available) and click "Restore»**.
• 💾 Save files to a memory card or cloud (restore to the same internal memory is not recommended!).

Limitations of the method:

• ❌ Free versions of applications do not restore all formats (for example, the free version of the application,.HEIC or.RAW may not be supported).
• ❌ Scanning takes a long time (up to several hours with a large amount of memory).
• ❌ Not all files are restored in their original quality – artifacts are possible.

⚠️ Warning: Do not install recovery apps on the same memory as the photos were deleted! This increases the risk of overwriting data. Use a memory card or other phone to download the utility.

Charge your phone at least 50% |Plug it to charge while scanning |Free up space on your memory card to save files |Disable automatic application updates-->

Method 4: Deep scanning via PC (maximum efficiency)

For the most complete recovery of deleted photos, it is recommended to connect the Redmi Note 9 to your computer and use desktop programs like Recuva, PhotoRec or Wondershare Dr.Fone, which allows you to scan memory at a low level and find files that are not available for mobile applications.

Step-by-step instructions for Recuva (Windows):

1. 💻 Download and install Recuva from the official CCleaner website.
2. 📱 Connect the Redmi Note 9 to the PC via USB-cable. USB-Connections on your phone select "File Transfer" mode»** (MTP).
3. 🔍 Run Recuva and select the file type “Images»**.
4. 📂 Specify the location to scan – this will be the phone’s internal memory (usually displayed as a removable drive, such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 (E:)).
5. ⚙️ Enable the option of Deep Scanning** (it will take longer but increase your chances of success).
6. 🖼️ After the scan is completed, mark the photos found (can be filtered by date or format) and click "Restore»**.
7. 💾 Save files to your PC hard drive – do not restore them back to your phone until the process is complete to avoid overwriting!

Advantages of the method:

• ✅ High probability of recovery (up to 80% for photos deleted less than a month ago).
• ✅ Support for rare formats (.ARW,.CR2,.HEIF).
• ✅ Possibility of pre-inspection before restoration.

Method 5: Recovery with MIUI backups

Xiaomi offers its own backup solution, the Local Backup feature in MIUI. If you’ve previously created backups, photos can be retrieved from the archive even after you reset your phone to factory settings.

How to recover a photo from a backup:

1. 📱 Go to Settings. → The phone. → Backup and reset → Local backup.
2. 🗃️ Select the last backup (note the date of creation – it should be earlier than the moment of deletion of the photo).
3. 🔍 Click Restore and select Gallery (you can only restore photos without affecting other data).
4. ⏳ Wait until the process is complete (it can take 10–30 minutes depending on the amount of data).

Important nuances:

• 📌 Local backups MIUI stored in a folder /MIUI/backup/AllBackup If the phone doesn't turn on, you can extract the memory card and read the backup on another device.
• 📌 Backups are encrypted – you can only restore them on the same phone or after entering the Mi Account password.
• 📌 If the backup is damaged, try extracting data using the Mi utility. PC Suite (download from the official website).

⚠️ Note: Do not confuse local backups with cloud copies in Mi Cloud. The latter are synced only when you are actively connected to your Xiaomi account and may not contain all photos (depending on sync settings).

💡

Local MIUI backups are the only way to get your photos back after a hard reset if other methods don’t work.

What to do if nothing helps: extreme measures

If none of these methods has worked, there are two options:

1. Contact Xiaomi Service Center, where specialists can extract data using professional equipment (for example, Chip-Off or other equipment). JTAG), But it's expensive. 5,000. ₽) It's not 100% guaranteed. It's only for critical photos.

Before you take your phone for repair, check:

• 🔍 Are there any photos left in hidden folders (for example,.thumbnails or.thumbnails)? DCIM/.thumbs).
• 🔍 Were the pictures moved to a secure storage facility? MIUI (folder MIUI/Private).
• 🔍 Have you used third-party photo editing apps (such as Snapseed or Lightroom) that could save copies.

FAQ: Frequent questions about photo recovery on Xiaomi Redmi Note 9