How to recover deleted files on Xiaomi phone: a step-by-step guide

Accidentally removing important photos or documents on a Xiaomi smartphone is a stressful situation that many users are familiar with. Fortunately, the Android operating system and the MIUI or HyperOS shell provide several layers of data protection to return lost information. The effectiveness of recovery depends on how quickly you caught up and which backup settings were activated earlier.

Before we get to specific actions, we need to understand how the smartphone memory works, so when you delete a file, the system marks the place where it was lying as free, but the code itself remains on the disk until it is overwritten with new data, which is why the first rule is: immediately stop using the device actively, do not take new pictures and do not download heavy applications.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can recover data, from the Xiaomi ecosystem’s full-time tools to using custom PC software. We’ll look at scenarios where you have a backup and situations where the phone has been cleaned completely.

Checking the built-in basket in the Gallery and the Explorer

The easiest and often ignored way to return deleted photos or videos is to check the built-in cart. In modern versions of the MIUI and HyperOS shell, files are not permanently deleted immediately after clicking the Delete button. They are moved to a special buffer, where they are stored for 30 days.

To access this data, open the standard Gallery app and go to the Albums tab. Scroll down to the bottom where you find the Deleted folder. It stores all the images and videos you erased in the last month. A similar feature is available in System Explorer (File Manager), where you can find deleted documents.

If you find the files you want, just highlight them and click the Recover button, and the files will go back to their original folders, but if the 30-day deadline has expired or you have manually cleaned the bin, this method, alas, will not help.

• 📸 Open the Gallery app and select the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen.
• 🗑️ Scroll down to the Deleted section and find the media files you need.
• ↩️ Select objects and click “Restore” to return them to their place.

⚠️ Note: The Recycle Bin function does not work if the “Cloud Sync” option has been forced off in the Gallery settings or if the device has been reset to factory settings.

It is important to note that the recycle bin is limited: If you delete a huge amount of data, old files can be deleted automatically from the buffer even if 30 days have not passed. The system storage limit for deleted files at the MIUI shell level is about 1 GB, after which the cyclical deletion of old records begins.

Data recovery via Xiaomi Cloud

Mi Account holders have access to a powerful backup tool, Xiaomi Cloud. If your device was synced, your contacts, notes, voice recordings and photos could be saved automatically on the company’s servers.

To check for backups, go to Settings → Mi Account → Xiaomi Cloud. This shows the sync status for different data types. If the indicator is green, your data is safe. You can log into your account through your browser at i.mi.com and download the necessary files from there.

The Gallery section in the cloud is a special focus, and users often don't know that even when the phone's internal memory is overflowing, photos can be successfully uploaded to the cloud if the option is activated, saving data even if the smartphone is completely lost or broken.

Recovery from the Xiaomi cloud occurs almost instantly after logging in to a new device or resetting the settings of the old one. Just enter the username and password from Mi Account, and the system will suggest recovering data from the last available save point.

Use of Google Photos and Google Drive

Google’s ecosystem is an integral part of any Android smartphone, including Xiaomi. Google Photos is often set to automatically upload images to the cloud by default. Even if you delete a photo from the phone’s gallery, a copy of it can stay in the Google cloud.

Open the Google Photos app and check the Library → Recycle Bin section. Deleted files are also stored for 30 days (or 60 days for Google One subscribers) and it’s worth checking Google Drive where documents, scans and other files may have been saved through the Files by Google app.

The advantage of using Google services is that they are independent of the state of the smartphone itself. Even if the phone is broken or not turned on, you can access your data from any other device by logging into your Google account.

• ☁️ Launch the Google Photos app and make sure you’re logged in to the correct account.
• 📂 Go to the Library menu and select the Recycle Bin».
• ⏳ Check the Deletion Date: Files are stored until 30-60 days.

There's also an Archive feature in Google Photos, where users sometimes accidentally archive photos thinking they've deleted them, or vice versa. Check the Archive folder before making a conclusion about the total loss of data.

Local backups and synchronization with PC

Many Xiaomi users are careful to create local backups on a regular basis, and these copies can be stored in internal memory or on an SD card. The path to them is usually MIUI → backup → AllBackup. If you were in the process of backing up before deleting files, the chances of success are very high.

To recover, go to Settings → About Phone → Reservation and Restore → Mobile Device. Here you will see a list of available recovery points with dates. Select the desired date and select the types of data to recover. The process can take a considerable time during which the phone will not be used.

If you regularly connect your phone to your computer to transfer files, check your PC hard drive, you may have copied important documents or photos there before, just forgetting about it, and manual backup to an external medium is the most reliable, if laborious, method of protection.

⚠️ Note: Restoration from local backup will completely replace the current data on the phone with the data that was at the time of creation of the backup.

Specialized software for data recovery

If the usual methods didn’t work, you can use third-party software, programs like Dr.Fone, DiskDigger or Recuva (for memory cards) scan the device’s memory for “digital traces” of deleted files, but on modern smartphones with data encryption, the effectiveness of such programs without Root rights is extremely low.

Deep scanning often requires a connection through USB-To activate this mode, go to Settings. → About the phone and 7 times click on the build number (MIUI Version. Then in the advanced settings, the "Developers" option will appear, where you need to turn on "Debugging by Debugging" USB».

adb devices


adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/ C:/Recovery/

Using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) commands allows you to interact directly with the file system, but requires certain technical skills. Without superuser rights (Root), most programs can only recover thumbnails (cache) of photos, not the originals in high resolution.

Prevention of data loss and method table

The best way to combat file loss is to back up files regularly. Don't rely on (luck). Set up automatic synchronization of important documents and photos. Use multiple storage sources: cloud, computer, and external hard drive.

Below is a comparison table of recovery methods that will help you choose the best way to solve the problem in your situation.

Remember, time is a critical resource. The fewer write operations that occur on a phone's memory after deletion, the better the chances of successful recovery. If data is really critical, it's best to go to a dedicated service center where specialists can wipe out memory and read data directly (the Chip-off method), although this is expensive and not always applicable to encrypted drives.

💡

Install a junk cleaner app with a backup feature, like Cleaner by Xiaomi, and set up your weekly contacts backup and SMS on Google Drive automatically.

💡

Regularly checking the sync in the cloud is the only guarantee that your photos will not be lost forever if the system crashes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)