Recovery of deleted videos on Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro: from the cart to deep scanning

Losing important videos on your smartphone is a situation familiar to many owners of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro. Whether you accidentally clicked “Delete”, formatted a memory card or encountered a system failure, there are almost always chances to return files. The main thing is to act quickly and correctly. In this article, we will analyze 7 proven ways to recover deleted video files, from the simplest (check basket) to advanced (using ADB and root access).

The Redmi Note 8 Pro features a hybrid file system where videos can be stored in both internal memory (/storage/emulated/0/DCIM) and microSD. This affects how you recover, such as memory cards with utilities like DiskDigger and internal memory with MIUI system tools. Importantly, the fewer operations you perform on the device after deletion, the better the chances of success. Each new video or photo can overwrite deleted data.

1.A check of the basket at MIUI Gallery

The first thing you need to do is to look in the gallery cart. In MIUI 12/13/14, deleted media files are stored there for up to 30 days (by default).

1. Open the Gallery app (an icon with a floral logo).
2. Slip on three horizontal lines (menu) in the lower right corner.
3. Select the Recycle Bin (or Recently Deleted in Older Versions).
4. Find the right video, click on it and select Restore.

If the cart is empty or the video is not there, move to the next method. Note: files from the cart are restored to the same folder from which they were deleted (DCIM/Camera, Movies, etc.).

⚠️ Attention: B MIUI If less than 10% of the memory is available, the system can delete files from the recycle bin before 30 days.

2. Recovery through backups

If your Redmi Note 8 Pro has automatic backup enabled, the videos could have been saved to the cloud.

• 📁 Mi Cloud: Go to Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud → Backup. See if there are archives with a date before the video was deleted.
• 📷 Google Photos: Open the app, check the Archives or Recycle Bin folder (stopped for 60 days).
• 💾 Local Copies: Use Settings → Additionally. → Backup and reset → Local backups.

For recovery from Mi Cloud:

1. Go to Mi Cloud → Device → [your Redmi Note 8 Pro name].
2. Select a backup with the desired date.
3. Click Restore and tick Multimedia.

If you don't have backups, try the following method: Recovery from the cloud will overwrite the current data on your phone — make a copy of important files before you do it.

3. Use of a file manager (hidden folders)

Sometimes the videos are not deleted completely, but moved to hidden system folders, for example, after the Camera application crashes, the files may be in:

• /storage/emulated/0/.thumbnails (miniatures)
• /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.miui.gallery (cache gallery)
• /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/.trash (alternative cart)

To find them:

1. Install a file manager with support for hidden folders (such as Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer).
2. Enable the display of hidden files in the manager settings.
3. Go to the following paths and search for files with the.mp4,.mov or.3gp extension.

⚠️ Note: Do not rename or move files from.thumbnails folders – this may disrupt the gallery.

4. Data recovery programs (without root)

If the video is not found in the cart or hidden folders, use specialized utilities. For Redmi Note 8 Pro without root rights suitable:

Instructions for DiskDigger:

1. Download the app from Google Play.
2. Start and select Basic scan (for memory card) or Full scan (requires root).
3. Mark the file types: MP4, MOV, 3GP.
4. Press Start and wait for the scan to be completed.
5. Select the video you found and click Recover.

To recover from microSD via PC:

1. Connect the card to the computer through the card reader.
2. Install Recuva or PhotoRec.
3. Select a memory card drive and start a deep scan.

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If videos are found but not played, try converting them through VLC Media Player (Tools → Convert menu).

5. Recovery with ADB (Advanced Method)

If the videos were stored in internal memory and the root rights were not, you can try extracting them through Android Debug Bridge (ADB), a method that requires command line skills but does not violate the warranty.

Steps:

1. Enable USB debugging in the developer settings (Settings → About Phone → MIUI version – tap 7 times, then go back to Additional → For Developers).
2. Connect your phone to your PC and install ADB Tools.
3. Open the command line and type: Adb devices Make sure the device is defined.
4. Backup the section with the video: adb backup -f C:\backup.ab -shared On the phone, confirm the creation of the backup (do not set a password).
5. Unclick backup.ab with Android Backup Extractor and find the video in the shared folder.

⚠️ Note: This method only works if the video has not been overwritten. The files in the backup are stored in encrypted form - you need Android Backup Extractor to extract them.

6. Restoration with root rights (maximum efficiency)

If you have root access, the chances of returning videos increase by up to 80%.

• 🛠️ Undeleter Recover Files & Data: Scans internal memory at the block level.
• 🔍 GT Recovery: Supports recovery of fragmented files.
• 💻 TestDisk (via PC): For power users – restores partitions.

Instructions for Undeleter:

1. Install the application and provide root access.
2. Select the Deep Scan (Deep Scan) scan.
3. Mark the /data (internal memory) or /sdcard (card) partition.
4. Wait until it is completed (may take a few hours).
5. Save the video found on your PC or cloud.

Critical information: Once you have root rights, never save your recovered files back to your phone – this can lead to overwriting the remaining data.

7. Contact the Xiaomi Service Center

If all methods failed and video is critical (like recording an accident or a family video), contact Xiaomi’s authorized service center, and they have tools to retrieve data from damaged memory.

What to do before your visit:

• 📋 Write it down. IMEI phone number#).
• 🔋 Charge your phone to 100% – it can take hours to diagnose.
• 📄 Prepare a check or a warranty card (if the guarantee is valid).

The cost of data recovery in the service starts from 3 000 ₽, But the chances of success are higher than if you try it yourself.

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Xiaomi service centers in Russia do not always deal with data recovery – check in advance if they provide such a service. Alternatively, data recovery laboratories (for example, HDD Recovery).

FAQ: Frequent questions about video recovery