How to recover deleted files from Xiaomi phone

Accidentally removing important photos or documents from a Xiaomi device is a stressful situation familiar to many users. Modern smartphones store huge amounts of data, and losing even a fraction of it can be a critical problem, especially if it is a matter of working documents or unique frames.

Fortunately, MIUI and HyperOS have built-in security mechanisms, and the Android file structure allows third-party tools to save information. In this article, we will explore all the available methods, from simple methods through cloud storage to professional software.

The rule of thumb to learn right now is that the fewer actions you take with your phone after losing data, the better the chances of success. Any new information stored in the device’s memory can irrevocably overwrite remote sectors, making recovery impossible.

Analysis of the causes of data loss and priority actions

Before you start technical manipulation, you need to understand the nature of the disappearance of files. Most often, users are faced with a situation where files were manually deleted, but the system marks the place of their storage as free, without physically erasing the contents immediately.

Logical deletion is instantaneous when you press the Clean button, but the data stays on the disk until the system writes new information on top of it. Physical memory damage or controller failure requires a completely different approach, often involving soldering chips in the laboratory, which is beyond the scope of software methods.

⚠️ Warning: Enable Flight Mode on your Xiaomi immediately.This will prevent automatic synchronization, which can erase the "tracks" of deleted files or replace them with empty values from the cloud.

If you plan to use PC software, you will need a stable cable connection and drivers installed.Do not try to install recovery apps directly on the phone's internal memory where the files were deleted, as the installer will take up valuable space itself.

Use of built-in basket in Gallery and Conductor

The easiest and often ignored way to return photos and videos is to check the system folder "Recently deleted" in the shell of MIUI files do not disappear without a trace immediately after cleaning, but are moved to a special buffer, where they are stored for 30 days.

To access this repository, open the standard Gallery app. At the bottom of the screen, search the Albums tab and scroll to the bottom, and you'll see a folder with the appropriate name where all the deleted media files go.

The same mechanism works for documents if you use a standard file manager from Xiaomi. Go to Files, click on the menu icon (usually three bars or dots) and select Recycle Bin, where you can recover not only pictures, but also text documents, archives and installation files.

It's important to note that the bin is limited. If you delete a very large amount of data, the system can automatically clear old files from the buffer to make room for new operations, so the 30-day timeframe is the critical period during which recovery is most likely and secure.

Recovery through Mi Cloud and Google Cloud Services

Xiaomi’s ecosystem is tightly integrated with Mi Cloud, which syncs contacts, notes, voice recorders and gallery by default. If you had a Mi Account enabled, your data could have been saved in the cloud even before you deleted it from your device.

You can check for backups via the i.mi.com web interface. Log in under your login, select Gallery or Dictophone. If there are files there, you can download them to your computer or restore them to your phone by simply turning on sync in the settings.

And Google Photos, which is often pre-installed on smartphones, can stay in Google's cloud for 60 days in the Recycle Bin folder. Open the Google Photos app, go to the Library" →"Cart, select the desired pictures and click "Restore".

Synchronization requires an active Internet connection. If files were deleted long ago, check the web versions of the services, as the cache on the phone itself may have already cleared, and copies are still preserved in the cloud.

PC Software: DiskDigger and Analogues

When the built-in tools are powerless, specialized computer utilities come to the rescue. One of the most popular Android apps is DiskDigger, which can scan the device's memory by finding the leftovers from deleted files by signature.

To work with deep scanning, the phone’s internal memory must be calibrated and USB debugging mode enabled on the device. This is done in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (you need to press 7 times) and then in Additional → For developers → USB debugging.

The recovery process is as follows: connect your phone to your PC with a cable, run a program on your computer and wait for the device to be determined, select the type of scan (full or fast) and the file format to be found.

⚠️ Note: Root-enabled programs have access to all memory sectors, but using them could violate Xiaomi’s device warranty and result in denial of service.

Alternatively, tools like Dr.Fone or Recuva (for memory cards) can be used to make sure that the effectiveness of these programs depends on how much you use your phone after you delete it, and the fewer records you make, the cleaner the scan.

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Use the original. USB-Cheap charging cables often do not support data transmission, which will cause a connection error in the recovery program.

Recovery of data from microSD memory card

If your files were stored on an external memory card, the situation is much easier: the card can be extracted from a Xiaomi smartphone and connected to a computer through a card reader, which will allow you to use powerful desktop utilities without the limitations of the mobile OS.

One of the best programs for this purpose is Recuva or PhotoRec, which performs sector-by-sector reading of the drive, ignoring the file system that may be corrupted, and this allows you to find even those files that have been deleted permanently or after formatting.

Put the card in the reader, plug it into your PC. Run a recovery program, select the disk letter corresponding to the card, and run a deep scan. The process can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours depending on the storage volume.

Example of actions in PhotoRec:


1 Launch photorec_win.exe




2. Select a disk (Card Reader)




3. Select a partition (Whole disk)




4 Select the file system (FAT32/NTFS/exFAT)




5. Specify a folder for saving

It is important to save the recovered files to the computer's hard drive, rather than back to the memory card, and writing new data to the same medium from which the recovery is coming dramatically reduces the chances of success.

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Recovery from an external microSD card yields 40% more results than scanning a phone’s internal memory, thanks to direct access to sectors without Android system restrictions.

Prevention of data loss and backup

The best way to combat loss of information is through regular backups. Xiaomi smartphones have a built-in local backup feature that allows you to create full copies of the system and user data.

To set up automatic saving, go to Settings → About Phone → Backup and Restore. Here you can adjust the frequency of making copies to a memory card or to the cloud. This will take time at the time of creation, but will save your nerves at a critical moment.

It is also recommended to use third-party cloud services such as Yandex Disk or Dropbox, setting up automatic camera loading in them.

• 📸 Set up autoload photos in Google Photos or Mi Cloud right now.
• 💾 Once a month, make a full backup of important documents to your computer.
• 🔒 Use strong passwords for your accounts to avoid losing access to cloud copies.
• 📱 Avoid installing applications from unknown sources to prevent virus-encrypted files.

Remember that no method gives a 100% guarantee if the data has been overwritten, so preventive measures are always more effective than attempts to recover from the fact of loss.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)